Thursday, January 30, 2014

Helioseismology and Gravitational Waves

The universe is expected to be permeated by a stochastic background of gravitational radiation of astrophysical and cosmological origin. This background is capable of exciting oscillations in solar-like stars. Here we show that solar-like oscillators can be employed as giant hydrodynamical detectors for such a background in the muHz to mHz frequency range, which has remained essentially unexplored until today. We demonstrate this approach by using high-precision radial velocity data for the Sun to constrain the normalized energy density of the stochastic gravitational-wave background around 0.11 mHz. These results open up the possibility for asteroseismic missions like CoRoT and Kepler to probe fundamental physics. See: An upper bound from helioseismology on the stochastic background of gravitational waves

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The heart-shaped vibrations for the star KIC12253350.
The search for distant planets starts with the vibrations of their stars, and in those vibrations lies a kind of music.

See: Listening to the Stars

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This page has links to sound files that are "sonification of light curves" of Kepler stars. The light curves contain certain frequencies of brightness variation that are akin to sound waves, but the frequencies are not audible to the human ear. In the sonification process, those inaudible frequencies are analyzed by a mathematical technique called fourier analysis and then scaled to frequencies that the human ear can hear. See: Kepler Star Sounds

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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Particle Fever Release



"Particle Fever succeeds on every level" - The Hollywood Reporter.  See: http://particlefever.com/

Gravitational Waves, as Quantum Flunctuations

"According to modern understanding, even if all matter could be removed from a volume, it would still not be "empty" due to vacuum fluctuations, dark energy, transiting gamma- and cosmic rays, neutrinos, along with other phenomena in quantum physics. In modern particle physics, the vacuum state is considered as the ground state of matter." See: Vacuum
Bold added by me for emphasis.

While covering long distances(cosmic particles) what is examined that differences could have been determined in AMSII Calorimeter devices have been implored to be defined in configuration spaces. See Glast/Fermi. Use of calorimeter devices against the backdrop of LHC.


When cosmic particle meet earth's boundary with space, forward faster then light effects are generated. It is important to me that space be given it proper context in relation too, what is actually being transmitted across distances. Speed of light is medium dependent. So energy depenence value is necessary for those forward measure faster then light measure, exemplified in ICECUBE.

The idea then, that these space fluctuation as vacua are in expression and are sensitive aside what else is also being transmitted across those long distances. This, in relation with cosmic particles that were also created in events.

The most important thing is to be motivated by your own intellectual curiosity.
KIP THORNE

Dr. Kip Thorne, Caltech 01-Relativity-The First 20th Century Revolution


In my mind Kip Thorne's determinations as to the length of measure and value of LiGO arms, also seen as beam of light very sensitive to those vacuum fluctuations.


Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of Earth-based gravitational wave observatories1–4 is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometre-level sensitivity of the kilometre-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here, we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum noise limit, most notably in the frequency region down to 150 Hz, critically important for several astrophysical sources, with no deterioration of performance observed at any frequency. With the injection of squeezed states, this LIGO detector demonstrated the best broadband sensitivity to gravitational waves ever achieved, with important implications for observing the gravitational-wave Universe with unprecedented sensitivity. A fundamental limit to the sensitivitySee: Enhanced sensitivity of the LIGO gravitational wave detector by using squeezed states of lightPUBLISHED ONLINE: 21 JULY 2013 | DOI: 10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.177

Monday, January 20, 2014

Quantum Tunnelling

Quantum tunnelling or tunneling (see spelling differences) refers to the quantum mechanical phenomenon where a particle tunnels through a barrier that it classically could not surmount. This plays an essential role in several physical phenomena, such as the nuclear fusion that occurs in main sequence stars like the Sun.[1] It has important applications to modern devices such as the tunnel diode,[2] quantum computing, and the scanning tunnelling microscope. The effect was predicted in the early 20th century and its acceptance, as a general physical phenomenon, came mid-century.[3]



ABSTRACT Surprisingly robust quantum effects have been observed in warm biological systems. At the same time quantum information technology has moved closer to physical realization. This one day workshop will examine the significance of mesoscopic quantum coherence, tunneling and entanglement in biomolecular membranes, proteins, DNA and cytoskeleton, with particular attention to recently discovered megahertz ballistic conductance in microtubules. Potential utilization of biomolecular quantum information in regulation of cellular activities will be addressed, along with implications for disease and therapy as well as the future development of quantum computation and artificial intelligence.Google Workshop on Quantum Biology, Welcome and Introduction, Presented by Hartmut Neven

See Also:

Flatland in Expression?



Professor Konstantin Novoselov talks about his Nobel Prize winning discovery graphene, and what the future holds for it in the 2012 Kohn Award Lecture SEE: Graphene: materials in the flatland




See Also:

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Raphael Bousso & Carlo Rovelli Reverse Debate



Raphael Bousso & Carlo Rovelli Reverse Debate introduced by Max Tegmark @ FQXi conference FQXi's 4th International Conference, "The Physics of Information" January 5-10, 2014 Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
It had me scratching my head( how do you walk in another person's shoes).....and really quite humorous. If they tried to exchange shoes that would have been funny too?

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Is Reality a Virtual Simulation?



To my mind there must be, at the bottom of it all,
not an equation, but an utterly simple idea.
And to me that idea, when we finally discover it,
will be so compelling, so inevitable,
that we will say to one another,
“Oh, how beautiful !
How could it have been otherwise?”
From a personal notebook of Wheeler circa 1991
Click the image to open in full size.
This symbol was used to demonstrate in a global sense that everything is derived from bits. Taken from a speech given by John Archibald Wheeler in 1999. Also from, J. A. Wheeler: Journey into Gravity and Spacetime (Scientific American Library, Freeman, New York, 1990), pg. 220
The Last Question. Of course in science fiction we like to popularize things. As if, the model itself, has yet to become the real thing? Can one say that there model is better, while they say all other models are insufficient? They have to be speaking from a framework right? In that sense Asimov was a visionary, that brought the dream of, to become something real?




As I was reading I got this impression of the "they( as some grand designer)" as if the designer of the monolith, and those without freewill, apes. I know it's just a story, but the first story to me that somehow as story tellers, we'd given the impression that Hal, was imbued with something more then we had come to know in the beginning days of computer intelligence. In another sense still, moon dwellers, with no freewill.

So in that sense there was this drive to apply human capabilities to a machine, and thus all humanity expression in terms of this machinist attribute of being? So at some point the Frankenstein(a biological design robot) becomes alive through our efforts to construct this live emotive thing we call a robot.

So it is as if the simulation had taken on this elevation of sorts, as to say, that the machine had graduated once having realized that such a robot could dream, and thus a culmination of all things possible for a human being, had somehow now become that simulation of reality? A Second Life?

So we have this godlike power now. And in place of sending machines to distant planets to gather information and to do our bidding in an effort to gather information, some "they" beyond the parameters of our seemingly capable world of science found out, that the biological robot had already been designed? Say what?

Click the image to open in full size.

Monday, January 06, 2014

SCOAP3 to start on 1 January 2014

Geneva 5 December 2013. After intense preparations and consensus building, CERN[1] has today confirmed that the SCOAP3 Open Access publishing initiative will start on 1 January 2014. With the support of partners in 24 countries[2], a vast fraction of scientific articles in the field of High-Energy Physics will become Open Access at no cost for any author: everyone will be able to read them; authors will retain copyright; and generous licenses will enable wide re-use of this information.

Convened at CERN this is the largest scale global Open Access initiative ever built, involving an international collaboration of over one thousand libraries, library consortia and research organizations. SCOAP3 enjoys the support of funding agencies and has been established in co-operation with leading publishers. See: SCOAP3 to start on 1 January 2014

See Also:

It is important to see the efforts of this Open Access in action,  so look there to see what has come of it.

Friday, January 03, 2014

Nima Arkani-Hamed Speaks with Ian McEwan



You Might like to move ahead to 12:45 on sliding scale....somewhat of an improvement from 15:45 of about 3:00 seconds. Nima acknowledges in speaking,  about the introduction of this video,  of a metaphor considering the Higg's Boson,  and of course speaks to the metaphors limitations.  So along with 3 seconds savings,  you also get to enjoy that introduction.

I could not help but think of Leonard Susskind,  Raphael Bousso, Juan Maldacena  and  Joseph Polchinski when talking about Falling into a Blackhole, when Nima was speaking. What Nima is saying is important to me. I understand what he is saying about what drives people to that wonder, and how to science people,  this is a fundamental feeling which is expressed across many of those who have had this mystery about the world at heart. Creatively expressed,  as to get to the source of things whether by the science, or,  with regard to the creation of artistic endeavor whether it be music or writing.

Nima speaks about Truth and that's with a capital "T,"  so I am not lost on the importance of this meaning, but like things of wonder and creativity,  the message of Truth is fundamental as well to people.

When Nima spoke about Stephen Weinberg's first three minutes this sent me back to the ideas regarding how our views have changed,  to ask, what the microseconds might have in store for us.  This becomes fundamental when we learn to see what models can apply them self too,  what we may be looking at the universe. This disturb me somewhat as some spoke ill of conceptual fundamentals of model theories when they did not understand this simple fact and were chorusing. Beauty and deep take on their true meaning.

Ian McEwan at 29:55 approximately spoke about the types of maths, and with his list I believe he failed to see the significance of what was sitting before him as Nima the mathematician. One has to see that the Theoretical was an accomplishment above all the maths to which included,  all these rigid structures Nima was talking about. It is not as if you can take a step and make an pronouncement without leveling the structure in some way without regarding the maths involved. This is what I have learn as a researcher within the subject of the sciences being spoken too, as I have come to know it. A White rectangle was simple in its description but we know what he meant right(LHC)?

Ian started to lose me when the significance of the conversation about commonality now became the race to become a known scientist.  Of course thoughts about publishing in the Arxiv as to the substance and work to establish credibility crossed my mind. But that timing was ill supported to the movement of this conversation to me. While Nima did professed to not understanding the creativity aspect of the work involved he was very aware of the structure ability to get to results being explained in science as his job done well. There could not have been a better discription of the creative process to me then how Nima logically explained it.

See Also:

Nima Arkani-Hamed debates a novelist

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Russian Space Walkers



Two Russian cosmonauts in Orlan spacesuits wrapped up a 8-hour, 7-minute spacewalk to attempt the installation of photographic equipment on the exterior of the International Space Station at 4:07 p.m. EST Friday. See: ISS Russian Space walkers Run Into Snag With Camera Installation