The magnetic fields generated by electric currents in wires are typically depicted as neat closed loops, but this may be more the exception than the rule. Computer-based calculations in the December Physical Review E show that magnetic field lines around simple wire configurations are tangled up like a ball of yarn. After accounting for the earth’s magnetic field, the researchers conclude that these chaotic magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the circuits found in all modern electronic devices.
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Something About That Energy Guy
Newsmaker of the year: The power player
As a physicist, he found a way to capture atoms and won a Nobel prize. Now he is marshalling scientists and engineers to transform the world’s biggest energy economy. Eric Hand profiles the US energy secretary, Nature‘s Newsmaker of the Year.
SNOW DAY!!!!!
Wasn’t really expecting this, but then, I live on a main road, and side roads are probably still waiting to be cleared. That’s the problem with only having, like, 8 snowplows. ( If only they could harness the hot air from Congress …) This isn’t unprecedented, either. A Sunday storm a few years ago dropped 2 feet of snow and shut us down for 2 days. I’m glad, too — after doing the equivalent of about 50 squat-thrusts yesterday (bend, fill storage tub with snow, lift, carry, dump. One!), plus other activities, I’m a little sore.
Since There's No Place to Go …
Storm’s over, and it was a real one. Not just a wimpy DC-can’t function-with-a-dusting. Even Bee must agree that this was real snow, as compared to some snow standards.
Then came the digging out. Fortunately, my “driveway” is only the 5′ behind my car. OTOH, I didn’t have a shovel.
Smile! You're on Candid Camera
Antiques Roadshow
Old diving tank air extends CSIRO Air Archive
“Our record from Cape Grim in Tasmania presently extends back to 1978, but this finding has taken it back to at least 1970 for some greenhouse gases,” says Dr Paul Fraser, who leads the greenhouse gas research team for CSIRO.
Move Along, Folks. Nothing to See Here.
Not dark matter, anyway. Lots of commentary on why this was a non-event.
Starts With a Bang: “A Tantalizing Hint of Dark Matter?” No.
Uncertain Principles: Still in the Dark
Cosmic Variance: Dark Matter Detected, or Not? Live Blogging the Seminar
See You After the Apocalypse is Over
We’re scheduled to get a bit of snow here this weekend; the Friday afternoon forecast calls for 10″-20″ from now until Sunday morning (a factor of two larger than the forecast that was being broadcast on Friday morning). In the northeast where I grew up, this is known as a nice snowfall but not really a huge deal when it’s spread out over 36 hours. Plows would run continuously and keep the main roads pretty clear. When I was a teenager, I still had to get up and deliver the Gazette at 6AM (Mon-Sat). That never seemed to get snowed out. School rarely closed for snow, either, unless the snowfall was more than an inch per hour, and the plows couldn’t keep up. Even then, things got back to normal in a day.
Here in the DC area, though, it’s an impending disaster. The ritual at this point in an expected weather-related situation (I have a datum for hurricanes, too) is to go to the store and buy a 24-pack of toilet paper and a gallon or two of milk. I’m not sure how long the people who do this think they are going to be isolated, or which item they expect to run out of first. Who knows if my internet connection will be up, or if I will lose power. Last time we got two feet of snow the storm hit on a Sunday, and DC was shut down for 2 days.
Baby, You Can Drive My Car
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
A new technique reveals microscopic details of the interface between two surfaces that are in contact. It uses high frequency sound or pulses of heat to probe the interface, which is inaccessible to conventional microscopes. The technique, reported in the December Physical Review B, could be a valuable tool for polymer scientists and biologists alike.
Give Me the Blue One. I’m Always Blue.
Rands in Repose: Gaming the System
There’s a discoverable structure to the rules. There’s a correct order, which, when followed, offers a type of reward. It’s the advantage of thinking three blocks ahead in Tetris or holding onto those beguiling hypercubes in Bejeweled. This is the advanced discovery of the system around the rules that leads to exponential geek joy.
There’s a paradox and a warning inside of optimization and repetition.
The paradox involves the implications of winning. Geeks will furiously work to uncover the rules of a game and then use those rules to determine how they might win. But the actual discovery of how to win is a buzz kill. The thrill, the adrenalin, comes from the discovery, hunt, and eventual mastery of the unknown, which, confusingly, means if you want to keep a geek engaged in a game you can’t let them win, even though that’s exactly what they think they want.
The theme-within-a-theme in the story is that science is a lot like this. Just like a gamer, scientists are looking to find the rules of nature. In fact, in complex games where you don’t know most of the rules at the outset and have to figure them out as you go, you will find aspects of the scientific method. Systematic testing where you change the conditions and see what the outcome is.
I don’t know what kills that monster, so I’ll try different characters or weapons to find the vulnerability.
Oh look, pac-man ate that dot and all the ghosts turned blue. I wonder what that means?