In an interview with StarTalk Radio host Chuck Nice, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explained why photons (the particles that carry light) exist outside of time. “…As you increase your speed, time ticks more slowly for you than it does for anyone who is watching you,” he said on StarTalk Radio. “This is the relativity of time. This is well known. We have measured this. It is not just your clock that is clicking slower, your metabolism is unfolding more slowly, your brain synapses are firing more slowly, everything about you is slowing down.”
“Photons, which is the carrier of light, exists at the speed of light. It doesn’t accelerate from zero to speed of light in 3.4 seconds. It exists at the speed of light, and because of it exists at the speed of light, any watch that it is carrying never ticks, which means if you are the photon… you will slam into whatever you are destined to hit, as far as you are concerned, instantaneously.”
He went on to explain that they know neutrinos travel slower than the speed of light because they change states between two different kinds of neutrinos, which would only be possible if neutrinos experienced the passage of time. Just thought I’d blow your mind for a change.
This is our Daily Open Thread. Feel free to discuss Relativity, photons, Neil deGrasse Tyson, or anything else you want to discuss. The Zoo is timeless, like a photon.
Yesterday, and be thankful to Whomever or Whatever you believe in that we can start with that word, a large asteroid given the ever so endearing name 2012 DA14 (don’t you want to adopt one?) passed within about 17,000 miles of the Earth. We have satellites orbiting at about 22,237 miles (approximately 35,787 km) above mean sea level. [Thank you, Arthur C. Clarke, for figuring that out for us.] This asteroid passed (yes, past tense!) closer to us than that. It didn’t hit anything as it passed by, but that is really just a matter of luck, no matter how you believe the Universe works. You may be thinking, “So what? It missed us, right? What’s the problem?” Think of it this way: It missed us by fifteen minutes. As famed Science Guy Bill Nye explains, that’s not the one you should be worried about. For every one of these large asteroids that they’ve been able to find, it is estimated there are 99 that that haven’t been found yet.
But just as much a matter of luck was the meteorite that came crashing down in Chelyabinsk, Russia that same day. [BTW, that link you just passed has some fascinating information in it, including an explanation of the difference between a meteor and an asteroid. Check it out.] Due to some kind of fad or obsession among the Russian people (official motto, “Screw you, Life, we’re still here!”), there are a lot of people driving around with dashboard cameras. It has something to do with insurance claims, or maybe encounters with the police, or maybe even to catch a meteorite flashing across the sky in front of you.
And, because it crashed into Russia, there were the inevitable comparisons to the Tunguska Event. And that’s where I start to get worried. Because they’re talking about a once-in-a-hundred-years event that hasn’t happened in more than one hundred years!
Good night, now. Go to sleep.
This is our daily open thread. Feel free to discuss asteroids, meteorites, conspiracy theories, or any other topic you wish.
Good Morning, All. And shhhhhh… them wolfies are asleep, so read in silence and tell us what you think in comments, but shhhhhh…
Economy:
WITH the financial crisis over and the recovery gaining momentum, one big piece of unfinished economic business hangs over Barack Obama’s second term: arresting the relentless rise in America’s already sky-high debt. He is turning to the task with what seems an improbable claim: that the job is closer to completion than people appreciate. (read on)
More Economy:
Do we have a solid economic recovery underway? (read more)
Austerity sucks:
The debt crisis is finally catching up with wind energy, once a fast-growing sector in Europe. After more than a decade of double-digit growth, austerity, rapidly changing energy policies and skittish investors are putting a damper on the industry. (read more)
Science:
We’ve only just wiped the sweat from our brow following the averted Mayan apocalypse, but already news is spreading of another impending doom; and this one even has actual science behind it. (read more)
Wisdom:
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.Benjamin Franklin
First of all, I have great respect for any species that can live and survive in the desert environment. It must be a tough existence.
Here’s a link to a story about a mouse that lives in the desert, eats scorpions, and then howls at the moon. Be sure to click on the link to the audio track that is embedded in the story.
Scientists are interested in this mouse. It seems that there is a genetic component that prevents this mouse from experiencing pain.
In humans, Rowe says, mutations in Nav1.7 cause a syndrome called erythromelalgia. In this disease, a characteristic burning pain in the feet and hands crops up spontaneously. The researchers are now attempting to figure out exactly how the mouse’s mutation in Nav1.8 blocks pain signals, to see if it could help design a new kind of pain killer.
Our pain receptors are a means by which our body tells us that something is dangerous. In some cases, it’s best not to feel the pain because it is “phantom pain” and it serves no purpose other than to annoy us.
UPDATED: I found a video about this mouse. We can hear it “howl at the moon”.
The lizard sized dinosaur is thought to have lived on insects, and was small in stature in comparison to other known behemoths. Researchers say that the dinosaur’s size is not in anyway a political reference. The name Obamadon was chosen due to the lizard’s tall, straight teeth. According to sci-news.comPaleontologist Nick Longrich said, “Obama has these tall, straight incisors and a great smile.”
Interestingly enough, our President has a fish and a fungus named for him as well:
Obamadon is not the first organism to be named after Obama. Other researchers have given his name to Etheostoma obama, the spangled darter or “Obamafish”, and the fungus Caloplaca obamae.
It’s nice to have a President who is so well-respected, although George W. Bush also had something named after him…
I could listen to Alan Rickman speak for the rest of my life, and I think it’s safe to say most of the ladies women of the Zoo would concur. Rawr…
I enjoy my nerdy geeks, but this clip is a bit nerdy geek heavy, and Alan Rickman light. Boo. I almost used my standard Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves tactic of fast-forwarding through everything that isn’t Alan Rickman or Morgan Freeman, but I resisted. :) Anyhoo, I love Alan all the more, because he can talk and think about things other than his latest film. Who’s with me on this one?
HT to someone on the Zoo who posted this clip in comments earlier this week — sorry I don’t remember who!
This is our daily open thread — How is it Friday again…?
In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a possibility of a storm even worse than the Perfect Storm of 1991 hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast next week. Dubbed a “Frankenstorm”, it could be the result of a huge hurricane striking the coast at the same time a cold front moves in from across the country. And while weather prediction is still not a perfect science, our satellites have made it possible to see and track massive storms like Hurricane Sandy. But there’s a very real danger that we could have to spend a year or more without this satellite coverage.
The fleet of weather satellites in service is at or past their life expectancy already. Unfortunately, due to mismanagement and bad planning, the launch of the next set of replacements satellites may not happen until 2017. We could be facing a one-year-or-longer gap in the kind of critical satellite coverage needed to save lives. If another huge hurricane forms and threatens to meet another massive cold front, we may not see it coming. And it’s no comfort to think that the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology could still be controlled by ignorant, Science-hating Republicans. The truly sad part is that distrust in Science is not limited to the less-educated conservatives. Even conservatives with college degrees don’t trust Science.
Every four years they say that this election is the most important one of your life, and that’s become more and more valid in recent years. The Republican Party, in its never-ending quest to deny Reality, actually appoints people to the House Science Committee who have no business opening their pie holes on the subject of Science, let alone making law on it. People like Rep Todd Akin, famous for giving us the current term “legitimate rape” (and who is still being given money by right-wing groups) and for publicly denying that Evolution is real, and Rep Paul Broun, a physician(!), who called Evolution, Embryology and the Big Bang Theory “lies straight from the pit of hell.” And they’re not the only ones. These are not people who see the value in Science, so why are they allowed to make legislation regarding it?
If our nation’s great experiment in Democracy is going to work, if we truly want to be a beacon of hope to the rest of the world, we have to vote out people who do nothing to make that happen. These Republicans are a joke, and they should be on the unemployment line not getting the benefits they always vote to cut. I urge everyone to vote and to vote for your own best interests for a change. And your best interests are served by showing the GOP the door.
This is our open thread. Feel free to discuss the upcoming storm, the ignorant Republicans, or any other topic you wish.
From Rep. Paul Broun’s (R-GA) remarks at the Liberty Baptist Church Sportsman’s Banquet on September 27, 2012, in Hartwell, Georgia:
BROUN: God’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell. And it’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior. You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don’t believe that the Earth’s but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That’s what the Bible says.
And what I’ve come to learn is that it’s the manufacturer’s handbook, is what I call it. It teaches us how to run our lives individually, how to run our families, how to run our churches. But it teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in society. And that’s the reason as your congressman I hold the Holy Bible as being the major directions to me of how I vote in Washington, D.C., and I’ll continue to do that.
Rep W. Todd Akin (R-MO), a candidate for the U.S. Senate running against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), is another member of this committee. Rep. Akin rose to national attention when he brought the phrase “legitimate rape” into the political conversation. One could call it a public service since it helped bring attention to the well-documented Republican Waron Women. [In Arizona, Gov Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that could declare a women pregnant before she even had intercourse.]
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) refuses to believe that man-made Global Warming is happening. He prefers to think that solar flares are contributing more to the problem than Man.
This is just a sampling of the way Republicans approach their Constitutional responsibilities to govern. They choose people to write legislation on topics they deny need regulating, in order to to solve critical life-threatening problems they deny exist. They refuse to accept the facts as proven by scientists and prefer to write scientific legislation based on their Biblical beliefs. These people are, by definition, unqualified to sit on any committee with the word “Science” in its name. Until the Republican Party begins choosing qualified people to sit on committees overseeing various areas of our lives, they should have no voice on any legislation writing body. They can vote against the bills when they come to a floor vote, but they should be the authors of none of them.
This is our Daily Open Thread. Feel free to discuss this or any other topic you’d like to bring up. It’s okay. We’re open-minded people here.
Bill Nye, the Science Guy (@TheScienceGuy), has a video out called “Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children.” It was put out for BigThink.com. This week’s hat tip goes to LGF.:
Denial of evolution is unique to the United States. I mean, we’re the world’s most advanced technological—I mean, you could say Japan—but generally, the United States is where most of the innovations still happens. People still move to the United States. And that’s largely because of the intellectual capital we have, the general understanding of science. When you have a portion of the population that doesn’t believe in that, it holds everybody back, really.
Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology. It’s like, it’s very much analogous to trying to do geology without believing in tectonic plates. You’re just not going to get the right answer. Your whole world is just going to be a mystery instead of an exciting place.
As my old professor, Carl Sagan, said, “When you’re in love you want to tell the world.” So, once in a while I get people that really—or that claim—they don’t believe in evolution. And my response generally is “Well, why not? Really, why not?” Your world just becomes fantastically complicated when you don’t believe in evolution. I mean, here are these ancient dinosaur bones or fossils, here is radioactivity, here are distant stars that are just like our star but they’re at a different point in their lifecycle. The idea of deep time, of this billions of years, explains so much of the world around us. If you try to ignore that, your world view just becomes crazy, just untenable, itself inconsistent.
And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that’s completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that’s fine, but don’t make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can—we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.
It’s just really hard a thing, it’s really a hard thing. You know, in another couple of centuries that world view, I’m sure, will be, it just won’t exist. There’s no evidence for it.
Directed / Produced by
Elizabeth Rodd and Jonathan Fowler [via LGF]
It wasn’t a belief in Creationism that gave this nation a reputation for being the best and richest country, that expanded it through the Industrial Revolution, that built the Interstate Highway System, that had twelve of its citizens walk on the surface of the Moon or that landed a nuclear-powered probe on the surface of Mars and broadcast pictures and other data back. It was a belief in Science that did all that, and without it, we would be no better off than those that live in deeply religious Third World countries.
If you have a child that really wants to study Science and Math, encourage him or her to do so. It’s not just our nation that needs more scientists, it’s the world. We are all in this together. The world’s climate problems are not going to be solved in such a way that we in the United States live and everyone else fends for themselves. Global problems require global solutions and global participation.
One of the biggest dangers to our country lies in our political system. We are a two-major-party country, and one of the two major parties simply does not believe in Science. Nor have they bothered to educate themselves on the subject and insist on just flat-out denying the inescapable conclusions of the men and women who have actually studied these things whenever they don’t like the results, as if Scientific Consensus meant whatever the uneducated-in-Science people thought was true. That’s not how Science works. A Scientific Consensus is the conclusion arrived at by Scientists, not the public. And not the Republican Party.
This is our open thread. Feel free to discuss any topic you want.
In an artist’s conception, cooler, star-forming gas flows from the Phoenix Cluster’s central galaxy. Illustration courtesy M. Weiss, CXC/NASA
Data being gathered by telescopes all over Earth and in space indicates that there’s an absolutely amazing galaxy cluster in the universe — the first we’ve discovered anyway. It’s made up of thousands of galaxies, and lives about 5.7 billion light years away from us. Isn’t that cool?
It seemed too good to be true: a superbright newfound galaxy cluster possibly more massive than any other known, forging fresh stars nearly a thousand times faster than normal.
Science is just neato. Go here to read the whole article.
There’s more than one exciting thing happening on Tuesday! That bastard Scott Walker, and four of his sucky state senators will be recalled, AND Venus will transit across the face of the Sun. Make sure you watch it SAFELY via the internet, teevee machine, or with the help from a smart non-blind person who knows about such things.
Don’t miss it, because you’ll have to live to be pretty damn old to see the next one in December, 2117.
Be prepared for your maps to be meaningless — in about 50 million years.
Scientists predict that the continents will meet, once again becoming a supercontinent. They’re calling it “Amasia,” but surely someone will think of a better name by then — assuming some form of humanity still exists at that time.
Geologists believe that, over billions of years, these shifting plates have driven the continents together periodically, creating the hypothesised supercontinents of Nuna 1.8 billion years ago, Rodinia a billion years ago, and then Pangaea 300 million years ago.
Just imagine the civilizations that may have come and gone over the lifetime of the Earth. The time of humans is truly amazing; we’ve accomplished to much in so little time, but in terms of geologic time, we are merely a blink of the eye.
Humbling…
This is our daily open thread — How is your day going?
More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings.
Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids.
Science is so cool. Why would anyone reject it? They put satellites in space above the Earth, and by using infra-red imaging, they found evidence of an entire city that was no longer visible to us — including at least two pyramids!
How does that work anyway?
Ancient Egyptians built their houses and structures out of mud brick, which is much denser than the soil that surrounds it, so the shapes of houses, temples and tombs can be seen.
Just imagine the possibilities for future archaeological projects, or examining a site before a road or building is built on it. I wonder if they can help me find my keys…?
[Dr Parcak] also hopes the new technology will help engage young people in science and will be a major help for archaeologists around the world.
“It allows us to be more focused and selective in the work we do. Faced with a massive site, you don’t know where to start.
Like I said, science is cool. If you don’t think so, I think you need your head examined…with science.
UPDATE:
Here’s a radar image of the Sahara, showing the riverbeds under the sand:
China is on course to overtake the US in scientific output possibly as soon as 2013 – far earlier than expected.
That is the conclusion of a major new study by the Royal Society, the UK’s national science academy.
The country that invented the compass, gunpowder, paper and printing is set for a globally important comeback.
What a shame. I remember perfectly when “American scientists say…” as an introduction to any discussion about science invariably lent credibility to what you were saying. We looked up to America as the country of progress and scientific prowess. Then came creationism and reason went down the drain, along with education as an asset.
This is our daily open thread. What do you think of this and other stuff that’s going on?
These photos show the shadow of the moon over China and the Pacific Ocean during the recent total solar eclipse. The photo on the right was taken one hour after the one on the left.
After attacking Darwinism to a degree that children are now taught creationism in school the next line of attack is History. Never mind facts, never mind that you can’t succeed in a world based on scientific knowledge without that
knowledge. No one says science shouldn’t be critically acclaimed, but Texan children will be suffering an education that leads straight back to the pre-scientific era.
The Christian right is making a fresh push to force religion onto the school curriculum in Texas with the state’s education board about to consider recommendations that children be taught that there would be no United States if it had not been for God.
Members of a panel of experts appointed by the board to revise the state’s history curriculum, who include a Christian fundamentalist preacher who says he is fighting a war for America’s moral soul, want lessons to emphasise the part played by Christianity in the founding of the US and that religion is a civic virtue. (read all)
Is there anything more fascinating and beautiful than to see Nature at work?This is why I love all kinds of scientific stuff it helps me keep the importance of my species in perspective.
Forty years ago three men were on their way to the moon. At that time Neiman Marcus sold a kitchen computer to store recipes for $ 10’600.00. The device had a 0.6 Mhz processor and 16 KB storage. Compare that to your computer of today and let’s find out where in space man would be today if space travel had developed at a comparable pace. (Hint: The Earth – Moon distance, core to core, is 384,403 km)
Or just let us know what else is on your mind. It’s an open thread.
In the following segment on Hardball today, Mike Pence refuses to acknowledge that evolution is valid science and repeatedly dodges the science question. In addition, he continues to perpetuate the talking point that there is major scientific opposition on global climate change.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation’s principal conservation agency. Bush’s mockery of this department goes back to 2004, when he installed more than 100 top officials who were once lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the very industries they oversee.
Griles was a top lobbyist for the mining, oil and gas industries before joining the Interior Department. While at Interior he was the subject of a high-profile ethics investigation into his continued contacts with his clients, despite having signed a recusal agreement when he took office. Environmental groups repeatedly pointed out that Griles was also receiving $284,000 per year from his former lobbying firm during each of the four years he was on the government payroll.
This is just one of the many ethical failures, employee misconduct and general mismanagement at the Interior Department. Though not unexpected when you hire the fox to guard the chicken coop. Katharine Mieszkowski at Salon.com has shown Bush’s seven deadly environment sins and what Obama needs to do to fix them. I will note that one is missing and that is our oceans. Our oceans have a very serious problem, which are the ever increasing occurances of dead zones. Dead Zones are low-oxygen areas. These occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated. As of 2004, it is reported there are 146 dead zones in the world oceans where marine life could not be supported due to depleted oxygen levels.
Katharine talks about Bush’s environmental policymaking being taken away from scientists, and turning it over to industry cronies – also his environmental sins could have him serving penance for years.
Two Roman Catholic nuns jailed for non-violent action against nuclear weapons were also listed as terrorists by US authorities. Link.
Tax rebate, Food Stamp Money possible in Aid Plan
After consulting with Barack Obama, Democratic leaders are likely to call Congress back to work after the election in hopes of passing legislation that would include extended jobless benefits. Link
Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers Put the Smack-Down on AIG
Okay, this is about a day late, but what the hell, it’s still funny. On Thursday, Saturday Night Live aired a special 30-minute midweek episode. Link
Alaska Pollock Fishery near collapse: Greenpeace
Stocks of Alaska pollock, a staple of the U.S. fast food industry, have shrunk 50 percent from last year to record low levels and put the world’s largest food fishery on the brink of collapse. Link
Fox News’ Faux Documentary sets New Low
Sean Hannity’s Sunday report, ‘Obama and Friends: The History of Radicalism,’ relied on innuendo and guilt by association to label the Illinois senator a dupe of the shadowy forces of the left. Link
