I saw an announcement this weekend that a European experiment into quantum entanglement has disproven local realism.
I think physics was to the point that there is no surprise here, but IMO the news is that an experimental proof opens the door to faster than light activities, within our life times (probably just communication, not transportation). That could make a big difference on colonization efforts.
John Hoffman is the new boss of documentaries at the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the Science Channel, and he wants you to know big changes are coming to the networks sometimes criticized for favoring overcooked "docu-tainment" over scientifically accurate programming.
"I am the change," he told me in his first extended interview since taking the job in January. We met at Discovery HQ in Manhattan, his corner office view only obscured by the five Emmys lining his windowsill.
Hoffman calls climate change "the most important story of our time."
Documentary programming at the Discovery Channel—along with Animal Planet and Science Channel—is experiencing a "dramatic shift," Hoffman said. "I'm also part of a group decision, throughout the company, to bring a lot more science. To elevate the scientists in the films."
Ratings, he said, aren't the be-all and end-all of his job. The other metrics are that a project "gets good press, gets good buzz, it gets good reviews, and five, it gets awards."
I pushed him more: "But how do you prevent that stuff from happening?"
In the only even remotely testy moment in our interview, Hoffman said, "Do you think for a second I am going to risk my reputation and that I'm going to do something that is a troubled documentary? That I associate the brand with either controversy, or scandal, or whatever? It's career suicide."
How the Universe Works is the best discovery channel show ever. I hope they don't touch that. It's nice to have something that's a bit more advanced than Cosmos and Through the Wormhole but still entertaining and well done.
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How the Universe Works is the best discovery channel show ever. I hope they don't touch that. It's nice to have something that's a bit more advanced than Cosmos and Through the Wormhole but still entertaining and well done.
Totally agreed. It gets a little repetitive if you watch multiple episodes in a row but damn. I don't think I've ever stared at my TV screen so intently.
Scientists have created a substance that blings even brighter than diamonds, but chances are you won't wear it. You'll take its byproducts as medicine instead.
It's called Q-carbon, and researchers at North Carolina State University have made it by zapping a kind of loose carbon with a laser beam that lasts a fraction of a fraction of a blink of an eye -- 200 nanoseconds.
That's only 200 billionths of a second, but it's enough to heat the carbon to about 3,700 degrees Celsius. That's not far from double the heat many scientist say it took to make natural diamonds when they were formed a billion or more years ago.
Then the researchers let that carbon cool immediately, snapping its atoms into a special crystalline structure.
The result is a new substance that may have never existed on Earth before and has some unique properties.
Construction of the World's Largest Telescope Is on Hold Indefinitely
Quote:
The decision is a victory for those who oppose the telescope project, including some Native Hawaiians, activists, and other cultural practitioners. Mauna Kea is sacred to Hawaiians, and the site in question is designated state conservation land. For astronomers, the setback is crushing.
Interesting story mainly because of the political rhetoric around it.
In Canada, we usually talk about environmentalists and First Nations in the context of mining/O&G/shipping and other easy-to-attack industries. In other places, it's fights over deforestation and hunting.
This is a very progressive project, where it's purely a scientific endeavor with noble goals, but stopped for many of the same reasons. The immediate discussions has a vastly different tone than some of the recent events that we've seen (like Keystone XL rejection).
I hope that the astronomers are able to find a path forward.
I think science is fabulous. In fact, so fabulous that it has mostly done what it set out to do. There are limits, obviously, and I think we are starting to hit those limits now - both from a pure and applied science perspective.
http://www.statnews.com/2015/12/02/s...roundbreaking/
“Published papers that make a novel connection are rare but more highly rewarded,” said Jacob Foster, a UCLA sociologist and co-author of the paper, which appears in the American Sociological Review, in a press release. “So what accounts for scientists’ disposition to pursue tradition over innovation? Our evidence points to a simple explanation: Innovative research is a gamble whose payoff, on average, does not justify the risk. It’s not a reliable way to accumulate scientific reward.”
An experimental satellite slated for launch on Wednesday will test a technique to detect ripples in space and across time, adding a new perspective for viewing and understanding the universe.
Lets confirm Relativity some more
Last edited by polak; 12-09-2015 at 01:47 PM.
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The new X-Prize is announced, and it is earth based this time. Mapping of the oceans. I'm hoping that interest in this project leads to interest in curtailing overfishing, blanket fishing, and ocean acidification. I have a strange feeling that, at the rate we are going, everyone is going to act stunned when ocean life becomes a fraction of a fraction of it's capacity, and a couple of billion people die as a direct (and indirect) result.
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"We don't even know who our best player is yet. It could be any one of us at this point." - Peter LaFleur, player/coach, Average Joe's Gymnasium
The new X-Prize is announced, and it is earth based this time. Mapping of the oceans. I'm hoping that interest in this project leads to interest in curtailing overfishing, blanket fishing, and ocean acidification. I have a strange feeling that, at the rate we are going, everyone is going to act stunned when ocean life becomes a fraction of a fraction of it's capacity, and a couple of billion people die as a direct (and indirect) result.
I'd venture to say that, while the oceans are more depleted now than before, there are also a bevy of new species that have yet to be found. I think it might be flourishing more than some think, especially at deeper levels.
That said, mapping the ocean is a double-edged sword. It might open up previously-untouched areas to heavy fishing and resource depletion.
Neil deGrasse Tyson reads some mean tweets
