Re: Look Who's Back / Mike's crazy list of physics hypotheses that he wishes he had time to look into but doesn't have the time.
On 10/22/2010 10:35 PM, Michael Harney wrote: I'm back again. I don't really know that I am doing any better than I was when I left, but I will see. I wanted to discuss some concepts with intelligent people (some of whom may already know about some of this stuff). I will preface these that my knowledge of Quantum theory is small, and if anyone can recommend a good (emphasis on good, not overly simplified or popularized like Hawking's Books which read more like "quantum physics for dummies" I want nitty-gritty details) book on quantum theory, I would appreciate it. Have you tried Michio Kaku's or Brian Greene's books? In my experience they are both wonderfully accessible writers with very firm grasps in the details of quantum and string/M theories. I've certainly enjoyed what I've read from both writers. (They are also both humble, working theoreticians.) -- --Max Battcher-- http://worldmaker.net ___ http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Look Who's Back / Mike's crazy list of physics hypotheses that he wishes he had time to look into but doesn't have the time.
I'm back again. I don't really know that I am doing any better than I was when I left, but I will see. I wanted to discuss some concepts with intelligent people (some of whom may already know about some of this stuff). I will preface these that my knowledge of Quantum theory is small, and if anyone can recommend a good (emphasis on good, not overly simplified or popularized like Hawking's Books which read more like "quantum physics for dummies" I want nitty-gritty details) book on quantum theory, I would appreciate it. Mike's Crazy Hypothesis 1: I have heard hypothesized that neutrons are simply protons upon-which an electron has collapsed. First, does this make sense by our current understanding of quantum theory? If the hypothesis does make sense, what if the hypothesis is backwards? What if Neutrons are the "natural state" of matter and protons are neutrons that had part of them stripped away (likely during the big-bang)? This could explain why electrons are near mass-less and the incredibly strong force of attraction between protons and electrons. Mike's Crazy Hypothesis 2: I am half-way through reading Richard Dawkin's book "The God Delusion". In it he says that proponents of a creator argue that the fundamental force constants in the universe are so finely tuned so as to allow the conditions that make life (as we know it) possible. and that if even one of these, like the strong force, was slightly different, that life would not be possible because if the strong force were higher, all hydrogen in the universe would have fused into heavier stuff, and if it were weaker, no heavier atoms essential to the formation of our planet and the life on it could be created in the cores of massive stars. He explains Multi-dimensional theory and it as a possible explanation that would explain why a universe that has the right constants can exist without a creator. Multi-dim theory aside, a thought occurred to me: If the constants of our universe need to be at a specific range for matter to exist in the forms that promote life, what if the constants like the "strong force" are not constants? What if, over billions of years (or even longer), the strong force slowly got weaker. Indeed, a higher strong force would go a long way to explain the singularity that resulted in the big bang, and the weakening of the strong force would go a long way to explaining why the big bang occurred in the first place. It might also go a long way to explain why Galaxies and solar-systems don't seem to follow the same model of gravity. If the fundamental constants of the universe are changing ever-so-slowly, Objects at a great distance would appear to be affected differently than objects closer together simply because of the time it took for the bodies to form with relation to each other and the changing of the fundamental forces. This may also explain the recent data suggesting that the universe appears to be expanding at an ever increasing rate rather than slowing down as one would expect. I have more crazy hypotheses, but I am getting tired, so I think that I will stop there for now. ___ http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: Crazy Cat Lady
Deborah Harrell wrote: >> Gary Nunn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> I LOVE this >> http://www.stupid.com/stat/CCLF.html > > Only _six_!? I thought it had to be in double digits > to qualify as mentally splintered... ;) I'd say it depends on the size of the abode. 8 cats in a 2-story house may be excessive, but not crazy. 8 cats in an efficiency apartment is another story entirely. > Debbi > Whaddaya Mean Letting A Cat Sleep On Yer Face > Qualifies?! Maru Um, I didn't think it did, otherwise some of my friends that I had pegged as "mostly sane" are in trouble (And it's not so much a matter of "letting" as "the dang cat is going to do what it's going to do, and as long as I can breathe, it's not a problem".) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Crazy Cat Lady
> Gary Nunn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I LOVE this > http://www.stupid.com/stat/CCLF.html Only _six_!? I thought it had to be in double digits to qualify as mentally splintered... ;) Debbi Whaddaya Mean Letting A Cat Sleep On Yer Face Qualifies?! Maru Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Crazy Cat Lady
I LOVE this http://www.stupid.com/stat/CCLF.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Those crazy Apple people (was Re: unholy OS wars )
On 9/4/06, Richard Baker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: The 5150s in the Mac Pro Hmm... the Mac Pro's processors are called 5150s, eh? Pretty funny considering what 5150 means to anyone in law enforcement, emergency medical services, etc., here in California. It is the statute for a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold, as in "Respond to a possible 5150 at..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5150_(Involuntary_psychiatric_hold) Nick -- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages: 408-904-7198 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Crazy ideas that work..
I read about this in a couple of places over the last week. The short of it is, this guy decided to sell space on a webpage for $1 a pixel. So far, he is 1000 short of his million dollar/pixel goal. I never cease to be amazed at the crazy money making schemes that pay off big. The FAQ is interesting. Even the rip-off, copy cats are making money. (do a search on Million Dollar Homepage on Google) http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/ __ Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. www.BansheeDomains.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Strange Lights Imaged, Astronauts Not Crazy
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solar_aurora_031210.html The first direct images ever made of a solar storm as it engulfs Earth have also vindicated astronauts who said they'd seen colorful sky lights at dubiously high altitudes. The study shows that auroras reach far higher into the atmosphere than expected, though scientists are still puzzled over how it is possible. The research, which detected solar electrons approaching Earth's protective magnetic field, will also help space weather forecasters better predict how a tempest from the Sun might effect satellites and communication systems. Auroras are atmospheric light displays generated by space weather. They are born above Earth's polar regions and are routinely enjoyed from the surface by people at far northern or southern latitudes. Auroras typically occur at about 60 miles up (100 kilometers), when charged storm particles tickle air molecules. Sanity check Scientists had a hard time believing astronauts who said they'd seen aurora that appeared to soar higher than the International Space Station, which orbits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the surface of the planet. Experts didn't figure there were enough molecules up there to do the trick. But now the fleeting, ultra-high events have been imaged at more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) above the planet with a new Air Force satellite called the Solar Mass Ejection Imager. "It's a mystery," Bernard Jackson, a solar physicist at the University of California, San Diego, said of the soaring auroras. "This is far higher than anyone had ever expected. It may be that nitrogen from the ionosphere is ejected into the higher altitudes during a coronal mass ejection." A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a cloud of hot gas sometimes shot from the Sun during a solar flare. CMEs expand as they head through space. Upon reaching Earth anywhere from 18 hours to several days later, they fuel aurora and sometimes knock out satellites and threaten power grids on the surface. Better view Until recently, space storm forecasters had to rely on images of CMEs taken by NASA's SOHO spacecraft. But it sits about 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth and only sees a small region of the sky directly surrounding the Sun. The new observations, made with a new satellite that orbits Earth about 500 miles high, recorded several recent CMEs as they enveloped the planet's magnetic field, Jackson told SPACE.com. The field emanates from the planet's poles, extends beyond the atmosphere, and protectively absorbs much of the shock of space storms. The findings were announced Wednesday at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Astronauts who've witnessed high-altitude auroras must now feel like airline pilots, who for years had said they saw lightning shooting from the tops of thunderstorms, teasing with the boundary of space. Scientists once thought those claims incredulous, too, until they photographed the high-altitude discharges, which are now called blue jets and red sprites. The near-space auroral displays are unrelated to jets and sprites. For scientists the more interesting aspect of the new study was the newfound ability to image CMEs as they pass Earth, a stormy process that can last 24 hours or more. "We are living inside the solar atmosphere, but up until now had no way to view it, so space forecasters couldnt be certain whether an ejection from the Sun would affect the Earth one to five days later or harmlessly pass us by," Jackson said. "Now that we can see these clouds as they travel through space outward from the Sun, we can map their trajectories." The Solar Mass Ejection Imager was launched in January by the Air Force. It sees a CME by recording a faint scattering of sunlight caused by electrons in the onrushing cloud. A video of the observations is available here. High stakes Solar activity in late October and early November knocked out satellites, caused airlines to divert flights to avoid potentially dangerous polar routes, mucked with the electronics of some spacecraft and ruined an instrument aboard the Mars Odyssey probe. Solar storms even played a role in the loss of Japan's Mars mission, a craft called Nozomi, the country's space agency said Tuesday. Meanwhile, scientists are working to better understand why some solar onslaughts cause more problems than others. A separate recent study showed that under certain conditions a CME can rip open a hole in Earth's magnetosphere, allowing its full force to penetrate the otherwise protective shield. xponent Blink Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Crazy
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns4425 "Cash dispensing ATMs belonging to two US financial institutions were shut down when the computer worm Welchia invaded their embedded Windows XP operating systems in August. Diebold, the Ohio-based company that makes the machines, revealed the security breach on Tuesday. ... David Loomstein, of Symantec's computer security response team in Santa Monica, California, agrees: "Are they running a popular operating system? Are they sitting on the internet or a network? If yes, then there is always the possibility of access." Devices meeting Loomstein's criteria also include cell phones that connect to the internet and SCADA systems that control utilities. All are increasingly relying on popular software, such as embedded Windows XP, that virus writers target." Using Windo$e to run anything more important than games is crazy. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ "Mac OS X is a rock-solid system that's beautifully designed. I much prefer it to Linux." - Bill Joy. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
