Planck time In physics, the Planck time (P) is the unit of time in the system of natural units known as Planck units. It is the time required for light to travel, in a vacuum, a distance of 1 Planck length.[1] The unit is named after Max Planck, who was the first to propose it. The Planck time is defined as:[2] where: = /2 is the reduced Planck constant (sometimes h is used instead of ħ in the definition[1]) G = gravitational constant c = speed of light in a vacuum s is the SI unit of time, the second. Physical significance[edit] The Planck time is the unique combination of the gravitational constant G, the special-relativistic constant c, and the quantum constant ħ, to produce a constant with units of time. See also[edit] Notes and references[edit]
sd-2 : Structural Deep Democracy Imagine a voting system which: 1. one is a candidate from receiving only one vote from another. 2. all candidates are in a ranked hierarchy in real-time. 3. popularity isn't the only measure, strength of vote is also a factor. 4. it is peer ranking instead of popular ranking. 5. generalist selection is mandatory (two or more). 6. specialist selection is an option. 7. direct referendum votes are an option. 8. can be used in conventional organizations to form executive committees. Structural Deep Democracy(SD2) is a transitive proxy voting approach to democratic-republicanism. SD2 uses TMMP modified PageRank as a centrality algorithm to analyze votes to determine the center of TRUST and CONSENT in a human trust network, then keeps those leaders accountable with frequent rank recalculations. The top three or five lead such an organization with one of them as the executive. This creates a small and efficient locus of trust and accountability to lead the organization.
Knowing the mind of God: Seven theories of everything - physics-math - 04 March 2010 Read full article Continue reading page |1|2 This story has been edited to clarify that it discusses different approaches being taken to develop a theory of everything. The "theory of everything" is one of the most cherished dreams of science. But theologians needn't lose too much sleep just yet. Here's a brief guide to some of the front runners. String theory This is probably the best known theory of everything, and the most heavily studied. What's more, the mathematics of string theory also rely on extra spatial dimensions, which humans could not experience directly. These are radical suggestions, but many theorists find the string approach elegant and have proposed numerous variations on the basic theme that seem to solve assorted cosmological conundrums. First, string theorists have so far struggled to make new predictions that can be tested. Secondly, there are just too many variants of the theory, any one of which could be correct – and little to choose between them. Quantum graphity
Special relativity Special relativity implies a wide range of consequences, which have been experimentally verified,[2] including length contraction, time dilation, relativistic mass, mass–energy equivalence, a universal speed limit, and relativity of simultaneity. It has replaced the conventional notion of an absolute universal time with the notion of a time that is dependent on reference frame and spatial position. Rather than an invariant time interval between two events, there is an invariant spacetime interval. Combined with other laws of physics, the two postulates of special relativity predict the equivalence of mass and energy, as expressed in the mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, where c is the speed of light in vacuum.[3][4] A defining feature of special relativity is the replacement of the Galilean transformations of classical mechanics with the Lorentz transformations. Postulates[edit] Lack of an absolute reference frame[edit] Relativity theory depends on "reference frames". where we get
Even a Glass of Water Is a Mystery to Physicists | David Albert With rendition switcher Question: What are some of the great questions in physics today? David Albert: Sure. There's a glass of water on the table beside me. It was noticed about 80 years ago that if one supposes that the fundamental laws of the world are quantum mechanics, if one supposes that the fundamental physical laws of the world are the ones that we get in quantum mechanics textbooks, this story that I just told about how I know there's a glass of water on the table radically falls apart. Now, this is, at the end of the day, a scientific project. So philosophers can be, or people with philosophical training or philosophical sensitivity can be, helpful here in trying to frame very precisely what the problem is, what would count as an adequate solution to the problem, so on and so forth.
The perfect crime tool: Researchers work on ‘event cloak’ | Raw Story By Agence France-PresseMonday, November 15, 2010 22:54 EDT PARIS — Jewelry robbers, magicians, exam cheats and practical jokers everywhere will have an interest in an offbeat idea launched by physicists on Tuesday: to make the passage of time invisible. The scientists have conceived of a “spacetime cloak” which manipulates light and, in essence, conceals whole events from a viewer. The theory is based on censoring the flow of events, which we perceive as a stream of light particles, also called photons, that strike the retina. By exploiting a characteristic of fiber optics, the flow of photons can be slowed, events edited out and stitched back together, say the team from Imperial College London and Salford University, northwestern England. The theory is expounded in a daunting series of equations and diagrams in the Journal of Optics, published by the Institute of Physics. The refractory index is a determinant of the speed with which the light is transported in the cable. Agence France-Presse
Fermilab Experiment Hints At Existence of Brand-New Elementary Particle Physicists working with a Fermilab neutrino experiment may have found a new elementary particle whose behavior breaks the known laws of physics. If correct, their results poke holes in the accepted Standard Model of particles and forces, and raise some interesting questions for the Large Hadron Collider and Tevatron experiments. The new particle could even explain the existence of dark matter. Working with Fermilab's MiniBooNE experiment — the first part of the larger planned Booster Neutrino Experiment — physicists found evidence for a fourth flavor of neutrino, according to a new paper published in Physical Review Letters. This means there could be another particle we didn't know about, and that it behaves in a way physicists didn't expect. Neutrinos have been mystifying physicists since they were first theorized decades ago. Examining three years' worth of MiniBooNE data, researchers detected more oscillations than would be possible if there were only three flavors.
£2.2bn superlab where scientists are creating a star on Earth By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 20:10 GMT, 17 November 2010 It may look like any average building but behind closed doors could lie the answer to safe renewable energy of the future. Here at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore California, scientists are aiming to build the world's first sustainable fusion reactor by 'creating a miniature star on Earth'. Following a series of key experiments over the last few weeks, the £2.2 billion project has inched a little closer to its goal of igniting a workable fusion reaction by 2012. Experiment: Scientists hope that their £2.2billion 'miniature star on earth' will become the world's first sustainable fusion reactor by 2012 According to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) team in Livermore, on November 2 they fired up the 192 lasers beams at the centre of the reactor and aimed them at a glass target containing tritium and deuterium gas. For a direct comparison, the temperature at the centre of the sun is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.