Re:Quit being Pussies, build a moonbase
on
Back to the Moon?
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· Score: 2, Insightful
It's unfortunate that the U.S. spent so much money beating the Russians to the Moon. Sure, it's a good thing that humans went there at all, but because we pushed so hard to go there for the wrong reasons, these days people look back at how quickly the U.S. space program was advancing c. 1970 and expect things to be much farther along than they are. The truth is, however, that we need to stop comparing Humanity's space presence to what it would have been if the Cold War hadn't ended. That doesn't mean I'm not anxious for faster space development. I'm just aware of the fact that politics, personal agendas, and other human maladies constitute only part of what makes going to space hard.
Don't forget Buzz, which is like Modplug on steroids. It's like a tracker except it has a built-in modular synthesizer, and it's user extensible. There's already an extensive community behind this freeware product. Look here.
During the world-record skydive for height, the diver achieved such a high rate of speed that he eventually lost control of his posture and started spinning furiously fast. He even lost consciousness for a while. He came to well before he hit ground and was able to deploy his parachute. This guy was a highly trained skydiver.
The upshot of this, as near as I can tell, is that rocket guy may very well not survive a skydive from 180,000 feet, if it comes to that.
Argentina was going to launch a rescue effort but it has been caught in a dispute over the cost, the Russian govt. has also considered sending an icebreaker to free the crew.
Hey, I have an idea. Instead of actually saving their lives, let's just argue about it. Or maybe we'll just think about it. Actually DOING something would be a bit premature, though.
As a U.S. citizen, all I have to say is this: If stem cell research continues its decline into prohibition here, we're going to have a disgusting situation. The U.S. is likely toappropriate whatever life-saving procedures are developed as a result of stem cell research, regardless of the supernatural rationale some people use to argue for its abolishment. Outcome: hypocrisy. On the other hand, if such medical technology maintains its stigma, we'll have people spending a lot of money in other countries, money that could be spent here. America will also strengthen its reputation as a country full of backwater hicks, as news about patients who cross oceans to get work done reaches the media. Outcome: Capital flight, supreme idiocy.
There's a book somewhere, I think it's James Gleick's book Chaos that discusses work showing how a system like the Great Red Spot can occur as a natural consequence of fluid mechanics.
Actually, it's rare because there just aren't any stable isotopes of Francium -- the isotope with the longest half-life is 223Fr, with a t1/2 of 22 minutes. Uranium also has no stable isotopes but it is much more common because some of those isotopes have half-lives in the millions of years. 133Cs is totally stable but oxidizes like mad. That doesn't make it disappear, though. Elemental cesium is available commercially because we are able to chemically isolate it.
When I finally decided to buy a Bible and see what this whole Christianity thing was about, I first went to a Christian book store. Their selection was very limited. So I went over to Borders and found the publication I was looking for there. YMMV.
They do NOT have a specific mass when standing still (sorry, I don't know the proper term in english)...
Rest mass is the term English-speaking physicists use. Hope this helps.
Re:Building block of the universe binary?
on
Quark Stars
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· Score: 1
You have it a little mixed up. Six colors, yes, but they don't all combine. The possible color combinations are limited because in any bound state the colors must add to white. So in groups of two you have (red,cyan), (green,magenta), or (blue,yellow). These are called mesons. In groups of three you have (red,green,blue) or (cyan,magenta,yellow). These are called hadrons. Leptons are fundamental particles; the electron is one.
There are other things to consider as well. First of all, a billion dollars sounds like a lot, but compared to the gross annual global product it isn't much. Secondly, as the news post says, this is part of a broader endeavor to understand our place in the universe. That sounds cliche but it's a noble cause.
These things are expensive to figure out. I think it would be sad if we used that as an excuse to remain ignorant, though. Trust me, this is nowhere near the top of list of wasteful spending exercises. There are enough resources in the world to eliminate poverty *and* spend a lot on stuff like this.
Just because it required a series of accidents doesn't necessarily mean that it was unlikely to happen. To prove that connection you would need to present a comprehensive, cogent analysis of all of the possible ways technology could have developed on Earth, and show that the events necessary for it to happen were altogether unlikely.
Besides, before a an organism or group of organisms becomes conscious of its own actions, *everything* it does and *everything* that happens to it is an accident (barring acts of some deity, the possibility of which we should ignore lest it render the entire discussion moot). Does that mean that the dinosaurs couldn't have developed intelligence similar to our own? Does it mean that the development of our ability to group together and plan intelligently was unlikely? Or that learning to make and control fire required some serendipitous turn of events?
Just because the Europeans became technologically ambitious first doesn't mean that no one else would have.
Don't forget that there's more to digital audio than the faithful representation of a mono signal. Differences between the signals of two or more channels contribute to the overall spatial image of the recording. Sometimes this phenomenon takes the form of a phase difference between two channels in the range of a few microseconds, which is easier to reproduce at higher sampling rates. More importantly, problems with A-D and D-A conversion are more easily solved at higher sampling rates.
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It's unfortunate that the U.S. spent so much money beating the Russians to the Moon. Sure, it's a good thing that humans went there at all, but because we pushed so hard to go there for the wrong reasons, these days people look back at how quickly the U.S. space program was advancing c. 1970 and expect things to be much farther along than they are. The truth is, however, that we need to stop comparing Humanity's space presence to what it would have been if the Cold War hadn't ended. That doesn't mean I'm not anxious for faster space development. I'm just aware of the fact that politics, personal agendas, and other human maladies constitute only part of what makes going to space hard.
Need I say more?
Lameness filter: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Don't forget Buzz, which is like Modplug on steroids. It's like a tracker except it has a built-in modular synthesizer, and it's user extensible. There's already an extensive community behind this freeware product. Look here.
It also happens to be about 140,000 atmosphere-cubits per joule, which I'm sure you'll agree makes it more intuitive.
The number of earthlike planets in the universe is 42. Oh, now it's 41...
During the world-record skydive for height, the diver achieved such a high rate of speed that he eventually lost control of his posture and started spinning furiously fast. He even lost consciousness for a while. He came to well before he hit ground and was able to deploy his parachute. This guy was a highly trained skydiver.
The upshot of this, as near as I can tell, is that rocket guy may very well not survive a skydive from 180,000 feet, if it comes to that.
Hey, I have an idea. Instead of actually saving their lives, let's just argue about it. Or maybe we'll just think about it. Actually DOING something would be a bit premature, though.
As a U.S. citizen, all I have to say is this: If stem cell research continues its decline into prohibition here, we're going to have a disgusting situation. The U.S. is likely toappropriate whatever life-saving procedures are developed as a result of stem cell research, regardless of the supernatural rationale some people use to argue for its abolishment. Outcome: hypocrisy. On the other hand, if such medical technology maintains its stigma, we'll have people spending a lot of money in other countries, money that could be spent here. America will also strengthen its reputation as a country full of backwater hicks, as news about patients who cross oceans to get work done reaches the media. Outcome: Capital flight, supreme idiocy.
Who would want to retain data? I always feel bloated when that happens.
That's an intriguing argument. Did you devise it yourself? If not, where did you read about it? (I'm not being sarcastic.)
There's a book somewhere, I think it's James Gleick's book Chaos that discusses work showing how a system like the Great Red Spot can occur as a natural consequence of fluid mechanics.
Right, M stars are full-fledged fusion burners, ranging from supergiants to main sequence dwarfs.
Actually, it's rare because there just aren't any stable isotopes of Francium -- the isotope with the longest half-life is 223Fr, with a t1/2 of 22 minutes. Uranium also has no stable isotopes but it is much more common because some of those isotopes have half-lives in the millions of years. 133Cs is totally stable but oxidizes like mad. That doesn't make it disappear, though. Elemental cesium is available commercially because we are able to chemically isolate it.
When I finally decided to buy a Bible and see what this whole Christianity thing was about, I first went to a Christian book store. Their selection was very limited. So I went over to Borders and found the publication I was looking for there. YMMV.
Rest mass is the term English-speaking physicists use. Hope this helps.
You have it a little mixed up. Six colors, yes, but they don't all combine. The possible color combinations are limited because in any bound state the colors must add to white. So in groups of two you have (red,cyan), (green,magenta), or (blue,yellow). These are called mesons. In groups of three you have (red,green,blue) or (cyan,magenta,yellow). These are called hadrons. Leptons are fundamental particles; the electron is one.
You wouldn't happen to be a member of Darkstar, would you?
I AM NOT AN ANIMAL! I AM A 200 MHz COMPUTER!
This text here has been added to subvert the "lameness" filter. The elephant man used capital letters, dammit!
There are other things to consider as well. First of all, a billion dollars sounds like a lot, but compared to the gross annual global product it isn't much. Secondly, as the news post says, this is part of a broader endeavor to understand our place in the universe. That sounds cliche but it's a noble cause.
These things are expensive to figure out. I think it would be sad if we used that as an excuse to remain ignorant, though. Trust me, this is nowhere near the top of list of wasteful spending exercises. There are enough resources in the world to eliminate poverty *and* spend a lot on stuff like this.
I get it! I get it! HEAVEN AWAITS. ARE YOU READY? But wasn't the group called Mechan 9?
I think 50 is a better cutoff. Some of the brightest and most effective people I've worked with were over 40. I'm only 27, so maybe I'm just naive.
I don't understand what you mean.
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these.
Just because it required a series of accidents doesn't necessarily mean that it was unlikely to happen. To prove that connection you would need to present a comprehensive, cogent analysis of all of the possible ways technology could have developed on Earth, and show that the events necessary for it to happen were altogether unlikely.
Besides, before a an organism or group of organisms becomes conscious of its own actions, *everything* it does and *everything* that happens to it is an accident (barring acts of some deity, the possibility of which we should ignore lest it render the entire discussion moot). Does that mean that the dinosaurs couldn't have developed intelligence similar to our own? Does it mean that the development of our ability to group together and plan intelligently was unlikely? Or that learning to make and control fire required some serendipitous turn of events?
Just because the Europeans became technologically ambitious first doesn't mean that no one else would have.
Don't forget that there's more to digital audio than the faithful representation of a mono signal. Differences between the signals of two or more channels contribute to the overall spatial image of the recording. Sometimes this phenomenon takes the form of a phase difference between two channels in the range of a few microseconds, which is easier to reproduce at higher sampling rates. More importantly, problems with A-D and D-A conversion are more easily solved at higher sampling rates.