Saturday, 29 March 2008
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Friday, 21 March 2008
good friday
good friday
From The TimesMarch 21, 2008
Mars salt basins signal water from possible life in the pastMark Henderson, Science Editor
Salt deposits have been discovered in numerous places on Mars, in new research that identifies where water was once in abundance and which could point to the past existence of life.
Observations with the Themis thermal camera on Nasa’s Mars Odyssey orbiter have revealed the presence of chloride salts at more than 200 locations in the Red Planet’s southern hemisphere.
All are found in ancient, cratered regions, and occur in basins that appear to be fed by channels. They are likely to have been laid down by the evaporation of pools of standing water that were present when Mars was warm and wet, several billion years ago.
The findings, published today in the journal Science, offer further evidence for the past existence of liquid water on Mars, which has been confirmed by different strands of research.
They also highlight regions that may have been particularly wet in the past, which would be good candidate sites for the existence of primitive life in Martian history. These may be promising places to send future Mars lander missions, as organic materials are likely to have been concentrated in these salt basins.
Professor Philip Christensen, of Arizona State University, the principle investigator for the Themis camera, said: “Many of the deposits lie in basins with channels leading into them. This is the kind of feature, like salt-pan deposits on Earth, that’s consistent with water flowing in over a long time.”
The researchers think the salt deposits were laid down in Mars’s Noachian epoch, between about 3.9 billion and 3.5 billion years ago.
From The TimesMarch 21, 2008
Mars salt basins signal water from possible life in the pastMark Henderson, Science Editor
Salt deposits have been discovered in numerous places on Mars, in new research that identifies where water was once in abundance and which could point to the past existence of life.
Observations with the Themis thermal camera on Nasa’s Mars Odyssey orbiter have revealed the presence of chloride salts at more than 200 locations in the Red Planet’s southern hemisphere.
All are found in ancient, cratered regions, and occur in basins that appear to be fed by channels. They are likely to have been laid down by the evaporation of pools of standing water that were present when Mars was warm and wet, several billion years ago.
The findings, published today in the journal Science, offer further evidence for the past existence of liquid water on Mars, which has been confirmed by different strands of research.
They also highlight regions that may have been particularly wet in the past, which would be good candidate sites for the existence of primitive life in Martian history. These may be promising places to send future Mars lander missions, as organic materials are likely to have been concentrated in these salt basins.
Professor Philip Christensen, of Arizona State University, the principle investigator for the Themis camera, said: “Many of the deposits lie in basins with channels leading into them. This is the kind of feature, like salt-pan deposits on Earth, that’s consistent with water flowing in over a long time.”
The researchers think the salt deposits were laid down in Mars’s Noachian epoch, between about 3.9 billion and 3.5 billion years ago.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
the Big Bang.primeval atom
The primeval atom was a concept developed by Georges Lamaitre, a Belgian priest and astrophysicist, in the 1920s. He envisioned the universe being created by the breakup of this primeval atom, an idea that presaged the Big Bang theory.
Sternglass saw this primeval atom as an electron-positron pair. This pair of particles rapidly orbited each other and contained all of the mass of the universe.
In a series of steps beginning billions of years before the Big Bang, this electron-positron pair went through a series of splits, creating thousands of electron-positron "seed pairs" from which galaxies later would emerge.
By contrast, according to the standard model of particle physics, the universe was condensed into an infinitely dense point before the Big The primeval atom was a concept developed by Georges Lamaitre, a Belgian priest and astrophysicist, in the 1920s. He envisioned the universe being created by the breakup of this primeval atom, an idea that presaged the Big Bang theory.
Sternglass saw this primeval atom as an electron-positron pair. This pair of particles rapidly orbited each other and contained all of the mass of the universe.
In a series of steps beginning billions of years before the Big Bang, this electron-positron pair went through a series of splits, creating thousands of electron-positron "seed pairs" from which galaxies later would emerge.
By contrast, according to the standard model of particle physics, the universe was condensed into an infinitely dense point before the Big Bang.
Sternglass said his model and the standard model don't differ markedly in terms of how elementary particles were formed in the minutes following the Big Bang.
Astrophysicists have long worried that the universe behaves as if it has much more mass than humans can see. Sternglass suggests some of this "missing mass" may be in the form of seed pairs that did not expand immediately after the Big Bang and remain sprinkled through the universe.
Sternglass said his model and the standard model don't differ markedly in terms of how elementary particles were formed in the minutes following the Big Bang.
Astrophysicists have long worried that the universe behaves as if it has much more mass than humans can see. Sternglass suggests some of this "missing mass" may be in the form of seed pairs that did not expand immediately after the Big Bang and remain sprinkled through the universe.
Sternglass saw this primeval atom as an electron-positron pair. This pair of particles rapidly orbited each other and contained all of the mass of the universe.
In a series of steps beginning billions of years before the Big Bang, this electron-positron pair went through a series of splits, creating thousands of electron-positron "seed pairs" from which galaxies later would emerge.
By contrast, according to the standard model of particle physics, the universe was condensed into an infinitely dense point before the Big The primeval atom was a concept developed by Georges Lamaitre, a Belgian priest and astrophysicist, in the 1920s. He envisioned the universe being created by the breakup of this primeval atom, an idea that presaged the Big Bang theory.
Sternglass saw this primeval atom as an electron-positron pair. This pair of particles rapidly orbited each other and contained all of the mass of the universe.
In a series of steps beginning billions of years before the Big Bang, this electron-positron pair went through a series of splits, creating thousands of electron-positron "seed pairs" from which galaxies later would emerge.
By contrast, according to the standard model of particle physics, the universe was condensed into an infinitely dense point before the Big Bang.
Sternglass said his model and the standard model don't differ markedly in terms of how elementary particles were formed in the minutes following the Big Bang.
Astrophysicists have long worried that the universe behaves as if it has much more mass than humans can see. Sternglass suggests some of this "missing mass" may be in the form of seed pairs that did not expand immediately after the Big Bang and remain sprinkled through the universe.
Sternglass said his model and the standard model don't differ markedly in terms of how elementary particles were formed in the minutes following the Big Bang.
Astrophysicists have long worried that the universe behaves as if it has much more mass than humans can see. Sternglass suggests some of this "missing mass" may be in the form of seed pairs that did not expand immediately after the Big Bang and remain sprinkled through the universe.
Antimatter
Antimatter
In this day and age we are gaining knowledge faster than ever. We can understand some of the most complex things in this universe, yet can't get a firm answer to many other simple questions. The developing research on the topic of antimatter opens up more questions which we will try answer... like how many anti-hydrogen atoms can fit in the back of a Ford Pinto? or what happens when anti-matter is mixed with 2 oz. of dry Vermouth, sour mix, and served over the rocks? or why is it that there is a definite lack of existing antimatter in the universe when basic physics leads us to the conclusion that there should be equal amounts of matter and antimatter...?
in perspective...
Antimatter is thought to be the exact same as regular matter, only the charges of the particles are the opposite of what one would expect to find. For example, normal electrons have a negative charge, but antimatter electrons have a positive charge and are known as positrons. The likewise is true for protons which would have a negative charge, and neutrons which remain neutral. When we combine an anti-particle with any other normal particle, the two release a tremondous amount of energy. This energy is the production of two extremely high energy gamma photons. One kilogram of antimatter could be used to create a 43 megaton explosion, which is larger than several thousand nuclear bombs. It has been the science fiction dream to harness this energy for space travel in place of nuclear or fossil fuel power. A speck of antimatter weighing one milligram would, in combonation with one milligram of matter, deliver more energy than two tons of rocket fuel. But, even if we produce anti-protons at five times our current rate (Fermilab's goal in the next five years) and were able to store them, it would still take 200,000 years to make that one milligram of antimatter.
the principles...
Former theory states that all properties of antimatter were exactly the same, though opposite, as normal matter. For example, the spectroscopy of hydrogen and anti-hydrogen should be the same. However, in recent years, research has shown that such is not always the case. Scientists are currently working on experiments dealing with Charge-Parity (CP) violation, which when understood should help us to understand the differences between matter and antimatter.
CP violation is the error in the combined laws associated with charge conjugation (C) and parity (P). Charge conjugation implies that every charged particle has an oppositely charged antimatter counterpart. Parity, also called space inversion, is a reflection in the origin of the space coordinates of a particle. For example, the three space dimensions x, y, and z become -x, -y, and -z for the antiparticle. The laws of charge conjugation and parity are part of the CPT theorem, where the T is for time. As charge and parity must be reversed, time should be as well. However, this doesn't necessarily mean time moving back, but the motions of going forward would be reversed. The CPT theorem is what assumed you could not tell the difference between matter and antimatter. To illustrate, we take a particle, replace it with its antiparticle, look at it in a mirror, and reverse the direction in time. This mirror doesn't simply reflect right and left as backwards, but up and down and near and far as well. Applied to any particle interaction, this recipe should produce a result indistinguishable from the original. This idea is the key to understanding the Universe's absent antimatter and the CPT theorem. To better understand this, it helps to think of the works of Escher. In Figure 1, we see his painting of white geese flying, with similar black geese filling the voids. Now if we take look at this in a mirror, we see Figure 2 with the geese flying in reverse directions.
With research concretely proving the charge and parity portions of the CPT theorem false, we have issues to sort out. This theorem is a fundamental basis in physics. Scientists will now have a great deal to explain about how CP violation exists. More importantly to us, who don't have to figure out the principles of physics again, is how this applies to the creation of our universe. If we assume that every matter has it's own antimatter counterpart, we have to ask.... Where has the Antimatter Gone?
or maybe you just want to know...
In this day and age we are gaining knowledge faster than ever. We can understand some of the most complex things in this universe, yet can't get a firm answer to many other simple questions. The developing research on the topic of antimatter opens up more questions which we will try answer... like how many anti-hydrogen atoms can fit in the back of a Ford Pinto? or what happens when anti-matter is mixed with 2 oz. of dry Vermouth, sour mix, and served over the rocks? or why is it that there is a definite lack of existing antimatter in the universe when basic physics leads us to the conclusion that there should be equal amounts of matter and antimatter...?
in perspective...
Antimatter is thought to be the exact same as regular matter, only the charges of the particles are the opposite of what one would expect to find. For example, normal electrons have a negative charge, but antimatter electrons have a positive charge and are known as positrons. The likewise is true for protons which would have a negative charge, and neutrons which remain neutral. When we combine an anti-particle with any other normal particle, the two release a tremondous amount of energy. This energy is the production of two extremely high energy gamma photons. One kilogram of antimatter could be used to create a 43 megaton explosion, which is larger than several thousand nuclear bombs. It has been the science fiction dream to harness this energy for space travel in place of nuclear or fossil fuel power. A speck of antimatter weighing one milligram would, in combonation with one milligram of matter, deliver more energy than two tons of rocket fuel. But, even if we produce anti-protons at five times our current rate (Fermilab's goal in the next five years) and were able to store them, it would still take 200,000 years to make that one milligram of antimatter.
the principles...
Former theory states that all properties of antimatter were exactly the same, though opposite, as normal matter. For example, the spectroscopy of hydrogen and anti-hydrogen should be the same. However, in recent years, research has shown that such is not always the case. Scientists are currently working on experiments dealing with Charge-Parity (CP) violation, which when understood should help us to understand the differences between matter and antimatter.
CP violation is the error in the combined laws associated with charge conjugation (C) and parity (P). Charge conjugation implies that every charged particle has an oppositely charged antimatter counterpart. Parity, also called space inversion, is a reflection in the origin of the space coordinates of a particle. For example, the three space dimensions x, y, and z become -x, -y, and -z for the antiparticle. The laws of charge conjugation and parity are part of the CPT theorem, where the T is for time. As charge and parity must be reversed, time should be as well. However, this doesn't necessarily mean time moving back, but the motions of going forward would be reversed. The CPT theorem is what assumed you could not tell the difference between matter and antimatter. To illustrate, we take a particle, replace it with its antiparticle, look at it in a mirror, and reverse the direction in time. This mirror doesn't simply reflect right and left as backwards, but up and down and near and far as well. Applied to any particle interaction, this recipe should produce a result indistinguishable from the original. This idea is the key to understanding the Universe's absent antimatter and the CPT theorem. To better understand this, it helps to think of the works of Escher. In Figure 1, we see his painting of white geese flying, with similar black geese filling the voids. Now if we take look at this in a mirror, we see Figure 2 with the geese flying in reverse directions.
With research concretely proving the charge and parity portions of the CPT theorem false, we have issues to sort out. This theorem is a fundamental basis in physics. Scientists will now have a great deal to explain about how CP violation exists. More importantly to us, who don't have to figure out the principles of physics again, is how this applies to the creation of our universe. If we assume that every matter has it's own antimatter counterpart, we have to ask.... Where has the Antimatter Gone?
or maybe you just want to know...
Thursday 20th March
Cosmology
The study of the cosmos as a whole or cosmology has drastically changed within the last century. With the advent of the General Theory of Relativity and discoveries made by astronomers such as Edwin Hubble as early as 1920s, cosmology became a much more distinct science than astronomy.
Two important topics that revolutionized cosmology are inflationary cosmology and quantum cosmology (applying the laws of the quantum physics to understand the whole universe).
The standard models of cosmology -- the big bang theory without the inflationary theory -- had to suffer from the three problems, namely, the smoothness problem, the horizon problem and the flatness problem. The first problem asks why the matter is uniformly distributed in the universe. The second problem concerns the large-scale uniformity of the observable universe. Finally, the third problem asks why the universe is close to being spatially flat.
However, with the introduction of Inflationary Cosmology in 1970s, cosmologists were able to explain all of the three problems of the standard cosmology.
According to inflationary cosmology, the size of the universe expanded exponentially to an extremely huge number (1060) of its original size. This happened in a very short time from 10-35 to 10-32 seconds after the big bang.
Today cosmologists work with some of the most interesting concepts such as black holes, wormholes, dark matter and dark energy. They also deal with some of the most intriguing and yet fundamental questions about the universe such as:
What is the overall shape and size of the universe?
How old is the universe?
What is the fate of the universe?
Can physics describe what was happening before the big bang?
What happens to the notion of Space and Time before big bang?
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Monday, 17 March 2008
Rough blogs
Fred was at work he had just left school and after his exam’s he had decided to go it the hard way. His mind was different to everyone else’s and he found it hard to concentrate, hence his reason for and saw a rough looking Geordie walking his way, it was Max and he was the foreman of the freezer. Fred began to wonder if Max had had a few to many at the local bar the night before in which case he would probably leave him alone and concentrate all his efforts on nursing his hangover or he hadn’t and was in a foul mood anyway which was always a possibility.”Morning Fred bit nippy eh, have you seen bob about I can’t believe he’s late again I’ve got twenty pallets of frozen peas to get on the wagon in half an hour
Beginning middle end crap
The world was ending the sun was engulfing the earth and the only life left lived under ultraviolet sun blocking glass shelters and underground bunkers. The last hope was a project of ten spacecraft made with the absolute last of the natural resources or the earth to blast off to the ten most probable planets that could support life. A risky venture but with nothing to lose a calculated one!
The main problems were distance, fuel, and manning of the craft all of which were carefully considered by the top brains of planet earth the computers! Distance being a major problem when trying to fathom the immeasurable quantity of space was a non entity really no matter how fast a spacecraft was it was too far. You could set a craft off manned by humans but after 900 generations supplies would be exhausted and the computer simulations of evolution showed that we couldn’t survive when we got there. So robots, androids, computer software
Beginning middle end crap
The world was ending the sun was engulfing the earth and the only life left lived under ultraviolet sun blocking glass shelters and underground bunkers. The last hope was a project of ten spacecraft made with the absolute last of the natural resources or the earth to blast off to the ten most probable planets that could support life. A risky venture but with nothing to lose a calculated one!
The main problems were distance, fuel, and manning of the craft all of which were carefully considered by the top brains of planet earth the computers! Distance being a major problem when trying to fathom the immeasurable quantity of space was a non entity really no matter how fast a spacecraft was it was too far. You could set a craft off manned by humans but after 900 generations supplies would be exhausted and the computer simulations of evolution showed that we couldn’t survive when we got there. So robots, androids, computer software
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Sunday
Sunday the 16th March Just sitting on the sofa watching The Last Enemy with the remainders of quite a vicious cold. Haven't had a cold at all for at least two years so i suppose it's not a bad thing keeping the immune system going and all. Must get an early night tonight got lots to do tomorrow
This is the summit of Ben Nevis which I did 1st May nearly a year ago now. It was no picnic but the most rewarding of all the mountains Iv'e done in the UK guaranteed snow! It took about 5hrs up 3hrs down, freindly people a mix of scotts,english,german and east europeans. The building in the picture is an old weather station which is now only used for shelter when the weather turns bad.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
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