"Stop saying there is ice on that comet"
Well, it's 2AU from the Sun, therefore not terribly warm, so any water released will have come from a solid phase, and *it* is generating water vapour.
I'd say that that suggests (very strongly) that it contains water ice.
"when at best you detected tiny traces of it"
Mass fluxes of the order of 10kg/s so far - we may not see the hundred-tonnes per second release rate of Hale-Bopp, but that was a far larger object.
As a non-resident of the USA, I cannot email Mr Waide.
His contact page is here - note, his surname is incorrectly spelled on that page.
Wa *i* de
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/h010.htm
Q1: "Will I actually use calculus and above?"
Who knows? Maybe you'll find that it's an enjoyable endeavour in its own right - it may not be a practically useful skill but it will enlarge and enrich your understanding of concepts that you'll not find otherwise.
Q2: " is it just a popular idea that you need to be a mathematician in order to program?"
Is it a popular idea? I've certainly never encountered it.
A mathematician is not someone who knows a little calculus. Modern mathematics (which, presumably, is studied by a current mathematician) is a wide-ranging and diverse field of which numerical calculus (I propose) is a rather tired and scantly addressed matter. Let's face it, most calculus that you'll probably ever meet would have been cutting-edge say, ooh, 150 years ago (Gauss' theorem of integrating over a surface... to pick an example from the top of my head)
Q3: "What are your experiences?"
Programming since age 9, introduced to discrete calculus in programming in second year of Physics BSc (all in FORTRAN), 4 years writing numerical integrator-assisted tools for reusable launch vehicles, Physics MSc (no calculus), Physics PhD (trivial integrators written), postdoc (ditto), self-employed (no calculus).
But hey, why should one study something purely because you hear that it might improve your employment prospects? Do you find it satisfying and interesting? Aren't these reasons enough for studying it or is your schedule really crammed?
The simple error in the original post is trivial - it's a superconductor.
And it demonstrates flux pinning.
But this has been demonstrated ever since superconductors have been made with non-superconducting regions in them (ie, not elemental superconductors like Pb and Al).
This is *not* news.
Unless it is the mid 1980s and I've not noticed.
And the people at the company were really friendly.
Colossal Adventure was a real eye-opener, and was tough enough me to grind out some oily doggeral that pleaded for help (snip: "Into colossal cavern stepped I, if only for my luck to try..."), and post it off.
Look, I was only 13.
A hand-written note came back within a week along with a photocopied crib-sheet, and a signed greetings card (if memory serves).
When, 20+ years later, I visited Mammoth Caves, it was very strange to actually be in a place that had such resonance with my past - a real feeling (briefly) of time having no meaning and all experience being co-present.
Didn't see any pirates though.
The concept predates 1996 by a good bit.
(disclaimer: I used to work on Interim HoToL)
HoToL, a British air-breathing SSTO, would also have used a similar engine cycle to that of the Skylon engines (aye, there are differences aplenty), and HoToL flourished as a project in the mid 1980s.
My experience of such examinations in the UK is that a paper rarely treats the student to a gentle start. There's such pressure on to test a student's understanding that I doubt that a question to establish if the student had heard of a 3,4,5 triangle would be present on a paper that eventually ended up testing something as complicated as the plane geometry question on the chinese examination. So the selection of 1 question from each paper is probably indicative of the overall level at which the questions are being posed - clearly, each question has easier parts in it.
My wife has first hand experience of china's education system, and her recollections were that she was studying material at 14-15 that UK students met at 17-18.
My recent visits to UK schools support the idea that british maths education is a good way short of what it was. To see a 14 yr old science student, at a well-respected school, struggle with a linear equation with 3 terms in it is a sad thing.
As to whether students are being encouraged to drop tougher subjects, as the article claims, *that* I have not seen or heard of from my teacher-friends.
>Had I known about the compound's toxicity -
> mentioned by an earlier poster
>- I'd have left the damned stuff in the freezer where it belonged
Darned right.
The non-ester component is solvated with toluene-diisocyante (TDI) at low mixing fractions, which, for a small number of individuals leads to sensitisation and they are then sensitive to this stuff (blotches, rash, etc) at vanishingly low levels thereafter.
Moral? Check the hazmat documents, and don't tell anyone at COSPAR (the bioload of ash kept in a drawer in a vitamin bottle is almost certainly not zero)
Yep - Solithane's two components are colourless (well, the fatty acid ester liquid is 'straw-colour') and can be coloured with pigments.
But, it's still sol*i*thane, and if the guy worked anywhere near s/c assembly folk, he would have known that.
Plus, it's really not nice stuff. I have had the displeasure of using it on flight hardware, and it's "fume cupboard and gloves time" to mix and apply it. Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and chock full of nasty solvents, but it's tough, low out-gassing, and qualified for flight.
Nuff said.
Re:Still have some doubt
on
First Man To Mars?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Few may be aware but 'Solothane' is not used in aerospace circles. The stuff is called 'Solithane' and while it is clear and viscous, it's a two-part mix, a bit like an epoxy resin. I would have expected reference to that - it's not something that comes out of a can as one liquid.
So, interesting, but...
(and I'll not even begin on what this implies for the COSPAR regulations on contamination control)
Slashdot Mirror
"Stop saying there is ice on that comet" Well, it's 2AU from the Sun, therefore not terribly warm, so any water released will have come from a solid phase, and *it* is generating water vapour. I'd say that that suggests (very strongly) that it contains water ice. "when at best you detected tiny traces of it" Mass fluxes of the order of 10kg/s so far - we may not see the hundred-tonnes per second release rate of Hale-Bopp, but that was a far larger object.
Oh, here we are! Mr Waide's direct email address. Ben@BenWaide.com
As a non-resident of the USA, I cannot email Mr Waide. His contact page is here - note, his surname is incorrectly spelled on that page. Wa *i* de http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/h010.htm
Q1: "Will I actually use calculus and above?" Who knows? Maybe you'll find that it's an enjoyable endeavour in its own right - it may not be a practically useful skill but it will enlarge and enrich your understanding of concepts that you'll not find otherwise.
Q2: " is it just a popular idea that you need to be a mathematician in order to program?" Is it a popular idea? I've certainly never encountered it. A mathematician is not someone who knows a little calculus. Modern mathematics (which, presumably, is studied by a current mathematician) is a wide-ranging and diverse field of which numerical calculus (I propose) is a rather tired and scantly addressed matter. Let's face it, most calculus that you'll probably ever meet would have been cutting-edge say, ooh, 150 years ago (Gauss' theorem of integrating over a surface... to pick an example from the top of my head)
Q3: "What are your experiences?" Programming since age 9, introduced to discrete calculus in programming in second year of Physics BSc (all in FORTRAN), 4 years writing numerical integrator-assisted tools for reusable launch vehicles, Physics MSc (no calculus), Physics PhD (trivial integrators written), postdoc (ditto), self-employed (no calculus).
But hey, why should one study something purely because you hear that it might improve your employment prospects? Do you find it satisfying and interesting? Aren't these reasons enough for studying it or is your schedule really crammed?
The simple error in the original post is trivial - it's a superconductor. And it demonstrates flux pinning. But this has been demonstrated ever since superconductors have been made with non-superconducting regions in them (ie, not elemental superconductors like Pb and Al). This is *not* news. Unless it is the mid 1980s and I've not noticed.
And the people at the company were really friendly. Colossal Adventure was a real eye-opener, and was tough enough me to grind out some oily doggeral that pleaded for help (snip: "Into colossal cavern stepped I, if only for my luck to try..."), and post it off. Look, I was only 13. A hand-written note came back within a week along with a photocopied crib-sheet, and a signed greetings card (if memory serves). When, 20+ years later, I visited Mammoth Caves, it was very strange to actually be in a place that had such resonance with my past - a real feeling (briefly) of time having no meaning and all experience being co-present. Didn't see any pirates though.
The concept predates 1996 by a good bit. (disclaimer: I used to work on Interim HoToL) HoToL, a British air-breathing SSTO, would also have used a similar engine cycle to that of the Skylon engines (aye, there are differences aplenty), and HoToL flourished as a project in the mid 1980s.
My wife has first hand experience of china's education system, and her recollections were that she was studying material at 14-15 that UK students met at 17-18.
My recent visits to UK schools support the idea that british maths education is a good way short of what it was. To see a 14 yr old science student, at a well-respected school, struggle with a linear equation with 3 terms in it is a sad thing.
As to whether students are being encouraged to drop tougher subjects, as the article claims, *that* I have not seen or heard of from my teacher-friends.
http://www.marsis.com/index.php3?page=document_men u.php3
Already we have some intriguing scans of layered terrains... http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/polar2006/pdf/807 0.pdf
> mentioned by an earlier poster
>- I'd have left the damned stuff in the freezer where it belonged
Darned right. The non-ester component is solvated with toluene-diisocyante (TDI) at low mixing fractions, which, for a small number of individuals leads to sensitisation and they are then sensitive to this stuff (blotches, rash, etc) at vanishingly low levels thereafter.
Moral? Check the hazmat documents, and don't tell anyone at COSPAR (the bioload of ash kept in a drawer in a vitamin bottle is almost certainly not zero)
But, it's still sol*i*thane, and if the guy worked anywhere near s/c assembly folk, he would have known that.
Plus, it's really not nice stuff. I have had the displeasure of using it on flight hardware, and it's "fume cupboard and gloves time" to mix and apply it. Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and chock full of nasty solvents, but it's tough, low out-gassing, and qualified for flight.
Nuff said.
Few may be aware but 'Solothane' is not used in aerospace circles. The stuff is called 'Solithane' and while it is clear and viscous, it's a two-part mix, a bit like an epoxy resin. I would have expected reference to that - it's not something that comes out of a can as one liquid. So, interesting, but... (and I'll not even begin on what this implies for the COSPAR regulations on contamination control)