Saturday, August 30, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
The Extra Dimensions
The weakness of gravity compared to the other subatomic forces is a real mystery. While nobody knows the answer, one credible solution is that gravity has access to more spatial dimensions than the other three known forces. In this video, Fermilab's Dr. Don Lincoln describes this idea, with the help of some very urbane characters. See: Big Mysteries: The Extra Dimensions
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The extra dimensions of string theory which were originally viewed as a source of embarrassment for the theory, have proven to be instrumental in resolving a number of puzzles associated with 3+1 dimensional physics. I discuss examples of this in the context of black holes, gauge theory and particle phenomenology. See: Strings and the Magic of Extra Dimensions - Cumrun Vafa
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Savas Dimopoulos
(link now dead)Here’s an analogy to understand this: imagine that our universe is a two-dimensional pool table, which you look down on from the third spatial dimension. When the billiard balls collide on the table, they scatter into new trajectories across the surface. But we also hear the click of sound as they impact: that’s collision energy being radiated into a third dimension above and beyond the surface. In this picture, the billiard balls are like protons and neutrons, and the sound wave behaves like the graviton.
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- Are There Extra Dimensions?(Number 3)
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Neural Oscillations in Gamma
EEG in Gamma-A gamma wave is a pattern of neural oscillation in humans with a frequency between 25 and 100 Hz,[1] though 40 Hz is typical.[2] |
A mouse endowed with an astrocyte signalling switch may prove useful in future experiments—and may enable the researchers to continue to explore how gamma waves enable recognition of what’s new and different, a cognitive task equally essential for humans to make their way in the world. See: The Brainwave That Lets You Recognize What’s New in the World
In "we create reality" listed in blog post below, a simple suggestion it seems makes thinking in this range somewhat appealing? I mean, is it really that easy that what we choose to do with our thinking can actually produce physiological implications in the thinking brain so as to suggest we can actually create these states?
Frederick Travis, PhD, director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition, explains that the concept "We create our reality" is more than a philosophical statement. It is a physical reality driven by neural plasticity—every experience changes the brain. Therefore, choose transcendental experiences and higher states of consciousness naturally unfold. See: We Create Our Reality (underlined for emphasis by me).
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Calcium Waves-Astrocytes are linked by gap junctions, creating an electrically coupled (functional) syncytium.[25] Because of this ability of astrocytes to communicate with their neighbors, changes in the activity of one astrocyte can have repercussions on the activities of others that are quite distant from the original astrocyte.
An influx of Ca2+ ions into astrocytes is the essential change that ultimately generates calcium waves. Because this influx is directly caused by an increase in blood flow to the brain, calcium waves are said to be a kind of hemodynamic response function. An increase in intracellular calcium concentration can propagate outwards through this functional syncytium. Mechanisms of calcium wave propagation include diffusion of calcium ions and IP3 through gap junctions and extracellular ATP signalling.[26] Calcium elevations are the primary known axis of activation in astrocytes, and are necessary and sufficient for some types of astrocytic glutamate release.
See Also:
Thursday, August 07, 2014
We Create Our Reality
Frederick Travis, PhD, director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition, explains that the concept "We create our reality" is more than a philosophical statement. It is a physical reality driven by neural plasticity—every experience changes the brain. Therefore, choose transcendental experiences and higher states of consciousness naturally unfold.See: We Create Our Reality
Rosetta's arrival at comet 67P/C-G
Highlights from ESA's mission control centre during Rosetta's arrival at comet 67P/C-G on 6 August 2014. Includes live updates from the Rosetta flight control team, confirmation of orbit entry and presentation of latest images and science results.See: Rosetta arrival highlights
See Also: Rosetta Rendezvous with a Comet
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
New Source of Gamma Rays Revealed by NASA's Fermi Space Telescope
Image Credit:
NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration
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One explanation for the gamma-ray emission is that the blast creates multiple shock waves that expand into space at slightly different speeds. Faster shocks could interact with slower ones, accelerating particles to near the speed of light. These particles ultimately could produce gamma rays. See: NASA's Fermi Space Telescope Reveals New Source of Gamma Rays
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Credit: Weiqun Zhang and Stan Woosley |
This image is from a computer simulation of the beginning of a gamma-ray burst. Here we see the jet 9 seconds after its creation at the center of a Wolf Rayet star by the newly formed, accreting black hole within. The jet is now just erupting through the surface of the Wolf Rayet star, which has a radius comparable to that of the sun. Blue represents regions of low mass concentration, red is denser, and yellow denser still. Note the blue and red striations behind the head of the jet. These are bounded by internal shocks. See: "ROSETTA STONE" FOUND TO DECODE THE MYSTERY OF GAMMA RAY BURSTS
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