smutflakes
December 5th, 2006 by 
abbas
sami shah of blackfish fame has posted three short clips of one of his comedy shows. do check it out.
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December 5th, 2006 by abbas
physics stories of 2006
December 5th, 2006 by abbas
Courtesy AIP.
THE PHYSICS STORY OF THE YEAR FOR 2006 was, we believe, the new high precision (0.76 parts per trillion uncertainty) measurement of the electron’s magnetic moment by Gerald Gabrielse and his colleagues at Harvard. Then in a second paper the same experimenters used the new moment in tandem with a fresh formulation of quantum electrodynamics (QED) provided by theoretical colleagues to formulate a new value for the fine structure constant (denoted by the letter alpha), the pivotal parameter which sets the overall strength of the electromagnetic force. The new value has an uncertainty of 0.7 parts per billion, the first major revision of alpha in 20 years. A comparison between this new value and values determined by other methods provides the best test yet of quantum electrodynamics (QED) ( also see Physics Today, Aug 2006).
Other top physics stories for the year, in no particular order, are listed below with links to pertinent PNU items (and sometimes figures) from the past year. These top stories include the observation of many more supernovas at redshifts of 1, thus establishing the idea that dark energy was around even in the early universe; the first direct measurement of turbulence in space; the best direct test of Einstein’s E=mc^2 formula; new WMAP measurements of the cosmic microwave background, including polarization information, help to sharpen cosmological numbers such as the age or the flatness of the universe; first matter-antimatter chemistry; elements 116 and 118; 2006 Nobel prize in physics for Smoot and Mather; advances in plasmonics, or “two-dimensional light”; advances in the study of graphene, including the discovery of a new form of the Hall effect; progress at several labs in modeling gravity wave transmissions from black hole mergers, the kinds of events which LIGO or LISA would possibly detect; measuring the presence of virtual strange quarks inside protons; acoustic lasers; evidence for negative electrical resistance; a particle laser or “PASER”; hypersound; heaviest baryons discovered; investigating whether the electron/proton mass ratio changed over time; optical “cloaking” (Science, 8 Sept); telecloning; rare positronium ion; wireless energy transfer; the sharpest object ever made; chemical transistor; radioactive scorpion venom for brain cancer therapy; liquid flowing uphill; and stock market criticality.
Posted in Science | 1 Comment »
nasa’s image of the day
December 5th, 2006 by abbas
Forty-one years ago today on Dec. 4, 1965, NASA launched Gemini VII. With this mission, NASA successfully completed its first rendezvous of two spacecraft. This photograph, taken by Gemini VII crewmembers Frank Lovell and Frank Borman, shows Gemini VI in orbit 160 miles (257 km) above Earth. The main purpose of Gemini VI, crewed by astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford, was the rendezvous with Gemini VII. The main purpose of Gemini VII, on the other hand, was studying the long-term effects of long-duration (up to 14 days) space flight on a two-man crew. The pair also carried out 20 experiments, including medical tests. Although the principal objectives of both missions differed, they were both carried out so that NASA could master the technical challenges of getting into and working in space.
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predators vs prey
December 5th, 2006 by abbas
a fascinating collection of videos of predators vs. their prey over at national geographic. octopi are so bad ass it’s not even funny.
Posted in Misc, Science | 1 Comment »