Physics news

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 3:50 pm

What is the mysterious dark energy that's causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate? Is it some form of Einstein's famous cosmological constant, or is it an exotic repulsive force, dubbed "quintessence," that could make up as much as three-quarters of the cosmos?

Beware the dark side of da force!

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 8:12 am

Tiny Computers Go Where No Computer Has Gone Before

A major breakthrough in the use of molecules as information processors is to be announced at this year's BA Festival of Science in Dublin.
Nanotechnology experts are exploring the capabilities of molecules that act like conventional computers but can operate in tiny places where no silicon-based chip or semiconductor can go.

Nanotechnology? Resistance is futile!

Nanoo! Nanoo! (as Mork would say)

Website · Post by **brian** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 8:50 am

Speaking of going where none have gone before, today is STAR TREK's 39th birthday!

We won't discuss how old that makes us.

Or how it died -- er, went into hibernation, at 38.

lswot · Post by **lswot** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:49 am

brian wrote:Speaking of going where none have gone before, today is STAR TREK's 39th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAR TREK!!

brian wrote: We won't discuss how old that makes us.

Hmmmmm

brian wrote: Or how it died -- er, went into hibernation, at 38.

Yeah........

Rstegman · Post by **Rstegman** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:41 am

I am embarrassed to tell you this, but,,,
I missed most of the first season of the Original Star Trek because I was watching LOST IN SPACE!!!!! (a series I don't even remember much about anymore)

Website · Post by **brian** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:23 am

You know, I never saw a single episode of Lost in Space until last year, when it came out on DVD. I was too young to see it in its original run, being born in '67. And it just happened that it was never in repeats where I lived. I saw plenty of Star Trek and Rin Tin Tin, though.

And Bewitched. And I Dream of Jeannie. The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch...

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:41 am

"Danger Will Robinson!"

"Never fear - Smith is here!"

"Oh the pain, the pain!"

"That does not compute!"

Website · Post by **brian** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:46 am

"You bubble-headed booby! Do you realize what you've done?!?"

Sorry for taking this thread so far off topic.

lswot · Post by **lswot** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:16 am

brian wrote:"You bubble-headed booby! Do you realize what you've done?!?"

Sorry for taking this thread so far off topic.

What topic?

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:08 pm

NIST Improves Accuracy of ‘Watt Balance’ Method for Defining the Kilogram

A leading experimental method for defining the kilogram in terms of properties of nature is now more accurate than ever, scientists at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reported today.
[...]
The other six basic units of the international measurement system are the meter (unit of length), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), mole (amount of substance) and candela (luminous intensity). All six are defined in terms of properties of nature and can be measured at any suitably equipped laboratory.

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:03 am

Purdue scientists see biochemistry's future – with quantum physics

Chemists who have trouble predicting how some large, complex biological molecules will react with others may soon have a solution from the world of computational quantum physics, say Purdue University researchers.

(Let the spinning electron spin... )

Rstegman · Post by **Rstegman** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 4:30 pm

New material found recently

Governmentium

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named Governmentium.

Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, whichare surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of governmentium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.
This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.

watch for it in your science magazines.

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:11 pm

The Peter Principle of government, eh?

Re "isodopes" -

Henry

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:40 am

Physicists Measure Tiny Force That Limits How Far Machines Can Shrink

University of Arizona physicists have directly measured how close speeding atoms can come to a surface before the atoms' wavelengths change.

Theirs is a first, fundamental measurement that confirms the idea that the wave of a fast-moving atom shortens and lengthens depending on its distance from a surface, an idea first proposed by pioneering quantum physicists in the late 1920s.

(Nanites! The world is shrinking! Er, so to speak.)

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:46 am

NIST Atomic Fountain Clock Gets Much Better with Time

The world’s best clock, NIST-F1, has been improved over the past few years and now measures time and frequency more than twice as accurately as it did in 1999 when first used as a national standard, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report.

(Temporal mechanics at work!

)

Henry