Comment Re:tl;dr Looks like automata theory (Score 1) 166
We have a system for evaluating his work, it's called peer review. And he is bypassing it.
Comment Re:Declination is not news (Score 4, Interesting) 192
Airplane pilots still use magnetic headings to identify runways which is gazillion times simpler than using GPS (doesn't even require power).
Runways are numbered according to their orientation relative to the horizontal magnetic field (their declination). The wandering of the North pole is however inconvenient as these runway numbers must be changed accordingly every now and then.
Earth's Magnetic Field Is Acting Up and Geologists Don't Know Why (nature.com) 192
schwit1 quotes Nature:
Something strange is going on at the top of the world. Earth's north magnetic pole has been skittering away from Canada and towards Siberia, driven by liquid iron sloshing within the planet's core. The magnetic pole is moving so quickly that it has forced the world's geomagnetism experts into a rare move. [T]hey are set to update the World Magnetic Model, which describes the planet's magnetic field and underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones. The most recent version of the model came out in 2015 and was supposed to last until 2020 -- but the magnetic field is changing so rapidly that researchers have to fix the model now.
"The error is increasing all the time," says Arnaud Chulliat, a geomagnetist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Centers for Environmental Information.... By early 2018, the World Magnetic Model was in trouble. Researchers from NOAA and the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh had been doing their annual check of how well the model was capturing all the variations in Earth's magnetic field. They realized that it was so inaccurate that it was about to exceed the acceptable limit for navigational errors.
Nature's article was updated on January 9th to inform readers that the release of the corrected World Magnetic Model, which should restore accuracy through the end of 2019, has now been postponed from January 15th to January 30th -- "due to the ongoing US government shutdown."
"The error is increasing all the time," says Arnaud Chulliat, a geomagnetist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Centers for Environmental Information.... By early 2018, the World Magnetic Model was in trouble. Researchers from NOAA and the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh had been doing their annual check of how well the model was capturing all the variations in Earth's magnetic field. They realized that it was so inaccurate that it was about to exceed the acceptable limit for navigational errors.
Nature's article was updated on January 9th to inform readers that the release of the corrected World Magnetic Model, which should restore accuracy through the end of 2019, has now been postponed from January 15th to January 30th -- "due to the ongoing US government shutdown."
Comment Re:Limited Conditions (Score 1) 418
This.
Traffic conditions have to be the same in order to compare increased cell phone usage with crash rates. Considerable more driver attention is required when traffic is heavy!
Comment Re:This ain't the first time ... (Score 1) 470
As far as good scientists are concerned... if you can't measure something, and you can't test it -- then it is irrelevent.
It may be true or false -- you don't know -- it falls into the realm of 'belief' or 'religion' instead of science, if it is not testable.
You just described string theory!
Comment Impossible for his time (Score 5, Informative) 193
TFA doesn't refute any of Einsteins conclusions about Brownian motion. It only shows that it was something impossible to do at Einsteins time. What a cheap way to grab attention!
Comment Fluid dynamics, psychoacoustics (Score 1) 398
Some fields in physics such as granular/fluid dynamics are poorly understood and there is not a lot of experimental data. Experiments can be relatively simple if the researcher is imaginative (ingredients: water, fluorescent dye, blue leds, video camera). These fields would certainly benefit from home research if done properly. You would spent some money but definitely not thousands to have a simple setup.
There is also psychoacoustics. For example, I'm developing a way to calculate Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTF's) using minimal equipment (an audio card, computer and tiny microphones). It is exciting and the learning experience is great even if the whole thing turns out to be too complex/costly to pursue. I think this latter point is what makes home research worthwhile.
Also bear in mind that there's a lot of money spent on research in big institutions that doesn't lead to anything fruitful. It may also happen in your home lab but then you wouldn't be worried of not finding a good postdoc position, losing tenure or not getting a grant!
Attack of the Killer Electrons 98
Hugh Pickens writes "At the peak of a magnetic storm, the number of highly energetic 'killer electrons' strong enough to damage electronics and human tissue can increase by a factor of more than ten times, posing a danger to spacecraft, satellites, and astronauts. Killer electrons can penetrate satellite shielding, so if electrical discharges take place in vital components, a satellite can be damaged or even rendered inoperable. For many years, the mechanism by which killer electrons are produced has remained poorly understood, in spite of physicists' attempts at solving this puzzle. Now the ESA reports that data shows the increase in the creation of a substantial number of killer electrons is due to a two-step process. First, the initial acceleration is due to the strong shock-related magnetic field compression. Immediately after the impact of the interplanetary shock wave, Earth's magnetic field lines began wobbling at ultra low frequencies. In turn, these ULF waves effectively accelerate the seed electrons (provided by the first step) to become killer electrons. 'These new findings help us to improve the models predicting the radiation environment in which satellites and astronauts operate. With solar activity now ramping up, we expect more of these shocks to impact our magnetosphere over the months and years to come,' says Philippe Escoubet, ESA's Cluster mission manager."
Challenge To US Government Over Seized Laptops 246
angry tapir writes "The policy of random laptop searches and seizures by US government agents at border crossings is under attack again: The American Civil Liberties Union is working with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to find lawyers whose laptops or other electronic devices were searched at US points of entry and exit. The groups argue that the practice of suspicionless laptop searches violates fundamental rights of freedom of speech and protection against unreasonable seizures and searches."
Organ Damage In Rats From Monsanto GMO Corn 766
jenningsthecat writes "A study published in December 2009 in the International Journal of Biological Sciences found that three varieties of Monsanto genetically-modified corn caused damage to the liver, kidneys, and other organs of rats. One of the corn varieties was designed to tolerate broad-spectrum herbicides, (so-called 'Roundup-ready' corn), while the other two contain bacteria-derived proteins that have insecticide properties. The study made use of Monsanto's own raw data. Quoting from the study's 'Conclusions' section: 'Our analysis highlights that the kidneys and liver as particularly important on which to focus such research as there was a clear negative impact on the function of these organs in rats consuming GM maize varieties for just 90 days.' Given the very high prevalence of corn in processed foods, this could be a real ticking time bomb. And with food manufacturers not being required by law to declare GMO content, I think I'll do my best to avoid corn altogether. Pass the puffed rice and pour me a glass of fizzy water!"
Comment Re:Science? (Score 2, Informative) 114
How the HELL did this article get filed under "science".
Venus has a significant atmosphere. Saturn has an atmosphere. Neptune... atmosphere. Jupiter... ALL atmosphere. Hey, look at that! All the planets larger than Mars have a significantly thick atmosphere.
Maybe it's as simple as their gravity is sufficient to trap gasses.
Please refile this article under "Intellectually Bankrupt" instead.
I think the question is the origin of the gases, not the mechanism that keeps them trapped.
Comment barely matters (Score 1) 243
It barely matters, as the tiny black holes engulf the detector, her, and us all!
Comment Re:What's most important to keep. (Score 3, Interesting) 114
It is a basic assumption in science that given some set of conditions (or causes) you get the same effect. For this to happen it is important to properly record how to setup the conditions. This is the kind of things that scientific papers describe (in principle at least!).
