#Atomic/Molecular/Particle Physics

[turiyatitta]

Reincarnation Unfolding

The Mystical Dance of Life at the Subatomic ScaleReincarnation is often conceived as a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This process, however, is not confined merely to the level of an individual’s life journey, but also at a minute, an invisible scale that continuously unfolds within us.The human body is composed of about 37 trillion cells, with each one possessing its lifecycle. Old cells…

[funeral]

Subatomic particles are dynamic patterns which have a space aspect and a time aspect. Their space aspect makes them appear as objects with a certain mass, their time aspect as processes involving the equivalent energy. These dynamic patterns, or “energy bundles,” form the stable nuclear, atomic, and molecular structures which build up matter and give it its macroscopic solid aspect, thus making us believe that it is made of some material substance. At the macroscopic level, this notion of substance is a useful approximation, but at the atomic level it no longer makes sense. Atoms consist of particles and these particles are not made of any material stuff. When we observe them, we never see any substance; what we observe are dynamic patterns continually changing into one another—a continuous dance of energy.

Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics

[girlactionfigure]

🧵Meet 15 Jewish Nobel Prize Winners Who Changed History🧵

The Jewish population constitutes just 0.18% of the world (15.3 million out of 8.2 billion), yet approximately 20-30% of Nobel Prize winners in fields like Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine are Jewish. This incredible fact highlights the Jewish community's historic contributions to humanity.

Let’s meet just 15 of the over 200 Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

1/ Albert Einstein (1921, Physics).

Einstein was born in Germany to a secular Jewish family. His groundbreaking discovery of the photoelectric effect laid the foundation for quantum mechanics, earning him the Nobel Prize.

▪ His theory of relativity (E=mc²) reshaped our understanding of gravity and spacetime.

▪In 1933, Einstein fled Nazi Germany to the U.S., where he became a vocal advocate for civil rights and Zionism. ▪He helped inspire the Manhattan Project but later became an advocate for nuclear disarmament.

2/ Niels Bohr (1922, Physics).

Born in Denmark to a Jewish mother, Bohr revolutionized atomic physics.

▪His Bohr Model showed electrons orbit the nucleus in distinct energy levels. ▪During WWII, Bohr worked on the Manhattan Project after escaping Nazi persecution. ▪Beyond science, Bohr advocated for global cooperation and peaceful nuclear energy use.

3/ Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1966, Literature).

Born in Galicia (modern-day Ukraine), Agnon immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1908.

▪His novels and stories delve into Jewish tradition, spirituality, and the tension between modernity and faith. ▪His acclaimed works include A Simple Story and Only Yesterday. ▪Agnon’s Nobel solidified Hebrew literature's global recognition.

4/ Rosalyn Yalow (1977, Medicine).

Yalow, born in New York to a Jewish family, co-developed radioimmunoassay (RIA), a groundbreaking technique to measure hormones in blood.

▪Her work revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like diabetes. ▪Despite gender biases in science at that time, she became the second woman to win the Medicine Nobel.

5/ Baruch Blumberg (1976, Medicine).

Blumberg, a Jewish-American physician, discovered the Hepatitis B virus and developed its vaccine.

▪His research saved millions from liver disease and cancer.

▪Blumberg also served as the first director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, exploring life’s origins in the universe.

6/ Lev Landau (1962, Physics)

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, to a Jewish family, Landau made ground-breaking contributions to condensed matter physics and quantum mechanics.

▪His groundbreaking work on superfluidity explained the behavior of liquid helium at extremely low temperatures. ▪Landau also developed the "Landau-Lifshitz equations," foundational in describing ferromagnetism. ▪Known as a genius in theoretical physics, his "Landau Levels" remain crucial in quantum mechanics.

7/ Richard Feynman (1965, Physics).

Feynman, born to Jewish parents in New York, shared the Nobel for his work in quantum electrodynamics (QED).

▪Known for his brilliance and humor, he revolutionized particle physics with "Feynman diagrams." ▪He contributed to the Manhattan Project and inspired countless scientists through his lectures and books like Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

8/ Elie Wiesel (1986, Literature).

A Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, Wiesel wrote Night, a searing memoir of his Auschwitz experience.

▪He dedicated his life to Holocaust education and combating hatred. ▪Wiesel’s Nobel recognized his literary contributions, ensuring the horrors of the Holocaust were never forgotten.

9/ Herbert Hauptman (1985, Chemistry).

Hauptman, a Jewish-American mathematician, co-developed direct methods for solving crystal structures, revolutionizing crystallography.

▪His work paved the way for advances in drug design, enabling scientists to develop life-saving medications. ▪Hauptman’s methods remain foundational in understanding molecular structures in biology and medicine.

10/ Robert Aumann - Yisrael Aumann. (2005, Economics).

An Israeli-American mathematician, Aumann revolutionized game theory, analyzing strategic interactions between rational decision-makers.

▪His work, particularly on "repeated games," has applications in economics, military strategy, and even evolutionary biology. ▪Aumann is an observant Orthodox Jew and has been a vocal advocate for Israel's security and has connected his mathematical insights with the Talmudic concept of fairness and justice. He often reflects on his Jewish heritage in his work and public speeches.

11/ Aaron Ciechanover (2004, Chemistry).

Ciechanover, born in Haifa, Israel, discovered the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation system.

▪This mechanism explains how cells identify and destroy faulty or damaged proteins, which is essential for maintaining health. ▪His findings have significant implications for treating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

12/ Avram Hershko (2004, Chemistry).

Hershko, born in Hungary and a Holocaust survivor, worked alongside Ciechanover on the ubiquitin system.

▪His research showed how proteins are tagged for destruction, which is vital for cellular health. ▪Hershko’s journey from surviving the Holocaust to becoming a Nobel laureate highlights the resilience and brilliance of Jewish scientists.

13/ Daniel Kahneman (2002, Economics).

Kahneman, born in Tel Aviv, is a psychologist whose work transformed economics.

▪He co-authored Thinking, Fast and Slow, exploring how cognitive biases affect decision-making. ▪His prospect theory explained how people assess risk, challenging classical economic theories of rationality.

14/ Ada Yonath (2009, Chemistry).

An Israeli crystallographer, Yonath is celebrated for uncovering the 3D structure of ribosomes, the cell's protein factories.

▪Her work advanced the development of antibiotics targeting bacterial ribosomes, combating antibiotic resistance. ▪Yonath is the first Israeli woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

15/ Saul Perlmutter (2011, Physics).

An astrophysicist from Berkeley, Perlmutter co-discovered that the universe’s expansion is accelerating due to "dark energy."

▪His work confirmed the existence of this mysterious force, which makes up about 68% of the universe. ▪Perlmutter’s groundbreaking discovery led to a wave of new theories and observations in cosmology, changing how we understand the cosmos and our place within it.

Conclusion.

Of the 976 individual winners of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences from 1901 through 2024, at least 217 have been Jews or people with at least one Jewish parent, an astonishing 22% of all recipients. 

This amazing achievement underlines the huge contribution that the Jewish community has made to world progress in a wide range of areas, from science and medicine to literature and economics. 

With only 0.2% of the world's population, Jewish people have continued to shape and inspire the world with intellectual perseverance and innovation, thus leaving a lasting legacy for future generations. 

Correction *Jewish population is at 15.8 million. 

Correction: Wiesel won for peace. 

@AP_from_NY

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Dark matter could have helped make supermassive black holes in the early universe

It takes a long time for supermassive black holes, like the one at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, to form. Typically, the birth of a black hole requires a giant star with the mass of at least 50 of our suns to burn out—a process that can take a billion years—and its core to collapse in on itself.

Even so, at only about 10 solar masses, the resulting black hole is a far cry from the 4 million-solar-masses black hole, Sagittarius A*, found in our Milky Way galaxy, or the billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes found in other galaxies. Such gigantic black holes can form from smaller black holes by accretion of gas and stars, and by mergers with other black holes, which take billions of years.

Why, then, is the James Webb Space Telescope discovering supermassive black holes near the beginning of time itself, eons before they should have been able to form? UCLA astrophysicists have an answer as mysterious as the black holes themselves: Dark matter kept hydrogen from cooling long enough for gravity to condense it into clouds big and dense enough to turn into black holes instead of stars. The finding is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

"How surprising it has been to find a supermassive black hole with a billion solar mass when the universe itself is only half a billion years old," said senior author Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA. "It's like finding a modern car among dinosaur bones and wondering who built that car in the prehistoric times."

Some astrophysicists have posited that a large cloud of gas could collapse to make a supermassive black hole directly, bypassing the long history of stellar burning, accretion and mergers. But there's a catch: Gravity will, indeed, pull a large cloud of gas together, but not into one large cloud. Instead, it gathers sections of the gas into little halos that float near each other but don't form a black hole.

The reason is that the gas cloud cools too quickly. As long as the gas is hot, its pressure can counter gravity. However, if the gas cools, pressure decreases, and gravity can prevail in many small regions, which collapse into dense objects before gravity has a chance to pull the entire cloud into a single black hole.

"How quickly the gas cools has a lot to do with the amount of molecular hydrogen," said first author and doctoral student Yifan Lu. "Hydrogen atoms bonded together in a molecule dissipate energy when they encounter a loose hydrogen atom. The hydrogen molecules become cooling agents as they absorb thermal energy and radiate it away. Hydrogen clouds in the early universe had too much molecular hydrogen, and the gas cooled quickly and formed small halos instead of large clouds."

Lu and postdoctoral researcher Zachary Picker wrote code to calculate all possible processes of this scenario and discovered that additional radiation can heat the gas and dissociate the hydrogen molecules, altering how the gas cools.

"If you add radiation in a certain energy range, it destroys molecular hydrogen and creates conditions that prevent fragmentation of large clouds," Lu said.

But where does the radiation come from?

Only a very tiny portion of matter in the universe is the kind that makes up our bodies, our planet, the stars and everything else we can observe. The vast majority of matter, detected by its gravitational effects on stellar objects and by the bending of light rays from distant sources, is made of some new particles, which scientists have not yet identified.

The forms and properties of dark matter are therefore a mystery that remains to be solved. While we don't know what dark matter is, particle theorists have long speculated that it could contain unstable particles which can decay into photons, the particles of light. Including such dark matter in the simulations provided the radiation needed for the gas to remain in a large cloud while it is collapsing into a black hole.

Dark matter could be made of particles that slowly decay, or it could be made of more than one particle species: some stable and some that decay at early times. In either case, the product of decay could be radiation in the form of photons, which break up molecular hydrogen and prevent hydrogen clouds from cooling too quickly. Even very mild decay of dark matter yielded enough radiation to prevent cooling, forming large clouds and, eventually, supermassive black holes.

"This could be the solution to why supermassive black holes are found very early on," Picker said. "If you're optimistic, you could also read this as positive evidence for one kind of dark matter. If these supermassive black holes formed by the collapse of a gas cloud, maybe the additional radiation required would have to come from the unknown physics of the dark sector."

IMAGE: A James Webb Telescope image shows the J0148 quasar circled in red. Two insets show, on top, the central black hole, and on bottom, the stellar emission from the host galaxy. Credit: MIT/NASA

[talonabraxas]

Love in Outer Space ☆

The Vibratory Movements of the Universe

Just like the esoteric oriental tradition of spirituality, modern physics does not conceive matter as being passive, inert, static, but as being in a continuous vibratory movement. The rhythms of these movements are determined, among other things, by the atomic, nuclear and molecular structures. Therefore both science and spirituality converge toward the idea that the Universe is dynamic, being in a continuous movement of oscillation. Nature is not in a static, but in a dynamic equilibrium. Here is what a Taoist text says about this matter:

The silence in silence is not the true Silence. Only when there is calmness in movement, the spiritual rhythm [vibration] which penetrates the Sky and the Earth is born.”

Therefore everything is vibration. Here is what the scientists say about the subject: Everything is vibration. Everything is movement. The Void [Primordial Substratum] fluctuates, according to certain laws, between Existence and Non-existence. The quanta [a small, indivisible unit of energy] born as a result of the vibratory movement of the void, are ‘virtual’, i.e. they do not materialize into real particles that can be observed. They need a certain mass and energy in order to have material existence. The whole Universe is made of the smallest atoms to the greatest galaxies. Their common element is that they are all moving. WHY everything is moving is a question to which modern science has no answer. Modern science has however made some progress in explaining HOW things move. Modern (quantum) physics states the existence of FOUR FORCES (assuming as a hypothesis the necessary existence of a FIFTH FORCE which unifies the first four). This theory is a rediscovery of the eastern philosophy of the five tattva-s (or subtle principles – ‘earth’, ‘water’, ‘fire’, ‘air’, ‘ether’). According to physics, the four forces who act in the Universe are: the ‘strong’ and the ‘weak’ forces (who keep atoms together), the force of gravity (who describes the movement of bigger material bodies) and the electromagnetic force (such as light). All these four forces have something in common: they all move in ‘waves’. Therefore the waves represent the basic movement of the Universe.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

I have a physics question off of the "what is energy" post.

So is hot is small fast, that means cold has to be big slow right? (Possibly wrong idk)

What is the....fastness...and hotness....of...objects? Like pillows and books. A pillow would technically be room temperature. But it's made of particles. And I know that it's temperature doesn't dictate it's state of matter, but if you heated it up, it could catch fire and make smoke. So DOES temperature determine if it's a regular old object or not? Is there a fastness for pillows?

I may be thinking of this wrong.

[Anon sent a follow-up:

I asked the fastness of a pillow question and I think I got it.

It isn't hotness and fastness that makes the pillow. The hot and fast makes the molecules that make the oil that the (plastic synthetic fibers=oil so yeah) pillow is made from. But if you apply the small fastness to the pillow you may make it into a different state. I think.]

You're asking a lot of different questions here but I think you're fundamentally falsely conflating matter and energy. Things are matter. Matter has energy.

Let me try to break this out.

What do you mean when you say that hot is "fast but small?"

Heat is just a measurement of the motion of all of the atoms and molecules in a medium. Atoms are constantly vibrating. The faster they vibrate, the more friction they give off as they bump into each other. That friction converts the movement of the atom into heat energy.

2. If that's what hot is, then what is cold?

Nothing. Cold doesn't exist. Cold is just an absence of heat. If all of the atoms in a medium completely stopped vibrating, they would reach "absolute zero" temperature.

3. Does temperature dictate an object's state of matter?

Yes, of course. Every element can exist as a gas, liquid, or solid, and the easiest way of moving them from one state to the other is by changing their temperature. If you heat up a molecule, its atoms start vibrating faster, and the bonds between them start to break apart. Think of it like a room full of kindergartners all holding hands and jumping up and down. The harder they jump, the harder it is for them to keep holding hands.

4. Why does high temperature cause some things to burn?

Oxygen, for reasons which I think are probably too complex to get into here, is not particularly stable. It wants two more electrons than it has, and it will rip other molecules apart in order to get them. Low key it's doing that all the time. And the more energy you give oxygen (say, by raising the air temperature in a room, causing its atoms to vibrate faster), the more strength it has to do the ripping.

Mostly it rips apart hydrogen and carbon, with which it can form very stable molecules of carbon dioxide and water. (Molecules like to be stable.) Things are actually considered flammable if they have hydrogen and carbon atoms to give to oxygen. All organic matter has both: including cotton, linen, feathers, all petroleum-based products, and whatever else most pillows are made of. Ever heard life on earth described as "carbon-based?" Yeah. You're full of carbon, so you're flammable.

The fire you experience is just the heat and light given off by the electrons in the oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon atoms in the system jumping and dropping to higher and lower energy states, as molecular bonds are broken and new molecular bonds are formed.

All of which is to say: I think you're confusing yourself by bringing combustion into this. That's in the 102 course.

5. What energy does a pillow have?

Plenty. It has the chemical energy binding its molecules together (which can be unleashed in a combustion reaction); it has the nuclear energy binding its atoms' nuclei together; it has the heat energy from the standard amount of atomic vibration you'd get in an ordinary room; and it has potential energy from its position in the universe (if you removed all of the obstructions in its way, the pillow would start falling towards the black hole at the center of our galaxy. That motion energy is being 'stored' as potential energy).

All of that energy originated in the Big Bang.

[jade-branch-qa]

To Surge,

Have you ever thought of using some knowhow of physics to branch out with your electric powers? For example, running an electrical current through something creates a magnetic field, so you could wield magnetism.

Or you could combines waves in the electric and magnetic fields to create waves of in the EM radiation spectrum such as radio waves, microwaves and, most interestingly, visible light.

Heck, the interaction in the electric field between atoms is the force responsible for chemical bonding that result in molecules!

If you get a fine enough understanding of electricity manipulation, you can pull a Fullmetal Alchemist and rearrange the molecular structures of things you touch!

And that’s not even mentioning just getting down to the fundamentals of electricity as a phenomenon by manipulating charged particles like protons and electrons…

TL:DR: Basically almost every interaction aside from gravity in physics or chemistry is driven mainly by the fundamental force of electricity. You have a lot of potential, you just don’t know how to use it…

"I could also just punch them really hard." Surge replied while scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "Listen, I appreciate you looking out for me like this but Kit already tried to explain mangometism to me a while back and not a single word stuck. I know what I'm good at and that's punching, not researching physics."

[jaxxrabbie]

Outside of space and time there is a realm where physical being is meaningless but the magic bonding you together expands in abyss. In this realm I hope to find you. Not wandering around with a dying stars lantern, but in the direct reflection of my essence. A familiar presence, one that’s been the puzzle piece to my unequivocal emptiness. Although I’ve had you for all my mortal life, it simply wasn’t enough. I’ll find you in the atoms of our bond, in the molecular structure of our fabricated universe. When nothing is all I am, and we’re somewhere our consciousness can’t understand, and even if my being is simply particles of sand, I’ll create a hand, to hold yours.

[ivoryminitower]

Echoes of Home: 66 - Tsu'na ("sludge")

Echoes of Home: FFXIV AU OC – WoLs on Earth

"turtles all the way down": "an expression of the problem of infinite regress. The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports a flat Earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly large turtles that continues indefinitely."

"infinite regress": "an infinite series of entities governed by a recursive principle that determines how each entity in the series depends on or is produced by its predecessor."

"cognitive dissonance": "the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change."

"platonic ideal": "a philosophical theory, concept, or world-view, attributed to Plato, that the physical world is not as real or true as timeless, absolute, unchangeable ideas."

Husband was right about the computer being useful.  I could sit with it in the workshop and look at the educational site while he took apart and put back together the first bicycle he bought.  The metal rods in the wheels, which he calls "spokes", seemed to take some study for him. And he is good at discussing things while working with his hands, which I needed from him because there were topics the site did not cover.

"Husband."

"Yes, my love."

"I am reading about atomic theory."

"Cool.  Is it making sense to you?"

"I understand what the site says.  I understand now what you meant by a periodic table."

He smiled as he fiddled with a spoke.  "But…?"

"I need to…make it fit with what I know.  I need to…coordinate…"

"Reconcile."

"...Yes.  Reconcile the idea of atoms with aether.  Because everything here is made of atoms, but we harvest crystallizations of aether.  How do atomic things combine with aetheric things?"

"What makes you think they're different?"

"Earth things are made of atoms."

"And what are atoms made of?"

"Protons, neutrons and electrons."

"And what are protons, neutrons and electrons made of?"

I looked at my screen.  "Fermions and bosons."

"And what are those made of?"

"Wikipedia calls them 'elementary particles'.  They are not made of other things."

"That may be, but geometry says any time you have two points in space there's at least one point between them." He tapped the sides of his hub with his finger.  "If it exists in space at all it must have sides, so there must be a point inside.  So what do I find if I crack a fermion open?"

"I…do not know."

"I mean, maybe it's turtles all the way down, but still…"

"Turtles?"

Husband waved his hand without looking up.  "Not important.  My point is, if you break things down far enough, who's to say you won't find aether?"

"You are saying atoms are made of aether?"

"I'm saying it's possible."

"But Eorzean things are not made of atoms."

"How do you know?"

"Because…no one…ever…spoke of it?"

"To us, you mean.  Because we really needed to know the molecular structure of the dragon we were fighting."

He was peering intently at the hub of the wheel as he twisted a spoke back and forth.  My thoughts were not as easy to manipulate.  I asked, "Are you saying that if we look closely enough at an apple we harvest we will see atoms?"

"Maybe.  Maybe that's how aether naturally manifests itself.  Or maybe Earth people would see atoms because they expect to see atoms, and aether manifests to meet their expectations."

"But you do not know."

"No…"  He looked up at me and smiled.  "...and neither do you.  So you don't know that Earth things aren't made of aether, and therefore you don't know that Earth things can't be aetherically manipulated."

"I have…doubts."

"I know.  I warned you about that.  But like I said once before, if an observed phenomenon doesn't match science, it's science that has to change.  Have you desynthesized anything here you didn't make?"

"A pillow.  I got cotton cloth."

"Okay.  So you know you can manipulate Earth matter just like Eorzean matter.  Don't let Earth knowledge tell you what's impossible…only what's possible."

Husband has talked about this sort of thing, the difference between ideas and the difficulty keeping both in one's head.  He calls it "cognitive dissonance", and he was afraid of me feeling it as I learned more about this world.  It is strange that I can do something, and know that I can do something, and yet question my ability to do something based on someone else's words.  I would never have doubted what I did in Eorzea, and I am doing the very same things here, so why would I wonder if I am able to do them?

I take out an apple from inventory.  It is a manifestation of an apple.  It has shape, it has scent, it has color, it has flavor.  Whether or not it has atoms does not change that it is an apple.  It is an apple I harvested from an aetheric harvesting node.  Whether or not it is a manifestation of aether does not change that it is an apple.  So, as Husband said, whether or not it has atoms does not change that it is an aetheric manifestation.  Or the other way around.

People build things using the ideas of atoms.  Atoms are built into molecules.  Molecules are taken apart and the atoms from them are made into other molecules.  If atoms are aether, then people are performing aetheric manipulation without even knowing it.  Yet I do not think I have been performing atomic manipulation.  But, as Husband said, I do not know.

Husband wants his bicycle project worked on, but I need to reconcile atoms and aether.  So I am looking at plastic.

This world has a lot of plastic, and a lot of things are made from it.  Boxes and bottles and bags and blankets.  Pipes and plates and purses.  Fabric and filters and fluid containers.  And the fluid containers are different, since gasoline can eat some plastic and not other plastic.

Plastic can be different in how hard it is, how clear it is, what color it is, how easy it is to bend or roll or fold or break.  Plastic windows are hard and clear.  Saran wrap is soft and clear.  A plastic chair is hard and not clear.  Plastic can melt and burn and yet last a long time without rotting.

The educational site said that atoms and molecules can go together in large, complicated ways.  Iron is made up of many iron atoms in a blocky shape.  Diamonds are made of many carbon atoms in a different blocky shape.  Liquid and gas are made of smaller molecules that are not connected together.

What all plastic seems to have in common, according to Wikipedia, is long stringy molecules called polymers.  That they are long and that there are many of them makes plastic strong.  That they are thin makes plastic flexible.  That they are often hydrogen and carbon makes plastic burnable.

This helps me understand what I need plastic to be, and what I need to look for in the corn oil to make it.  I cannot see the molecules in the corn oil, but I can think of what must be there, and what form I need them to be in, and therefore what manifestation of aether needs to occur.  

This is better than working blindly, like we did making cornoline, trying to make something that had the right properties rather than something that was something in particular.  Though we did make cornoline, so aether can be made to be what we want, but perhaps if what we want is simple enough then making it will be simple too.

Husband says science is all about observations, so I am writing about what I do and what I observe.

I am starting with one of the recipes that made corn oil sludge.  It is like the exploding latex recipe: it is a successful recipe for something we do not know the use of.  Perhaps, like the exploding latex, I can find the use.

I have made some sludge from that recipe.  I am calling it Sludge 1.  I used that to make a different kind of sludge using an earth shard.  I am calling it Sludge 1.1.

I have made Sludge 1.2, Sludge 1.3 and Sludge 1.4.  They are all thicker than Sludge 1, but they still are sludge.  They are all a thick liquid that I can squeeze through my fingers.  I once again smell like corn oil.

Things made from Sludge 2 are more like water rather than less.

Sludge 3.7 was a more sticky sludge than the others.  It stretched when I pulled a clump of it apart.  Perhaps it contains the polymers I have been looking for.

I have been working outside the workshop because of the corn oil smell.  Sam came and asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was making plastic.  He asked me if it was explosive.  I told him I did not think so.  He told me to call it an art project if anyone asks.

Sludge 3.7.4 is stringy.  Pulling it apart leaves long strings.  Perhaps this contains long stringy molecules.

Sludge 3.7.4.5 is stringy and tough.  It does not pull apart as easily.  Perhaps this contains a lot of stringy molecules.

Sludge 3.7.4.5.3 is more solid.  It stretches a little, but I cannot squeeze it through my fingers.  It holds together.  It is not completely hard, but it is not totally soft.  It is somewhere between grey and brown, but it seems to glow if I hold it up toward the sun.  It may serve like the rubber we make from latex, that we can then make into whatever plastic thing we need.

I showed it to Husband.  He called it "platonic plastic".

"Platonic?"

"Guy named Plato from a few thousand years ago believed there were ideal forms of things that everything that existed on Earth was a reflection of.  Like there'd be a perfect chair that all chairs reflected the chairness of."  He squeezed Sludge 3.7.4.5.3 in different directions.  "So maybe this is what all plastic has in common."

I was happy to have something to show for the day I had spent crafting and mixing and squeezing.  I was happier to go back to the house and wash away the feeling of the things I had made.

Perhaps Husband knows how to make my computer not smell like corn oil.

[mysticallion]

The Scientific Perspective of Emptiness

The spiritual concept of Emptiness is also understandable from a scientific perspective—perhaps even more so for the Western mindset.

In essence, Emptiness is a term used to describe the composite or constructed manner of all phenomena, all manifestation, be they mental (the spiritual model) or physical (the scientific model). This is primarily accomplished through a process of intellectual and experiential deconstruction, as in, for example, particle physics or molecular biology. Both disciplines involve exploring Reality by analyzing and reducing their subject matter to its more fundamental components. Particle physicists study the particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation, and molecular biologists study organic structures and functions at finer and finer levels of reduction and magnification. Spirituality also explores its (subjective or phenomenological) subject matter in same reductive manner.

These disciplines (as well as many others) reflect a single basic premise: nothing actually exists independently, in-and-of-itself. Everything, every aspect of existence, is composed of smaller components such that, at any level of perspective grander or finer than human perception, no such “thing” or “person” can be found. Such “things” are essentially conceptual constructs, mental and linguistic fabrications, merely ideas and labels applied in such a way as to give the cognitive impression of a solidity and independence that never actually exists.

In short: everything is made of other things, of causes and conditions that come together and fall apart. Analyze a person on a molecular or particular level and the entire bases for using the word “person “ goes out the window. Jack cannot be found in his atoms or quarks, nor Jill in her bacteria or neurons. “Jack” and “Jill” are just labels applied to a process that has formed from other, prior processes and that will soon enough devolve once again. All of this is just energy in motion, just interpenetrating transformations. No actual, permanent, durable, stable entity exists. This is Emptiness, with the principle difference between the scientific and spiritual versions found in their respective perspectives: scientific =exterior or “objective” phenomena, and spiritual=internal or “subjective” phenomena.

Regardless of the perspective, however, the conclusions remain the same: nothing exists of its own power, in its own right, independently, ever. Reality as we perceive it is a dynamic construct undergoing incessant reconfiguration. This is equally true for our subjective experiences as well as our physical or objective ones. The spiritual perspective simply takes this insight and explores its relationship to our own “individual” as well as “collective” experiences and existence. Such an exercise is extremely powerful in dismantling the (usually unexamined) alienating notion of egoic independence and all the psychological (and by extension, social) suffering inherent in such a mistaken belief.

[madamlaydebug]

Genetic splicing was the 1st method the Nagas used to posses the physical dominance of wild animals.The Nagas conducted research on genetics & atomic particles for thousands of years.They discovered that the smallest particle in the universe was a light photon. A photon is a subatomic magnetic field that traps 13 tiny light orbs, & gives the light orbs the illusion of being "matter."The Nagas conducted experiments on photons & discovered the change of vibrational rate of the photons movement, caused an atoms structure to completely change. In the study of Alchemy, our ancestors referred to light photons as "Metatrons Cube."(Metatron is the feminine aspect of Lucifer.) This is where they get the idea to make a movie based on shape shifting Gods known as "Transformers." Metatrons Cube is really Megatrons Cube which is the "All Spark", which represents the light photon in reality! The Nagas were able to manipulate the light photons in their body. So the photons manipulated the neutrinos, the neutrinos manipulated the atoms, then the atoms change in movement manipulated the molecular structure in their bodies, & the TRANSFORMATION/SHAPE SHIFTING was complete! They've had many movies & TV series that depicted what our ancestors were once capable of! So if you want to be able to shape shift, you have to know how to manipulate the movement of LIGHT PHOTONS that your body consists of. Metatrons Cube, AKA Megatron/Lucifers Cube.

[brokeshibe]

I mean this scene kind of felt dumb because you don't study "quantum physics" as a "major" or degree programme at undergraduate level. You study physics, and you will do quantum mechanics during that process.

At the graduate level you don't study "quantum physics" you do something specific. Because "quantum physics" crops up in most research areas. Condensed matter physics, atomic and molecular physics, nuclear and particle physics, some areas of astro etc.

This is the funniest thing I've ever read. I would have LOVED to see that

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Lunar sample research could help protect astronauts and uncover origins of water on the moon

Dust and rocks residing on the surface of the moon take a beating in space. Without a protective magnetosphere and atmosphere like Earth's, the lunar surface faces continual particle bombardment from solar wind, cosmic rays, and micrometeoroids. This constant assault leads to space weathering.

New research by Georgia Tech offers fresh insights into the phenomenon of space weathering. Examining Apollo lunar samples at the nanoscale, Tech researchers have revealed risks to human space missions and the possible role of space weathering in forming some of the water on the moon.

Most previous studies of the moon involved instruments mapping it from orbit. In contrast, this study allowed researchers to spatially map a nanoscale sample while simultaneously analyzing optical signatures of Apollo lunar samples from different regions of the lunar surface—and to extract information about the chemical composition of the lunar surface and radiation history.

The researchers recently published their findings in Scientific Reports.

"The presence of water on the moon is critical for the Artemis program. It's necessary for sustaining any human presence and it's a particularly important source of oxygen and hydrogen, the molecules derived from splitting water," said Thomas Orlando, Regents' Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, co-founder and former director of the Georgia Tech Center for Space Technology and Research, and principal investigator of Georgia Tech's Center for Lunar Environment and Volatile Exploration Research (CLEVER).

Building on a decade of lunar science research

As a NASA SSERVI (Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute), CLEVER is an approved NASA laboratory for analysis of lunar samples and includes investigators from multiple institutes and universities across the U.S. and Europe. Research areas include how solar wind and micrometeorites produce volatiles, such as water, molecular oxygen, methane, and hydrogen, which are all crucial to supporting human activity on the moon.

Georgia Tech has built a large portfolio in human exploration and lunar science over the last decade with two NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institutes: CLEVER and its predecessor, REVEALS (Radiation Effects on Volatiles and Exploration of Asteroids and Lunar Surfaces).

Studying moon samples at the nanoscale level

For this work, the Georgia Tech team also tapped the University of Georgia (UGA) Nano-Optics Laboratory run by Professor Yohannes Abate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. While UGA is a member of CLEVER, its nano-FTIR spectroscopy and nanoscale imaging equipment was historically used for semiconductor physics, not space science.

"This is the first time these tools have been applied to space-weathered lunar samples, and it's the first time we've been able to see good signatures of space weathering at the nanoscale," says Orlando.

Normal spectrometers are at a much larger scale, with the ability to see more bulk properties of the soil, explains Phillip Stancil, professor and head of the UGA physics department.

The UGA equipment enabled the study of samples "in tens of nanometers." To illustrate how small nanoscale is, Stancil says a hydrogen atom is .05 nanometers, so 1 nm is the size of 20 atoms if placed side by side. The spectrometers provide high-resolution details of the lunar grains down to hundreds of atoms.

"We can look at an almost atomistic level to understand how this rock was formed, its history, and how it was processed in space," Stancil says.

"You can learn a lot about how the atom positions change and how they are disrupted due to radiation by looking at the tiny sample at an atomistic level," says Orlando, noting that a lot of damage is done at the nanoscale level. They can determine if the culprit is space weathering or from a process left over during the rock's formation and crystallization.

Finding radioactive damage, evidence of water

The researchers found damage on the rock samples, including changes in the optical signatures. That insight helped them understand how the lunar surface formed and evolved but also provided "a really good idea of the rocks' chemical composition and how they changed when irradiated," says Orlando.

Some of the optical signatures also showed trapped electron states, which are typically missing atoms and vacancies in the atomic lattice. When the grains are irradiated, some atoms are removed, and the electrons get trapped. The types of traps and how deep they are, in terms of energy, can help determine the radiation history of the moon. The trapped electrons can also lead to charging, which can generate an electrostatic spark. On the moon, this could be a problem for astronauts, exploration vehicles, and equipment.

"There is also a difference in the chemical signatures. Certain areas had more neodymium (a chemical element also found in the Earth's crust) or chromium (an essential trace mineral), which are made by radioactive decay," Orlando says. The relative amounts and locations of these atoms imply an external source like micrometeorites.

Translating research to human risks on the moon

Radiation and its effects on the dust and lunar surface pose dangers to people, and the main protection is the spacesuit.

Orlando sees three key risks. First, the dust could interfere with spacesuits' seals. Second, micrometeorites could puncture a spacesuit. These high-velocity particles form after breaking off from larger chunks of debris. Like solar storms, they are hard to predict, and they're dangerous because they come in at high-impact velocities of 5 kilometers per second or higher. "Those are bullets, so they will penetrate the spacesuits," Orlando says. Third, astronauts could breathe in dust left on the suits, causing respiratory issues. NASA is studying many approaches for dust removal and mitigation.

Mapping the moon: Going from nanoscale to macroscale

The next research phase will involve combining the UGA analysis tools with a new tool from Georgia Tech that will be used to analyze Apollo lunar samples that have been in storage for more than 50 years.

"We will combine two very sophisticated analysis tools to look at these samples in a level of detail that I don't think has been done before," Orlando says.

The goal is to build models that can feed into orbital maps of the moon. To get there, the Georgia Tech and UGA team will need to go from nanoscale to the full macro scale to show what's happening on the lunar surface and the location of water and other key resources, including methane, needed to support humanity's moon and deep-space exploration goals.

[govindhtech]

What is a Quasicrystal? Approaches, And Future Implications

This article explains quasicrystals, their methods, and future implications.

What Creates Quasicrystals? Scientists Present First Quantum-Mechanical Model of Stability

A groundbreaking University of Michigan study that conducted the first quantum-mechanical simulations of quasicrystals found these strange materials to be fundamentally stable. This novel research overcomes classical  quantum mechanics  limits, solving quasicrystal understanding problems. The Nature Physics findings suggest that quasicrystals behave like stable crystals in their atomic arrangements despite their glass-like disorganised appearance.

What is a Quasicrystal

For decades, quasicrystals have puzzled scientists as a strange intermediate form between chaotic amorphous solids like glass and highly organised crystals. In contrast to ordinary crystals, quasicrystals have organised lattices but no infinitely repeating atomic patterns. After discovering a five-fold symmetry aluminium and manganese alloy in 1984, Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman was the first to describe it.

Previously, this characteristic was supposed to prevent crystal repeating patterns. Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prise in Chemistry despite substantial criticism after other laboratories confirmed their existence and found them in billion-year-old meteorites. Quasicrystals lack indefinitely repeating patterns, which density functional theory (DFT), a classic quantum-mechanical technique, requires, hence their stability remains unsolved.

A New Simulation Method:

PhD student Woohyeon Baek and Dow Early Career Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Wenhao Sun developed a new modelling method to solve this problem. Instead of repeating, they “scoop out” tiny nanoparticles from a larger simulated quasicrystal block. Calculating the overall energy of these limited nanoparticles and extrapolating across increasing sizes can accurately predict the bulk quasicrystal's energy. Baek said, “The first step to understanding a material is knowing what makes it stable, but it has been hard to tell how quasicrystals were stabilised.”

Crystal-Stabilized Enthalpy:

The researchers found that two well-studied quasicrystal alloys of ytterbium-cadmium and scandium-zinc are “enthalpy-stabilized,” like crystals. Crystals are stable because their atomic configurations reduce chemical bond energy, unlike glass, which is “entropy-stabilized” by rapid cooling that freezes atoms into many chaotic arrangements.

Overcoming Computational Challenges:

Simulating the biggest nanoparticles was important to estimate energy accurately, which is difficult due to computing time scaling issues. Computing time may grow eightfold if nanoparticles were multiplied, even to hundreds. The GPU-accelerated method, developed with Professor Vikram Gavini, lowers processor-to-processor communication and speeds processing 100 times. This discovery simplified quasicrystal analysis and allowed simulation of complicated materials including glass, amorphous solids, and quantum computing-relevant crystal flaws.

Discovering Glass-Former Dynamic Similarities:

University of Michigan study showed that quasicrystals are structurally stable and resemble crystals, but a closer look at their dynamic properties revealed unexpected similarities to metallic glass-forming liquids. According to molecular dynamics simulations, glass-forming liquids and heated crystalline solids have quick beta and delayed alpha relaxation. Like quasicrystals and metallic glasses, they have a “kink” on Arrhenius plots for the temperature dependence of their diffusion coefficient and structural relaxation time.

Most crucially, dynamic heterogeneity in particle mobility fluctuations showed that the non-Gaussian parameter's peak value climbs with cooling, a behaviour more reminiscent of glass-forming liquids than hot crystals. Two types of atomic motion were found: isolated “phason flips” at low temperatures and frequent “string-like collective motions” at higher temperatures, which resembled glasses.

The “decoupling phenomenon,” the Stokes-Einstein link disintegration, best illustrates their glass-like dynamics. A fractional Stokes-Einstein relation with a decoupling exponent of 0.33 was found in which the temperature-normalized self-diffusion coefficient scales with structural relaxation time. Glass-forming liquids dissociate, whereas crystalline solids do not. This means metallic glass-forming devices are better at quasicrystal dynamics than crystals.

Future Impact:

A US Department of Energy-funded study sheds light on quasicrystals' fundamental properties. It supports the idea that quasicrystals are hybrid matter by connecting solid structure and motion. Phason flip movements and vibrational properties will be studied in three-dimensional quasicrystal models.

[nirmalacollegemuvattupuzha]

Why Physics Is the Foundation of All Sciences

🔬

Physics is often called the “mother of all sciences,” and for good reason. At its core, physics seeks to understand how the universe works, from the tiniest particles in an atom to the vastness of galaxies. While other sciences like chemistry, biology, and geology have their own areas of study, they all rely on the fundamental principles established by physics. In this blog post, we’ll explore why physics serves as the bedrock for all scientific disciplines.

What Is Physics?

Physics is the study of matter, energy, and the forces that govern their behavior. It aims to explain the natural laws that control everything from how apples fall from trees to how stars form in distant galaxies. Topics like motion, gravity, electricity, magnetism, and thermodynamics are all core areas within physics. What makes physics unique is its ability to describe the “why” behind natural events through mathematical models and empirical evidence.

🧪 Chemistry and Physics: A Close Relationship

Chemistry is deeply rooted in the laws of physics. The behavior of atoms, molecular bonding, and chemical reactions are all governed by physical laws. Quantum mechanics, a branch of physics, explains how electrons behave in atoms, which directly affects chemical properties and reactions. Without the foundational principles of physics, the understanding of chemical interactions would be incomplete.

🧬 Biology Through a Physical Lens

Biology may seem far removed from physics, but even life processes follow physical laws. For instance, the principles of thermodynamics explain how energy is produced and used in cells. Nerve signals are transmitted through electrical impulses, which are studied in physics under electromagnetism. Techniques like MRI and X-rays—used in modern medicine, also stem from discoveries in physics.

🌋 Earth Sciences and Environmental Physics

Geology, meteorology, and environmental science all depend on physics to explain natural phenomena. Plate tectonics, the movement of ocean currents, and the behavior of atmospheric gases are all governed by physical principles. Climate models rely on physics-based simulations to predict future changes and environmental impact

🚀 Technology and Innovation

From smartphones to spacecraft, every technological advancement is rooted in physics. Engineers use physics to design bridges, vehicles, and electrical systems. The principles of mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism are essential in developing anything that moves, lights up, or powers up.

Why Physics Should Be the First Science You Learn

Physics is the best starting point for any science student because it builds a strong mental framework for understanding how the world works. Unlike other subjects that rely heavily on memorization, physics trains your brain to think in steps, analyze patterns, and find logical solutions. These thinking skills are useful far beyond the classroom. Whether you're diving into computer science, electrical engineering, or biotechnology later on, physics gives you the tools to understand complex systems from the ground up.

⚙️ How Physics Shapes Everyday Understanding

One of the most powerful reasons to study physics early is its connection to real-life experiences. From understanding how a car moves to grasping how light and sound travel, physics offers explanations for everyday events. This practical understanding makes learning more engaging and meaningful. When students see how scientific laws apply to daily life, they develop curiosity and a deeper appreciation for how things work, making learning more than just a classroom activity.

Physics goes far beyond equations and classroom experiments,it's the core framework that supports every other scientific discipline. Whether you're examining the structure of molecules in chemistry, exploring biological functions, or analyzing geological shifts in the Earth’s crust, the principles of physics are at work. A strong understanding of physics empowers students and professionals alike to explore, innovate, and succeed in fields like medicine, space science, engineering, and beyond. It’s not just a subject, learning physics gateway to understanding the universe.

[21st-century-minutiae]

"Adam" is a Hebrew word meaning "Earth." In Abrahamic mythology, he was the first human man. In the same mythology, one of his ribs was removed to create "Eve" (from the Hebrew "Chavah" meaning life). In this sense, it was a splitting of "Adam."

"Atom" is a Greek word meaning "indivisible" or "not cuttable." The concept comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, who posited that all of existence was made of a tiny, quantized particle that could not be made of smaller things. When chemistry advanced, this term was applied to elementary chemical particles, which, at the time, were thought to be fundamental. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, it was discovered that these chemical particles were made of smaller quantum particles, which invalidated the name that had already become the scientific standard.

When an elementary chemical particle is divided into smaller atoms, or fused into larger atoms, this can release a lot or energy, which is referred to as "nuclear" energy (distinct from chemical energy which is produced when splitting molecular bonds such as by setting things on fire). Colloquially, this is known as "splitting the atom."

Atom and Adam sound very similar in many English dialects. The above is a pun conflating the two. An individual in the early twenty-first century would have the theological and physics knowledge required to parse this joke.

"oh it's a sin against the cosmos to use nuclear energy" how can you say that when the first thing the deity did to humanity was split the adam