Off Topic

Beagle · Post by **Beagle** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:39 pm

Seems logical.

Bruce · Post by **Bruce** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:44 am

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Farm_ ... s_999.html

Been dying to put this somewhere, especially in light of the lawsuits being heard!

Beagle · Post by **Beagle** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:20 pm

Good point Bruce. I've also read that termites in the rain forest are contributing more methane to the atmosphere than anything else.

We need to find a way to bottle that.

Post by **Minimalist** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:29 pm

I remember something about cow farts on the web some years ago.

Beagle · Post by **Beagle** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:42 pm

That would be the subject - yep. Never heard a termite though.

Beagle · Post by **Beagle** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:56 pm

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-ne ... tone-head/

The Bayer Stone Head: What Is It?

OK - one of you rock experts please tell me what this, short of being a fake.

Bruce · Post by **Bruce** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:30 am

Beagle,

How did your research into North American apes go?

Beagle · Post by **Beagle** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:17 pm

http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/anthro ... /index.htm

The New World Monkey Enigma

Nobody knows, Bruce, how New World monkeys actually came to be here.This article offers some possibilities that seem weak to me. South America drifted away from Africa 100mya. This is 35my greater than the disappearance of the dinosaurs. There were very few mammals existing at that time - no primates.

After checking out this article (and there are many others to Google) maybe you or someone has another possibility.

Genetically the monkeys in the old and new world are related. And, BTW, so are rodents.

marduk · Post by **marduk** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:42 am

easy answer

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:12 am

Earlier in this thread the subject of the speed of light arose. As I recall Einstein's theory he stated that nothing could travel AT the speed of light.
Many years ago I attended a lecture in London and this was explained at great length, pointing out that travel beyond the speed of light would cause time to run in reverse and that travel at the speed of light was impossible because it needed infinite energy.
When the lecture ended and the lecturer asked 'any questions' I pointed out that there was something that travel at the speed of light.
The lecturer gave me that look normally reserved for children and asked what that was.
I simply said 'Light', and asked where it got the energy from.
With the seminar over I was politely asked to never attend again!

marduk · Post by **marduk** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:39 am

if you'd said Tachyons he would have given you a free ticket for the next one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon

you should watch star trek more often Digit

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:24 am

I hate to admit to my advancing years Marduk but at the time I referred to the Tachyon was unknown.
But perhaps you can answer another question that that lecturer ducked. In a wave guide the light beam is assumed to bounce from side to side to go around corners, but still supposedly exits having covered the distance at the speed of light, despite the fact the distance covered exceeds the linear length of the wave guide. How so?

marduk · Post by **marduk** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:41 am

I hate to admit to my advancing years Marduk but at the time I referred to the Tachyon was unknown

the guy who came up with the idea died in 1951
when was this lecture and what faster than light transport did you use to get home ?

But perhaps you can answer another question that that lecturer ducked. In a wave guide the light beam is assumed to bounce from side to side to go around corners, but still supposedly exits having covered the distance at the speed of light, despite the fact the distance covered exceeds the linear length of the wave guide. How so?

the speed of light is the speed of the wave not the speed of the particle
light particles are called Photons and have zero mass but despite this they can be slowed by other matter the same way that your car is slowed from its upper limit by pedestrians
so speed of light is not a constant
it is an upper limit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

they teach this stuff at school thesedays you know Digit
I learned most of this about 20 years ago
the updates to my knowledge i got via Gene Roddenberry the great bird of the galaxy

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:14 pm

The first part of your answer Marduk just shows how far behind lecturers can be with the latest developments, and just to prove that I try at least to remain upto date myself, I own to knowing all that you have said. my problem is that it don't not make sense!
For example, Einstein offered as evidence in support of his theory that a light beam would be 'bent' when passing by a gravitational field, tests showed that he was correct. Please, how can something that has no mass be effected by gravity?

marduk · Post by **marduk** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:55 pm

how can something that has no mass be effected by gravity?

light is affected by gravity. Gravity can change the direction of travel of light, and can also change its energy. But the change in energy comes about by changing the wavelength of light, not it's speed. So the light coming off the Sun is slightly longer in wavelength than the same original wavelength generated on Earth, but is still moving at the same speed. This is called gravitational redshift. The gravitational redshift of a black hole for instance is enough that all light is reduced to infinite wavelength, and so no energy escapes.

basically although photons have zero mass that isn't really true. they just have such a low negligable weight that its unmeasurable
mass = weight affected by gravity,don't forget that its moving at the speed of light so its often easier to just measure the light energy instead because the components are all too small to fiddle with
Einstein put it more easily as E = MC2 where E is energy M is mass and C is the speed of light
you understand that ?

think swimming in the ocean
how can a bather on a lilo be affected by the tidal current when he floats on top of it
he doesnt really float on top of it he floats on the waves which are lots of drops of water affected by gravity
although he himself doesnt weigh enough to be affected by the current and the drops of water are too light to be affected by the current he is attached to the waves which are millions of drops of water all moving together who's combined weight is affected by the current.