Particle accelerator
You may have heard that it's about time to fire up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). If you haven't I should explain that the LHC is the world's largest particle accelerator. It's purpose is to zing subatomic particles around in a huge underground circle until they reach nearly the speed of light and then smash them together. This causes them to break down into smaller particles that haven't existed outside of a laboratory since a few seconds after the Big Bang.
There's been some controversy about this. Some people with very litte idea what they're talking about have claimed that this machine could generate black hole matter and consume the Earth.
Let me explain to you what a Black Hole is.
You start with a star. A really BIG star. See that one outside your window? The one that blocks out all other stars? You might call it The Sun. It's huge. It would take more than 100 Earths strung together like pearls to reach from one side to the other. It's not nearly big enough. It's only a medium sized star.
So, once you have a truly massive star you have to sit around and wait for it to die. For a star that big it shouldn't take long. The big ones burn out and die faster than the smaller ones. A few hundred million years should do the trick. First it'll get bigger and then it'll collapse. Then it'll collapse some more. Then it'll keep collapsing until the individual atoms that make up this dying star get crushed under the weight. The whole thing gets pressed down to the size of a couple of pixels.
Anything with enough mass to crush itself that small is also massive [def. massive: containing lots of mass] enough to pull in light. Light and most anything else that gets too close. Earth would be just a tasty treat. That's a black hole. If it doesn't have enough pull to keep light from escaping then it's not a black hole and will fall apart.
To put it another way, if you took the entire Solar System and put it all together it wouldn't be enough mass to form a black hole.
So, back in the lab, by some highly improbable fluke the two particles slam into each other but don't break into pieces but form a super dense particle like might be expected in a black hole. It would evaporate immediately. On the off chance that it doesn't evaporate immediately - which is so unlikely as to be definite proof of the existance of God - it would be a black hole with the overwhelming gravitational pull of two whole electrons.
So just don't worry about it. The only thing to concern yourself with is the best way to mock the people who are worried about it should you meet them on the street.
see also:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jun/30/cern.particle.physics2
God's Toolbox
It's been a long time since I've mentioned one of The Ten Bumperstickers used by The Church of Dougintology. I'm only really doing it today because my planned post had some technical issues.
The Sixth Bumpersticker says "
Science: God's Toolbox".
Remember this old Far Side cartoon?
Like that cow, God has a toolbox. And like that cow, we can't figure out what those tools are or how to use them. We can figure that God used what's in the toolbox to create the universe. As scientists study the universe we slowly figure out how the tools work and hopefully come closer to understanding the God that uses them. Some tools we understand. Some we don't.
The toolbox includes such useful and necessary items like Gravity, Magnetism, Strong and Weak Nuclear Forces, Entropy, Momentum, the Laws of Thermodynamics, Fission, and Fusion just to name a few.
There are things in there we still don't have a clue about. Some would call those tools Miracles. It's just another word for "unknown". It covers a wide range of tools that are still under investigation.
We know that the world wasn't created 5,000-6,000 years ago. We know that it took billions of years and the use of the items in the toolbox to create the known universe.
There's still some question about whether there was someone operating the tools or whether they are natural forces that don't need manipulation. Which ever way you believe you should take an interest in the study of these forces instead of opposing these studies. They'll either bring you a greater understanding of your God or a greater understanding of your universe.
Moisture vaporators
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away there was a budding young Jedi living on a desert planet with his aunt and uncle. They were moisture farmers. They put moisture vaporators out in the desert every quarter mile or so. The moisture vaporators collected what little water there was out of the air and processed it for human consumption. The Skywalker family would then sell the water in town.
No, really, that's what the Skywalkers did for a living.
Now you can get a moisture vaporator of your very own.
I always thought the idea was a neat one. I've wondered how to make one. You can see how window air conditioners tend to drool all over the place. So clearly condensation is one method. Then filter the water and run it under an ultraviolet light to kill any bacteria. I'd take note of different developments that made it more efficient. There's special fabrics that can collect and shed water without condensation.
Last summer I started looking more seriously. See, I'm trying to stop using the air conditioner. I've been successful for two summers and am working on a third. But the house gets uncomfortable. Not hot. Not really. In the low 80's. But the humidity kills ya. I could run a dehumidifier but I'm told that it uses just barely less power than the AC. I may as well be running the AC. I have to wonder what the power consumption of a moisture vaporator is.
Here's what I'm finding.
AirWater Corp has several models. Alas, they all seem to be focused on making water for large groups. They run from 5,000 liters for irrigation and 1,000 for villages down to 100 litres that makes water and ice and 120 liters for ... I guess offices. These work on the scale of the Star Wars models but I can't see using them in a family sized house.
Air 2 Water has residential models but my experiences trying to buy one from them last summer tells me that they're not terribly interested in dealing with us small fries. They were dismissive and rude.
The Dolphin/dragonfly T16 is about water cooler sized. It produces up to a liter per hour and stores up to 14 liters. It consumes 600-1000 watts.
The Dolphin 2/Dragonfly M18 is a countertop model. It produces half a liter per hour and consumes 523-635 watts. Maximum storage is 7 liters. If this isn't enough water it can also serve as a filter for your tap.
They also have a filter for the kitchen sink, but that's getting away from the point of my research.
Librex also has a water cooler and a countertop model. They have the
Waterex and
Crystello but I can't get much more info than that.
Xziex is similarly lacking in details. However, judging from the photos on their website, their
Xziex Elite appears to be nearly identical to the previously mentioned Dolphin 2/Dragonfly M18.
My favorite so far is
Planet's Purest Water's residential model, the
Rain Cloud C-21. Their PDF gives hard data about how much water you can expect at different temperatures and humidities. It produces 8-48 liters per day depending on local conditions. It has a 25 liter main tank. It has a hot water tank that can be switched off if, like me, you don't need it and are trying to conserve power. The water making and chilling compressor uses 371W. It costs $1,700. The staff responds to e-mails quickly and courteously.
Movie Review: Wall-E
"Wall-E" is a Pixar movie. I don't think anything else needs to be said.
You know how "The Incredibles" was great animated cartoon but not terribly funny? It was more like a super hero movie with a humorous element. "Wall-E" is a science fiction movie with a humorous element.
Wall-E is a waste elimination robot. Quite possibly the last one on Earth. Certainly the last in his neighborhood. 700 years ago the garbage problem became so severe that the humans jumped in space ships and left. They were supposed to be colonizing a new world. Instead they found a place in a distant nebula and stayed there. The WALL-E model robots stayed behind to clean up. Now there is only one. As parts break he just pulls replacements off of other dead Wall-Es.
One day a ship lands and released a probe droid. Wall-E, who has been watching the same old romantic movie nearly every day for who knows how long, falls in love and follows her. When she finds what she came looking for she shuts down and sends a signal for her to be retrieved. Wall-E grabs on to the ship that comes for her and returns to the human ship with her.
I tell you that much because you can see most of that from the trailers.
There is very little dialog in this movie. Only 7 human actors were used for voices. One of the central characters is performed by MacInTalk software. I think it was the Ralph setting.
There are several messages in this movie. A fairly obvious one about protecting the environment. Another about living too much inside our own computers. A third about giving too much control over to the robots. A fourth about working to solve our problems instead of running away.
I'd suggest your kids be 7 or 8 years old before you take them to see this. The theater was packed with 5 year olds that were getting scared.
I will be getting this on DVD.
Movie Review: Wanted
I caught a screening of "Wanted" last night. This movie had totally failed to catch my attention before. I'd seen a trailer or two but they focused on Angelina Jolie and guns. The curving bullet trick was neat but it just came off kinda lame. But I won tickets so I went.
It's hard to talk about this movie without giving something away. So instead I'm going to tell you a different story. In Greek mythology there's three women: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They're The Fates (a.k.a. Apportioners; a.k.a. Moirae). Clotho, a young woman, spins the thread of our lives. Lachesis, the middle aged one, measures the threads. Atropos, an elderly woman, cuts the threads. They have parallels in Roman and Norse mythology but the Greek version is best known.
Keep the idea of threads as human lives in mind when you watch this movie.
Or perhaps think of threads as a story. Then watch the threads on screen as the movie progresses.
Now back to the movie:
1000 years ago a group of weavers formed an order of assassins called The Fraternity.
Our hero is a complete goomba with a crap job, a cheating girlfriend, and nothing to live for.
Our hero is recruited by The Fraternity to take out a rogue member.
His father, who left when our hero was a week old, was in The Fraternity.
But maybe I've said too much.
It's equal parts "The Matrix", "Mr and Mrs Smith", and "The Bourne Identity". They're not shy with the blood. Lots of great action sequences.
I'm torn about whether to get it on DVD or not. It's a great movie and I'm really glad I saw it. I'm just not sure that it's something I want to see over and over again.
Movie Review: Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs.
The cartoon "Futurama" was canceled because it was often preempted by sporting events so only people on the west coast got to see it. That played hell with the ratings and the rest of us really didn't know when to expect it. It got canceled. But the reruns have great ratings. They want new episodes. So, during 2008 Fox is releasing 5 new "Futurama" movies. "The Beast With a Billion Backs" is the second of the five movies.
The first movie was pretty good. Maybe they were coming back after a long time off and were full of fresh ideas. Maybe they worked extra hard on the first so we'd be more likely to pick up later ones. Maybe it was just the thrill of getting to see a new one after all these years.
This one wasn't as good. It's not bad. Don't get me wrong. It's just not on the same level as the first movie. This was more like a regular "Futurama" episode.
When we last left our heroes, at the end of the last movie, a huge rift had formed in space above Earth. A month later not much has changed. A few people are still standing there screaming but most have gotten back to their lives. Fry is dating someone new. That never works out well. After that inevitably blows up Fry goes through the rift where he meets a giant tentacle planet which wants to enslave every living being in our universe.
Thanks a lot, Fry.
Some people get married. Some people die. Stuff happens.
There's an extra half hour video done in 3D that looks like it might have been a video game that they decided not to release or something.
Look, I either had you at "Futurama" or I didn't. This is just a warning that it doesn't live up to the first movie. But if you liked the show you'll like this.
Annapolis
Having no car means I haven't really gotten too far outside DC's Metro range since I've been here. So I jumped at the chance to go see Annapolis last weekend with the No Kidding
1 group.
Annapolis is the capitol city of Maryland. It's also one of the older cities in the country. They work very hard to maintain that appearance. I didn't see much of the residential area. We spent all our time down in the historical, tourist district. The sidewalks are mostly uneven brick which must just play hell with the skateboarders. The shops are small and zoned to keep out most big chain stores. There were some Starbucks, a Subway, and some chain ice cream place but they were overwhelmed by the non-chain ice cream, restauraunts, pubs, clothing stores, craft shops, etc.
We toured a restored house and garden that once belonged to William Paca. Paca was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/tour_paca.htmlWe took a short, 40 minute, boat tour up and down the bay to check out the neighborhood. There are lots of other, much longer, boat tours.
http://www.watermarkcruises.com/A day trip out there may be an option for people who are on their 5th or 6th visit to DC and have exhausted even the Postal Museum as places to visit.
1No Kidding is a social group for people who don't have/want children.
