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)

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]

Here exists a measure with which consciousness can be associated, then,  by such neural oscillations it would have some effect in demonstrating that matter would/could correlate to such frequencies?

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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Isolated Astrocyte shown with confocal microscopy. Image: Nathan S. Ivey and Andrew G. MacLean

 Research since the mid-1990s has shown that astrocytes propagate intercellular Ca²⁺ waves over long distances in response to stimulation, and, similar to neurons, release transmitters (called gliotransmitters) in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Data suggest that astrocytes also signal to neurons through Ca²⁺-dependent release of glutamate.^[1] Such discoveries have made astrocytes an important area of research within the field of neuroscience.

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:

• Delving Deeper into the Subject of Binaural Beats
• Binaural beats by Wiki

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

New Source of Gamma Rays Revealed by NASA's Fermi Space Telescope

These images show Fermi data centered on each of the four gamma-ray novae observed by the LAT. Colors indicate the number of detected gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (blue indicates lowest, yellow highest).

Image Credit: 

NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

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

Neuroscience vs. Philosophy

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From the existence of the self to the nature of free will, many philosophers have dedicated their lives to the problems of the mind. But now some neuroscientists claim to have settled these raging debates. See: Neuroscience vs.Philosophy

The Sun

24 July 2014 - Mission Day: 6810 - DOY: 205

"Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams."

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Spun and Confused

Published on Jul 21, 2014

A long arch of plasma (called a prominence) was pulled this way and that by magnetic forces for a week before it finally dissipated (July 10-16, 2014). This close up was captured in extreme ultraviolet light. The Earth scale in the lower left corner gives one a sense of the length of the prominence. This one held itself together for quite a long time, as these things go. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.

NASA Television | NASA

NASA Television | NASA

Prototype Robot With Smartphone to Test 3-D Mapping, Navigation Inside Space Station | NASA

 Image Credit: NASA/Ames

Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus spacecraft will carry 3,293 pounds (1,493.8 kg) of cargo on its upcoming commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, including crew supplies, nanosatellites, student research and this prototype free-flying space robot equipped with a smartphone, known as Smart SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites).

NASA has been testing SPHERES on the space station since 2011. This summer, astronauts will upgrade these existing space robots to use Google’s "Project Tango" smartphone, which features a custom 3-D sensor and multiple cameras. NASA will then use the Smart SPHERES to test free-flying 3-D mapping and navigation inside the space station. NASA is developing the Smart SPHERES to perform work on the space station that requires mobile sensing, such as environmental surveys to monitor levels of radiation, lighting and air quality. They also will be used to monitor inventory and conduct experiments. The development and testing of Smart SPHERES is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Prototype Robot With Smartphone to Test 3-D Mapping, Navigation Inside Space Station | NASA

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Alvar Saenz Otero, Ph.D., associate director and SPHERES lead scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Space Systems Laboratory, presents an overview of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) used for multiple robotics research investigations aboard the International Space Station. The SPHERES help researchers learn how to control bowling-ball sized satellites in a microgravity environment. Specifically, the research team is looking at how to control multiple satellites so that they work together. Planned uses for SPHERES include in space robotic assembly and refurbishing and repairing existing satellites in orbit. SEE:
The ISS SPHERES Facility

What's a Color?

 What is color? It seems like a simple question at first, but when you think about it, the reality of what we're seeing is a pretty complex situation. Our human eyes sift through a small piece of the vast electromagnetic spectrum and translate it into every color of the rainbow. But there are other animals that see these same wavelengths in different ways, or even see colors beyond what we can perceive! And not all color is dependent on wavelengths of light: the brains of certain people, called synesthetes, work in ways that let them see colors tied to music, words, or other stimuli. Watch as host Alan Alda takes you on a surreal, scientific tour of the spectrum with the help of vision researcher Jay Neitz, along with neuroscientists David Eagleman, Kaitlyn Hova, and Bevil Conway.

See Also: “What Is Color?”