#Infrared dimensional

[orgasmictomato]

DSC00459 (c1)orb rsz L by Jim Via Flickr: This is just one of the "Dimensional Entities" captured flying our sky of which you do not see with your eyes. Maybe when Science Accademia accepts that they know very little of our existence as yet, but yet lies to keep restraint on their own path of discoveries and thought..... I doubt it will be disclosed to general public.

[fujikosouvenir]

It says:

Doraemon's Mechanics

Ultra Super Deluxe Computer: small but high-performance. His intelligence is comparable to that of a human. Equipped with emotional circuits that allow him to laugh, cry, and get angry.

Infrared eyes: they can see things even in the dark.

Powerful nose: it should be able to detect smells 20 times better than a human, but is currently malfunctioning (still, it can sniff out his favourite treat: dorayaki).

High-sensitivity sound wave measuring ears: high-performance ears that can detect distant sounds and special sounds. However, they are currently malfunctioning.

Radar whiskers: high-performance radar that detects distant objects. However, it's currently malfunctioning.

A large washbasin can fit entirely inside.

Cat gathering: when it rings, it emits special sound waves to gather nearby cats. However, it has a limited range.

Anti-gravity special coating body: coated with a special material from the future. It repels fine dirt and grime.

Fourth-dimensional pocket: a pocket that accesses secret tools. The inside connects to hyperspace, allowing it to hold as many items as desired. It can be removed and washed as well.

Sticky hand: it's round and can attract and hold objects. It can transform into a finger shape, allowing it to pull triggers on things like shock guns.

The tail reacts when touched, making a beeping sound. It acts as a switch, and pulling it stops the function

With anti-gravity functionality, he always floats 3 millimeters above the ground. Doesn't get dirty even without wearing shoes.

Many of Doraemon's parts are malfunctioning, but should we occasionally replace them with new ones? The cat-gathering bell is replaced with a small camera (from "Nobita and the Animal Planet", a Doraemon's long tale by Tentomushi Comics)

Doraemon's Data Body: 129.3cm Body weight: 129.3kg B: 129.3cm W: 129.3cm H: 129.3cm Power: 129.3 horsepower Favourite food: Dorayaki Fourth-dimensional pocket is standard equipment

[bsuobservatory]

Picture of the Day!

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the iconic Pillars of Creation, a region where new stars are being born within thick clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars resemble towering rock formations, yet they are much more porous. Composed of cool interstellar gas and dust, they sometimes appear semi-transparent in near-infrared light.

[cleoselene]

Science tumblr! A call to action

My mom works for one of the greatest chemists alive. She takes him to his doctor's appointments and a weekly grocery run. This year, on his birthday, she called him up to wish him a happy birthday, and he was so touched he started crying. His wife is gone, he never had kids, and he lives a pretty solitary lifestyle. My roommate sent him flowers and a balloon the next day because one of the greatest minds on our planet (who is also, yes, a Democrat and an immigrant, he is on the side of the angels in our current climate) to feel so alone on his birthday.

I think we can do one better. I am begging science side of tumblr who understands anything in this wikipedia artist better than me (especially the chemists, calling @brightnshinythings out specifically? You got colleagues who might like to send Jiri a nice letter about his work and how much you appreciate it?)

So, Tumblr chemists and science enthusiasts! Let's make this man who has contributed so much knowledge to our society a less lonely life and let him know his contributions are appreciated, especially in this anti-science time.

If any of you are particularly familiar with his work, I'd especially love if you could send him a card or a letter. Here's some highlights from his Wikipedia article, which i understand none of, but sounds very impressive:

Jiri Jonas is considered a pioneer in the use of magnetic resonance imaging at high pressure, developing techniques to study the dynamic structure of liquids and proteins.[2][3][5] This approach has been used in the study of the arc repressor, a DNA-binding protein containing 53 amino acid residues.[6][7][8] [...] Working in the areas of chemical physics and physical chemistry,[10] Jonas has been particularly interested in reaction kinetics and the behavior of liquids under extreme conditions such as high pressure and extreme heat. He is considered "a pioneer in the use of high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy" which he has used to study liquids and their reactions under such conditions.[3] He has developed new experimental techniques involving 1 and 2 dimensional high-resolution and high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study proteins and protein folding.[8][14] Techniques include Raman[15] and Rayleigh laser scattering methods for spectroscopy,[16][17] Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)[18] and photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (Photo-CIDNP).[10] "The long-term objective of our work on biochemical systems is to contribute to the understanding of folding of proteins, folding intermediates and structure of pressure denatured states." Jiri Jonas[10] Jonas has been a co-director of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on High Pressure Chemistry, Biochemistry and Materials Science.[11] He has co-edited High pressure chemistry and biochemistry (1987),[14] High Pressure Chemistry, Biochemistry and Materials Science (1993)[19] and High pressure molecular science (1999).[20]

[ask-thearchivists]

wait.. how come we don’t see the catalogers skull? Don’t get me wrong the eyes are freaking amazing! But how come we don’t see a skull? And also if you guys don’t have bones how are you standing? Is you don’t have organs or a brain then how are you moving or having any thought process? PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW!

The Cataloger: Our blood isn't opaque? Of course you wouldn't see my pseudo-structure.

The Coordinator: As ze mentioned, we have a pseudo-structure. This forms the basis of our so-called bones, but it is a type of fluid that remains frozen until we wish to alter it, sort of like ice melting and refreezing into a new shape. This allows us to have a solidness to our form while also allowing us to freely alter our shape.

The Curator: This is sort of similar to our skin, hair, and surface organs like our eyes, which are different kinds of pseudo-structures. It has base functions and appearances but it can also be altered whenever we please, this is why we have default forms and why our hair still grows. All our senses come in duplicate, where we can use all major senses, but we have auxiliary forms of those senses, plus a few others, that all come from our magic. This allows us to telescope our vision or turn off our senses of smell or have greater sensitivity to all of this, and lets us to retain these senses even when altering the pseudo-structures to take a form that might be without them.

The Cartographer: We have every sense you can think, and more senses beyond that. Taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing, proprioception, interoception, echolocation, electrodetection, magnetoreception, ultraviolet and infrared, extra-dimensional color perception, humidity, wetness detection, barometric pressure sense, night vision, auraception - that's one we haven't found any mortal species to have, cosmic gravitational precognition which is helpful when you're flying through space and don't want to get hit with a rogue planet or stuck on a small black hole. There's even more but I forgot their names. Basically, we have every sense any mortal has, in addition to many that only we have as space-dwelling beings born from the birth of the universe.

The Curator: The Cartographer and I also have a special bonus sense that allows us to sense when the other is upset. This is one that we all have, but it's only felt by Collectors who are really close. For us it's probably because we're twins.

[dc-megatournament]

DC Ladies Only Tournament

Round 1

Lara's feats:

Solar Energy Absorption

Heat Vision

Super-hearing

Enhanced vision

Electromagnetic spectrum vision

Telescopic vision

X-ray vision

Microscopic vision

Infrared vision

Flight

Invulnerability

Enhanced Immunity

Superhuman Stamina

Superhuman Strength

Superhuman Speed

Superhuman Agility

Superhuman Reflexes

Longevity

Super-Breath

Energy Projection

Force Field

Sound Manipulation

Hand to hand combat

Martial arts

Swordsmanship

Genius level intellect

Indomitable will

Chi manipulation

Raven's feats:

Astral Projection

Soul Self

Darkness Manipulation

Energy Construct Creation

Dimensional Travel

Teleportation

Empathy

Emotion Negation

Empathic Healing 

Force Emotion

Energy Projection

Flight

Precognition

Reality Alteration

Illusion Casting

Molecular Reconstruction

Superhuman Durability 

Telekinesis

Telepathy

[000oo00o0o0o]

There are triangle and hexagon patterns on the ground! Some shapes are the size of a hand, some are very large! At one scale, it appears the pattern functions as surface roadways, (roadways which may include water and electric service?!) It also appears that some of the patterns might not have an impact on the surface, but are designed to project in the sky, possibly as aerial roadways from a time when we had flying cars?

It looks like the 'aerial roadways' are subtly visible in the clouds! How is it projecting like this? Maybe it is charged slightly positive or negative within one shape via an electromagnetic element possibly deep within the bedrock? Meaning, it may be that we cannot unearth most of the patterns but one (or more?) of the patterns seems to represent vehicle roadways, with 'super elevation' engineering already built in! With a rough idea of the pattern in mind - it is easier to notice the roadways walking or hiking around, even though the roads are buried by old grass and trees.

The sketch below is in Ethiopia. It is possible that there are some buried (and partially transparent?) buildings, for instance at the coordinate marked in the sketch. It appears these structures roads and waterways are on every continent and in every country!!

It may be that there are water fountains at the base of the buildings and (and downslope at many dams/reservoirs) which are covered in debris, but are still functional if uncovered! Fountains may use very small droplet sizes such that droplets become mist upon contact with physical material, so if it is covered in dirt, the mist condenses as a stream or river and runs downhill instead of jumping back up into the reservoir to generate more electricity! The 'invisible' buildings may be designed to have very large parabola water fountains landing on them? The water is visible, but the building is largely transparent (via fiberoptics?) - as the water falls down the building, it moves through a series of fancy 'jumping fountains' some of which involve diffraction rainbows and mists around portions of the otherwise 'invisible' structure? It will take time to learn about this!

The infrastructure appear to be visible on Mars, Mercury, Venus and Earth's Moon!! It may be too soon to know if it is on planets further away. Below are some images from the Moon. Both images show the same area, (one in simulated three dimensional view.) Each image is highlighting a different scale of the pattern but the same objects in yellow. What do you think about it?!

Below is a detail from the image above on the right. Could we be seeing 'invisible' buildings on the Moon as well!? Can we see this in greater detail and/or in infrared range, or other frequency ranges? Is it too far for binocular telescopes to see!?

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

With NASA’s Webb, Dying Star’s Energetic Display Comes Into Full Focus

New images from Webb’s MIRI instrument, which was managed by NASA JPL through launch, reveals previously unseen layers of a dramatic cosmic scene.

Gas and dust ejected by a dying star at the heart of NGC 1514 came into complete focus thanks to mid-infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Its rings, which are only detected in infrared light, now look like “fuzzy” clumps arranged in tangled patterns, and a network of clearer holes close to the central stars shows where faster material punched through.

“Before Webb, we weren’t able to detect most of this material, let alone observe it so clearly,” said Mike Ressler, a researcher and project scientist for Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He discovered the rings around NGC 1514 in 2010 when he examined the image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). “With MIRI’s data, we can now comprehensively examine the turbulent nature of this nebula,” he said.

This scene has been forming for at least 4,000 years — and will continue to change over many more millennia. At the center are two stars that appear as one in Webb’s observation, and are set off with brilliant diffraction spikes. The stars follow a tight, elongated nine-year orbit and are draped in an arc of dust represented in orange.

One of these stars, which used to be several times more massive than our Sun, took the lead role in producing this scene. “As it evolved, it puffed up, throwing off layers of gas and dust in in a very slow, dense stellar wind,” said David Jones, a senior scientist at the Institute of Astrophysics on the Canary Islands, who proved there is a binary star system at the center in 2017.

Once the star’s outer layers were expelled, only its hot, compact core remained. As a white dwarf star, its winds both sped up and weakened, which might have swept up material into thin shells.

Its Hourglass Shape

Webb’s observations show the nebula is tilted at a 60-degree angle, which makes it look like a can is being poured, but it’s far more likely that NGC 1514 takes the shape of an hourglass with the ends lopped off. Look for hints of its pinched waist near top left and bottom right, where the dust is orange and drifts into shallow V-shapes.

What might explain these contours? “When this star was at its peak of losing material, the companion could have gotten very, very close,” Jones said. “That interaction can lead to shapes that you wouldn’t expect. Instead of producing a sphere, this interaction might have formed these rings.”

Though the outline of NGC 1514 is clearest, the hourglass also has “sides” that are part of its three-dimensional shape. Look for the dim, semi-transparent orange clouds between its rings that give the nebula body.

A Network of Dappled Structures

The nebula’s two rings are unevenly illuminated in Webb’s observations, appearing more diffuse at bottom left and top right. They also look fuzzy, or textured. “We think the rings are primarily made up of very small dust grains,” Ressler said. “When those grains are hit by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star, they heat up ever so slightly, which we think makes them just warm enough to be detected by Webb in mid-infrared light.”

In addition to dust, the telescope also revealed oxygen in its clumpy pink center, particularly at the edges of the bubbles or holes.

NGC 1514 is also notable for what is absent. Carbon and more complex versions of it, smoke-like material known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are common in planetary nebulae (expanding shells of glowing gas expelled by stars late in their lives). Neither were detected in NGC 1514. More complex molecules might not have had time to form due to the orbit of the two central stars, which mixed up the ejected material. A simpler composition also means that the light from both stars reaches much farther, which is why we see the faint, cloud-like rings.

What about the bright blue star to the lower left with slightly smaller diffraction spikes than the central stars? It’s not part of this nebula. In fact, this star lies closer to us.

This planetary nebula has been studied by astronomers since the late 1700s. Astronomer William Herschel noted in 1790 that NGC 1514 was the first deep sky object to appear genuinely cloudy — he could not resolve what he saw into individual stars within a cluster, like other objects he cataloged. With Webb, our view is considerably clearer.

NGC 1514 lies in the Taurus constellation approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth.

More About Webb and MIRI

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

MIRI was developed through a 50-50 partnership between NASA and ESA. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory led the U.S. contribution to MIRI. JPL also led development of MIRI’s cryocooler, done in collaboration with Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

TOP IMAGE: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image of planetary nebula NGC 1514 to date thanks to its unique mid-infrared observations. Webb shows its rings as intricate clumps of dust. It’s also easier to see holes punched through the bright pink central region. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)

LOWER IMAGE: Two infrared views of NGC 1514. At left is an observation from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). At right is a more refined image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NASA-JPL, Caltech, UCLA, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)

[docgold13]

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Justice League Supplemental - Aztek & Starman

The Q Foundation, a secret society of religious outcasts and renegade scientists foretold the return of the Aztec primary god, Quetzalcoatl and the final battle between him and his brother Tezcatlipoca. In preparation, the Foundation created war suits to be worn by specially trained operatives. Uno was the latest to take on the Aztek mantle and relocated to Vanity City under the alias of Dr. Curt Falconer.Powered by fourth dimensional energies, the Aztek war suit is a conglomeration of magic and technology giving its bearer an array of powers such as super strength, super speed, super hearing, telescopic vision, x-ray vision, infrared vision, invisibility and flight.

Aztek was recruited into the Justice League when the team expanded its roster in the wake of the Thanagarian Invasion.  As a member of the League, Aztek aided in fighting Mordru, the Dark Heart, and the Ultimen.

Born into the ruling monarchy of the alien planet of Throneworld, Price Gavyn chose to roam the cosmos in search of adventure so that he might learn humility and valor.  On earth he came to be known as Starman and possessed the abilities to absorb and redirect solar radiation.  He was asked to join the Justice Lesgue when the team expanded its ranks and he gladly accepted.  

Starman participated in the battle against the Darkheart as well as the defense of earth from the invading armies of Darksied.  

The two heroes both first appeared in the debut episode of the first season of Justice League Unlimited, ‘Initiation.’  

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Cadmium selenide nanoplatelets provide a promising foundation for the development of innovative electronic materials. Since the turn of the millennium, researchers around the world have taken a particular interest in these tiny platelets, which are only a few atoms thick, as they offer extraordinary optical and other properties. A team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), TU Dresden, and the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW) has taken an important step towards the systematic production of such nanoplatelets. The researchers were able to gain fundamental insights into the interaction between structure and function, as they report in the journal Small. Cadmium-based nanostructures lend themselves to the development of two-dimensional materials that enter into specific interactions with near-infrared light (NIR) by either absorbing, reflecting, or emitting light, or exhibiting other optical properties. This spectral range is of interest for numerous technologies. In medical diagnostics, for example, such materials offer deeper insights into tissue, since NIR light is scattered less than visible light. In communications technology, NIR materials are used in highly efficient fiber-optic systems. In solar energy, they could increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

Read more.

[sngl-led-auto-lights]

Why are LED vehicle headlights so much brighter than halogen headlights?

The reason why LED headlights are significantly brighter than halogen lamps is mainly due to technological breakthroughs in four aspects: luminescence principle, energy efficiency conversion, spectrum control and optical design. The following is a detailed analysis:

I. Essential differences in luminescence principles 1. Halogen lamps: thermal radiation luminescence

Mechanism: The current passes through the tungsten filament to heat it to more than 2,500°C, generating thermal radiation light (similar to incandescent lamps).

Shortcomings:

About 90% of the energy is converted into heat energy, and only 10% is converted into visible light (extremely low energy efficiency).

The spectrum is wide, containing a large amount of infrared (additional heat dissipation design is required).

2. LED: electro-cooling luminescence

Mechanism: The current passes through the semiconductor material (such as gallium nitride), and the electron transition releases photons.

Advantages:

Energy efficiency is 40-50% (4-5 times that of halogen lamps), and the light output is higher at the same power.

The spectrum is concentrated in the visible light band (controllable blue light ratio), reducing invalid radiation.

II. Lighting efficiency comparison: Lumen/Watt revolution Light source type Typical light efficiency (lumens/Watt) 55W total lumen value Halogen lamp 15-20 lm/W 825-1,100 LED lamp 80-150 lm/W 4,400-8,250

Case: Audi matrix LED single lamp has a light efficiency of 140 lm/W, and a total output of 7,700 lumens at 55W, far exceeding the brightness of halogen lamps.

III. Dimensionality reduction of optical design 1. Light source size

Halogen lamp: The filament length is about 5-10mm, the luminous area is large, and the light scattering is serious.

LED: The size of a single chip is only 1-3mm², and multiple chips can be arranged in an array and precisely focused through microlenses.

2. Freedom of light distribution

The LED headlights of Tesla Model S use 1,024 independently controllable light units to form a glare-free high beam;

Halogen lamps rely on mechanical shading plates and can only achieve fixed light patterns.

Fourth, the "deceptiveness" of color temperature and visual brightness

Color temperature difference:

Halogen lamps: 2,800-3,200K (warm yellow light)

LED lamps: 5,000-6,500K (cold white light)

Human eye sensitivity:

The human eye is most sensitive to 550nm (green light), while LEDs can concentrate energy in the 450-650nm band through blue light chip + phosphor conversion, and the subjective brightness is increased by 50% (even if the objective lumens are the same). There is also a white light composed of RGB chips.

V. Technical roots of the controversy over over brightness Although LED brightness has obvious advantages, abuse leads to safety hazards:

Poor quality modification: non-automotive grade LED (no heat dissipation, no lens) has excessive luminous flux (up to 32,000 lumens) and a scattering angle of more than 120°.

Misplaced installation: SUV/pickup LED lights are installed at a height of more than 1.2 meters, directly shining into the cockpit of low-floor vehicles.

Blue light hazards: low-cost LED blue light peaks at 450nm (close to the retinal damage threshold of 415-455nm).

Summary: Technical path for brightness increase The brightness advantage of LED headlights is the result of the synergy of semiconductor physics breakthroughs (material energy efficiency) + precision optical design (light type control) + human visual characteristics (color temperature perception). However, reasonable application requires strict regulations (such as the ECE R112 light type standard) and intelligent control technology (adaptive beam). In the future, Micro-LED technology will further improve the luminous efficacy to 200 lm/W, but glare control remains a key challenge.

[orgasmictomato]

DSC05095 (c1)square crop tag by Jim Via Flickr: A Close up example of a unit of my Research study, a dimensional entities of the night sky Australia. This is a visible light sighting of greater than 8 meters, captured at some 3km from camera. 2024 add: The mainstream media and science still ignore my messages. They are ignorant of new discoveries IMO.

[pretzelcoatll]

Day 2 of @torque-witch #Witchtober2024:

Something in the Air

I need to get out of this town. 

The world ended so suddenly. Or, at least what we used to call the world. None of us could have expected it to happen. I remember, the day before I was at my nephew's fifth birthday. It was themed after some children's cartoons with color coded zebras. My parents had shown up late and I had work early the next morning, so I barely got to see them. I didn’t even get to hug my dad goodbye. They’re all gone now. 

Some extra dimensional creatures slipped into ours through a hole just outside of our atmosphere that night. At least that's what the scientists on the TVs said. They’re probably not alive anymore either. News and propaganda spread fast. Creatures that consume humans. Only moving in darkness. The religious dubbed them demons. Some streamer apparently tried to exercise one. Mods had probably been taken by that point because what immediately followed was 5 minutes of the poor guy getting ripped to shreds through an infrared lens, and then 40 minutes of the sounds of flesh tearing and bones crunching as the creature slowly ate him.

I don’t know how I survived this long. One incidental happenstance after another that kept me in places with enough light to last until sunrise. And that continued for what I'm pretty sure was about 2 weeks, though it felt like months until I came across this town. 

Situated across a small stone bridge from the main road was this 12 block by 7 block town. Only one way in, only one way out, with a large blood stained barely legible welcome sign that read “Welc- -shine”. The perimeter of this small island seemed to have been recently boarded up with large flood lights to shine light around. With the bridge boasting various forms of string light, solar charged path lights, and every few feet a large flood light on either side, all dark in the sunlight as I approached. The towns folk were nice and welcoming enough, they’d all lost loved ones and understood the value of “community”. 

Apparently the old residents of this town, who now only 6 of still remained, tried valiantly to fend off the shadows, and for the most part did well for themselves. The small man made island was well equipped with both diesel and solar powered generators, as well as their own gray water and reverse osmosis systems, all incase of natural disaster causing their inability to leave. So they have been able to support themselves as well as keep the majority of the town, and especially the perimeter well light in the darkness. 

My time here has actually been pretty easy going. If you don’t think about it all too hard it's almost like nothing has changed. We take shifts during the light hours to scavenge the neighboring cities of food and supplies, batteries being our biggest necessity. We’ve got a large hefty community garden that was started when we found one of the old ladies who used to live here was an heirloom seed collector. We threw a party that day. Some of the more mechanically inclined took it upon themselves to learn how to make a simple desalination plant to supplement the RO water. They also do repairs on the generators as needed. We fish, we play cards, we sing and dance and some of us even tried to find love again. We get new occupants every now and then. We also lose some of them during scouting parties. All in all it could have been worse. 

It’s been about 2 years since then. Food is more scarce and a bad storm took out a large portion of our crops, but we are rebuilding.  Although the scouting parties are always able to find good portions of meat lately. They say animals have been breeding a lot more abundantly. I know they are lying. 

I need to get out of this town. Because there is a scent in the air. And it smells delicious.

[the-body-of-billie]

I am going to talk about God.

*********************************************************

Elmsbury-Gallows Short Story

[this series can be read in any order]

*********************************************************

A chain email sent en masse on 13th December 2018

First of all, i don’t think God is all-loving. I think Jesus is all-loving since Jesus was at least partly three-dimensional. God is more unknowable, more infinite and eldritch and amorphous. Whatever it- and it is an ‘it’- has planned could not be understood by the human mind. From what i read in my brother’s books, ‘God’ would most likely be not a creature that resides in the fourth dimension, but the fourth dimension itself. Everything, all over, experiencing it all: past, present, future, simultaneously.

Experiencing and watching with a hyper-human intelligence and a plan that nobody knows and ever will know because it’d all be so alien to us and we’d disavow it for that reason. It’s why it wants us to fear it. Fear is simply respect for ultimate power.

And it puppets, and it watches, and it laughs at us because it didn’t put us here, it just is around to watch us be here and my God i can feel it everywhere i go now it’s just fucking looking at me and leering at me and it knows everything that is going to happen to me and it takes pleasure in the fact that i don’t. I wish i could- one day i might know how it’s all going to happen.

Whatever Jesus was, he was a projection. That’s what the books said: that it never fully appears because it’s so incomprehensibly huge it physically can’t, so it sends down projections of itself. Smaller, three-dimensional holograms that aren’t even a millionth of a millionth of a billionth of the actual size of it. That’s Jesus to me, now, and angels. I mean, that has to be it.

I know ascension is real now too. That there is a way of bringing your body with you when it takes you into its maw. Then you can harness its power. I wonder if my brother ever got its power, like Phillip and Alexander say they did in the books. I wonder if he could levitate and tell the future and bring back the dead. I wonder why he kept it from me if he could. Not that it matters now. But in my reading, i wonder if death is really so permanent?

Even if i could bring him back, i’m never going back to that infernal town to get him. I love him enough to know that he is better off dead now. He didn’t even die at the hands of that murderer- at least, that’s what i know happened. A human killed my brother and made it look like The Elmsbury Vampire did it. Too much blood at the scene. That’s what gave it away. His soul is not in the fourth dimension, it would have taken his blood with him. His beautiful Borthwick blood.

I think i’m being visited by an angel- a projection, to use the scientific term. It comes to me in the shape of a man with great, curving, antlers and a face like a bird’s. It doesn’t speak to me, it just whistles its tune. It’s so familiar to me, but i can’t think for the life of me where i’ve heard it from. It sings me to sleep. My guardian angel.

I know so little and yet so very much. I can feel the tunnel from my head in a trajectory upward so dizzying it makes me faint from vertigo- like staring up at the peak of a mountain whilst stood at its foot. Like looking into the eye of a kaleidoscope.

That was another thing, also, that they wrote about. The knowing. The mere revelation of this knowledge is enough to make you visible to it- it’s like it sees in infrared or something, it sees ripples or heat markings. Or maybe it’s like a hammerhead shark and it can feel the electro-magnetic pulse of your heartbeat as your frequencies shift and change and you ascend. Simply knowing your God will bring it to you. You don’t even have to believe in it at first.

God, just typing it all up here to share with you makes my soul sing. I’m calling out to it without even knowing, without even wanting to. It’s reflexive.

I’ve pored over those books, absorbing them into myself as i try to go deeper and deeper down this rabbithole but there’s just nothing out there in the worldly plane and i know that what i want to know- what i deserve to know- is down there still in that library. In our library.

My brother was descended from the Borthwicks, that means i am too. They’re my books. It’s my knowledge to seek out. My turn, now, to dig.

I’m writing this all up on here for you, my angel made it known to me that this knowledge works best spread. The fourth dimension is our internal world, after all- if i can make it a part of everyone’s internal world, then the knowledge can be spread. For lack of a more accurate term, you are now blessed.

Dig, dig. Turn your head toward the wych elm and dig.

[ideas-on-paper]

Theories about Legion's "mini headlamps" (N7 special)

A very happy N7 Day to all of you Mass Effect fans!

Although I still haven't finished Mass Effect 3 (I just haven't been able to pick it up again after the Rannoch arc), I nevertheless wanted to do something special for this occasion, and I thought to myself that I might as well devote a quick study to a subject that's been on my mind for quite a long time: the purpose of Legion's three additional "mini headlamps".

You see, aside from the big, obvious flashlight in the middle, Legion also possesses three smaller lights at the side of their head. Ever since discovering these, I've been wondering what exactly those are for. I've observed that they glow red when Legion is under "stress" (an effect which is unfortunately not present in the Legendary Edition) - or rather, in situations that require a lot of processing power - but as far as their practical function goes, I could only guess. However, going through the ME3 dialogues again, I noticed a small detail which could potentially explain what exactly those small lights are - and in addition, give us a little insight into how Geth perceive the world visually.

Disclaimer: Before going into this, I should mention that I have no technical education in robotics, laser scanning, or any related areas of engineering. I based my conclusions solely on what information I could find on the internet, as well as my own reasoning and observations.

[Potential spoilers for ME3]

LADAR/LiDAR scanning and three-dimensional perception

To start off, what basically led me on this track was this comment by Tali in ME3:

Their AI lets them use extremely detailed ladar pings. Xen's countermeasure overwhelmed them with garbage data.

First off, we need to clarify what exactly ladar is. LADAR, more commonly known as LiDAR, stands for "Light amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation detection and ranging" - or, in case of LiDAR, "Light detection and ranging/Light imaging, detection and ranging. It's a method for measuring the distance, speed, and surface structure of objects by the means of laser scanning, usually with beams in the infrared spectrum (there are different wavelengths of light in use, however). Essentially, LiDAR is based on the same principle as the echolocation of bats, the only difference being the use of light instead of sound. Every LiDAR system consists of three integral components: a transmitter, a receiver, and a timer. The transmitter will send out a laser beam, which will be reflected by the object it hits; afterwards, the reflection will be registered by the receiver. Because the speed of light is a known constant, the distance of the object can be deduced by the timer, which will determine the delay between the light impulse being send out and the reflection being captured, also known as "time of flight".

However, because each laser beam only represents the coordinates of a single point, multiple laser beams are necessary to create a detailed 3D map of the environment. Some LiDAR lasers, like those used in automated vehicles, pinwheel to collect data in a 360° radius, generating a 3D image of all objects in the vicinity, including cars, pedestrians, and other obstacles. This results in multiple "points" forming a "point cloud" together, digitally depicting the surroundings on a 3D level. Because each laser emits hundreds of impulses per second, this technology enables you to take highly precise measurements in a very short period of time. LiDAR technology is not only utilized in autonomous driving, but also all kinds of other areas too, like archaeology, topographical mapping, and monitoring of vegetation growth.

Now, with this in mind, my theory is that Legion's small headlamps are the transmitter and receiver components of the LiDAR system - more specifically, I think the transmitters are located on the right, while the singular light on the left is the receiver. However, since we know that normal scanning LiDAR requires multiple laser beams for a detailed 3D image, the question is why Legion would only have two of them implemented. Personally, my suspicion is that the Geth might be using a flash LiDAR: Flash LiDAR is a different type of LiDar emitting a single wide, diverging beam, similar in shape to the beam of a flashlight. By projecting the reflected light onto a sensor array, a flash LiDAR can create a complete 3D environment without the use of multiple impulses. In addition to being very compact, flash LiDAR sensors have no moveable parts, making them extremely resistant to any kind of vibration - an undeniable advantage in all situations that require quick movement, such as combat.

Analysis of atmospheric composition with LiDAR

Still, that doesn't explain why Legion would have an additional transmitter on the right side of their head. We do know, however, that the laser scans with LiDAR are precise enough to not only measure the exact distance between objects, but also analyze the density of particles in the air: Because the molecules in the air cause the light from the laser beam to backscatter, LiDAR is also utilized in monitoring air quality and detecting fine dust, being able to determine traces of atmospheric gases such as ozone, nitrous gases, carbon dioxide, and methane. Depending on the wavelength of light used, the LiDAR system might be more or less precise in measuring molecular backscattering. For that reason, LiDAR systems using multiple wavelengths of light are most efficient in determining the exact size distribution of particles in the air.

With this in mind, let's take a look at Legion's opening line in ME2 upon entering the Heretic station:

Alert. This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither.

Going by what I explained above, the reason why Legion was able to tell there is no oxygen in the atmosphere isn't because they have some built-in chemical sensors to analyze the air's components - it's because they can literally "see" the particles in the air.

Thus, I think the second transmitter on the right side of Legion's head might use a different kind of wavelength specifically intended for the detection of atmospheric particles, perhaps in the UV-spectrum (the general rule is that the shorter the wavelength, the higher the resolution of the 3D image is, and since UV has a shorter wavelength than infrared, I imagine it might be used for this purpose). Meanwhile, the big flashlight in the middle might be a photoreceptor, being able to detect "normal" light visible to humans. In addition, the Geth are probably able to see UV-light (since the Quarians are able to see it, it would be logical to assume the Geth are as well), and maybe even infrared and other wavelengths. To summarize the function of all of Legion's headlights, I imagine it works roughly like this:

The two lights on the right side of Legion's head (marked with a red and magenta line) might be LiDAR transmitters, using infrared and UV-light, respectively; the single small light on the left (circled with green) might be the LiDAR sensor/receiver, while the big light in the middle (circled with blue) might be a photoreceptor (Source)

The effect of Xen's countermeasure (and potential means to bypass it)

It might be difficult to imagine from a human point of view, but judging from the information that the Geth use LiDAR as their main method of depth perception, Tali describing Xen's invention as a "flash bang grenade" actually makes a lot of sense: If you're normally able to observe your surroundings down to a molecular level, it would probably feel very disorienting if you're suddenly not, not to mention being unable to tell whether an object is far away or close by (which would be absolutely devastating if you suddenly come under attack).

Still, that doesn't mean there are no potential alternatives: Radar, which has been in use longer than LiDAR, is another method to determine the range, angle, and velocity of objects. Due to radar using long-waved micro- and radio waves, the measurements are generally a lot less precise than those with LiDAR; despite this, radar still has its use during inclement weather, when LiDAR systems are very prone to disturbances by dust, mist, and rainfall. Furthermore, LiDAR can only provide measurements up to 200 meters, while radar is more efficient at greater distances. In fact, most modern autonomous driving vehicles work both with LiDAR and radar, in addition to a conventional camera (the only vehicles that don't use LiDAR are those from Tesla, which have a reputation of being unsafe). So, it's only reasonable to assume that the Geth don't rely on LiDAR alone, but use various technologies in combination with it to compensate for each one's weaknesses.

Interestingly, a type of 4D radar is currently in development, intended to be used in autonomous driving. It provides 3D images with a similar resolution as LiDAR, at a potentially much cheaper cost. Still, whether LiDAR or 4D radar is the better choice for autonomous driving is still a heatedly debated question, and only time will tell which of both systems comes out on top. Nevertheless, assuming Xen's "flash bang grenade" only targets the Geth's LiDAR sensors, I wonder if they could've potentially found a way to adapt and bypass it, given enough time.

Anyway, that's the material for a different kind of analysis - for now, I hope you enjoyed this little deep dive into the science behind the Geth. Thank you all for reading and have a nice N7 Day! :-)

[frank-olivier]

Gravity’s Quantum Nature: Uncovering the Secrets of the Hierarchy Problem

One of the most influential theories of gravity is general relativity, proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915. According to this theory, gravity is not a force acting between objects, but rather a curvature of spacetime caused by the presence of mass and energy. This curvature affects the motion of objects, causing them to follow curved paths, which we experience as the gravitational force. General relativity has been incredibly successful in predicting the behavior of gravity in a wide range of situations, from objects falling on Earth to the bending of light around massive objects.

However, general relativity also has its limits. One of the greatest challenges for modern physics is the hierarchy problem, i.e. the enormous discrepancy between the strength of gravity and the other fundamental forces. The hierarchy problem arises from the fact that the force of gravity is much weaker than the other fundamental forces, such as electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces.

The strength of the gravitational force between two objects is determined by the product of their masses and the gravitational constant G. However, the strength of the other fundamental forces is determined by other constants, such as the fine structure constant for electromagnetism and the Fermi constant for the weak nuclear force. The hierarchy problem arises from the fact that the gravitational constant is much smaller than the other fundamental constants, making gravity much weaker than the other forces. On the scale of atomic nuclei, where the strong and weak nuclear forces dominate, the gravitational force is completely negligible. However, on larger scales, such as the scale of galaxies and galaxy clusters, gravity becomes the dominant force, shaping the large-scale structure of the universe.

The hierarchy problem poses a major challenge to modern physics because it is difficult to explain why the gravitational constant is so much smaller than the other fundamental constants. One possible solution to the hierarchy problem is the idea of ​​extra dimensions, which assumes that the gravitational force is not a four-dimensional force, but a force acting in higher-dimensional spaces. This idea is supported by theories such as string theory and the Kaluza-Klein theory.

In their research, Claudia de Rham and her colleagues have examined the implications of massive gravity theories for our understanding of the hierarchy problem. Massive gravity theories assume that gravity is not a massless force, but rather a force mediated by a massive particle, the graviton. This idea has been shown to provide a consistent and well-defined description of gravity in the infrared range, the range relevant to our everyday experience. In addition, de Rham's research has also examined the implications of massive gravity theories for our understanding of the large-scale structure of the universe. By analyzing data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the cosmic microwave background radiation, de Rham and her colleagues have shown that massive gravity theories can provide a good agreement with the observed data while solving the hierarchy problem.

Research by Claudia de Rham and her colleagues has shown that theories of massive gravity can provide a consistent and well-defined description of gravity in a wide variety of situations.

Claudia de Rham: The Woman Who Broke Gravity (Curt Jaimungal, Theories of Everything, August 2024)

Sunday, October 6, 2024