Slashdot Mirror


User: kevco46

kevco46's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
4
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 4

  1. Re:Challenging views? on Strange New 'Twin' Worlds Found · · Score: 1

    If you have a cool enough and dense enough cloud it will collapse regardless of size. The difficulty is getting rid of the heat generated from the gravitational energy. If this heat does not escape then the collapse can stop. Nowadays there is dust in these clumps that are very good at radiating away the heat. The first stars didn't have any dust, and how these stars formed is still a mysetry. There are plenty of theories about how they form but the theories are easy when there aren't any observations to constrain them :)

  2. Re:Challenging views? on Strange New 'Twin' Worlds Found · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This discovery does have some implications about how these very small objects form. The two theories are essentially (1) they form from very small clumps of dust and gas, just like our sun did but the initial clump is much smaller or (2) they started out as a larger clump, but while they are still trying to accrete much of their mass, a gravitational interaction with a larger star flings them away from the molecular cloud they were born in. Away from the main molecular cloud their is less material for them to accrete and they do not build up as much mass.

    Now, if there was a gravitational interaction most binaries (like this one) would have been broken apart. Astronomers also see evidence for dusty disks around some of these small objects, which would be mostly destroyed if there was an interaction. I'm sure the theorists supporting 2 have some clever idea to explain all this but the evidence right now seem to point towards theory 1.

  3. Re:uh on Rochester Signs Napster Deal, Hosts P2P Panel · · Score: 1
    I'm a current student at the UR so I get first hand experience with this service. Or at least I would if I owned a PC. The software only works on a PC and not on my Mac. And since I graduate next May, I won't be around if they decide to support Mac users. So I get the joy of a tuition hike without any of the benefits of this hike! I love paying money for nothing.

    I like the idea of letting people from Eastman share their music, I would just like to be able to use a service that I am paying for.

  4. Schrodingers cat on Physics Books for the Novice? · · Score: 1

    Try "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat". It gives a history of the growth of quantum mechanics as a science. It involves very little math and is intersting at times. It is a good start before you consider anything mathematical regarding quantum mechanics. I used it for my introductory quantum physics course and it helps to explain the difficult concepts in quantum mechanics.