2012 March 12 - The Scale of the Universe Interactive Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2012 March 12 The Scale of the Universe - Interactive Flash Animation Credit & Copyright: Cary & Michael Huang Explanation: What does the universe look like on small scales? Tomorrow's picture: dust before galaxies Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD at NASA / GSFC& Michigan Tech.
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. For example, if all we know is that a particle traveled from point A to point B, then it is not true that the particle took a definite path and we just don't know what it is. Yeah, we're still trying to wrap our brains around this. 2. Photons are the little packets that light comes in. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Forget WiFi, Connect to the Internet Through Lightbulbs - Technology Whether you’re using wireless internet in a coffee shop, stealing it from the guy next door, or competing for bandwidth at a conference, you’ve probably gotten frustrated at the slow speeds you face when more than one device is tapped into the network. As more and more people—and their many devices—access wireless internet, clogged airwaves are going to make it increasingly difficult to latch onto a reliable signal. But radio waves are just one part of the spectrum that can carry our data. What if we could use other waves to surf the internet? One German physicist, Harald Haas, has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination”—taking the fiber out of fiber optics by sending data through an LED lightbulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. It’s the same idea behind infrared remote controls, but far more powerful. Photo (cc) via otto-otto.com
"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." Their data showed no evidence of a threshold in metabolic rate at temperatures down to minus 40 degrees C.
Scientific Hypothesis, Theory, Law Definitions Words have precise meanings in science. For example, 'theory', 'law', and 'hypothesis' don't all mean the same thing. Outside of science, you might say something is 'just a theory', meaning it's supposition that may or may not be true. In science, a theory is an explanation that generally is accepted to be true. Here's a closer look at these important, commonly misused terms. Hypothesis A hypothesis is an educated guess, based on observation. Example: If you see no difference in the cleaning ability of various laundry detergents, you might hypothesize that cleaning effectiveness is not affected by which detergent you use. Theory A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. Example: It is known that on June 30, 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, there was an explosion equivalent to the detonation of about 15 million tons of TNT. Law A law generalizes a body of observations. Example: Consider Newton's Law of Gravity.
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. 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. Via ::HUGG and TurbulentissuesImage via ::Wim van Egmond "Pediastra, a flat colony of green algae."
Pythagorean cup Cross section Cross section of a Pythagorean cup. A Pythagorean cup (also known as a Pythagoras cup, a Greedy Cup or a Tantalus cup) is a form of drinking cup that forces its user to imbibe only in moderation. Credited to Pythagoras of Samos, it allows the user to fill the cup with wine up to a certain level. Form and function[edit] A Pythagorean cup looks like a normal drinking cup, except that the bowl has a central column in it – giving it a shape like a Bundt pan in the center of the cup. When the cup is filled, liquid rises through the second pipe up to the chamber at the top of the central column, following Pascal's principle of communicating vessels. Common occurrences[edit] A Pythagorean cup sold in Crete A Pythagorean cup sold in Samos Hero of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) used Pythagorean cups as hydraulic components in his robotic systems. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit] Pythagorean cup demonstration video
The 13 Most Important Numbers in the Universe - James D. Stein's Cosmic Numbers In the 17th century, scientists understood three phases of matter—solids, liquids and gases (the discovery of plasma, the fourth phase of matter, lay centuries in the future). Back then, solids and liquids were much harder to work with than gases because changes in solids and liquids were difficult to measure with the equipment of the time. So many experimentalists played around with gases to try to deduce fundamental physical laws. Robert Boyle was perhaps the first great experimentalist, and was responsible for what we now consider to be the essence of experimentation: vary one or more parameter, and see how other parameters change in response. It may seem obvious in retrospect, but hindsight, as the physicist Leo Szilard once remarked, is notably more accurate than foresight.
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Personal and Historical Perspectives of Hans Bethe Snowflakes under the microscope | CoolTickling.com If you look closely at falling snow, you can see a great many different crystal shapes. There’s a lot more to see than you might think! Photographing snowflakes can be great fun and a rewarding hobby. It is a quiet, contemplative activity that takes you outdoors on snowy days to examine and record some of Nature’s most stunning artistry. Best of all, each picture you take will be different from all others, because each snow crystal is unique. Unfortunately, snowflake photography is not cheap, and it requires that you to spend some quality time outside in the cold. Kenneth G.
MythBuster Adam Savage: 3 Ways to Fix U.S. Science Education When Jamie Hyneman and I speak at teacher conventions, we always draw a grateful crowd. They tell us Thursday mornings are productive because students see us doing hands-on science Wednesday nights on our show MythBusters, and they want to talk about it. These teachers are so dedicated, but they have difficulty teaching for the standardized tests they're given with the budgets they're not given. 1. It's really difficult to absorb things just by being told about them--I know I don't learn well that way. 2. We like to do things on the cheap at MythBusters, and we often find the most elegant solution is also the least expensive. 3. A good scientist will tell you that being wrong can be just as interesting as being right.
MythBusters Results — Outcomes from all MythBusters Episodes