[QUOTE=only_human;407370][URL="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v524/n7563/full/524008b.html"]Only left-handed particles decay[/URL][/QUOTE]

A sinister scientific plot, no doubt.

So what would happen if we found a way to force them to be right-handed? Would it simply become harder and harder to keep things with right-handed spin until BOOM it switches to left-handedness and decays?

Or maybe the energy required to keep things right-handed accomplishes the decay necessary to keep things from getting bad weird. That would make more sense than an eternal particle. Kind of like vampires staying young by killing regular people.

[URL="https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/small-modular-efficient-fusion-plant-0810"]A small, modular, efficient fusion plant[/URL]
"New design could finally help to bring the long-sought power source closer to reality."
David L. Chandler | MIT News Office
August 10, 2015
[QUOTE]Using these new commercially available superconductors, rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) superconducting tapes, to produce high-magnetic field coils “just ripples through the whole design,” says Dennis Whyte, a professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. “It changes the whole thing.”[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]While most characteristics of a system tend to vary in proportion to changes in dimensions, the effect of changes in the magnetic field on fusion reactions is much more extreme: The achievable fusion power increases according to the fourth power of the increase in the magnetic field. Thus, doubling the field would produce a 16-fold increase in the fusion power. “Any increase in the magnetic field gives you a huge win,” Sorbom says.

Tenfold boost in power

While the new superconductors do not produce quite a doubling of the field strength, they are strong enough to increase fusion power by about a factor of 10 compared to standard superconducting technology, Sorbom says. This dramatic improvement leads to a cascade of potential improvements in reactor design.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Another key advance in the new design is a method for removing the the fusion power core from the donut-shaped reactor without having to dismantle the entire device. That makes it especially well-suited for research aimed at further improving the system by using different materials or designs to fine-tune the performance.

In addition, as with ITER, the new superconducting magnets would enable the reactor to operate in a sustained way, producing a steady power output, unlike today’s experimental reactors that can only operate for a few seconds at a time without overheating of copper coils.

Liquid protection

Another key advantage is that most of the solid blanket materials used to surround the fusion chamber in such reactors are replaced by a liquid material that can easily be circulated and replaced, eliminating the need for costly replacement procedures as the materials degrade over time.

“It’s an extremely harsh environment for [solid] materials,” Whyte says, so replacing those materials with a liquid could be a major advantage.

Right now, as designed, the reactor should be capable of producing about three times as much electricity as is needed to keep it running, but the design could probably be improved to increase that proportion to about five or six times, Sorbom says. So far, no fusion reactor has produced as much energy as it consumes, so this kind of net energy production would be a major breakthrough in fusion technology, the team says.[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://nautil.us/issue/26/color/the-girl-who-smelled-pink"]The Girl Who Smelled Pink[/URL]

[URL="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150709102846.htm"]Human color vision gives people ability to see nanoscale differences[/URL]

[URL="http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/07/bumblebees-being-crushed-climate-change"]Bumble bees being crushed by climate change[/URL]

[URL="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/07/06/year-old-catches-math-error-the-museum-science/awhREamdn1KRg7nz2gGyPO/story.html?p1=feature_pri_hp"]15-year-old catches math error at the Museum of Science[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/books/preview-of-harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-reveals-a-different-tale.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1"]In First Chapter of Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ Sprouts With Deep Roots[/URL]

[URL="http://www.cnet.com/au/news/sun-looks-like-a-psychedelic-marble-in-new-nasa-image/"]Sun looks like a psychedelic marble in new NASA image[/URL]

[URL="http://www.technologyreview.com/news/539251/the-exoskeletons-are-coming/"]The exoskeletons are coming[/URL]

[URL="http://mashable.com/2015/07/12/pluto-new-horizons-mission-nasa/"]Hello, Pluto[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/documentary-takes-viewers-inside-the-world-of-internet-addiction/education"]Documentary takes viewers inside the world of Internet addiction[/URL]

[URL="http://www.thetimesgazette.com/how-mosquitoes-track-their-human-targets-study-explains/5427/"]How mosquitos track their targets[/URL]

[URL="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-a-saliva-test-help-spot-alzheimers/"]Could a saliva test help spot Alzheimer's?[/URL]

[URL="http://www.technologyreview.com/news/539356/personal-robots-artificial-friends-with-limited-benefits/"]Personal Robots: Artificial Friends with Limited Benefits[/URL]

[URL="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/adhutchinson/2015-07-23/report-finds-majority-journalists-wouldnt-be-able-function"]Report Finds Majority of Journalists Wouldn’t Be Able to Function Without Social Media[/URL]

[URL="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150723115703.htm"]Bigger, older cousin to Earth discovered[/URL]

[URL="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539656/deep-neural-nets-can-now-recognize-your-face-in-thermal-images/"]Deep Neural Nets Can Now Recognize Your Face in Thermal Images[/URL]

[URL="http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/study-poverty-harms-brain-development-in-children/education"]Study: Poverty harms brain development in children[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nature.com/news/successful-ebola-vaccine-provides-100-protection-in-trial-1.18107"]Successful Ebola vaccine provides 100% protection in trial[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/06/technology/personaltech/right-to-be-forgotten-online-is-poised-to-spread.html?smid=pl-share"]‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Online Could Spread[/URL]

[URL="http://www.wired.com/2015/08/hiroshima-survivors-leaving-legacy-science/"]How Hiroshima Survivors Are Leaving a Legacy For Science[/URL]

Space elevator
 

[url]http://phys.org/news/2015-08-company-canada-patent-space-elevator.html[/url]

They said they wanted to use helium to keep it up.

Personally, I think it would be better to keep studying the idea of vacuum-based buoyancy, not sure what the normal term for that is. I keep hearing about newer stronger materials and building patterns that make the internal structures of things unbelievably strong. I think combining those two areas of research would be better than buying a ton of helium to keep something up. Especially since helium is a nonrenewable resource at the moment.

[QUOTE=jasong;408147][url]http://phys.org/news/2015-08-company-canada-patent-space-elevator.html[/url]

They said they wanted to use helium to keep it up.

Personally, I think it would be better to keep studying the idea of vacuum-based buoyancy, not sure what the normal term for that is. I keep hearing about newer stronger materials and building patterns that make the internal structures of things unbelievably strong. I think combining those two areas of research would be better than buying a ton of helium to keep something up. Especially since helium is a nonrenewable resource at the moment.[/QUOTE]

It looks to be waiting for an iceberg...

[QUOTE=jasong;408147][url]http://phys.org/news/2015-08-company-canada-patent-space-elevator.html[/url]

They said they wanted to use helium to keep it up.

Personally, I think it would be better to keep studying the idea of vacuum-based buoyancy, not sure what the normal term for that is.[/QUOTE]

I believe 'physics-ignorant nonsense' is the technical expression.

======================

[url=www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/17/mass-grave-prehistoric-warfare-ancient-european-farming-community-neolithic]Mass grave reveals prehistoric warfare in ancient European farming community [/url] | The Guardian
[quote][Anthropologist Lawrence Keeley:] “The only reasonable interpretation of these cases, as here, is that a whole typically-sized Linear Pottery culture hamlet or small village was wiped out by killing the majority of its inhabitants and kidnapping the young women. This represents yet another nail in the coffin of those who have claimed that war was rare or ritualised or less awful in prehistory or, in this instance, the early Neolithic."[/quote]
But, but, [i]Clan of the Cave Bear[/i] said that...
[quote]“This is a classic case where we find the ‘hardware’: the skeletal remains, the artefacts, everything that is durable we can find in the graves. But the ‘software’: what people were thinking, why they were doing things, what their mindset was at this time, of course was not preserved,” [University of Mainz archeologist Christian] Meyer said.[/quote]
Sure it was - specific thoughts and motives aside, the same basic 'programming' remains in us, just now amplifiable with AK-47s, drones and nukes. You want to see 'whodunnit', simply look in the mirror.

A very neat gif of a knob spinning in space. I presume the flipping back and forth is due to slight instability in the spin, but will have to work through this.....

[URL="http://i.imgur.com/t9fmJTO.gifv"]http://i.imgur.com/t9fmJTO.gifv[/URL]


Norm

[QUOTE=Spherical Cow;408310]A very neat gif of a knob spinning in space. I presume the flipping back and forth is due to slight instability in the spin, but will have to work through this.....

[URL="http://i.imgur.com/t9fmJTO.gifv"]http://i.imgur.com/t9fmJTO.gifv[/URL][/QUOTE]

For some bizarre reason I am unable to get the image to animate in FF (I have animation disabled by default via the about:config menu, but changing that setting back from 'none' to 'normal' does not work here), and Safari, even more bizarrely, gives me a 'this image has been removed' error message.

But in any case, from your description it sounds like perfectly normal precession to me - is there a reason you think otherwise?

[b]Edit:[/b] OK, finally managed to view the animation, by downloading the file - 83MB, sheesh. Even then, FF, refused to open the downloaded file, citing some kind of fatal badness, but Safari worked OK. Now that I've seen the dynamics, looks like classic gyroscopic instability - the 'handle' attached to the main body means the principal axis is slightly off-aligned - to me.

=====================

[url=www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33984044]Sweet-smelling secrets of mosquito-repellent grass[/url] | BBC News

I looked around at the various sweetgrass-invoking offerings on AMZN, many of which turn out to only have e.g. 'notes of sweetgrass', and [url=http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Note-Organics-Fragrance-Sweet-grass/dp/B00ZXZ8E5K]this essential oil[/url] looks promising, though I am confused as to why the 'About The Product' list mentions Wisteria oil in the first line. Based on the pictured label, hopefully a typo. Anyhoo, I see one intrepid soul has already undertaken a field test, and promises to post an updated review in a few days. Once I see that I'll decide. $6/oz would actually be a pretty good deal if the stuff is effective in small essential-oil-typical doses.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;408336]For some bizarre reason I am unable to get the image to animate in FF (I have animation disabled by default via the about:config menu, but changing that setting back from 'none' to 'normal' does not work here), and Safari, even more bizarrely, gives me a 'this image has been removed' error message.

But in any case, from your description it sounds like perfectly normal precession to me - is there a reason you think otherwise?
[/QUOTE]

It worked for me in Quick Time. IE gave an error message. Nothing appeared in FF.

JS strikes again
 

Because that website is :poop: and uses JS to be "clever".
Looking at the source shows the URL to the actual GIF: [url]http://i.imgur.com/t9fmJTO.gif[/url]
Which is actually just the same URL with the trailing v removed.