Slashdot Mirror

Endlessly rising or descending tones using Shepard tones can be pretty creepy when done slowly and coupled with a distraction.

One of the creepiest effects I know of is Libet's Experiment. It turns out that you can measure a brain signal called the "Readiness Potential" on an EEG that appears about 0.5-1.5 seconds before you consciously decide to push a button! Hook the EEG up to a light, and the light will come on when you're about to push the button; you can't fool it. It's possible these days to rig an audio card EEG; a skilled geek should be able to build a Libet machine to leave lying around for folks to play with. Let us know if you achieve OpenLibet, as we will all want to build our own.

There isn't any law of relativity that says "an object in acceleration always has a slower clock than an object in an inertial state".

That being said: there is a competition between a clock in orbit running slower than a ground clock due to its speed, and running faster due to it being in weaker gravity (gravitational time dilation). For the GPS clocks, those shifts are 7,200 ns/day and 45,900 n/s day, respectively, so the latter wins out, and the clocks run faster. See this page.

Reminds me of my own childhood. My brothers were into hunting and they reloaded their own shells. That meant a big cardboard container full of gunpowder in the basement -- hours of fun. I also remember getting magnesium from Epsom Salts by electrolysis, but I have no idea how I did it, alas. I also cut apart a string of Christmas lights, connected the power plug to a 6-volt DC motor, plugged it in. Sparks ensued. It's a wonder I survived.

Today's chemistry sets are even worse.

Grrr. Don't get me started. However, no need for the chemistry set: you can do your own experiments.

Some interesting chemicals are still out there; you just need to know where to look.

As for instructional self-study material, this looks very interesting. (I'd like to try the ultramarine recipe some day.)

I screwed around with chemicals when I was little. Managed to electrolyze magnesium metal from Epsom salts, but I have no idea how I did it :(

Not like the candy-ass chemistry sets they have in the hobby/toy stores today! This is more like the old 'Magic With Chemistry' book at the local library, with experiments that glow, explode, smoke, stink, etc.

Agreed. The local library has a 60s-era book called 'Magic with Chemistry' or something like that. Experiments with pyrophoric iron, fireworks, cyanide, cold light, etc. A book like that couldn't be written today (not for a profit, anyway) because of the damn lawyers.

If you do have some nieces or nephews who are 'into science', you could always roll your chemistry set

Most people seem to throw the word 'piracy' around as if it were just a cartoon concept: the buccaneer with eye patch, peg-leg, parrot, etc. flying a skull-and-bones

By doing this, they are revealing their own ignorance. True piracy exists on the high seas today and is one of the most serious offenses an individual can commit under international law. There have been several cases around the world where individuals have successfully sued for being libel or defamation after being called 'pirates' inappropriately (for software theft and other actions)

The term 'pirate' for software theft *was* used precisely to place the alleged activities in a more negative light in several early lawsuits. I recall discussion of this in some of the hobbyist periodicals of the early 80's like SoftTalk (perhaps when it was called "Apple something")

It is no more legitimate than calling someone who wears fur a "murderer" - 'murder' means killing a human being (or, in some jurisdictions, causing to be killed, or being involved in a criminal conspiracy resulting in death) Fur isn't murder. Eating prime rib isn't murder. stepping on an ant isn't murder. Annoying Greenpeace isn't murder.

Some additional info:
DuPlessis v. DeKlerk (South Africa) defamation suit against a broadcaster for using the term 'pirate', among other things

There was a case in the 80's in Australia, where a company that was successfully sued for illegal use and sale of commercial software (after ceasing to pay license fees), later turned around and successfully sued for the plaintiffs public use of the term 'pirate'. Unfortunately, i could not find a link for this
_____________