Physicists May Have Evidence Universe Is A Computer Simulation
Physicists say they may have evidence that the universe is a computer simulation. How? They made a computer simulation of the universe. A long-proposed thought experiment, put forward by both philosophers and popular culture, points out that any civilisation of sufficient size and intelligence would eventually create a simulation universe if such a thing were possible. And since there would therefore be many more simulations (within simulations, within simulations) than real universes, it is therefore more likely than not that our world is artificial. Now a team of researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany led by Silas Beane say they have evidence this may be true. In a paper named ‘Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation’, they point out that current simulations of the universe - which do exist, but which are extremely weak and small - naturally put limits on physical laws. But the basic impression is an intriguing one.
Atoms Reach Record Temperature, Colder than Absolute Zero
Absolute zero is often thought to be the coldest temperature possible. But now researchers show they can achieve even lower temperatures for a strange realm of "negative temperatures." Oddly, another way to look at these negative temperatures is to consider them hotter than infinity, researchers added. This unusual advance could lead to new engines that could technically be more than 100 percent efficient, and shed light on mysteries such as dark energy, the mysterious substance that is apparently pulling our universe apart. An object's temperature is a measure of how much its atoms move — the colder an object is, the slower the atoms are. Bizarro negative temperatures To comprehend the negative temperatures scientists have now devised, one might think of temperature as existing on a scale that is actually a loop, not linear. With positive temperatures, atoms more likely occupy low-energy states than high-energy states, a pattern known as Boltzmann distribution in physics.
No magic show: Real-world levitation to inspire better pharmaceuticals
It’s not a magic trick and it’s not sleight of hand – scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a way to use sound waves to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals. While the connection between levitation and drug development may not be immediately apparent, a special relationship emerges at the molecular level. At the molecular level, pharmaceutical structures fall into one of two categories: amorphous or crystalline. Amorphous drugs typically are more efficiently taken up by the body than their crystalline cousins; this is because amorphous drugs are both more highly soluble and have a higher bioavailability, suggesting that a lower dose can produce the desired effect.
What the Dalai Lama can teach us about temperatures below absolute zero
What can these three teach us about temperature? There’s been a lot of buzz lately in the science blogosphere about a recent experiment where physicists created a gas of quantum particles with a negative temperature – negative as in, below absolute zero. This is pretty strange, because absolute zero is supposed to be that temperature at which all atomic motion ceases, where atoms that normally jiggle about freeze in their places, and come to a complete standstill. Presumably, this is as cold as cold can be. Can anything possibly be colder than this? Here’s the short answer. To understand this, we first need to know what physicists mean by temperature. This definition really made sense to me when I could see it for myself, so here is a simulation where you can play around with gas molecules. So far, so good. Here’s the new definition that they came up with. Now, if you don’t speak math, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Here’s the analogy. References
Daniel Burrus: 3D Printers Can Now Print Chemicals
3D printers, or additive manufacturing as it is also called, have gone beyond printing prototypes to printing final products ready for use such as jewelry, chairs, human jaw bones, and parts for jet engines to name just a few. 3D printers work by using lasers to deposit and fuse a thin layer upon layer of materials such as plastic or metals to create a solid object. Recently, Professor Lee Cronin from the University of Glosgow has taken the idea of 3D printing a step further. He's using a $2,000 3D printer to print lab equipment--blocks containing chambers that connect to mixing chambers--and then injecting the desired ingredients into the chambers to produce organic and/or inorganic reactions that can yield chemicals, and in some cases new compounds. Just as early 3D printers were used for rapid prototyping, his new chemical printer can initially be used to rapidly discover new compounds.
putting a 1/2" neodymium magnet in ferrofluid
Solar powered 3D printer - turns sand into glass objects | 3D Printers Australia
Markus Kayser has developed a 3D printer which harnesses the power of the sun to sinter layers of sand to create 3D parts in glass! Dubbed the Solar-Sinter, the semi automatic 3D printer focuses the energy of the sun through a large fresnel lenes and melts the sand, thus turning it into glass, to form 3D objects. The machine in the video is the second machine Kayser has built and was tested in the Sahara desert near Siwa, Egypt. Video after the jump…. “This process of converting a powdery substance via a heating process into a solid form is known as sintering and has in recent years become a central process in design prototyping known as 3D printing or SLS (selective laser sintering). [...] By using the sun’s rays instead of a laser and sand instead of resins, I had the basis of an entirely new solar-powered machine and production process for making glass objects that taps into the abundant supplies of sun and sand to be found in the deserts of the world.”
Bylaws of The Bitcoin Foundation | Bitcoin Foundation
of (a District of Columbia non-profit corporation) Effective as of July 23, 2012 Section 1.1 Principal Office: The Corporation’s principal office shall be located in the District of Columbia. The Board of Directors shall have full power and authority to change the location of the Corporation’s principal office. Section 1.2 Other Offices: The Board of Directors shall have full power and authority to establish branch, subordinate, or other offices at any place or places where the Corporation may legally conduct business. Section 2.1 Purposes: The Corporation is an association of persons having a common business interest, the purpose of which is to promote that common business interest and to engage in any lawful activity permitted under section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. Section 3.1 Membership Classes: The Corporation will have three classes of membership: (a) Founding Members; (b) Industry Members; and i. ii. iii. iv. v.
