Modern and Theoretical Physics

http://www.kschroeder.com/1163900280. (I've already em'd the NYT to have science writers check on this. I'm an engineering type so not my field. Sounds important if true, though....)

I was thinking about Newton's statement regarding gravity : "every particle in the universe attracts every other particle in the universe". How is it possible? What is the link between those particles? . The attractive force of the gravity would require that a particle should be of the size of universe. I do not think it is possible. The explanation might be much simpler , without "spooky" force acting at a distance. (Same might apply to electrostatic and magnetic forces) Please see the attachement Kris Gravity.doc

I thought you might be interested in Polchinski's review of Woit's and Smolin's books: http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/12/07/guest-blogger-joe-polchinski-on-the-string-debates/ Rather predictably, he doesn't like them much, but he brings up some interesting points.

i am in high school and have just the preliminary knowledge of kinetics .I wanted to know in case of non uniform accelerated motion if velocity (in respect of time)is integrated to give displacement.if it turns out to be zero after solving.what is the method to find distance in such a case

"The Elegant Universe" made them reputable in the lay-audience world. Have you read the papers by Alan Sokal ? and, its counterpart in the Bogdanov affair ? The public may have difficulties taking theories seriously. String theorists don't know whether or not nature/reality can be described by this theory. But, they believe it has a very good chance of being true. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is located in France and Switzerland, is scheduled to go online in 2007. It is expected to provide evidence to support aspects of string theory, such as supersymmetry, that is every known elementary particle and force carrier particle has an as-yet-undiscove…

I've come across what looks to be a fundamental equation in physics in respect to the theory I have worked on. Please critique this. Original thread: http://forums.hypography.com/physics-mathematics/9110-special-relativity-alternatives-7.html Fundamental Equation It is possible that this is one of the fundamental final equations of reality, in respect to this theory of relativity. We have X and Y, where they are a value but the same thing. Aka if you want to use time you must use time as x and y, etc. They are frames of reference. That is an interaction between two frames. The change, or let us call DELTA, of what happens in any frame will alw…

The question I ask is: What triggered the big bang? Please note I am an atheist and do not rely on religion to provide answers to our existence. If the big bang created atoms (by chance) , electrons, photons, quarks, forces, during its lifetime and everything we can or cannot observe in the universe,then would it be true to say that we shall never know what started the big bang? Look at it another way... To speculate on what triggered the big bang we have to ignore any matter we know about in our universe, because how can we use the physics in our universe to answer the trigger point (spark) in the big bang when it was the big bang that provided our…

AFAIK we don't know what it's composed of. I was wondering if the light that encircles a black hole could be immense enough to carry with it enough energy to be a significant form of mass. Very bright intense light.

I recently heard about an Einstein packing density equation that has the structure of Øa = Øb*[1-(V/Vmax)]^n I am not sure where this is from and couldn't find such an Einstein formula nor its explanation on the web. Can anyone help to point me in the right direction?

Another question about my kid; he's trying to get a collection of all the elements he can wants me to grab him a piece of tungsten welding rod. It's alloyed with 2% thorium, and I'm wondering how much risk of radiation exposure there is. My gut feeling is "not much", since he's not going to be sleeping with it and OSHA hasn't pulled it from the workplace. If it were mine I'd think nothing of it, but it's my kids'.... Thanks.

The Navy Heats up "Cold Fusion" with Use of CR-39 Detectors in LENR Experiment: Extraordinary Evidence - "Cold Fusion" The field of low energy nuclear reactions, historically known as cold fusion, has never had simple physical evidence of the claimed nuclear processes to physically place in the hands of doubters. Until now. Scientists at the U.S. Navy’s San Diego SPAWAR Systems Center have produced something unique in the 17-year history of the scientific drama historically known as cold fusion: simple, portable, highly repeatable, unambiguous, and permanent physical evidence of nuclear events using detectors that have a long track record of reliability an…

Are "virtual particles" a fact? I mean, from what I understand, virtual particles exist for such a short period of time, their existence cannot be tested. So as scientists, what's our reason for believing in them? Is it because they are theoretically necessary in order to explain certain phenomena, and if so, are they really necessary or just the best explanation we've come up with?

Talking about the dark energy in the universe, one may think of antigravitation. In the antigravitational experiment, time shown on a stopwatch sometimes pauses. 1 Steps of the experiment (1) Prepare three identical quartz stopwatches (chronograph capabilities: dive watch, 1/100 second precision to 24 hours). Let them be Stopwatch A, Stopwatch B and Stopwatch C respectively. (2) Start Stopwatch A and Stopwatch B simultaneously. In the experiment stated in Section 1.2 of the Antigravitation Engine Site (hereafter called the Site), lay Stopwatch B in front of the rotation part of the antigravitation engine, at the head of the boat (without the washbasin).…

Or is it just that they don't occur in our solar system? We make them in reactors, and if stars are just big energetic reactors...? I can understand how we'd not be able to find the short half-life stuff even if it had originally been around, but that doesn't explain the absence of plutonium in nature. My kid's getting to where his questions go beyond my mechanical engineering background as well as anything I recall reading in the past. He's also wondering: if you got shocked by a charge of protons, would it feel like an electric shock? I told him my guess is that if you could get some at a low enough energy it might, but free protons take a bit of energy to make …

With all the Zeno effect discussion etc. going on, I began to think about control over particles in general. Inhibiting certain things from happening, trapping particles in magnetic traps and so on. More specifically, nuclear decay came to mind. The question is, are there conditions that can sort of trigger a radioactive decay or accelerate the decay rate or should I say increase the probability of decay in a period of time, or is the half-life of a particle constant in all circumstances?

The Japanese has said they now have made a copper wire...disappear. Shades of Spock! How do they do that? pljames

Physics has shown that the EM force is an integration of the electrostatic force (due to charge) and the magnetic force. The question I have, is this just mathematics or are these integrated in reality? As a way to clarify my question, if one looks at say the F- anion, it contains one more electron than it has protons. This anion is relatively inert inspite of it having an extra electron, i.e., very weak base. Does this mean that the magnetic addition of the electrons absorbs the electrostatic force of the extra electron, such that the effective electrostatic force drops making act like it only has a partial electron charge?

there is one outstanding physics blog and it is run by Bee and Stefan who just got married anyone who gets anything out of physics blogs probably already knows this one. it is called "Backreaction". if you don't know it, then now is a good occasion to get acquainted. Bee's specialty is in string-and-non-string phenomenology, but the blog is about all kinds of other things as well http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2006/10/does-string-theory-explain-heavy-ion.html thing about Bee is she HAS to be unbiased for professional reasons. her specialty is TESTING theories which involves judging them fairly and evaluating their claims and predictions===it is called "phe…

Perimeter Institute often posts video for seminar talks so they might do that for Smolin's talk Wednesday 11 October I'd be glad if some others tried watching it----it may be aimed at non-specialist audience and understandable. Something some of us might discuss. or it could turn out to be for QG specialists only, in which case if you don't understand just turn it off. I don't know if it will be a talk for general audience or not, or what the topic will be---it is listed as TBA (to be announced) http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/index.php?lang=en look down the menu at the right for the list of upcoming seminars the streaming media resources are posted he…

Peter Woit's book has been at the top of UK amazon physics bestseller list frequently during the past week, for instance today at 7 AM pacific, which I believe is 2 PM greenwich 1. Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Continuing Challenge to Unify the Laws of Physics by Peter Woit 1414 2. Wiring Systems and Fault Finding: For Installation Electricians by Brian Scaddan 1824 3. The Illustrated Brief History of Time by S.W. Hawking 1927 4. Physics (Revise AS & A2 (Combined) S.) 1935 5. God and the New Physics by P.C.W. Davies 2197 6. The Mind of God: Science and the Search for Ultimate Meaning (Penguin Press Science S.) by P.C…

Hi I have a question bugging me since yesterday. If I combine two 180 degree phased out photons, the photons will interfere leaving nothing... By nothing I mean "not able to be detected". My question: where is the energy of the photons ? Is it possible to seperate the two photons ? Thanks Jacques

http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/10/6/1?rss=2.0 ===sample quote=== 5 October 2006 Danish physicists have managed to light-up a cloud of atoms using light teleported from a source half a metre away. Since Charles Bennett and his team first proposed quantum teleportation in 1993, science fiction enthusiasts have had to be content with frustratingly prosaic examples of the principle. However, at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, physicists have passed a milestone that will help to bring some practical applications of teleportation within sight (Nature 443 557). Glowing caesium “This is the first time teleportation has been achieved between the ‘fl…

Hi, I am also a astronomy lover! I want to ask u a question! On what basis scientists say there are other dimensions? They talk about traveling in those dimensions will save our time!!! What does u think is it really possible or just a fake?

Physics Today gave Richter the October guest op-ed soap-box http://www.physicstoday.org/servlet/PrintPT For an idea of who Richter is, here's an autobiographical piece he did last year http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/richter-autobio.html he is a wise elder statesman and he puts in his thoughts about the world, not just the facts of his life. the facts are stuff like Born 1931 Nobel 1976 director of SLAC 1984-1999 alternate Physics Today link: http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-59/iss-10/p8.html thanks for the link go to Clark in this Not Even Wrong thread http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=468

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/presspass/press_releases/CDF_meson.html just announced ===sample exerpt=== September 25, 2006 For immediate release IT MIGHT BE…IT COULD BE…IT IS!!! Fermilab's CDF scientists make it official: They have discovered the quick-change behavior of the B-sub-s meson, which switches between matter and antimatter 3 trillion times a second. BATAVIA, Illinois - Scientists of the CDF collaboration at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced today (September 25, 2006) that they have met the exacting standard to claim discovery of astonishingly rapid transitions between matter and antimatter: 3 trill…