Yet another reminder that we are, in fact, entering the future.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
If you think you understand quantum mechanics...
Okay, Richard Feynman was an amazing dude, but I think he may have unintentionally spurred some confusion to non-physicists about our understanding of quantum mechanics.
You have probably heard his famous quote "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." Now, if anyone understood quantum mechanics, it was probably Richard Feynman. And when he said this, he did NOT mean that physicists just have no goddamn clue how to deal with quantum mechanics, or what types of things are going on. We do know how to calculate all sorts of fun stuff that is going on in the quantum world (thanks to the almighty Schrodinger equation).
The big anomaly is that the quantum world does not behave like the macroscopic world. It is completely non-intuitive. In classical mechanics, objects behave exactly like we would expect. Balls roll down hills, pendulums sway back and forth, cars that run off the road crash into things, etc.
But, in the quantum realm, the world is turned upside down! Particles behave as waves, you can't measure both the momentum and position at the same time, particles in boxes can theoretically tunnel through walls. It's lunacy! However, we can show these things mathematically. Hell, these are problems we encounter in undergraduate quantum courses. They are relatively simple to show.
So, I hope that clears things up. Quantum mechanics is understandable in a sense. It is just crazy and we don't understand why quantum sized systems don't behave like people sized systems. If someone tells you they understand that, well, they are lying.
You have probably heard his famous quote "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." Now, if anyone understood quantum mechanics, it was probably Richard Feynman. And when he said this, he did NOT mean that physicists just have no goddamn clue how to deal with quantum mechanics, or what types of things are going on. We do know how to calculate all sorts of fun stuff that is going on in the quantum world (thanks to the almighty Schrodinger equation).
The big anomaly is that the quantum world does not behave like the macroscopic world. It is completely non-intuitive. In classical mechanics, objects behave exactly like we would expect. Balls roll down hills, pendulums sway back and forth, cars that run off the road crash into things, etc.
But, in the quantum realm, the world is turned upside down! Particles behave as waves, you can't measure both the momentum and position at the same time, particles in boxes can theoretically tunnel through walls. It's lunacy! However, we can show these things mathematically. Hell, these are problems we encounter in undergraduate quantum courses. They are relatively simple to show.
So, I hope that clears things up. Quantum mechanics is understandable in a sense. It is just crazy and we don't understand why quantum sized systems don't behave like people sized systems. If someone tells you they understand that, well, they are lying.
Monday, January 21, 2013
The Drake Equation: Is anyone out there?
If you are not familiar with the Drake equation, here it is: N=R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
Where
N is the number of intelligent civilizations that we may be able to communicate with
R is the rate of formation of stars that are suitable for life to arise (for example, supergiants are too short-lived)
fp is the the fraction of those stars that have formed planets
ne is the number of planets per system with suitable conditions for life
fl is the fraction of those planets where life actually arises
fi is the fraction of that life that becomes intelligent
fc is the fraction of that intelligent life that forms advanced civilizations and technology capable of communication (capable of sending EM radiation out into space, like radio waves)
L is the lifetime of the civilization
This equation is actually pretty simple and it makes sense. The problem is that we don't know the variables. So far, we have only come across one intelligent civilization with any type of advanced technology. Ourselves! And, quite frankly, the intelligent part may be up for debate. So how can we possibly come up with some sort of average fraction of life that becomes intelligent or develops interstellar communications? And how in the world are we supposed to come up with an average lifetime for intelligent civilizations?! There are so many unknowns in this equation. The actual values of N can range anywhere from 10 to millions with our current knowledge. Frank Drake himself gave an estimate of about 10,000 civilizations in the Milky Way.
Okay, so let's go through this and see what we get. We'll start with R, which actually IS something that scientists have a realistic estimate of--about 7 per year currently.
In the past few years we have begun to find that most stars do actually have planets around them. We are finding more and more all the time. So, let's be generous and say that fp is about .9 or 90%. (This article estimates that every star has at least one planet!)
Now, ne is a little more difficult. It seems that most planets that we have found are NOT Earth-like. Does that mean they don't have life? Not necessarily. I like to leave the option that not all life would need the exact same conditions as we do. So, we'll go with .1 (one out of every ten solar systems has a planet suitable for life).
We currently have no way of knowing what fraction of suitable planets actually have life arise. We only know of one. But, let's go ahead and say .005 or 0.5%. And, similarly, the next three are complete guesses (I'd like to think they are educated guesses). Fraction of life that eventually becomes intelligent: I dunno, 0.1 or 10%.
Fraction of the intelligent life that develops technology: this is probably a little higher, we'll say 60%.
Now, for the lifetime of the civilization. Well, we developed technology fairly recently. We only began sending signals into space about a 100 years ago. Now, is it more likely that our civilization will die out sometime in the next few hundred years from disease, war, an asteroid, or will we break the ties that bind us and travel out into the stars to find new homes? This is hard to answer, as much as I'd like to go with the latter, I think we'll just say that our civilization will last another 10,000 years. So, if that were the case, we would be a technological civilization for 10,100 years. We'll go ahead and pretend that we know this is the average lifetime.
Okay! So, let's put this all together and see what we get.
N=7x0.9x0.1x0.005x0.1x0.6x10,100=1.9 intelligent technological civilizations in the Milky Way
Well, crap. Perhaps my estimates were a bit conservative. We know it must be at least 1!
Anyway, you can try it yourself and see what you get.
Keep in mind that this equation is being used to calculate civilizations that we may be able to communicate with and not lifeforms of just any kind. We aren't talking about bacteria or dinosaurs here.
Hopefully, as our technology advances we will have better estimates for some of these numbers. Only a decade ago we thought planets were few and far between, now we know that is not the case. Perhaps, we'll soon have reason to believe life of some form is also abundant. There certainly is enough room for more than one civilization and I don't mind sharing.
Where
N is the number of intelligent civilizations that we may be able to communicate with
R is the rate of formation of stars that are suitable for life to arise (for example, supergiants are too short-lived)
fp is the the fraction of those stars that have formed planets
ne is the number of planets per system with suitable conditions for life
fl is the fraction of those planets where life actually arises
fi is the fraction of that life that becomes intelligent
fc is the fraction of that intelligent life that forms advanced civilizations and technology capable of communication (capable of sending EM radiation out into space, like radio waves)
L is the lifetime of the civilization
This equation is actually pretty simple and it makes sense. The problem is that we don't know the variables. So far, we have only come across one intelligent civilization with any type of advanced technology. Ourselves! And, quite frankly, the intelligent part may be up for debate. So how can we possibly come up with some sort of average fraction of life that becomes intelligent or develops interstellar communications? And how in the world are we supposed to come up with an average lifetime for intelligent civilizations?! There are so many unknowns in this equation. The actual values of N can range anywhere from 10 to millions with our current knowledge. Frank Drake himself gave an estimate of about 10,000 civilizations in the Milky Way.
Okay, so let's go through this and see what we get. We'll start with R, which actually IS something that scientists have a realistic estimate of--about 7 per year currently.
In the past few years we have begun to find that most stars do actually have planets around them. We are finding more and more all the time. So, let's be generous and say that fp is about .9 or 90%. (This article estimates that every star has at least one planet!)
Now, ne is a little more difficult. It seems that most planets that we have found are NOT Earth-like. Does that mean they don't have life? Not necessarily. I like to leave the option that not all life would need the exact same conditions as we do. So, we'll go with .1 (one out of every ten solar systems has a planet suitable for life).
We currently have no way of knowing what fraction of suitable planets actually have life arise. We only know of one. But, let's go ahead and say .005 or 0.5%. And, similarly, the next three are complete guesses (I'd like to think they are educated guesses). Fraction of life that eventually becomes intelligent: I dunno, 0.1 or 10%.
Fraction of the intelligent life that develops technology: this is probably a little higher, we'll say 60%.
Now, for the lifetime of the civilization. Well, we developed technology fairly recently. We only began sending signals into space about a 100 years ago. Now, is it more likely that our civilization will die out sometime in the next few hundred years from disease, war, an asteroid, or will we break the ties that bind us and travel out into the stars to find new homes? This is hard to answer, as much as I'd like to go with the latter, I think we'll just say that our civilization will last another 10,000 years. So, if that were the case, we would be a technological civilization for 10,100 years. We'll go ahead and pretend that we know this is the average lifetime.
Okay! So, let's put this all together and see what we get.
N=7x0.9x0.1x0.005x0.1x0.6x10,100=1.9 intelligent technological civilizations in the Milky Way
Well, crap. Perhaps my estimates were a bit conservative. We know it must be at least 1!
Anyway, you can try it yourself and see what you get.
Keep in mind that this equation is being used to calculate civilizations that we may be able to communicate with and not lifeforms of just any kind. We aren't talking about bacteria or dinosaurs here.
Hopefully, as our technology advances we will have better estimates for some of these numbers. Only a decade ago we thought planets were few and far between, now we know that is not the case. Perhaps, we'll soon have reason to believe life of some form is also abundant. There certainly is enough room for more than one civilization and I don't mind sharing.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Prosthetic limbs that can feel and heal?
Recently, while waiting for my ride at the airport, I saw a man with two prosthetic arms. At the end of each arm was what looked like a hook split in half. He was able to move each hook apart in order to pick things up.
At first, I tried not to stare, much like everyone else around. But, what can I say? I'm human. It was different and I was fascinated. Initially, I felt bad for him. But, as I watched him dial a number on his cell phone and take things out of his pockets with relative ease, I was actually quite impressed. What advancements we have made in the past few years! Fifty or so years ago this man would have been helpless. And it turns out, this is only the beginning.
I recently came across this article, describing a new polymer material capable of healing itself when cut and sending electric signals when pressure is applied to it. So, here's a riddle: What else can heal itself and send electric signals when touched?
Yeah, skin. And that is exactly what these scientists at Stanford are creating it for (possibly other applications as well?). They intend to use for prosthetic limbs just like my friend at the airport had.
Currently, it seems their only problem is the elasticity of the material. It doesn't quite stretch like our skin does. But, I have a feeling they'll be figuring that out soon enough.
Now all we need is light sabers. :)
Friday, January 18, 2013
Spill all over yourself with no repercussions!
We'll never have to wash our clothes again! But seriously, this study, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society is pretty neat. Scientists have now developed surfaces that can repel most liquids. Not only would you stay dry in the rain and snow, but these surfaces have applications for protecting people in more dangerous situations as well.
Wait, what?
So, I recently learned about this 100 Year Starship project. This is just about the coolest goddamn thing I have ever seen in my life. I had to check around to make sure the internet wasn't just pulling a fast one on me. It's not. This is real.
I'll admit, I am a pretty big sci-fi nerd. I love BSG, Stargate, Firely, Star Trek, you name it, all the starship-involving series. However, my utter fascination with this project goes beyond the whole sci-fi morphing into sci-fact thing. I do physics and I majored in astrophysics as an undergrad. So, I have a pretty decent understanding of just how difficult it really is to traverse the interstellar medium. Pretty difficult. It's basically like a dustmite trying to crawl to Miami from Seattle (the is not an exact analogy, just off the top of my head, but you get the gist).
You've probably heard that the closest star is a little over four light years away. That means that if you somehow managed to find a way to travel AT the speed of light, you'd get there in a little over four years. But our current technology only enables us to travel at an insignificant fraction of the the speed of light. It would take thousands of years to get to that closest star. But alas, the 100yss people are trying to figure out faster ways for us to travel! There are a few possibilities, even FTL, according to this: warp drive?
Yeah, that's right, NASA is trying to find a way to travel Star Trek style.
Beyond the propulsion technology, this whole endeavor will require enormous efforts from all sorts of people all around the world. This project has the potential to bring humanity to the next level of civilization. Maybe even bring us together?
I'll admit, I am a pretty big sci-fi nerd. I love BSG, Stargate, Firely, Star Trek, you name it, all the starship-involving series. However, my utter fascination with this project goes beyond the whole sci-fi morphing into sci-fact thing. I do physics and I majored in astrophysics as an undergrad. So, I have a pretty decent understanding of just how difficult it really is to traverse the interstellar medium. Pretty difficult. It's basically like a dustmite trying to crawl to Miami from Seattle (the is not an exact analogy, just off the top of my head, but you get the gist).
You've probably heard that the closest star is a little over four light years away. That means that if you somehow managed to find a way to travel AT the speed of light, you'd get there in a little over four years. But our current technology only enables us to travel at an insignificant fraction of the the speed of light. It would take thousands of years to get to that closest star. But alas, the 100yss people are trying to figure out faster ways for us to travel! There are a few possibilities, even FTL, according to this: warp drive?
Yeah, that's right, NASA is trying to find a way to travel Star Trek style.
Beyond the propulsion technology, this whole endeavor will require enormous efforts from all sorts of people all around the world. This project has the potential to bring humanity to the next level of civilization. Maybe even bring us together?
Not too shabby, Science.
So, it's 2013 and we may not have flying cars or space odysseys with creepy obelisks, but what these people are doing is pretty damn impressive. Here's a list of the biggest breakthroughs of 2012. Of course, you'd expect to see the Higgs on there, but you might be surprised at some of the other little talked about endeavors.
Proof of progress!
I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!
Proof of progress!
I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)