background preloader

8 shocking things we learned from Stephen Hawking's book

8 shocking things we learned from Stephen Hawking's book
From the idea that our universe is one among many, to the revelation that mathematician Pythagoras didn't actually invent the Pythagorean theorem, here are eight shocking things we learned from reading physicist Stephen Hawking's new book, "The Grand Design," written with fellow physicist Leonard Mlodinow of Caltech. The book, covering major questions about the nature and origin of the universe, was released Sept. 7 by its publisher, Bantam. 1. The past is possibility According to Hawking and Mlodinow, one consequence of the theory of quantum mechanics is that events in the past that were not directly observed did not happen in a definite way. Instead they happened in all possible ways. This is related to the probabilistic nature of matter and energy revealed by quantum mechanics: Unless forced to choose a particular state by direct interference from an outside observation, things will hover in a state of uncertainty. Yeah, we're still trying to wrap our brains around this. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The Infinity of Quantum Physics Quantum Mechanics the Infinity Photon Electron Couplings creating sets of infinities of Fractal Self-Similarities Atom surround by Photon Electron Coupling. Expanding as a Wave-Particle Function of future possibilities. Wave-Particle Function collapsing into sets of Fractal Self-Similarities expanding as set of infinities creating there own Spacetime. Infinity can always be divided up into ever increasing sets of infinities because of the continuous expansion at the quantum level.

7 Man-Made Substances that Laugh in the Face of Physics The universe is full of weird substances like liquid metal and whatever preservative keeps Larry King alive. But mankind isn't happy to accept the weirdness of nature when we can create our own abominations of science that, due to the miracle of technology, spit in nature's face and call it retarded. That's why we came up with... #7. What do you get when you suspend nanoparticles of iron compounds in a colloidal solution of water, oil and a surfactant? A ferrofluid is a liquid that reacts to magnetic fields in trippy ways that make you think that science is both magical and potentially evil. Tell us that didn't look like the birth of the most sinister dildo ever. What happens is that when a magnetic field is applied to the fluid, the particles of iron compound inside align to it. What the Hell is it Used For? Ferrofluids have a lot of pretty mundane uses, from lubricating and protecting hard drives to providing heat conduction in speakers, but their primary use is in looking cool. #6. #5.

"The Thing": A 140,000-Year-Old Organism Discovered in Antarctica's Ice-Shrouded Lake Vostok An ancient living laboratory of our planet's past in Antarctica may have provided a preview of what we can expect to find deep below the barren surface of Mars and in the ice-shrouded seas of Jupiter's Europa. Two of the world's leading experts on life at the lower temperature extremes, Buford Price of the University of California, Berkeley and Todd Sowers of Penn State observed that microbes colonizing life appear to have two levels of metabolism: a survival metabolism in which they remain alive but become dormant until exposed to nutrients or higher temperatures, or, a maintenance metabolism for steady sustained growth. The team observed that some organisms in permafrost appear to have "protein repair enzymes that maintain active recycling of certain amino acids needed for cell repair for at least 30,000 years." They added that the "extremely low expenditures of survival energy enable microbial communities in extreme environments to survive indefinitely."

10 places where anyone can learn to code Teens, tweens and kids are often referred to as “digital natives.” Having grown up with the Internet, smartphones and tablets, they’re often extraordinarily adept at interacting with digital technology. But Mitch Resnick, who spoke at TEDxBeaconStreet, is skeptical of this descriptor. Sure, young people can text and chat and play games, he says, “but that doesn’t really make you fluent.” Mitch Resnick: Let's teach kids to code Fluency, Resnick proposes in this TED Talk, comes not through interacting with new technologies, but through creating them. The former is like reading, while the latter is like writing. The point isn’t to create a generation of programmers, Resnick argues. In his talk, Resnick describes Scratch, the programming software that he and a research group at MIT Media Lab developed to allow people to easily create and share their own interactive games and animations. While we’re at it: bonus!

Download Graphic Images from the Hillis/Bull Lab Return to "Download Files" Page You are welcome to download the following graphic image of the Tree of Life for non-commercial, educational purposes: Tree of Life (~3,000 species, based on rRNA sequences) (pdf, 368 KB) (see Science, 2003, 300:1692-1697) This file can be printed as a wall poster. Tree of Life tattoo, courtesy of Clare D'Alberto, who is working on her Ph.D. in biology at the University of Melbourne. The organisms depicted in this tattoo are (starting at 4 o'clock and going around clockwise): (1) a cyanobacterium (Anabaena); (2) a radiolarian (Acantharea); (3) a dinoflagellate (Ceratium); (4) an angiosperm (Spider Orchid); (5) a couple species of fungi (Penicillium and a yeast); (6) a ctenophore (comb jelly); (7) a mollusc (nudibranch); (8) an echinoderm (brittle star); and (9) a vertebrate (Weedy Sea Dragon). Here is another great Tree of Life tattoo! Cover of Molecular Systmatics, 2nd ed Here is yet another version from Hannah Udelll at the University of Wisconson-Madisson.

Uncertainty principle where ħ is the reduced Planck constant. The original heuristic argument that such a limit should exist was given by Heisenberg, after whom it is sometimes named the Heisenberg principle. This ascribes the uncertainty in the measurable quantities to the jolt-like disturbance triggered by the act of observation. Though widely repeated in textbooks, this physical argument is now known to be fundamentally misleading.[4][5] While the act of measurement does lead to uncertainty, the loss of precision is less than that predicted by Heisenberg's argument; the formal mathematical result remains valid, however. Since the uncertainty principle is such a basic result in quantum mechanics, typical experiments in quantum mechanics routinely observe aspects of it. Introduction[edit] Click to see animation. The superposition of several plane waves to form a wave packet. As a principle, Heisenberg's uncertainty relationship must be something that is in accord with all experience. . with yields where

Tesla: Master of Lightning "In almost every step of progress in electrical engineering, as well as radio, we can trace the spark of thought back to Nikola Tesla" - Ernst F. W. Alexanderson Tesla with one of his famous "wireless" lamps. Published on the cover of the Electrical Experimenter in 1919. Few inventors contributed more to advances in science and engineering in the early 20th century than Nikola Tesla. As fate would have it, Tesla, one of the world's greatest inventors, died penniless and in obscurity. Today, there's quite a bit of resurgence in Tesla's popularity, which is helped in part by his mystique as a "mad scientist." Tesla Company letterhead. In their book, Tesla: Master of Lightning , authors Margaret Cheney and Robert Uth tell the story of the enigmatic genius from his birth in a little village in what is Croatia today, to his lonely death in a New York hotel room. On a personal note, it has taken me far longer than I expected to write this excerpt for Neatorama Spotlight. An Old World Childhood

Tiny Quantum Computers in Bacteria = Efficient Solar Power Image: "Pediastra, a flat colony of green algae", Wim van Egmond Scientists at Berkeley report a breakthrough in the riddle of how bacteria can convert sunlight to energy at efficiencies nearing 100%. And the answer is more elegant and amazing than you will believe. Imagine your favorite Sci-fi character trapped in a maze. The future of the planet depends upon finding the fastest way out. Utilizing their quantum super-powers, they run all possible combinations of the maze simultaneously in parallel universes, calculating the best path before committing to any. Now scientists led by chemistry prof Graham Flemming and lead author Gregory Engel at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have achieved a breakthrough advance in understanding the photosynthesis process. Understanding the role of quantum physics in efficient use of the sun's energy may lead to break-throughs in solar power technology.

100 Very Cool Facts About The Human Body – Global One TV: Multimedia for Mystics The Brain The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. Hair and Nails While they’re not a living part of your body, most people spend a good amount of time caring for their hair and nails. Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body. Internal Organs Though we may not give them much thought unless they’re bothering us, our internal organs are what allow us to go on eating, breathing and walking around. Bodily Functions Senses

Top 10 Bizarre & Controversial Archeological Discoveries Many strange archeological discoveries have been made in modern history. Hundreds of artifacts have been unearthed that have baffled scientists and challenged modern man’s view of history. Many of these objects have been labeled out of place artifacts or anachronisms. These archeological discoveries are always controversial and the scientific community is extremely selective in what they accept as fact. Every object on this list has been accused of being an elaborate hoax. 10. Discovered: 1944 Attempts have been made to date these figures using Thermoluminescence, or TL dating, and the results suggested a date around 2500 BCE. 9. Discovered: 1938 The alleged story of the Dropa Stones is as follows. The disks were labeled the Dropa Stones. Tsum Um Nui claims that an alien spacecraft crashed in the Bayan Har Shan region 12,000 years ago. 8. Discovered: 1880s It was not the first time that gigantic horned skulls have been unearthed in North America. 7. Discovered: 1999 6. Discovered: 1974 5.

Quantum mechanics Description of physical properties at the atomic and subatomic scale Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms.[2]: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale.[3] Overview and fundamental concepts Quantum mechanics allows the calculation of properties and behaviour of physical systems. A fundamental feature of the theory is that it usually cannot predict with certainty what will happen, but only give probabilities. . and , where Here

Related: