Humodour

Which approaches holy-****all levels of strange. Considering: a) Many, many more particles were produced from these 'mini big bangs' than the mainstream theories predicted, and b) Mainstream theories predicted a plasma or gas (hence quark-gluon plasma) Then yes, it's very strange. We're pretty much guaranteed to get new physics from this. This rules out a bunch of theories previously thought likely, while strengthening some thought less likely.

If Obsidian's stupid publisher didn't charge $90 on Steam for the Australian version (that's over $90 USD) I would buy it. Hopefully I can get it in a physical retailer for $40 or $50, because I've heard it's quite good.

The three space probes will launch and stay in a triangle formation with each other, firing laser beams accross the large distance between them and measuring results to see if any abnormalities show up.

That is absolute bull****. USB drives use quantum tunnelling for smeg's sake and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent solar array that didn't rely on quantum-mechanical discoveries. Have you ever heard of nanotechnology or materials science? Do you understand the basis of modern polymer science (e.g. conductive polymers via quantum decoherence)? Or chip design? Do you know why graphene is important to tech companies (quantum Hall effect)? Or what an ultracapacitor is? What about OLED's - super LED's which exist because we are able to understand excitons thanks to QM? And what about the scanning tunnelling microscope developed in 1981 (again, quantum tunnelling)? Superconductor science ring any bells? In fact, the basis of lasers is raising electrons into higher quantum states. Lasers rely on a knowledge of quantum mechanics which Einstein first detailed in his work "On the Quantum Theory of Radiation". "Very little applications" my arse. If you want to use a modern computer, many somebodies out there need to understand QM intimately. Very recent inventions, what i'm talking about it's the gap between the formulation of quantum mechanics and the practical applications. What was it, like 20 years or so? So I expect to see this yield fruit in the next 20 years. Also, let's face it; the vast potential of these fields remains yet untapped. This post I agree with entirely. Still, back to your previous post: 20 or 30 years and quantum mechanics has become vital to the smooth operation of the entire world? I'd say that's MORE applications in the amount of time since it's discovery than pretty much any other invention or idea, and it reinforces my belief (and original point) that a technology like this superphoton experiment could become commercialised and mainstream very rapidly. We could not possibly have this information (and hence economic) golden age without quantum mechanics. The field of chemistry alone is pretty much entirely derived from quantum mechanics. I'd write an essay on this but somebody beat me to it: http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~ianb/history/

It's certainly not as easy as that sentence makes it sound. It's not exactly something the Americans would find difficult, either, however. Pretty much the only thing that would be difficult about swiftly eliminating North Korea's military capability would be the risk that they'd get off salvoes at Seoul before they were destroyed. Which would be like somebody firing missiles into the heart of London or New York.

A very decent technical summary for laymen of this phenomena and the ingenious nature of their experiment is here: http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-german...per-photon.html

These are for Archie: http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-large-...primordial.html http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-early-...ults-large.html The early universe was a liquid.

That is absolute bull****. USB drives use quantum tunnelling for smeg's sake and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent solar array that didn't rely on quantum-mechanical discoveries. Have you ever heard of nanotechnology or materials science? Do you understand the basis of modern polymer science (e.g. conductive polymers via quantum decoherence)? Or chip design? Do you know why graphene is important to tech companies (quantum Hall effect)? Or what an ultracapacitor is? What about OLED's - super LED's which exist because we are able to understand excitons thanks to QM? And what about the scanning tunnelling microscope developed in 1981 (again, quantum tunnelling)? Superconductor science ring any bells? In fact, the basis of lasers is raising electrons into higher quantum states. Lasers rely on a knowledge of quantum mechanics which Einstein first detailed in his work "On the Quantum Theory of Radiation". "Very little applications" my arse. If you want to use a modern computer, many somebodies out there need to understand QM intimately.

Maybe! Here's a video of the experiment in action: It's pretty cool.

I dunno, sure he's potentially a hypocrite, but supposing somebody like that were non-religious instead, you'd have to start taking some of his points seriously. How would that make you feel?

My rule of thumb is to always pronounce 4 stars **** in my mind as "feck" with a 'u'. This produces varying results. "Today I went to **** Smith Electronics to buy an iPhone 4." "She is an activist-****-politician." "He totally ****-blocked me at the party and that's why I'm urinating on his daffodils." "Good evening, San Diego. I'm Veronica Corningstone. **** McGee is on vacation."

Regina Spektor is pretty amazing

As always, the ABC has a good run-down of the situation: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11...?section=justin

Pffft, that's what they said about light amplification via stimulated emission of radiation (also known as LASER)! From the Nature article:

So somehow those crazy Germans have managed to create a BEC/Bose-Einstein-Condensate/Superatom out of not atoms, but photons! Light! http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/11/26...e-Using-Photons If there was any doubt about the wave-particle duality this certainly must crush those doubts. Nature article the Slashdot link is based on: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/ful...s.2010.630.html Wiki description of BECs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose%E2%80%93...tein_condensate

Why can't I say ****? It's a Latin word which has zero vulgar meaning when not used by idiots. Even when it is used by idiots they can just write 'come' instead. I can't, because come does not equal ****. Stupidly thought-out filter. "Used in indicating a thing with two roles, functions, or natures, or a thing that has changed from one to another. He built a bus-****-greenhouse (= he converted a bus to a greenhouse) that made a bold statement, but the plants in it didn't live very long." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

A nice mix of brainwashing and Stockholm syndrome NK has going there.

I predict that you will one day do something illegal so I am fining you now. Because I am manly and not a wuss. NK isn't potentially going to do illegal and evil things in the future; it is doing them now and has done them repeatedly in the past. So your analogy is completely idiotic.

Anyway, the moral ambiguity involved with illegal downloading is lessening (i.e. less worthwhile and justifiable), as the greedy publishers **** pointless middle men are being cut out in the digital age. That means lower prices for consumers and higher margins for artists (writers, singers, developers, producers). It may take another 10 years or so but once the bigger developers start doing things like signing their own deals directly with Steam and such as the indie devs do things will really getting exciting.

If a company like CD Projekt talks about piracy, I will listen. I might even disagree (the Slashdot comments elaborate as to why), but I certainly respect their right to protect their interests given how honest and decent they are to their customers. If a company like Ubisoft talks about piracy, I will laugh my ****ing **** off at their poor performance as a company as well as their willingness to try and criminalise their customers and blame their inefficient management on piracy.

Ahhhhh, Rhomal! Man, that was a heaps better name to use.

I wish GOG had Deus Ex 1.

poo

I'm sure they're mind-numbingly loyal and happy to die for Dear Leader, but they'll still basically be using spears against tanks.

Religions suck, including Wicca. Silly distractions from important problems in our world. And charity is a product of humanity not religion.