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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What is the truth about tachyons, baryonic string theory, and quantum mechanics?

« on: 24/02/2018 12:25:51 »

Lately I have been reading posts from some years ago.  I realize that the information in some of these posts can still be considered "on-point", while other information wouldn't know the point if it stabbed them.  To that end, would someone please bring me up-to-date on the info from the following post...

Re: What are tachyons?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2009, 05:07:30 pm »

Vern's post:

It is entangled photons that seem to pass information at faster than light speeds. When the polarization of one of a pair of photons is changed, the other of the pair seems to instantly take on that polarization. I suspect that there's another mechanism at work, but don't have a clue about what it might be.

I don't think there's a theory that suggests that tachyons actually exist. There is a body of work that fits them into the Quantum Mechanical realm, but it only suggests that if they existed, they would have certain properties.

I think the closest we can come to observing them is in media such as water when an electron can exceed light speed in that medium.

I will save the multitude of questions I have until later.

Thank you.

2

General Science / Would a study of poetry aid in a better understanding of mathematics?

« on: 21/02/2018 14:48:09 »

Some years ago when my god-son was attending Virginia Tech, pursuing an undergraduate degree in mathematics, I presented him with The Collected Works of Robert Frost.  I tried to explain to him that to fully appreciate, and understand, the "muse" of mathematics he should begin with, at the very least, a familiarity of Robert Frost.  I told him that during my undergrad and graduate work in mathematics, Robert Frost occupied a spot of equal importance in my library as did my many mathematical texts.  Later he confessed to me that he never read the tome I presented him with.  I love my god-son, and while he is an excellent "technical" mathematician, he lacks an appreciation for the "art" of mathematics.  We talk, often, about various ideas and concepts, and it is clear that he has difficulty bridging to a clear grasp of the theoretical.  Is that because he didn't read Robert Frost?  No.  However, I feel that his mathematical education suffered for lack of a "classical" education.

I am curious to know what others believe. 

Incidentally, it amazes me that he was able to graduate #1 from his high-school, and then with honors from VaTech - in mathematics - and NEVER took a trigonometry class.  What is this world coming to?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Would a Hohmann Transfer be more fuel efficient to attain lunar orbit?

« on: 20/02/2018 17:27:34 »

To achieve lunar orbit would it be more fuel efficient to utilize a Hohmann Transfer, rather than a "direct" approach, as the Apollo program used?

And, for that matter, are HTs used to translate satellites into higher orbits?

4

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why must c be an absolute "speed limit"?

« on: 20/02/2018 13:44:14 »

I have a simple, and yet nagging question...

Why must the speed of light, c, be an absolute "speed limit"?

Why can't something, anything exceed 299,792,458 m/s?  Why can something go 299,792,459 m/s?

5

Just Chat! / What is your favorite Godzilla film?

« on: 18/02/2018 20:45:59 »

It's Sunday, time for me to ask a Godzilla question...for a little bit of fun and humor.  (I hope nobody minds.)

I just watched "Shin Godzilla" and was less than thrilled.  To me it seemed to that the writer/director was trying to use Godzilla to make some grand political statement.  So, that led me to thinking...

What is your favorite Godzilla film, to date?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What would be the sum of the interior angles of a hyper-square?

« on: 18/02/2018 20:39:29 »

I understand, and can construct a hyper-triangle (sometimes known as a Lobachevskian triangle).  Can a hyper-square be constructed in the same fashion?  If so, and considering that the ∑ of the interior angles of a LOBΔ < 180°, could we infer that a "LOB(square)" < 360°?  I don't believe this to be an easily arrived at conclusion since LOBΔ + LOBΔ ≠ LOB(square).

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Can the answer to a/b be arrived at geometrically?

« on: 18/02/2018 20:29:23 »

Geometry is a deep interest of mine, both Euclidean and non-Euclidean.  I am looking for geometric solution to the division of two integers, a/b.

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Could a pseudosphere be an adequate representation of a black hole?

« on: 16/02/2018 13:12:05 »

Eugenio Beltrami proved that a pseudosphere has properties inherent in a segment of a Lobachevskian/hyperbolic plane.  See below for the construction of a pseudosphere.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

The geometric properties of a pseudosphere are easily seen.  My question is simple.  If the pseudosphere is rotated about the shorter perpendicular line, could this be a good "jumping off" point for further study of post-accretion disk geometry?  I am curious about such geometries, and am wondering if further study of hyperbolic space may be a starting point for me.

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / What is the meaning of 666?

« on: 15/02/2018 13:11:49 »

Again with Karl Menninger, see my earlier post https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=72359.0.  In his work, Number Words and Number Symbols, page 267 contains the passage below. 


"Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six – kaί ho arithmόs autoṷ hexakosio hexḕkonta kéx.

There can be no doubt that a name is latent here.  In early Christian times this number from the Apocalypse was deciphered, among many others, as Neron Kaisar, “Caesar Nero” – an interpretation that is quite possible if the Hebrew writing of this name, nrṷn qsr, is transcribed into Greek and the “encoded”:

nun   reṧ   waw     nun   qof   samek   reṧ
50   200      6      50      100    60   200  = 666  "


Is Karl Menninger correct in his assertion that the mystical definition of 666 is actually connected to an encoding of "Caesar Nero"?

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / What was the first form of written language?

« on: 15/02/2018 12:56:41 »

James Burke - archaeologist, historian, author - states in his break-through book, Connections, that the first form of writing was a symbol that represented a person's name, and a symbol that represented the contents of clay jars.  He was referring to the development of grain storage in The Fertile Crescent. 

Karl Menninger - mathematician, historian, author - states in his 1958 translated work, Number Words and Number Symbols, that the first form of writing took the form of tally marks, most likely on a stick or handful of clay.  From these tally marks evolved cuneiform. 

Disregarding pictographic representations - which researcher is correct?  Or, are they both wrong?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Does anyone suffer from one of these?

« on: 14/02/2018 19:11:15 »

I hope no one suffers from one of these today, of all days...

½(x²+(y−(x²)^1/3)²)=½

Yes, I'm being fun.  I hope no one minds?

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Physiology & Medicine / Why do I lose weight when I sleep?

« on: 14/02/2018 13:30:11 »

I have noticed that the best time of the day for me to lose weight is when I'm asleep.  Why?  Over a typical night I'll drop between 2 - 4 pounds.  I even tried fasting, thinking that the reason might be because I may graze-eat during the day.  However, even after a complete day of no food intake, and only little water, I still noticed that my -Δweight is greatest at night when I sleep.

Porque?

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Are cats domesticated?

« on: 14/02/2018 12:37:35 »

Hello,

It has been said that dogs are domesticated, and that cats are not.  That is not to imply that your average house cat is a wild kitty, maybe it is in some regard, but if it's like mine then it is completely indifferent.  My dog, on the other hand, is just stupid.

Seriously, can the word "domesticated" be applied to cats in the same way that it is applied to dogs, horses, my neighbor's kids (sometimes), etc.?

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Why do trees sometimes grow loop-shaped branches?

« on: 13/02/2018 21:48:25 »

Recently, while hiking in the forest behind my house I noticed a large Elm tree.  Curiously this tree had a loop growing to one side of the trunk, about 9-feet above the ground.  Immediately I thought it was formed by a mis-grown branch, but the bark, both above and below...and to the sides, of the loop shows no indication of any branch grown.  I'm not an arborist, environmentalist, forest ranger, or even a botanist of any kind.  I am a "forest appreciator."  Can someone tell me what is going on with this tree?  I am at a loss.


tree 1.jpg (125.07 kB . 216x288 - viewed 3399 times)


tree 2.jpg (114.49 kB . 216x288 - viewed 3355 times)

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Physiology & Medicine / Does alpha-wave stimulation truly work?

« on: 13/02/2018 11:57:54 »

I have an alpha-wave stimulator.  I would like to know... do they actually work, or are they akin to "bunk medicine?"

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What are the radioactive decay products of uranium?

« on: 12/02/2018 14:36:09 »

While watching the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy", a 1992 film about the Manhattan Project, I started thinking back to my basic undergrad courses.  I know that U decays, eventually, to Pb.  However, I seem to remember that an isotope of U occasionally decays "down" to Hg.  Am I correct?  Which isotope of U?  Why mercury and not lead?  What is the probability of uranium to mercury decay?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What happens to cepheid variable stars as they age?

« on: 12/02/2018 14:06:50 »

Last evening I attended a lecture on Cepheid variable stars.  Fascinating.  I do have several questions, which I am sure I will ask at some point during the next few days, however ...

What is the "end stage" of a Cepheid?

Once the star exhausts it He what then?


Heic1323a_-1243686232.jpg (42.27 kB . 480x471 - viewed 1807 times)

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Just Chat! / What has happened to Scientific American?

« on: 11/02/2018 13:45:19 »

Over the past several years I have noticed a general "dumbing down" of Scientific American.  That once leader in American newsstand science rags seems to have retreated from the well researched, well written realm of the credible.

If this is true, what does that say about not only our educational system, but our society as a whole?

Thoughts?

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Just Chat! / What happened to Godzilla?

« on: 11/02/2018 13:04:47 »

Okay, I know that this forum is for considered convos about serious topics, and I have contributed to many.  However, since it is Sunday, a day to kick back, I thought I would jump into the shallow end of the pool...

In both the original 1954 Japanese Gojira film and the 1956 American Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version Godzilla is defeated, actually killed.  (Which is absurd, since later movies showed that he is essentially immortal.)  So, my question is... If he/she (Godzilla seems to be either, depending upon the situation) was the result of nuclear testing in the south Pacific, and was killed in the first movie, how did he resurrect for a sequel?  I mean, I get that he is "God"zilla, but devine?  I don't think so.  And, it was never established that each nuclear detonation would result in a Godzilla-like creature, so...how did he return?

I apologize for the goofiness of this question, but it is said that the more complex the mind the great the need for play.  Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily apply in my case as my mind is probably on the same level of complexity as Lego blocks.   

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / What is the current distinction between man and animal?

« on: 11/02/2018 12:37:41 »

When I was a child I was taught that the cognitive separator between man and animals was that man used tools.  Then several years later it was observed that otters indeed use rocks to break open the shells of mussels/clams.  Okay.  So the thought was changed.  Man not only used tools, but he could create the tool he needed.  Again, it was later observed that certain primates will strip the leaves off of long sticks in order to retrieve food from deep within termite mounds.  Okay.  Change again.  Man not only used and created tools, but he would save them to use again.  Once more it was observed that many of those same primates that made a stick tool would save it to use again.  Okay.  Yet, again.  Man not only used, created, and saved tools, he would teach others how to use them.  Can you guess what was then observed?  You got.  Okay.  It kept going...  Man uses, creates, saves, and teaches the use of tools, but he also developed a written language.  OMG!  To defeat that distinction it was shown that the marking of territory by many species can be considered a form of written language.  (Though, I don't necessarily agree with that assertion.)

My question, considering the aforementioned, is ...

What is the current cognitive distinction between man and animal?