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I won't be watching it, however having read Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku I've decided that this is really complicated stuff. LOL (he does a good job of explaining it though)
 
spooly74 said:
An introduction to String Theory: 10.30pm tonight Disc Science.

fwiw
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Good program spooly?


Well in coincidence with 400 years since Galileo looked skyward with a telescope, the International Year of Astronomy is year 2009.

So for us earthbound specks of insignificance, (must be a few of us) it provides an opportunity to learn more about Earth and beyond.
I myself don`t have a telescope but it is on the wish list and probably a better way to appreciate and understand about what makes up the infinite space surrounding our live planet.The only one known to the human mind at this point in our evolution.

There are numerous activities for the IYA in Australia with a calender of events at the above URL. Good luck and hope some enlightenment is found in looking beyond the petty foibles 1 inch back from forehead. :p:

Wys.
 

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Wysiwyg said:
Good program spooly?


Well in coincidence with 400 years since Galileo looked skyward with a telescope, the International Year of Astronomy is year 2009.

I myself don`t have a telescope but it is on the wish list and probably a better way to appreciate and understand about what makes up the infinite space surrounding our live planet.The only one known to the human mind at this point in our evolution.


Wys.
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Yeah Wys, a good introduction to the forces of nature and how we know the things we know .... and the things we think we know.

It was hosted by Brian Greene, good vid below (19min) "The universe on a string"
Also, recommend his book 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' ...an indepth non technical read, ask Santy!



A telescope is on my wish list too, been looking into it for about 6 months now and have to say it's a struggle.
The results speak for themselves though.
The following images are from some backyard astronomers ... [envy]
 

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Interesting theory about the fabric of space/time.It really is hard to imagine that particles make up the surrounds of solid objects.Then again a solid object is only something we can see or touch.I suppose these particles haven`t become a solid object yet so they hang around in space until needed.

Anyway the Hadron Collider won`t be re-commissioned till sometime next year after the expensive faulty connection between two magnets.
Is mankind about to discover something that it should not.Global economic declines, nostradamus predictions, global warming, peak oil --- nah, no connection, just an eerie thought.:eek:
 
Wysiwyg said:
It really is hard to imagine that particles make up the surrounds of solid objects.Then again a solid object is only something we can see or touch.I suppose these particles haven`t become a solid object yet so they hang around in space until needed.
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What really spins me out is that solid matter isn't solid at all. The atomic nucleii only amount to 1/10,000th to 1/100,000th of the volume of the atom and add to that the spaces between atoms bonded together in the solid and you have a truly infinitesimal amount of actual solid matter. Particles like the neutrino can pass through the entire Earth as if it wasn't there.
http://www.romunpress.co.nz/gravitychap6.html

What we feel when we touch a solid is the electromagnetic (EM) force that is holding together the constituent atoms. We do not feel the atomic nucleii. We feel a balance between the EM repulsion of the atomic nucleii and the EM attraction of atoms that share electrons or atoms that have a net electrical charge.

So when we touch anything, what we feel is the energy. We feel our energy (EM) field that binds us together coming into contact with the energy field of the solid.

Now imagine what happens when the EM repulsion between protons in the nucleii is removed as when a neutron star or black hole forms during a supernovae. Once the forces of gravity in the core of a star overcome the EM forces of repulsion, the protons (+ve) and electrons (-ve) are fused into neutrons (no net charge). All of a sudden there is no repulsion and all that empty space is removed when the strong force that binds the atomic nucleii in conjunction with gravity take over. There is a very large bang when it all meets in the middle. So a neutron star is essentially a very large atom. An atom that sits at 0 on the periodic table and has an extremely large atomic mass :) :p:

How we can see these solids is a whole other story.
 
It really is hard to imagine that particles make up the surrounds of solid objects.Then again a solid object is only something we can see or touch.I suppose these particles haven`t become a solid object yet so they hang around in space until needed.
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I don`t think so as there is only change of state/form!What is already present in form will decay as a new form is created BUT nothing comes from the space surrounding what is already present.

There can be no more or less on this planet, only a change of form.;)
 
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16392-weekend-moon-will-be-biggest-of-the-year.html
Weekend Moon will be biggest of the year
18:11 09 January 2009 by Maggie McKee

The Moon will shine especially bright this weekend, as it will come closer to Earth during its full phase than at any other time in 2009.

The Moon does not orbit Earth in a perfect circle. Instead, it follows an elliptical path that brings it 50,000 kilometres closer to our planet on one side of its orbit (called perigee) than the other (apogee).

On Saturday, 10 January, the Moon will reach perigee, coming within 357,500 kilometres of Earth. The next day, it will enter its full phase, when its disc appears completely illuminated by the Sun.
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This will make it about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than typical full Moons.
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CoffeeKing said:
C'mon 2020, we all know this is your old bowling ball... :D
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lol
bull ****, (how to avoid **** ;) - only shows up when you drag the cursor over it) - it looks more like a Fred Flintstone special.

Actually I have that well-known closeup of the moon on my desktop. Spend a bit of time looking at the craters from impacts of asteroids - and daydreaming ... makes you realise we should take nothing for granted around here. :2twocents

And to think we've landed there and returned. :eek:

Just lookin’ at the moon tonight
a ringside view in floodlit light
I think back to our Armstrong friend
who made it there and back again.

I wonder if the winning tip’s
to make some one-way rocket ships
and load em up with bigots, louts
and send em there to fight it out.
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An event took place in June 2007 in which solar winds carrying charged particles "entered" the earths magnetosphere (the field which shields the earth from solar winds).Maybe dinosaurs and human races became extinct this way!!!!

Video explanation is here. :)

and NASA article is here. :)

The magnetosphere is a bubble of magnetism that surrounds Earth and protects us from solar wind. Exploring the bubble is a key goal of the THEMIS mission, launched in February 2007. The big discovery came on June 3, 2007, when the five probes serendipitously flew through the breach just as it was opening. Onboard sensors recorded a torrent of solar wind particles streaming into the magnetosphere, signaling an event of unexpected size and importance.
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A newly discovered planet that precipitates rocks!

If there were life on the newly-discovered exoplanet COROT-7b, they would face a unique problem. Unlike Earth, where precipitation falls in various forms of water, on COROT-7b it actually rains rocks.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis [WUSTL] have been running models of the planet that was discovered in February. According to these models, the atmosphere “is made up of the ingredients of rocks and when "a front moves in," pebbles condense out of the air and rain into lakes of molten lava below.”
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http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m10d1-A-planet-that-rocks
 
derty said:
What we feel when we touch a solid is the electromagnetic (EM) force that is holding together the constituent atoms. We do not feel the atomic nucleii. We feel a balance between the EM repulsion of the atomic nucleii and the EM attraction of atoms that share electrons or atoms that have a net electrical charge.

So when we touch anything, what we feel is the energy. We feel our energy (EM) field that binds us together coming into contact with the energy field of the solid.
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Electromagnetic or electrostatic? I've always thought that it was essentially the electrostatic repulsions between the outer electron clouds of one object and the outer electron clouds of the other object that prevents the nuclei of the two objects approaching each other (unless they're approaching at really high speeds).

So, if I punch someone, could I then argue that I never touched him? :rolleyes:

Maybe I could be charged with "Assault with an electrostatic repulsion".
 
While the rover "Spirit" is bogged on Mars I thought of bringing into view the current project in Chile. The ALMA project. ALMA is an acronym for Atacama Large Millimetre Array. There will be 66 antennae positioned on the Atacama Desert plateau in Chile at an altitude of 5000 metres where the air is drier along with less pollutants. Project set for completion in 2012 and the first antenna was positioned last month.
The following explains more, along with an artists impression of the site ...

ALMA will enable transformational research into the physics of the cold Universe, regions that are optically dark but shine brightly in the millimetre portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Providing astronomers a new window on celestial origins, ALMA will probe the first stars and galaxies, and directly image the formation of planets.
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spooly74 from post #98 said:
Australian SKA project - AuSKA

Rudd has been lobbying senior officials to back the nation’s candidacy. Meeting with U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, he put forward Australia’s case, and is likely to repeat this in New York, Brussels, Bucharest, London and Beijing.

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=65521
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2020hindsight from post #101 said:
spooly , ;)
I understand we are making some prototypes for sure.
I was lucky enough to meet some of the visiting scientists in Perth the other day. Apparently much greater sensitivity than current radio telescopes.

PS I told the sister in law "Would sure put Geralton on the map" -
she said "where's Geralton? " ;)
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More good news last month ...
http://minister.innovation.gov.au/Carr/Pages/FACILITYTOLINKGERALDTONWITHWORLD-CLASSCOMPUTING.aspx

01 Oct 2009, $4M FACILITY TO LINK GERALDTON WITH WORLD-CLASS COMPUTING
Geraldton is set to play a key role in Australian astronomy with an announcement today of a new $4 million facility to support Australia and New Zealand's bid to host the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio-telescope.

Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr announced the facility following a meeting with the Mayor of the City of Geraldton-Greenough, Cr Ian Carpenter.

“The CSIRO Murchison Radio Observatory Support Facility, will directly link Geraldton based researchers with the world-class $80 million Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for SKA Science to be built in Perth,” Senator Carr said.

“Up to 12 highly skilled personnel will be employed at the Geraldton facility.

“This announcement comes on top of the support provided by the National Broadband Network, where the Geraldton to Perth link has been named a national priority. The link contains additional capacity to accommodate the SKA.

"This facility will ensure Geraldton plays a key role in Australian astronomy.

"Geraldton's unique position means that it can serve as a major link between the proposed SKA base at Boolardy Station in WA's Mid West and Perth.
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... PS That Rudd bloke - always bignoting himself ;)

"The Rudd Government will continue to do all it can to promote WA as the world's best core site to host one of the world's great science projects," Senator Carr said.

The SKA is a large-scale, new-generation radio telescope with a discovery potential that is 10,000 greater than current instruments. A decision on the final site is expected in 2012. Senator Carr visited the proposed SKA site with the WA Government yesterday.

The Geraldton facility is planned to be completed in 2011 with the design tender opportunity to be announced shortly.
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