For those who don't go ga-ga about fantasy MMORPGs, I suggest EVE Online.
It's far smaller than WoW/GW (we just hit 70,000 subscribers) but there is no sharding - everyone who is online is in the same world (top so far is 15000 online at once).
There is also a free 14 day trial program, any current subscriber can send you a code. Drop me a reply/email if you'de like to try it. If we're in the same area of space I may even drop by and run you throught the basics.
In the lab where I'm a student, we work with a class of small proteins called 'defensins'. These proteins are involved in what is called the 'innate' immune response of animals, as opposed to the 'adaptive' immune response, which is where antibodies come in.
These defensins have been found in many different organisms, from fish to plants to humans. I think this article is actually talking about an innate immune response, since adaptive immunity requires previous exposure to a pathogen, leading to production of specific antibodies. Defensins have a fairly broad anti-microbial activity, and some have already been isolated and shown to be effective against gram-positive and -negative bacteria, fungi, viruses and insects (no one defensin acts against all these, though)
That's why when we electrolyse water in the lab we add a small amount of hydrochloric acid (HCl) or salt (NaCl) to enhance conductivity. Chloride (Cl-) and Sodium (Na+) are very soluble, so if only they are present the danger of gunking is greatly reduced.
Unfortunately, tap water has heaps of stuff that could easily deposit, whether by electrochemical reactions or just as the concentration goes up from water being electrolysed away, eventually coating the electrodes or clogging pipes.
"Polyploidy" is just the scientific name for "more than one set of chromosomes". There are various sub-terms as well, eg sperm and ova are 'haploid' (one set), most animals inc. humans are 'diploid' (two sets) and plants are all over the place. Breeding for polyploidy happened in the development of many of our modern crop plants from their wild ancestors. IIRC, modern wheat is hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes).
Polyploidy has various effects that differ between organisms and are hard to predict (I don't know if it's impossible or just hard). But just adding some extra copies of DNA is highly unlikely to give us a Jurassic Park/Resident Evil scenario.
I would fire anyone who's not able to use a keyboard, or doesn't check their input twice, especially when they are responsible for huge amounts of money.
I would promote them to management where they can't do any major damage.
I've been playing about 6 months and it's awesome. The client software is a free download, you only pay monthly fees (US$15/m or so). There is no levelling grind as skills train whether you are online or not. Thus a player who can only commit for 1h/day will build up their stats (almost) as fast as a 15h/day power gamer.
And the best part for you... there is a free trial system. Any current subscriber can send you what's called a "buddy" invite. You get full access to the game for 2 weeks, no restrictions on what you can do (bar the fact that in 2 weeks you simply cannot gain enough skill for the high echelon gameplay). At the end of the trial, if you wish to continue, you just pay the fee (discounts for paying 3+ months in advance) and you can continue with your character (or characters, 3 per account) from the trial or start again. Also, anytime RL gets too busy, you can suspend your account and pick up again when you have the time/money.
The game itself has a huge universe (5000 star systems iirc) and all players are hosted on one server (record is about 12000 online at once). No fighting over popular servers or artificial population controls here. A major content patch is coming up in the next month or so. EVE supports a wide range of professions, we have miners, manufacturers, NPC hunters and PvP combat in 1v1, small groups and full fleets (40 battleships pounding on each other is a sight to behold).
Reply or PM/email me if you would like a trial invite.
NOTE: I am not affiliated with CCP games/EVE Online in any way. Just a big fan.
whether or not the better heat conductivity is related to lesser electrical resistance?
Yes and no. The higher heat conductivity of metals in general compared to molecular materials (e.g., water) is a product of the closer association of atoms within the metal lattice and the higher electrical conductivity is due to the 'elctron sea' effect wherin metals tend to exist as a mass of +ve cores embedded in a 'sea' of loose electrons. (Apologies if this sounds weird, another chemist would know what I'm talking about in detail but I'm trying to make analogies)
So, the heat and electrical conductance are related but not identical. As an extreme case, consider diamond. The best thermal conductor I know of, and an absolute insulator (when pure). High thermal conductivity due to the tight framework but no loose electrons, so no conduction band.
Anyway, the alloy in question here is being touted as useful because of a combination of factors. Liquid metal alloys tend to have low melting points and vapour pressures (so the tube doesn't explode) along with very good liquid range (2000 degrees F in this case IIRC) and high thermal conductivity and specific heat. Specific heat is a measure of how much energy it takes to raise the temperature of a compound (the SH of water is one calorie/degree celsius/mL, this alloy is probably more). A high SH means more heat can be moved around at lower temperature, so the core never gets as hot.
Note that this effect must be balanced against cooling efficiency. Heatsinks pump heat out best when the heatsink is much hotter than the air, so you would get the most efficient cooling at several hundred degrees. This would not be an ideal situation for the chip though (or the melted puddle of copper that is left anyway).
BTW, since when do we need to type in some ridiculous text to post? Have I just never noticed it before?
Re:I think it's nice...
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Just a Phone?
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· Score: 1
If you can still find them, I have a Nokia 6310i that suits me perfectly. No fancy interchangable covers, no colour screen (blue-white monochrome -rules-), no polyphonic annoyances, no camera. It has IR, bluetooth and GPRS for those who need and is tri-band so I can even take it overseas (just get a cheap SIM in the country I visit). Excellent reception around the city, even with the internal antenna - I hate pokey antennae sticking into my leg from a pocket phone.
I use it fairly infrequently (less than AU$500 in three years) and I have gone 2 weeks between charges (Li-ion battery - clips straight onto the back) with once a week about the average. I got it USED three years ago and it's still going strong. This thing has been sat on, rained on, dropped on carpet, dirt and concrete and kicked across the floor. The only thing starting to go wrong is one button that sometimes doesn't register.
Price three years ago (used) was AU$350, about US$250 or so. Any still around should be even cheaper.
I think what gave it the good combination of features was that the 6310(i) were designed as "business" phones and so avoided feature creep since that market was regarded as being dominated by people uninterested in frippery. Nokia, anyone, I implore you. Give us back phones that work as phones and leave the gadgets to those who are not secure in their superiority.
Oh, and for the record: 22, biochemistry senior, and camera phones are for wankers.
Re:it's simple, but...
on
Just a Phone?
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· Score: 1
Read: "I'm an ethnocentrist Yank who can't even get the name of the country next door right."
O.K., first things first. IAAC but IANAP so I can't give you the exact formulae. The 'spin' of an electron is not so much the electron spinning on an axis so much as a term used to describe the direction of its quantum magnetic moment.
Electrons placed in a magnetic field will have a potential difference between the populations aligned with and against the field, but the difference is so small that the applications at this point are severely limited.
The population difference in a 5 tesla field (the kind you need a liquid helium superconducting floor mounted magent to create and sustain) is still only a tiny fraction of the total. This population difference is utilised in ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) spectroscopy, and the spin differnce of protons is utilised in NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy, which is called MRI when used in medicine (because people get nervous about anything that mentions 'nuclear').
These scientists are excited because if the spin state of an electron can be controled, manipulated and stored, it presents a new pathway into the quantum computing field. This is because, as a quantum property, electron spin is affected by the same uncertainties and dualities as other quantum properties.
As to your final points, yes conducting individual electons through a permanent magnet will create the aforementioned population difference, but this will revert to a totally random population within milliseconds of being removed from the magnetic field (unless at absolute zero, but then you couldn't have current flowing anyway). I also think it unlikely that this could be used to store energy, as the energy needs to hold a sizable population of electrons in one spin orientation would rise exponentially with the population. I am also unaware of any means influence the spin orientation of photons, possibly something akin to polarising film could be employed (polarisation is a property of electromagnetic fields, and is IIRC seperate from quantum spin).
Actually the Tower of Babel didn't fall, it was abandoned after God 'confused the languages' - thus the origin of the word 'babel' in regard to different languages.
Also, IANAE but people of that period built tall things all the time, plus their concept of 'the heavens' was probably a bit under-scale compared to ours.
Anyone remember Earth and Beyond? You know, the "most awesome game in the world that will never go away and which we'll support forever" (not an actual SOE quote).
One of the great things about electromagnets and electric plates (the things used to direct the electron beam in a CRT) is that you only have to supply power when you want them to work.
A CRT with a power saving mode that actually deactivates the electron gun can save power by turning off the directing machinery but as long as the beam is running it msut be scanned over the screen or it will burn a hole where it naturally comes to rest (similar to the 'burn in' effect that old monitors can experience).
I don't know if the magnets are the main power drain in a CRT, the actual electron gun would suck some serious amps as well.
He did, it's just one of those diminshing return things. The difference between "So stupid your brain melts" and "So stupid your head explodes" is hard to notice after the fact.
First things first. I am a Christian and a six day creationist. I am also a biochemistry student who has made Dean's List every year of my degree, so don't start with the "All intelligent people believe in evolution, thus all creationists are ignorant/stupid. QED." line.
Too answer your point - don't confuse didn't with couldn't. An omipotent God by definition is capable of anything, including guiding a billions of years process, or even setting some sort of automatic subroutine to do it so He doesn't have to bother. Now ask yourself what's harder: setting off a huge bang and letting it go from there, or creating a whole universe from nothing in a week? I'll thank you not to imply that I insult the object of my religion on a daily basis and I'll give you the same courtesy.
I think you mean insightful not inciteful. The first is a showing insight and intelligence. The second I don't think is a proper word but could in a roundabout way lead to a comment inciting something (hatred, etc); kind of like flamebait which I don't think you meant:)
You're thinking of Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory that describes the interaction of quarks, gluons and nucleons at the nuclear/sub-nuclear level.
Though quarks are described as having 'colours' (red, blue green) these are not colours per se but are more in the vein of electric charge, although there are three states rather than two (+/-).
And here's the obligatory link to assure readers I didn't pull this out of my arse. (I did, but they don't need to know that.) IANAP but I have a casual interest in the area.
Wow, that's new. A USian justifying something on the basis that Canadians do it to:)
BTW I realise my comment probably reads a bit harsher than I meant, I was only poking gentle fun at your insistance on using different words. I am a chemist and it just gets irritating when American journals and papers start spouting out different names/units than IUPAC/SI.
Slashdot Mirror
It's far smaller than WoW/GW (we just hit 70,000 subscribers) but there is no sharding - everyone who is online is in the same world (top so far is 15000 online at once).
There is also a free 14 day trial program, any current subscriber can send you a code. Drop me a reply/email if you'de like to try it. If we're in the same area of space I may even drop by and run you throught the basics.
While this would permit you to derive velocity/displacement, derive sounds too much like differentiate for a mathmematician.
These defensins have been found in many different organisms, from fish to plants to humans. I think this article is actually talking about an innate immune response, since adaptive immunity requires previous exposure to a pathogen, leading to production of specific antibodies. Defensins have a fairly broad anti-microbial activity, and some have already been isolated and shown to be effective against gram-positive and -negative bacteria, fungi, viruses and insects (no one defensin acts against all these, though)
Unfortunately, tap water has heaps of stuff that could easily deposit, whether by electrochemical reactions or just as the concentration goes up from water being electrolysed away, eventually coating the electrodes or clogging pipes.
Um, what security features?
Polyploidy has various effects that differ between organisms and are hard to predict (I don't know if it's impossible or just hard). But just adding some extra copies of DNA is highly unlikely to give us a Jurassic Park/Resident Evil scenario.
Trust me, I'm a biochemist :)
Be careful, the astrology weirdos will be all over you.
I would promote them to management where they can't do any major damage.
Dilbert eat your heart out.
I've been playing about 6 months and it's awesome. The client software is a free download, you only pay monthly fees (US$15/m or so). There is no levelling grind as skills train whether you are online or not. Thus a player who can only commit for 1h/day will build up their stats (almost) as fast as a 15h/day power gamer.
And the best part for you ... there is a free trial system. Any current subscriber can send you what's called a "buddy" invite. You get full access to the game for 2 weeks, no restrictions on what you can do (bar the fact that in 2 weeks you simply cannot gain enough skill for the high echelon gameplay). At the end of the trial, if you wish to continue, you just pay the fee (discounts for paying 3+ months in advance) and you can continue with your character (or characters, 3 per account) from the trial or start again. Also, anytime RL gets too busy, you can suspend your account and pick up again when you have the time/money.
The game itself has a huge universe (5000 star systems iirc) and all players are hosted on one server (record is about 12000 online at once). No fighting over popular servers or artificial population controls here. A major content patch is coming up in the next month or so. EVE supports a wide range of professions, we have miners, manufacturers, NPC hunters and PvP combat in 1v1, small groups and full fleets (40 battleships pounding on each other is a sight to behold).
Reply or PM/email me if you would like a trial invite.
NOTE: I am not affiliated with CCP games/EVE Online in any way. Just a big fan.
Pick two.
Oh, and I'm Austalian and a chemist so I use joules normally. I was just trying not to confuse the poor Americans in the audience.
Yes and no. The higher heat conductivity of metals in general compared to molecular materials (e.g., water) is a product of the closer association of atoms within the metal lattice and the higher electrical conductivity is due to the 'elctron sea' effect wherin metals tend to exist as a mass of +ve cores embedded in a 'sea' of loose electrons. (Apologies if this sounds weird, another chemist would know what I'm talking about in detail but I'm trying to make analogies)
So, the heat and electrical conductance are related but not identical. As an extreme case, consider diamond. The best thermal conductor I know of, and an absolute insulator (when pure). High thermal conductivity due to the tight framework but no loose electrons, so no conduction band.
Anyway, the alloy in question here is being touted as useful because of a combination of factors. Liquid metal alloys tend to have low melting points and vapour pressures (so the tube doesn't explode) along with very good liquid range (2000 degrees F in this case IIRC) and high thermal conductivity and specific heat. Specific heat is a measure of how much energy it takes to raise the temperature of a compound (the SH of water is one calorie/degree celsius/mL, this alloy is probably more). A high SH means more heat can be moved around at lower temperature, so the core never gets as hot.
Note that this effect must be balanced against cooling efficiency. Heatsinks pump heat out best when the heatsink is much hotter than the air, so you would get the most efficient cooling at several hundred degrees. This would not be an ideal situation for the chip though (or the melted puddle of copper that is left anyway).
BTW, since when do we need to type in some ridiculous text to post? Have I just never noticed it before?
I use it fairly infrequently (less than AU$500 in three years) and I have gone 2 weeks between charges (Li-ion battery - clips straight onto the back) with once a week about the average. I got it USED three years ago and it's still going strong. This thing has been sat on, rained on, dropped on carpet, dirt and concrete and kicked across the floor. The only thing starting to go wrong is one button that sometimes doesn't register.
Price three years ago (used) was AU$350, about US$250 or so. Any still around should be even cheaper.
I think what gave it the good combination of features was that the 6310(i) were designed as "business" phones and so avoided feature creep since that market was regarded as being dominated by people uninterested in frippery. Nokia, anyone, I implore you. Give us back phones that work as phones and leave the gadgets to those who are not secure in their superiority.
Oh, and for the record: 22, biochemistry senior, and camera phones are for wankers.
Read: "I'm an ethnocentrist Yank who can't even get the name of the country next door right."
Electrons placed in a magnetic field will have a potential difference between the populations aligned with and against the field, but the difference is so small that the applications at this point are severely limited.
The population difference in a 5 tesla field (the kind you need a liquid helium superconducting floor mounted magent to create and sustain) is still only a tiny fraction of the total. This population difference is utilised in ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) spectroscopy, and the spin differnce of protons is utilised in NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy, which is called MRI when used in medicine (because people get nervous about anything that mentions 'nuclear').
These scientists are excited because if the spin state of an electron can be controled, manipulated and stored, it presents a new pathway into the quantum computing field. This is because, as a quantum property, electron spin is affected by the same uncertainties and dualities as other quantum properties.
As to your final points, yes conducting individual electons through a permanent magnet will create the aforementioned population difference, but this will revert to a totally random population within milliseconds of being removed from the magnetic field (unless at absolute zero, but then you couldn't have current flowing anyway). I also think it unlikely that this could be used to store energy, as the energy needs to hold a sizable population of electrons in one spin orientation would rise exponentially with the population. I am also unaware of any means influence the spin orientation of photons, possibly something akin to polarising film could be employed (polarisation is a property of electromagnetic fields, and is IIRC seperate from quantum spin).
Pheew....
Dilbert (to his Mom): "As usual, I worked until midnight last night Mom."
Mom: "Well, at least you got paid for the extra time."
"No. I'm on a salary. I don't get overtime."
"Well, at least you improved your presentation."
"Not really, my boss made me change my powerpoint slides, but the changes made them worse."
"Then you can point that out at the meeting tomorrow"
"The meeting was cancelled. It's all right though, because the project isn't funded anyway."
"So, you worked for free to worsen a presentation for a meeting that won't happen for a project that doesn't exist?"
"Yep."
Also, IANAE but people of that period built tall things all the time, plus their concept of 'the heavens' was probably a bit under-scale compared to ours.
Anyone remember Earth and Beyond? You know, the "most awesome game in the world that will never go away and which we'll support forever" (not an actual SOE quote).
One of the great things about electromagnets and electric plates (the things used to direct the electron beam in a CRT) is that you only have to supply power when you want them to work. A CRT with a power saving mode that actually deactivates the electron gun can save power by turning off the directing machinery but as long as the beam is running it msut be scanned over the screen or it will burn a hole where it naturally comes to rest (similar to the 'burn in' effect that old monitors can experience). I don't know if the magnets are the main power drain in a CRT, the actual electron gun would suck some serious amps as well.
He did, it's just one of those diminshing return things. The difference between "So stupid your brain melts" and "So stupid your head explodes" is hard to notice after the fact.
Too answer your point - don't confuse didn't with couldn't. An omipotent God by definition is capable of anything, including guiding a billions of years process, or even setting some sort of automatic subroutine to do it so He doesn't have to bother. Now ask yourself what's harder: setting off a huge bang and letting it go from there, or creating a whole universe from nothing in a week? I'll thank you not to imply that I insult the object of my religion on a daily basis and I'll give you the same courtesy.
I think you mean insightful not inciteful. The first is a showing insight and intelligence. The second I don't think is a proper word but could in a roundabout way lead to a comment inciting something (hatred, etc); kind of like flamebait which I don't think you meant :)
Though quarks are described as having 'colours' (red, blue green) these are not colours per se but are more in the vein of electric charge, although there are three states rather than two (+/-).
And here's the obligatory link to assure readers I didn't pull this out of my arse. (I did, but they don't need to know that.) IANAP but I have a casual interest in the area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_chromodynamic s.
BTW I realise my comment probably reads a bit harsher than I meant, I was only poking gentle fun at your insistance on using different words. I am a chemist and it just gets irritating when American journals and papers start spouting out different names/units than IUPAC/SI.
Oh, and it's ALUMINIUM people. AL-U-MIN-I-UM. Sigh, only in America.