Blackholes and other stuff.
Today, class, we are going to discuss a new discovery in the behavior of Quasars.
And an update about my car, my hotsauce, and how sometimes I'm just too damn honest.
For those of you who enjoy astrophysics, or just really like science in general, you might dig this article. (Short summary follows link for those who don't want to read the whole thing).
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn9620&feedId=online-news_rss20
Basically, Quasars are super-bright, super-dense "events" that have so much going on with them, and have the potential to do much weird stuff to matter and 'negative space', that they're actually classified as "active galaxies." Basically, these things put out more energy in the form of light, radio waves, and radiation than entire galaxies . That's alot of juice!
Originally it was thought that these monsters were driven by super-blackholes, sucking up nearby stars, gas, dust, etc, and the fusion caused by the intense gravity is what generated so much power.
However, thanks to a fluke, a group of guys were able to study one in an unusual amount of detail, and noticed that this thing was displaying a magnetic field. This is a big deal, because Blackholes DON'T GENERATE MAGNETIC FIELDS.
This means that Quasars might actually be powered by a Magnetic, Eternally Collapsing Object (MECO for short). What's happening in a MECO is that the gravity well, combined with the heat, and combinations of other energies produced, is that new particles are "popping" into existance (both from things getting fused together and stuff getting pulled in from other 'planes' of existance -- getting into quantum physics there, so I'll stop).
Anyhow, because of this type of reaction, a MECO will never actually collapse in on itself like a blackhole, it'll just keep trying to crush itself from the outside, and shove itself back outwards from the inside.
Now, I've read that if MECO's exist, then Blackholes can't exist, and vice-versa. Something I totally disagree with, but again, without getting into volumes of information and examples, I'm just going to leave it at that.
So, in short, all I can say is that Professor Hawking is going to be a busy (busier?) man. Astrophysics rocks. (oh, and I'm sure he's having a grand time now that zero-point fields have been proven and lab relipicated - and actually, that's part of why I think both can exist. ... Okay, stopping myself now. I only get an hour for lunch.)
*******************************
Onto my car. So the rest of my replacement parts for the air suspension showed up yesterday. So I called my mechanic. Normally I deal with the owner, but he apparently was off yesterday and today, so I told the mechanic who answered, "I got the rest of my parts in, can I drop it off tonight?" "Sure, but I've never worked on one of those, so I don't know if I'll get it finished tomorrow." -- now, I don't hold him responsible for this. The owner works in the shop as much as the guys do, and I know that he's the one who handles the "exotic" suspension stuff -- "Okay, I understand, I'd rather have you guys take the time and do it right, than me get it back and have issues. Are you still open till 6?" (as they had changed times about 6 months ago) "Oh yeah." "Great, see you before 6."
So I get my brother-in-law to follow me up there, through torrential rain, get there at 20 to 6, and the place is closed! So I'm boiling, call up, and leave a rather terse message on their machine, and leave the car there, drop the key in the keyslot, and leave. Going to call him after this post.
*************************
About my hotsauce. Got my other jars for splitting up so I can experiment with it in batches. So that'll be nice. Need to wait for it to stop fermenting so I can see just exactly how hot it's going to be when it's finished. It'll definitely be a niche-market product.
**************************
So this morning on my way to work, I stop to put gas in my brother-in-laws car (which I'm using while mine is at the shop). I walk into the place, pay, and as I'm walking back out, I spot a thin bundle of neatly folded bills laying right outside the door. The only other person who had been in or out since I walked in was about 6 steps ahead of me, a solid 5 paces to his truck. I pick the money up and as I straighten up, I just automatically say "Excuse me, you dropped your money!" He turns and looks at me curiously, his hand goes to his back pocket, and he's a bit in shock as he takes it and thanks me. I tell him no problem and continue on my way - a part of me thinking "Why the hell did I do that! There was at least 30 bucks there, that's almost a tank of gas!" But it's just the way my brain is wired.
And even if I would have considered the amount of money before notifying the man, I probably would have given it to him anyway. Who knows, he could really be in some financial straits and that was his last bit of money for a week or two. And that possibility would have made me feel miserable, because I know what that's like.
So in the end, I'm glad I returned it. As he drove by while I was filling the tank, he slowed down and waved to me and said thanks again. It's nice to be appreciated.
*********************
Oh, and Lastly, it's official. One of my cop-buddies. Big John, a man I've known since freshman year in high school, is going to be transferring out to Las Vegas when his family moves out there. His mom is a school teacher and his dad is an OTR trucker. Because of our conflicting schedules, we don't get to hang out as much as we used to, but it's still going to feel pretty empty knowing that the opportunity of doing so won't be there anymore.
So I think he's going to be at Dave's birthday party, so it'll be a partial going-away party, too.
On the bright side... if I ever go to Vegas, I know that I'll already have a friend in supposedly one of the most corrupt law enforcement establishements in the country -- and that can't be all bad, can it?
And an update about my car, my hotsauce, and how sometimes I'm just too damn honest.
For those of you who enjoy astrophysics, or just really like science in general, you might dig this article. (Short summary follows link for those who don't want to read the whole thing).
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn9620&feedId=online-news_rss20
Basically, Quasars are super-bright, super-dense "events" that have so much going on with them, and have the potential to do much weird stuff to matter and 'negative space', that they're actually classified as "active galaxies." Basically, these things put out more energy in the form of light, radio waves, and radiation than entire galaxies . That's alot of juice!
Originally it was thought that these monsters were driven by super-blackholes, sucking up nearby stars, gas, dust, etc, and the fusion caused by the intense gravity is what generated so much power.
However, thanks to a fluke, a group of guys were able to study one in an unusual amount of detail, and noticed that this thing was displaying a magnetic field. This is a big deal, because Blackholes DON'T GENERATE MAGNETIC FIELDS.
This means that Quasars might actually be powered by a Magnetic, Eternally Collapsing Object (MECO for short). What's happening in a MECO is that the gravity well, combined with the heat, and combinations of other energies produced, is that new particles are "popping" into existance (both from things getting fused together and stuff getting pulled in from other 'planes' of existance -- getting into quantum physics there, so I'll stop).
Anyhow, because of this type of reaction, a MECO will never actually collapse in on itself like a blackhole, it'll just keep trying to crush itself from the outside, and shove itself back outwards from the inside.
Now, I've read that if MECO's exist, then Blackholes can't exist, and vice-versa. Something I totally disagree with, but again, without getting into volumes of information and examples, I'm just going to leave it at that.
So, in short, all I can say is that Professor Hawking is going to be a busy (busier?) man. Astrophysics rocks. (oh, and I'm sure he's having a grand time now that zero-point fields have been proven and lab relipicated - and actually, that's part of why I think both can exist. ... Okay, stopping myself now. I only get an hour for lunch.)
*******************************
Onto my car. So the rest of my replacement parts for the air suspension showed up yesterday. So I called my mechanic. Normally I deal with the owner, but he apparently was off yesterday and today, so I told the mechanic who answered, "I got the rest of my parts in, can I drop it off tonight?" "Sure, but I've never worked on one of those, so I don't know if I'll get it finished tomorrow." -- now, I don't hold him responsible for this. The owner works in the shop as much as the guys do, and I know that he's the one who handles the "exotic" suspension stuff -- "Okay, I understand, I'd rather have you guys take the time and do it right, than me get it back and have issues. Are you still open till 6?" (as they had changed times about 6 months ago) "Oh yeah." "Great, see you before 6."
So I get my brother-in-law to follow me up there, through torrential rain, get there at 20 to 6, and the place is closed! So I'm boiling, call up, and leave a rather terse message on their machine, and leave the car there, drop the key in the keyslot, and leave. Going to call him after this post.
*************************
About my hotsauce. Got my other jars for splitting up so I can experiment with it in batches. So that'll be nice. Need to wait for it to stop fermenting so I can see just exactly how hot it's going to be when it's finished. It'll definitely be a niche-market product.
**************************
So this morning on my way to work, I stop to put gas in my brother-in-laws car (which I'm using while mine is at the shop). I walk into the place, pay, and as I'm walking back out, I spot a thin bundle of neatly folded bills laying right outside the door. The only other person who had been in or out since I walked in was about 6 steps ahead of me, a solid 5 paces to his truck. I pick the money up and as I straighten up, I just automatically say "Excuse me, you dropped your money!" He turns and looks at me curiously, his hand goes to his back pocket, and he's a bit in shock as he takes it and thanks me. I tell him no problem and continue on my way - a part of me thinking "Why the hell did I do that! There was at least 30 bucks there, that's almost a tank of gas!" But it's just the way my brain is wired.
And even if I would have considered the amount of money before notifying the man, I probably would have given it to him anyway. Who knows, he could really be in some financial straits and that was his last bit of money for a week or two. And that possibility would have made me feel miserable, because I know what that's like.
So in the end, I'm glad I returned it. As he drove by while I was filling the tank, he slowed down and waved to me and said thanks again. It's nice to be appreciated.
*********************
Oh, and Lastly, it's official. One of my cop-buddies. Big John, a man I've known since freshman year in high school, is going to be transferring out to Las Vegas when his family moves out there. His mom is a school teacher and his dad is an OTR trucker. Because of our conflicting schedules, we don't get to hang out as much as we used to, but it's still going to feel pretty empty knowing that the opportunity of doing so won't be there anymore.
So I think he's going to be at Dave's birthday party, so it'll be a partial going-away party, too.
On the bright side... if I ever go to Vegas, I know that I'll already have a friend in supposedly one of the most corrupt law enforcement establishements in the country -- and that can't be all bad, can it?