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JCC Go science?

Discussion in 'Community' started by Jabbadabbado, Sep 26, 2012.

  1. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I'm a science journalism junkie. I love science books, I love science articles, probably as the result of feeling the need to compensate for a fairly crude and inadequate education in the natural sciences.

    Consquently, an article comes along fairly often that completely stumps me. I don't know what it means. I don't understand the concepts it is trying to describe. I'm not entirely convinced the author of the article really understands what he or she is writing about either.

    Following is a link to one of those articles. Reading it makes me feel like I'm suffering from some kind of serious cognitive deficit brought on by too many blows to the head over too long a period of time.

    Space-time-crystal-powered eternal clock could keep time after end of universe

    What the hell? Great title though. Love the title.
     
  2. DantheJedi

    DantheJedi Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 23, 2009
    Or, in other words.....
    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Piltdown

    Piltdown Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 3, 2002
  4. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    It's not even really that out there, as theoretical physics goes, but you would have to keep the thing at something like 1.1 nK for it to work, which could prove... challenging.
     
  5. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    If I had my copy of A Short History of Nearly Everything with me, I'd quote that example Bryson gives of completely impenetrable science writing. Just for laughs.
     
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  6. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Thanks, that's helpful.

    [​IMG]

    Now I feel like Bart Simpson at the school for gifted children.
     
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  7. Lady_Sami_J_Kenobi

    Lady_Sami_J_Kenobi Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Hey, we need Sheldon and Leonard to interpret this for us!!
     
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  8. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    So that's how Galactus survived the previous Universe.
     
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  9. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    Ironically, this seriously has one of the most concise and clear figure descriptions I've ever read.
    I mean, the basic idea here - and if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me - is that we already can make super thin, essentially 2D configurations of atoms. So they posit that if we put some atoms in a trap consisting of four poles, at a super low temperature, a rotating 3D crystal can be created such that the rotation behavior is consistent (IE **** keeps moving the same way) in a manner that has zero entropy (Hence the somewhat misleading claim that this would outlast the universe - you have to assume a heat death before that's even a possible frame, and while I'm not totally down on my doomsday scenario physics, I think that involves temperatures below the critical nearly-but-not-quite absolute zero point this model requires). Essentially, if the crystal is always at 1.1 nK and always in this magnetic field, it will always rotate the same way (This rotation is the fourth dimension component, as it corresponds to a time scale) and thus acts as a very good "clock." Most of the paper is spent verifying that this rotation pattern is indeed true, which requires the energy in the system to be behaving super nicely.
     
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  10. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Bless you, Ramza. I almost understood that.
     
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  11. Lady_Sami_J_Kenobi

    Lady_Sami_J_Kenobi Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Ramza,

    I did understand that! Sheldon and Leonard can go back to Pasadena now.
     
  12. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    So, by "space-time" they mean "it rotates." And when they say "Such a system looks like a perpetual motion machine" they mean that it is a perpetual motion machine.
     
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  13. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    Science journalism is bad and it should feel bad.
     
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  14. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    SO, shalt this be a singular science thread? Do you guys wish a singular such thread or shall we start a new thread with a given "large" topic? Separate space thread? Tell me what you wish. Either way I shall not start said thread(s), designate someone else. What's the deal? You tell me. We are sort of all over the place at the moment.
     
  15. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    If there is a singular science thread, you should start it. My original goal was to post this in your goooooooooooo science! thread, but it seemed a bit locked.
     
  16. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
  17. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I'm a longtime goooooooo science fan. If you start another one, I promise not to bash manned space exploration. Much.
     
  18. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    No no, that's the point. You should and it drives conversation. On the temp forums there was a general science thread and a space thread and neither were started by me and they were great. I will not start up more.
     
  19. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I can beg. I'm not above doing that.
     
  20. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2006
    Dang it, ramza cutting in on my physics gig. I thought you were focusing on stuff we made up?
     
  21. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    Don't be jel Lowie, you get to do all the astro stuff.
     
  22. WIERD_GREEN_MAN

    WIERD_GREEN_MAN Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2010
    Um, Leonard's just an EXPERIMENTAL physicist. :)
    In other news, they just officialy discovered element #113 in Japan today.
     
  23. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    Got a problem with experimental physicists?
     
  24. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    I do, but I doubled in physics back in undergrad and my god, I could follow this paper! So I couldn't resist. :p
     
  25. Lowbacca_1977

    Lowbacca_1977 Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2006
    Yeah. that means Leonard studies real things.

    Element 113 was discovered years back. And I can't find anything saying that has been retracted or such. So not sure what's up with the new stories.
     
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