Physics news

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:08 am

With the "Genesis of General Relativity", the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) has just published the most comprehensive study to date of the structures of a scientific revolution. According to the study, a scientific revolution is not a simple radical new beginning, but the result of a new organisation of transmitted knowledge.

(iow, it's all relative?

)

Henry

lswot · Post by **lswot** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:13 am

(iow, it's all relative? )

But, but, but......then things will never change.

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:52 pm

But, but, but......then things will never change

Not true. What with all that inbreeding with relatives the species will just die off. That's change.

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:26 pm

ACK!

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:54 pm

The Standard Model…is the best theory that physicists currently have to describe the building blocks of the universe. It is one of the biggest achievements in twentieth-century science. It says everything around us is made of particles called quarks and leptons with four kinds of forces that influence them.
The most familiar forces are electromagnetism and gravity; the other two are less known. The strong force binds atomic nuclei together, making them stable. Without it, there would be no atoms other than hydrogen: no carbon, no oxygen, no life. The weak force causes nuclear reactions that go through our body every second, but we don’t feel them because the weak force is so weak.
Despite its incredible success, the Standard Model has serious deficiencies. For example, if forces and matter particles are all there are, it says all particles must travel at the speed of light-but that is not what is being observed. To slow then down, theorists proposed a mysterious, universe-filling, not-yet-seen “liquid” called the Higgs field. Also, physicists now understand that 96 percent of the universe is not made of matter as we know it, and thus it does not fit into the Standard Model. How to extend the Standard Model to account for these mysteries is an open question to be answered by current and future experiments.

Hitoshi Murayama, University of California Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:12 pm

Not to mention why does the up quark have opposite electric charge of the down quark...

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 3:15 pm

Henry J wrote:Not to mention why does the up quark have opposite electric charge of the down quark...

OK, I won't.

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:58 am

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Develop New Type of Mobile Robot That Balances and Moves on a Ball Instead of Legs or Wheels

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a new type of mobile robot that balances on a ball instead of legs or wheels. "Ballbot" is a self-contained, battery-operated, omnidirectional robot that balances dynamically on a single urethane-coated metal sphere. It weighs 95 pounds and is the approximate height and width of a person.

(A robot with balls? What'll they think of next! What, what did I just say?)

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:45 pm

Research Paper Illuminates How Light Pushes Atoms

A research paper to be published in the 18 August edition of the journal Physical Review Letters reveals a new effect in the fundamental way that laser light interacts with atoms. "Unlike water, which speeds up as it passes through a small nozzle, photons of light have less momentum at the center of a focused laser beam," says Kurt Gibble, an associate professor of physics at Penn State University and the author of the research paper. Gibble's theoretical paper analyzes the speed of an atom after it absorbs a photon of light and reveals the surprising effect that a photon in a narrow laser beam delivers less momentum to an atom than does a photon in a wide beam of light.

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 2:05 pm

(A robot with balls? What'll they think of next! What, what did I just say?)

Oh we know what you said. What isn't clear is are you campaigning for or against the California Governator?

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 2:45 pm

I don't happen to live in California.

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:09 pm

Henry J wrote:I don't happen to live in California.

So? When has that ever had any ethical impact on the (implied) voting process?

Henry J · Post by **Henry J** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:43 am

UA Physicists Invent 'QuIET'- Single Molecule Transistors

University of Arizona physicists have discovered how to turn single molecules into working transistors. It's a breakthrough needed to make the next-generation of remarkably tiny, powerful computers that nanotechnologists dream of.

(Single molecule devices? That's small of them!

)

Xjmt · Post by **Xjmt** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:59 pm

Also makes me concerned about the next time my doctor suggests an enema! Just what is in all those molecules?

Rstegman · Post by **Rstegman** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:32 am

Xjmt wrote:Also makes me concerned about the next time my doctor suggests an enema! Just what is in all those molecules?

All I can say is that they were made by intel.......

The Show Place

Physics news

60 second Standard Model