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We should be glad that a fellow geek is so popular: http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm/.

And of course there is always the Britney spears guide to semiconductor physics... http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm

I can un-recommend a text I had in class, Semiconductor Physics and Devices, by S. Banerjee et. al. Sorry :( OTOH, I can recommend Britney Spears' guide to semiconductor physics for a chuckle, if nothing else.

Try Britney Spears' illustrated primer, here.

Number one, one could claim that he had his files up for his own personal use and he had them encrypted so that nobody else could access them. Number two, if the RIAA broke the encryption to see that you are sharing files, then *BAM* sue them under the DMCA for circumventing encryption.

The problem is that the DMCA only bans circumventing encryption that protects copyrighted material. If the RIAA represents the copyright holder then it's probably legal for them to circumvent encryption that protects their own copyrights.

Now, you could put some of your own stuff up too, encrypted, and it would in fact be a violation for them to decrypt your stuff. But it would be hard to prove, because they probably wouldn't admit it. At best you could build a circumstantial case that if they caught you sharing your Britney collection, they must have decrypted a lot of your songs, so they would probably also have decrypted your recording of you singing in the shower. But that would be iffy.

And how would your legitimate file-sharing buddies know which songs were Britney and which were you? If you give them distinctive titles then the RIAA can argue that they only decrypted the ones which looked like they owned them. And if you don't, if you put your shower-singing up as a Britney song, then everyone on the net is going to be pissed because there will be all these bogus songs up there under the name of good songs. So you'd be undercutting the effectiveness of the file sharing networks.

And you'd still have only a circumstantial case with no direct evidence of DMCA infringement.

I mightn't be able to help you out, but I think that Britney Spears knows a thing or two.

An ad (or maybe just a link) on his front page sends you to " Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics.

Don't mean to be trite, but there are lessons in copyright law that dictionary.com can't teach.

To Wit:

-Copyright law exists in fact to further the interests of useful arts and sciences, NOT to create a system of property ownership.

-The Framers of the constitution knew very well that copyright law was antithetical to society's free exchange of ideas.

-Copyright law is a limited grant of license for the narrow purpose of encouraging innovation, not an inherent (moral) right.

-Every creative work owes to the generations and society before it, and thus to the public in general.

I realize that the RIAA/MPAA have more soundbites using the words "stealing" and "theft" than I have calling it "copyright infringement." But just because Britney Spears goes on TV and spuriously appeals to our moral duty not to 'steal,' that doesn't make her right (and don't be fooled by her excellent understanding of semiconductor physics.

C'mon...Don't make me pull out my Thomas Jefferson quote again... :)

The article links to a helpful physics primer if you, like me, need a little help understanding subatomic physics. (I'm just have a lowly Math degree.) A little googling turned up this awesome page on subatomic particles called The Particle Adventure. This is the most accessible physics lesson I've ever received. Awesome. This is the most fun I've ever had with subatomic physics: Quark Dance!

TimeZone

yes

It's never too early to start learning about semiconductor physics, and there's no better teacher than Britney Spears.

I think it's much more approporiate to suggest something that informative and *safe*, like an educational site such as Britney Spears guide to Semiconductor Physics.

A favorite of mine (for the physics of course) and a favorite as well to teen-age boys and to pre-teen girls is Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics.

I haven't yet read the article, and so cannot comment on it, but my intuition and experience with these kind of diatribes tell me you are right on the mark.

Take the Bill Joy piece referenced in the write up, for example. While amusing, it was an unbelievably far-out vision of a near future full of hyped up sci-fi scenarios (robots come alive, nano-tech grey goo etc. etc.) that are rarely discussed in anywhere but in pulp fiction. Bill Joy is smart and rich, I grant him that (though he should go to hell for writing vi), but with what authority can he speak of the dangers of sentient robots or nanotechnology still hundreds of years in the future?

Celebrities speak out on all kinds of issues they don't know anything about, but while the average Slashdotter wouldn't take Britney Spears comments on world politics very seriously (although her knowledge of semiconductor physics is more than decent), there is a tendency to forget this very sound and skeptical attitude when it comes to what a respected scientist/engineer/intellectual has to say on matters, regardless if they are part of his/her domain of expertise or not.

We all know that everything you read on the net is true, but sometimes there might be a point in pretending that this were not the case. That's all.

PS. As an example of the opposite phenomenon, remember the time Dubya was asked to name foreign heads of state and fared rather badly? That was completely unfair! Why is he expected to know that sort of thing when he's in office to fight against terrorists, something completely unrelated!

Famous Physicists

Welcome to the Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics!

Apparently she is smarter than we ever thought.

1. Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics

Britney Spears's Guide to Semiconductor Physics does in fact have a wealth of pictures of Ms. Spears that have been marked up to illustrate concepts of, well, semiconductor physics. :-p I have to say, though, I think the band gap should be oriented vertically rather than horizontally--maybe that's just me... ;-)

Britney Spears's Guide to Semiconductor Physics does in fact have a wealth of pictures of Ms. Spears that have been marked up to illustrate concepts of, well, semiconductor physics. :-p I have to say, though, I think the band gap should be oriented vertically rather than horizontally--maybe that's just me... ;-)

Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics

From the site:

"It is a little known fact, that Ms Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics. Not content with just singing and acting, in the following pages, she will guide you in the fundamentals of the vital laser components that have made it possible to hear her super music in a digital format."

P.S. Checkout the author's page as well...

I wish I had a sig.

Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics

From the site:

"It is a little known fact, that Ms Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics. Not content with just singing and acting, in the following pages, she will guide you in the fundamentals of the vital laser components that have made it possible to hear her super music in a digital format."

P.S. Checkout the author's page as well...

I wish I had a sig.

You can fairly easily raise the threshold voltage (for a process). It makes the chip slower, but leaks less current (and therefore usually uses less power). This is one of the key elements of "Low Power" processes like CL013LP.

For more information, the Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics is sure to help.

Interestingly, Using leaky transistors that switch faster has been a trick used for a very long time. One of the reasons the Cray computers took so much cooling was that they didn't use MOSFETs, their whole process was based on PNP and NPN junction transistors. For those who don't know much about transistors, FETs (or Field Effect Transistors) make a little capacitor that when you charge it up (or don't charge it up, depending), it lets current flow through on the other side. It takes a while to charge up the capacitor (time constant proportional to Resistance times Capacitance, remember!), but once it's charged there isn't any current (except the leakage current) that flows through.

At least, that's what I recall from my classes. I didn't do so well in the device physics and components classes.

One scientist goes around the world tracking advances in semiconductor physics. She's hot too!

How about Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics? :-)

For the physics behind lasers, transistors, and other semiconductor marvels, check out the Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics!

I don't know about experiments, but for a physics website http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm is pretty good!

Another excellent, and more visual, introduction to lasers is Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics :)

Damnit.. Forgot to append the best link in the world that describes this in detail.

Britney Spearse Guide to semiconductors

For example, I do not imagine that Brittney Spears would ever argue against these sorts of laws. I doubt that she understands the implications


I dunno, Britney Spears seems pretty savvy on technical issues.

I mean, her music sux big time, but her contribution in teaching countless undergrads the basics of semiconductor physics should not be forgotten!!
Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics

Don't tease Britney.She is a very inteligent woman. Have a look at this: Britney Spears guide to Semiconuductor Physics

You'll love the Britney Spear's Guide to Semiconductor Physics. Who would have thought that learning about P-N junctions could be so much fun?

I tell ya, these celbrities are smarter than any of us previously thought!

Love the image on their search engine link to Booble (er, Google...)

... Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics?

I don't know, but Britney Spears knows a lot about Semiconductor Physics.

Light's color is a function of its frequency, which is inversely proportional to its wavelength.

...and of course laser frequency is determined by the bandgap of the lasing material. Remember kids, at the end of the day it all comes down to material science.

I agree it was a smart decision to go with red lasers, as they're much more mature. Nakamura's (sp?) work on nitrides notwithstanding, there's a long way to go before the material system is well understood.

P.S. Nakamura and the Nitrides - that sounds like a good name for a band.

Jesus!
I hope anyone using that kind of power makes sure they know what they are doing.
Because the IR beam is invisible your eye will not have a blink reflex to bright IR light. The first you will know about getting an eyefull of a powerful IR laser is when you blind yourself (or someone else)
You have no pain receptors on your retina.

Remember home made lasers can be an absolute bastard to align! A good staring point for information on home made lasers is Sams Laser FAQ
A good background to semicondutor lasers is Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics (Yep, its true! check out the link.)

Not only music, but music videos and
soon probably the virtual Ms. Spears.

Well even science it seems: Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics

Britney Spears. Both intellectually and physically. (See Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics)

Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics

Maybe more people would study chemesty if they followed the example of Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics.

Yeah, well now it;'s the Conspiricy of Britney Spears
sorry, couldn't resist the lame gag...

This wouldn't have anything to do with Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics, now, would it?


--

Heh. On the other hand, she did a great job with semiconductor physics. Maybe it's time for "Britney's Guide to the Linux Kernel".

Sure, Darva Conger talking Cisco is nice & all, but what about Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics?

Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics

I watch the sea.
I saw it on TV.

Don't think I won't fight to support the rights of those who created that execrable Ackbar comic or the banal "look, pretty girl - isn't it funny that she's dumber than us!" Spears page; I don't call for the banning of such trifles.

Neither will I let them slide on this forum without comment, however. I think it's stupid, unfunny shit, and feel that such pages should reflect poorly on their authors, however smart they might be (or believe themselves to be).

Typically such works are trolls (of the traditional, desiring-to-provoke-response sort), but in these two examples, I strongly suspect the authors simply gave voice to their own preconceptions without thinking, proving themselves fools, or at least socially immature.

-Isaac

This is NOT a joke! Click here: http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm