#Physics

[humanoidhistory]

Computer room at the Nevada Test Site.

(National Archives)

[la-cosmonauta-extraterrestre]

"Big Bang" started as a derogatory term but then it caught on.

There's this sort of anthropomorphizing that inherently happens in language that really gets me sometimes. I'm still not over the terminology of "gravity assist," the technique where we launch satellites into the orbit of other planets so that we can build momentum via the astounding and literally astronomical strength of their gravitational forces, to "slingshot" them into the direction we need with a speed that we could never, ever, ever create ourselves. I mean, some of these slingshots easily get probes hurtling through space at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Wikipedia has a handy diagram of the Voyager 1 satellite doing such a thing.

"Gravity assist." "Slingshot." Of course, on a very basic and objective level, yes, we are taking advantage of forces generated by outside objects to specifically help in our goals. We're getting help from objects in the same way a river can power a mill. And of course we call it a "slingshot," because the motion is very similar (mentally at least; I can't be sure about the exact physics).

Plus, especially compared to the other sciences, the terminology for astrophysics is like, really straightforward. "Black hole?" Damn yeah it sure is. "Big bang?" It sure was. "Galactic cluster?" Buddy you're never gonna guess what this is. I think it's an effect of the fact that language is generally developed for life on earth and all the strange variances that happen on its surface, that applying it to something as alien and vast as space, general terms tend to suffice very well in a lot more places than, like... idk, botany.

But, like. "Gravity assist." I still can't get the notion out of my head that such language implies us receiving active help from our celestial neighbors. They come to our aid. We are working together. We are assisted. Jupiter and the other planets saw our little messengers coming from its pale blue molecular cousin, and we set up the physics just right, so that they could help us send them out to far stranger places than this, to tell us all about what they find out there.

We are assisted.

And there is no better way to illustrate my feelings on the matter than to just show you guys one of my favorite paintings, this 1973 NASA art by Rick Guidice to show the Pioneer probe doing this exact thing:

"... You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. ..."

Gravity assist.

[per-asperaa-ad-astra]

When a physicist falls in love :)

Richard Feynman's love letter to his deceased wife, 1946.

[t4s]

Magnetosphere

[theactorbat]

I love family get togethers because we all just do shit like get drunk and debate the validity of the theory of false vacuum decay

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Quietening Drones

A drone's noisiness is one of its major downfalls. Standard drones are obnoxiously loud and disruptive for both humans and animals, one reason that they're not allowed in many places. This flow visualization, courtesy of the Slow Mo Guys, helps show why.  (Image credit: The Slow Mo Guys) Read the full article

[cant-afford-lobotomy]

[mindblowingscience]

An innovative algorithm for detecting collisions of high-speed particles within nuclear fusion reactors has been developed, inspired by technologies used to determine whether bullets hit targets in video games. This advancement enables rapid predictions of collisions, significantly enhancing the stability and design efficiency of future fusion reactors. Professor Eisung Yoon and his research team in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNIST announced that they have successfully developed a collision detection algorithm capable of quickly identifying collision points of high-speed particles within virtual fusion devices. The research is published in the journal Computer Physics Communications.

Continue Reading.

[charlesoberonn]

[deafeningcreationearthquake]

[hoonhoe]

hi hi, how are we doing, it's been a little while since i have gotten here to speak properly, i was afraid that my regular whining of the same shit must have pissed people off but oh well, we gotta yap.

so, hi again. it's been a long while since i sat down and typed everything off because i have been processing too, as of late there was a great uncertainty with my acads in the future, i have another very important exam coming up in a month's time and i have been meaning to lock in but my brain and body refused to co-operate, it's been a wild ride of hospital visits, crying and planning to study only for it to go into vain.

i often found myself wanting to get back to the mindset i had post mains 1 in january, for those of you who were here then, you must know my insane activity on here for the sake of accountability, i desperately need it back, need the jan me back who was just studying and trying to get through it all, i wasn't making parallels, i wasn't overthinking and i wasn't stuck in a rut, but we gotta move tf on.

in exactly 31 days from now, i have the exam to the uni i oh so badly want to get into and despite that i'm slacking off, it's a hard pill to swallow but three whole years of rigorously doing the same things haven't been the greatest for me, nevertheless i cannot give up when i'm this close to my final chance, right?

so in sheer hopes of making things better for my own self, i've stumbled here once again, i need the accountability to set myself straight, so hopefully you'll see me go insane again, for one final time.

fuck it we ball, AMIRITE 🗣️‼️

[abiwaif]

The physics of balancing toys 🙃

[destiel-news-network]

(Source)

[bumgall]

That's a good metaphor for the black holes of space-time…

@furrytechgirl

Oskars ancient Greek curse is that every day he wakes up convinced that this time he can totally walk on the drying rack

[one-time-i-dreamt]

My physics teacher and I were partners in investigating an international drug smuggling operation.