Science is interesting

Syobon · **Joined:** Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:34 am **Posts:** 15027

Quote:

Hydrogen atom's electron orbital was observed and photographed

That title is a bit sensationalist and misleading, an orbital is a mathematical solution that describes a 3D area where a given electron has a 95% chance of being at any given point in time. Seeing as it's a statistical model, it can't be observed. What they have actually done is determined the place of the electron numerous (20 000+) times and combining those results recreated the shape of the orbital.

Tetrunes · **Posted:** Thu May 30, 2013 10:23 am

like a long-exposure picture?

Syobon · **Joined:** Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:34 am **Posts:** 15027

More like a composite picture, but sort of I guess.

Exeres · **Posted:** Fri May 31, 2013 2:35 pm

Similar to the hydrogen news:

Scientists trying to study and develop graphene structures captured this image of an organic molecule as it was breaking and reforming its bonds. You can see it looks virtually identical to its theoretical structure. The article has examples of other configurations the molecule made.

The article also shows the details of the electron microscope they were using, and that is at least as interesting as the pictures themselves.

Mete · **Joined:** Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:54 pm **Posts:** 12656

Curiosity streambed: http://1.usa.gov/11tuQ13
Frozen plant regeneration: http://bit.ly/13gZVrV
Molecules: http://bit.ly/10UxKNA
Oldest bird discovered: http://bit.ly/17U5fHY
Synthetic blood: http://bbc.in/136tMEA
Mammoth blood: http://bit.ly/10MNtS5

Exeres · **Posted:** Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:15 am

I totally beat you on the molecule thing.

Terraem · **Posted:** Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:50 am

Synthetic blood is actually a really important step for medical science. Seeing as we need to rely on a donor system now.

Madican · **Joined:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:18 pm **Posts:** 13531

I'm surprised we didn't have it before now.

Mete · **Joined:** Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:54 pm **Posts:** 12656

Does this mean there'll be more blood for the blood god?

SaintCrazy · **Posted:** Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:59 am

Finally, vegetarian vampires are a reality.

Mete · **Joined:** Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:54 pm **Posts:** 12656

Read a bit about wormholes on Wikipedia and found this interesting excerpt:

Quote:

Schwarzschild wormholes and Schwarzschild black holes are different, mathematical solutions of general relativity and Einstein–Cartan–Sciama–Kibble theory of gravity. Yet for distant observers, both solutions with the same mass are indistinguishable. These results suggest that all observed astrophysical black holes may be Einstein–Rosen bridges, each with a new universe inside that formed simultaneously with the black hole. Accordingly, our own Universe may be the interior of a black hole existing inside another universe.

Imagine that. A universe inside a black hole inside a universe inside a black hole inside a universe...

Madican · **Joined:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:18 pm **Posts:** 13531

Quantum physics seems to be the area of science where all the rules just don't apply anymore and all is anarchy.

Syobon · **Joined:** Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:34 am **Posts:** 15027

That's relativistic physics technically, not quantum.
Basically:
everyday stuff: Newtonian physics aka common sense
really small stuff: quantum physics
really fast or really large/dense stuff: relativistic physics

Note that it's not that Newtonian physics are actually correct for everyday stuff, they're just a good enough approximation.

Madican · **Joined:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:18 pm **Posts:** 13531

I thought relativism fell under the quantum physics umbrella. It's certainly weird enough to be that way, what with bending time itself through sheer gravity and/or speed.

Syobon · **Joined:** Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:34 am **Posts:** 15027

YCobb wrote:

I'd assume it's because the third derivative is the change in the change in the change of the motion, so it's altering how it should be acting, a bit like jerking something affects its motion?

But then that's a bit arbitrary, since the same could be said of a second derivative and movement is so messy in the real world that you have infinite derivatives you can apply to any real motion, so it could even be fourth or fifth or seventeenth derivative.

Maybe it's just a arbitrary technical term?

Edit: whoops yep technical term and I guess not so terribly arbitrary. Any higher derivative could still fit, I think, though.

That's not really how it work, a jerk is a change in momentum and a change in momentum is a (de)acceleration. The derivative of acceleration would describe the rate at which acceleration changes, but has no real scientific meaning and is never used.

Edit: this post is wrong

AWKWARD ZOMBIE

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