General science thread

An idea's floating about regarding the dark matter, dark energy and gravity problems (gravity can't be unified with other forces). The idea is that gravity is not a fundamental force, but rather an emergent property of the universe. That is to say, it's caused by something more fundamental.

My comprehension reaches that far. I didn't really understand how this solves any of the above problems (except the gravity problem). Worse yet, the notion is that gravity is an emergent property of entropy, which itself depends on the laws of thermodynamics.

Cool!

There are also problems in testing this idea. I forget exactly what, but it's along the lines that we should see exactly what we see now. That would settle nothing. With a possible exception for dark matter.

To reiterate: Cool!

Now there's another idea floating around that space-time might emerge from quantum information.

Among the caveats, there's the fact that the notion fits only a very simplified version of a 2-D universe, which makes sense but it's hard to get across (you can describe a 3-D black hole by describing it's 2-D surface, really).

And then it really gets weird.

Check, please!

I have always wondered about this. It
turns out multitasking is very bad for
you. It harms your brain, lowers your
IQ, and makes you far less productive
than single tasking. Things like paying
attention to the TV and writing an
email at the same time. Or texting and
driving.

"Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully."

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/why-smart-people-dont-multitask.html

Chemists made the tightest molecular knot.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/12/509353074/scientists-have-twisted-molecules-into-the-tightest-knot-ever

What would molecular weaved shirt look like? Invisible?

Quote:

Physicists have discovered a new form of matter that breaks the symmetry of time.

These crystals have a structure that repeats in time as they are ‘kicked’ periodically, like the way Jell-O jiggles when it is tapped, and researchers say they represent one of the first examples of ‘non-equilibrium matter.’

Researchers have shown that ‘time crystals’ can behave similarly to qubit systems, meaning they could one day be used in quantum computers

What I got out of that on first reading was: Jell-O


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4162236/Scientists-say-time-crystals-new-form-matter.html#ixzz4WvdtJOxl
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Quote: rxwine

What I got out of that on first reading was: Jell-O

I don't quite get it, either. But look up thiotimoline. Or click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiotimoline

This is blowing my mind. Do not Google this and ruin my game...

So I got a heat pack. It's basically a vinyl pouch filled with a clear, watery liquid. It perhaps has a slightly higher viscosity than water, think 9 parts water, 1 part Caro. And inside this pouch along with this liquid is a concave metal disk. The disk is about as big as a nickel but very thin. I've a hard time comparing it to anything. Any sort of bottle cap or tin can is too thick, but foil is too thin. In any case, it's closer to foil than a cap.

Now here's the first part that perhaps doesn't blow my mind, but certainly holds my attention. This cap is much like a Snapple cap. You can "pop" it back and forth due to it being concave. When you do, the clear liquid immediately begins to crystallize. It's much like having a pressurized bottle of 30* water and uncapping it, allowing it to freeze. You can see it form. You then begin kneading it to break up these crystals and the sumbitch gets hot. I mean 1st degree burn hot. The heat lasts a good long time, perhaps close to an hour, and you're left with basically a solid block of, I dunno, feels like dried clay.

This is the part that goes from "curious" to "get this devil magic away from me"...

You put this hard, used up pack in a pot of boiling water. It gets soft. You lay it on the counter to cool. And when it does, it's clear and watery again. And then... You can pop that cap again and it gets just as hot as before.



I've been trying to clear the bong hits and scar tissue off my chemistry knowledge, and have a beginner's theory. Thought it was interesting enough to bring to your attention and have you hypothesize yourself. You may begin =)

something to do with crystallization and the way it can hold latent heat

the Pluto discoveries bring this up about the oceans of water hypothesized on that planet. They are evidently still freezing, which releases heat - another case of crystallization doing so*

whatever it is you have there must have a very remarkable ability to release heat, for it to feel *hot* !

*something to do with molecules that were once vibrating now unable to do so, or not as much as a crystal - that vibration gets released to what *can* vibrate

PS: after reading your post again, not sure if I have it right since forcibly breaking up the crystals is when it gets hot. Hmmm.

There were some reports last week about scientists making metallic hydrogen.

For the life of me, I recall similar reports from the very late 80s.

Anyway, the idea is that hydrogen when compressed under a very high pressure, like that you'd expect to find deep inside Jupiter, enters a metallic state (meaning electrons flow freely between hydrogen atoms). A big question is whether hydrogen can remain metallic if the pressure is released. Theory says it might, but also that it would sublimate in time.

That's where wild speculations start. It might be used as a superconductor. It might be used as an easier fusion fuel (in the form of deuterium).

There's also doubt whether the claim that metallic hydrogen was made and observed is so...

Quote: Face

...Thought it was interesting enough to bring to your attention and have you hypothesize yourself. You may begin =)

I'm guessing a supersaturated salt solution? Phase 1 - When the cap is snapped, the disruption in the solution causes a cascade of crystals to form. Rubbing them together generates heat that starts another cascade reaction as the mix moves to Phase 2 - releasing heat in the process. Boiling the bag puts energy back in, melting the crystals and returning it to Phase 1.

Could you get the reaction started just by dropping the bag on the floor, or do you have to "snap" the cap?