Comment TMZ didn't break the news (Score 1) 387
TMZ only broke the headline. "Stories" have a beginning, middle, and end, covering all five traditional journalism W's, including why and how.
Comment Re:Media Tan-Shirts doing there job... (Score 1) 54
Well...surprisingly accurate definitions for equivocating and libel/slander, though both are terribly misapplied to anything I've written.
Feel free to type the last characters on the thread, it's your journal after all. But I stand, and will continue to stand, uncorrected.
Submission + - String theory put to the test
secretsather writes: "http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/01/24/th eory-of-everything-put-to-the-test/
String theory is arguably the most popular theory in theoretical physics; that is, it cannot be proven. The idea, is everything you see around you is made up of tiny strands of energy that vibrate at different frequencies. Until now, experimental verification has not been possible; but researchers at the University of California, Carnegie Mellon University, and The University of Texas are planning a definitive test with the future launch of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland that could disprove the current theory.
Similar to the well known U.S. particle collider at Fermi Lab, the Large Hadron Collider, scheduled for November 2007, is expected to be the largest, and highest energy particle accelerator in existence; it will use liquid helium cooled superconducting magnets to produce electric fields that will propel particles to near light speeds in a 16.7 mile circular tunnel. They then introduce a new particle into the accelerator, which collides with the existing ones, scattering many other mysterious subatomic particles about.
It is with this accelerator, that will allow researchers to begin observing the scattering of W bosons, an elementary particle that is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature and required in the proposed testing of the current string theory. I use "current" because string theory is just that, a theory; and it is constantly changing as more information becomes available.
"Our work shows that, in principle, string theory can be tested in a non-trivial way," said Ira Rothstein, co-author of the paper and professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon.
"The beauty of our test is the simplicity of its assumptions," said Benjamin Grinstein, a professor of physics at the University of California "The canonical forms of string theory include three mathematical assumptions — Lorentz invariance, analyticity and unitarity. Our test sets bounds on these assumptions."
Grinstein also noted that if their test does not substantiate what the theory predicts, one of the key mathematical assumptions about the current string theory would be incorrect."
String theory is arguably the most popular theory in theoretical physics; that is, it cannot be proven. The idea, is everything you see around you is made up of tiny strands of energy that vibrate at different frequencies. Until now, experimental verification has not been possible; but researchers at the University of California, Carnegie Mellon University, and The University of Texas are planning a definitive test with the future launch of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland that could disprove the current theory.
Similar to the well known U.S. particle collider at Fermi Lab, the Large Hadron Collider, scheduled for November 2007, is expected to be the largest, and highest energy particle accelerator in existence; it will use liquid helium cooled superconducting magnets to produce electric fields that will propel particles to near light speeds in a 16.7 mile circular tunnel. They then introduce a new particle into the accelerator, which collides with the existing ones, scattering many other mysterious subatomic particles about.
It is with this accelerator, that will allow researchers to begin observing the scattering of W bosons, an elementary particle that is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature and required in the proposed testing of the current string theory. I use "current" because string theory is just that, a theory; and it is constantly changing as more information becomes available.
"Our work shows that, in principle, string theory can be tested in a non-trivial way," said Ira Rothstein, co-author of the paper and professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon.
"The beauty of our test is the simplicity of its assumptions," said Benjamin Grinstein, a professor of physics at the University of California "The canonical forms of string theory include three mathematical assumptions — Lorentz invariance, analyticity and unitarity. Our test sets bounds on these assumptions."
Grinstein also noted that if their test does not substantiate what the theory predicts, one of the key mathematical assumptions about the current string theory would be incorrect."
Journal Journal: Banning the "N-Word"? 1
Mayor Ken Corley of Brazoria, TX announced a plan to "make using the word in an offensive fashion a crime equal to disturbing the peace and punishable by a fine of up to $500."
Is this what America is coming to? What happened to free speech?
Feed CIA Gets in Your Face(book) (wired.com)
Does Sprawl Make Us Fat? 659
Ant writes "A Science News article talks about the relationship between city design and health. New cross-disciplinary research is exploring whether urban sprawl makes us soft, or whether people who don't like to exercise move to the sprawling suburbs, or some combination of both." From the article: "So far, the dozen strong studies that have probed the relationships among the urban environment, people's activity, and obesity have all agreed, says Ewing. 'Sprawling places have heavier people... There is evidence of an association between the built environment and obesity.' ... However, University of Toronto economist Matthew Turner charges that 'a lot of people out there don't like urban sprawl, and those people are trying to hijack the obesity epidemic to further the smart-growth agenda [and] change how cities look.' ... 'We're the only ones that have tried to distinguish between causation and sorting... and we find that it's sorting,' [says Turner]. 'The available facts do not support the conclusion that sprawling neighborhoods cause weight gain.'"
US Attorney General Questions Habeas Corpus 1151
spiedrazer writes "In yet another attempt to create legitimacy for the Bush Administration's many questionable legal practices, US attorney General Alberto Gonzales actually had the audacity to argue before a Congressional committee that the US Constitution doesn't explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights on US citizens. In his view it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the rights are granted. The Attorney General was being questioned by Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18. THe MSM are not covering this story but Colbert is (click on the fourth video down, 'Exact Words')." From the Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel commentary: "While Gonzales's statement has a measure of quibbling precision to it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other fundamental rights that Americans hold dear (such as free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to assemble peacefully) also don't exist because the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative. It boggles the mind the lengths this administration will go to to systematically erode the rights and privileges we have all counted on and held up as the granite pillars of our society since our nation was founded."
