Ottawa’s media rules muzzling federal scientists, say observers
The Harper government has tightened the muzzle on federal scientists, going so far as to control when and what they can say about floods at the end of the last ice age.
Natural Resources Canada scientists were told this spring they need “pre-approval” from Minister Christian Paradis’ office to speak with national and international journalists. Their “media lines” also need ministerial approval, say documents obtained by Postmedia News through access-to-information legislation.
As bad as this sounds, I could see where the Government is coming from in that they probably don't want Federal scientists to release unvetted results as they could be misconstrued as representing the stance of the Feds, which might not be the case.
France surrenders to the allure of fusion energy: Physics Buzz
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this week marks a significant date in whatever history fusion energy might have. Digging has begun at the ITER (thermonuclear was a bad word, so there's no loner an acronym) site in the south of France for the facility's Tokamak building
Interesting article on big (finite) numbers that have practical or theoretical relevance beyond just being gargantuan.
---- You have fifteen seconds. Using standard math notation, English words, or both, name a single whole number—not an infinity—on a blank index card. Be precise enough for any reasonable modern mathematician to determine exactly what number you’ve named, by consulting only your card and, if necessary, the published literature.
So contestants can’t say "the number of sand grains in the Sahara," because sand drifts in and out of the Sahara regularly. Nor can they say "my opponent’s number plus one," or "the biggest number anyone’s ever thought of plus one"—again, these are ill-defined, given what our reasonable mathematician has available. Within the rules, the contestant who names the bigger number wins. Are you ready? Get set. Go.
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New crater found in Egypt's desert by google earth.
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The Kamil crater, which is 16 metres deep and 45 metres wide, is deep within the Egyptian desert, and was unknown until it was found using the search engine's satellite images. Caused by a ten ton mass of iron travelling at more than 12,000kph, it is one of the best preserved sites ever found.
Wonder how many scientific discoveries have been made using Google Earth. It's pretty bizzare when you conisder Google's core business is internet searches.
The fastest and farthest man made object is Voyager 1, launched in 1977.
It is 17 billion kilometers from the sun. In 33 years, it has traveled 0.00179694 light years, meaning it will take an additional 367,291 years to travel 20ly. /extremely overly simplistic math.
"Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say, my own personal feeling is that the chances of life on this planet are 100 percent," said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, during a press briefing today. "I have almost no doubt about it."
Hey Canadians! "Bad Universe" premieres tonight [October 3rd] for you guys on Discovery Channel Canada! It’ll be on at 21:00 Eastern time and again at midnight (check your local listings).
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Hey Canadians! "Bad Universe" premieres tonight [October 3rd] for you guys on Discovery Channel Canada! It’ll be on at 21:00 Eastern time and again at midnight (check your local listings).
This does not help me today
The Following User Says Thank You to Hanni For This Useful Post:
seven test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control. One even drove itself down Lombard Street in San Francisco, one of the steepest and curviest streets in the nation. The only accident, engineers said, was when one Google car was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light.
