Are you sure we live in 3 Dimensions? How do you know that? It is not like using x,y,z coordinates or using latitudes, longitudes and altitudes to specify a point in space. Scientists have shown that it’s possible to fill up 2d or 3d space using “one dimensional space filling curve”, which means that every point in space can be lablled using one coordinate using positions on a curve, also means a square containing same number of points.
So, now how can you prove that we live in a 3D, and not in a super curled one dimension? well… Though it’s tough one way of explaining is through diffusion of gas, when a gas diffuses, we may explain dimensions by taking the ratio of volume and radius of the gas cloud. In one dimension volumes equals radius upto a factor, In two dimension volume is radius squared, In three dimension volume is radius cubed and so on.
Check out the video if you have ever used a “kilogram” to measure something.
The “reference kilogram” is a lump of metal in France, the kilo being the only metric measurement not based on some objective standard. A project is underway to replace the kilo with something independently reproducible: perfectly spherical balls of based on Carbon-12. Incidentally, these new kilos would also be “the roundest objects in the world.”
This is brilliant. Fabrication of a Silicon Sphere By definition, an Avogadro number of Carbon-12 atoms weigh exactly 12 grams. As such, the kilogram could be defined as the mass of 1000/12 * Avogadro’s number of Carbon-12 atoms. The Avogadro constant itself is obtained from the ratio of the molar mass to the mass of an atom. For a crystalline structure such as silicon, the atomic volume is obtained from the lattice parameter and the number of atoms per unit cell. The atomic mass is then the product of the volume and density.
What impact do solar flares have on human activities?
Solar flares produce high energy particles and radiation that are dangerous to living organisms. However, at the surface of the Earth we are well protected from the effects of solar flares and other solar activity by the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere. The most dangerous emissions from flares are energetic charged particles (primarily high-energy protons) and electromagnetic radiation(primarily x-rays).
The x-rays from flares are stopped by our atmosphere well above the Earth’s surface. They do disturb the Earth’s ionosphere, however, which in turn disturbs some radio communications. Along with energetic ultraviolet radiation, they heat the Earth’s outer atmosphere, causing it to expand. This increases the drag on Earth-orbiting satellites, reducing their lifetime in orbit. Also, both intense radio emission from flares and these changes in the atmosphere can degrade the precision of Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements.
The most serious effects on human activity occur during major geomagnetic storms. It is now understood that the major geomagnetic storms are induced by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Coronal mass ejections are usually associated with flares, but sometimes no flare is observed when they occur. Like flares, CMEs are more frequent during the active phase of the Sun’s approximately 11 year cycle. The last maximum in solar activity was in the year 2000. The next maximum was on 2013.
One serious problem that can occur during a geomagnetic storm is damage to Earth-orbiting satellites, especially those in high,geosynchronous orbits. Communications satellites are generally in these high orbits. Either the satellite becomes highly charged during the storm and a component is damaged by the high current that discharges into the satellite, or a component is damaged by high-energy particles that penetrate the satellite. We are not able to predict when and where a satellite in a high orbit may be damaged during a geomagnetic storm.
We can do nothing to stop a solar storm. All we can do is to predict them well before and get prepared for it.
The Force has proven a popular research tool for the CERN beams department (Image: Max Brice and Daniel Dominguez/CERN)
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider just recently started testing the accelerator for running at the higher energy of 13 TeV, and already they have found new insights into the fundamental structure of the universe. Though four fundamental forces – the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force and gravity – have been well documented and confirmed in experiments over the years, CERN announced today the first unequivocal evidence for the Force. “Very impressive, this result is,” said a diminutive green spokesperson for the laboratory.
CERN librarian Tullio Basaglia has learnt to harness the Force to return reference books to their shelves (Image: Max Brice and Daniel Dominguez/CERN)
“The Force is what gives a particle physicist his powers,” said CERN theorist Ben Kenobi of the University of Mos Eisley, Tatooine. “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us; and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”
Though researchers are as yet unsure what exactly causes the Force, students and professors at the laboratory have already started to harness its power. Practical applications so far include long-distance communication, influencing minds, and lifting heavy things out of swamps.
Kenobi says he first started teaching the ways of the Force to a young lady who was having trouble revising for her particle-physics exams. “She said that I was her only hope,” says Kenobi. “So I just kinda took it from there. I designed an experiment to detect the Force, and passed on my knowledge.”
Kenobi’s seminal paper “May the Force be with EU” – a strong argument that his experiment should be built in Europe – persuaded the CERN Council to finance the installation of dozens of new R2 units for the CERN data centre*. These plucky little droids are helping physicists to cope with the flood of data from the laboratory’s latest experiment, the Thermodynamic Injection Energy (TIE) detector, recently installed at the LHC.
“We’re very pleased with this new addition to CERN’s accelerator complex,” said data analyst Luke Daniels of human-cyborg relations. “The TIE detector has provided us with plenty of action, and what’s more it makes a really cool sound when the beams shoot out of it.”
But the research community is divided over the discovery. Dark-matter researcher Dave Vader was unimpressed, breathing heavily in disgust throughout the press conference announcing the results, and dismissing the cosmological implications of the Force with the quip “Asteroids do not concern me”.
Rumours are growing that this rogue researcher hopes to delve into the Dark Side of the Standard Model, and could even build his own research station some day. With the academic community split, many are tempted by Vader’s invitations to study the Dark Side, especially researchers working with red lasers, and anyone really with an evil streak who looks good in dark robes.
CERN physicist Valerio Rossetti harnesses the Force for more mundane tasks, such as reheating coffee (Image: Max Brice and Daniel Dominguez/CERN)
“We hope to continue to study the Force, and perhaps use it to open doors with our minds and fly around and stuff,” said TIE experimentalist Fan Buoi. “Right now, to be honest, I don’t really care how it works. The theory department have some crackpot idea about life forms called midi-chlorians, but frankly I think that poorly thought out explanations like that just detract from how cool the Force really is.”
With the research ongoing, many at CERN are already predicting that the Force will awaken later this year.
informatic cool stuff 