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Reginald L. Goodwin's Posts (3117)
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Mjolnir – the hammer of Thor, used as a weapon against the Jotuns, heard as thunder by humans.
“If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, it would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. [Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.]"
Bracketed quote uttered by J Robert Oppenheimer, 16 July 1945, quoting the Bhagavad Gita, at the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico.
© 3 March 2012, Reginald L. Goodwin
In the aftermath of denials, false statements and outright lies for political gain, the science limped along as the Earth’s temperatures steadily increased.
The science limped as the educational system was emasculated, flaccid and impotent. Libertarian-inspired charter schools oscillated between hope to abject disaster, with no real world result to compare its outcome to. “Teaching-to-the-test” for fifty different yardsticks for a certain theocratic group that had co-opted God, convincing an electorate that theirs was the better political way, did not want critical thinkers: but mindless automatons that would keep the stratification between themselves and the bewildered proletariat intact, experts more at obfuscation than reasoned conclusions from data.
So, giving such a group controls over the nuclear football touched off short-term conflagrations that threw enough radiated dust and atomized humanity to block the exit of carbon dioxide – thankfully, not enough yet for a Sagan-prophesied nuclear winter, but enough to destabilize a teetering world economy collapsing on its own hubris.
Super storms struck continents: hurricanes that made Katrina look quaint by comparison threw tons of beachfront property into surrounding seas; tornados that made African villages existing for millennia extinct; Harlem, Brooklyn, Detroit, Vegas – settled urban concrete jungles with century-old brick and mortar swept clean to pristine, bare emptiness; polar bears that had resorted to cannibalism as polar icecaps reduced their hunting grounds for survival now like many humans…among the missing.
In the aftermath of denials, false statements and outright lies, no contrition from those that allowed this tipping point to happen. No apology for obfuscation: the remaining talking heads resorted to Blog Talk Radio – as the power grid had been decimated – and doubled-down on insanity in the only thing that they could say and could not prove: it was God’s punishment for humanity’s many sins.
Indeed, if Deity was the cause of the receding shorelines, if Divinity was the cause of our planet’s slow death, those who contributed to our slothfulness in action; they who polluted our thoughts with dogma eschewing scientific method as we polluted our terra-formed home could at least admit their contrition in our environmental iniquities.
We had reached the tipping point, there was no going back, nor solar sail, fusion engine, or warp drive to spirit us away.
...or, so we thought.
Reference link: Predicting and managing extreme weather events - Physics Today
Technology Review: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...
Web Site: GoSphero
| Click to Run |
| Click to Run |
| Click to Run |
Why did those days ev-er have to go
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go
Cause I love them so
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| T Shirt Guru |
Starting tomorrow, I will blog once a day. It's been a busy month.
I've long championed what I like to term "conversational physics concepts," as well as diversity on this blog, particularly gender ascendancy in science, technology, engineering and math. Thus, my concentration this month wasn't all physics (though, I'm admittedly partial). For the nation to advance in the future, we need every one of us.
It is my hope one or several posts during the month informed, entertained and inspired. I started these posts with something that struck me as wrong: that due to someone's name and attending a historically black college and university as an undergrad, they would most likely not get a grant from the National Institute of Health. It affected me because I know and have taught one such young man that in his future, this impediment will affect him: he currently attends Howard University in Biology Pre Med, and plans to research in Ear, Nose and Throat ailments. Something that because of my own struggles with Sinusitis, I sincerely HOPE he's successful in getting research dollars!
I post this as a father, with two young men with dreams, hopes and futures in medicine (USARMY) and Civil Engineering. I have watched over Robert and Mildred Goodwin'sgrandsons. As they did for me, I hope and work for a future that they can contribute to positively.
It's a leap year, and my hope is that teachers, professors...and students have found something of themselves in these postings. (Shout out to the students and teachers at Manor High School 
)
For students, your futures lie not just in sports or rap music; a future in science, technology, engineering and math is not only possible: it is "what you can do for your country" (John F. Kennedy)...and for yourselves.
Mayer Mason
University of Illinois
Citation:
"For innovative experiments that elucidate the electronic interactions and correlations in low-dimensional systems, in particular the use of local gates and tunnel probes to control and measure the electronic states in carbon nanotubes and graphene."
I attended her talk at the NSBP conference in Austin, Texas. Nobel Prize next, Dr. Mason!
NobelPrize.org: Maria Goeppert Mayer Biography
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| Cosmic Microwave Background mapping |
The theory is called Big Bang nucleosynthesis and describes a stage early in the universe's evolution when, at temperatures of thousands of degrees, protons and neutrons began to assemble into atomic nuclei and form the first light elements: deuterium, along with isotopes of helium and lithium. As temperatures dropped, nucleosynthesis drew to a close, and eventually electrons began to add themselves to the nuclei during a period called recombination. At this time, photons stopped scattering off charged particles and the universe became transparent.
Sikivie and colleagues point out that axions can form a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). Such condensates contain particles that have all fallen into their lowest energy state, and are best known to occur in low-density gases at temperatures close to absolute zero. But since the critical temperature for transition to a BEC depends on density, say the Florida researchers, particles can form BECs at higher temperatures as long as they are dense enough. Even in the primordial heat of the Big Bang, the researchers say, axions would easily be dense enough to form a BEC.
All well for the universe: what about my laptop battery? 
Physics World: Axions could solve lithium problem
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| Optical Fibre with Integrated High-Speed Junction |
An international team of researchers has integrated a semiconductor junction into an optical fibre for the first time. The device, which works at gigahertz frequencies, is the first step in creating an all-fibre optical-communications network where light is generated, modulated and detected within a fibre itself without the need for integration with electronic chips. Its range of applications could run from improved telecommunication systems and laser technology to more-accurate remote-sensing devices.
Physics World: Optical fibres with integrated semiconductor junctions developed
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| Lydia Thomas, PhD |
To begin to understand the remarkable achievements of Dr. Lydia Thomas, the 2003 Black Engineer of the Year, first realize she is the daughter of the principal of the only all-Black high school in Portsmouth, Va., and that her mother was the school's head guidance counselor. She has said of that experience: "I grew up in Virginia, in segregated schools, but I had tremendous encouragement for my interest in science -- from my teachers and from my parents, who had a great love of learning. They taught me that a book was better than a candy bar." She also was encouraged to achieve, to soar above any limits others might wish to impose.
"As a young Black girl in high school, no one ever told me that math was hard or that science was for boys," Dr. Thomas says.
She continued her education at Howard University, receiving a B.Sc. in zoology in 1965, and went on to earn an M.Sc. in microbiology from American University in 1971. She returned to Howard in 1973, as a divorced mother of two, to earn a Ph.D. in cell biology, just in time to join the emerging technology revolution.
Dr. Thomas joined MITRE in the 1970s and rose through the ranks through a combination of skill and willingness to soar. She spent the vast majority of her career at The MITRE Corporation and Mitretek Systems, where she shaped programs that were the beacon for the nation in energy, environment, public safety, health, and national security.
Mitretek is now Noblis, Dr. Thomas is President and CEO of the company.
2003 Black Engineer of the Year: Lydia Thomas, PhD
Press Release: Mitretek Systems Changes Name to Noblis
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| Kevin T. Kornegay, PhD |
Electronic Design and Applications, and Microelectronics/Microsystems
Kevin Kornegay received his B.E.E. from Pratt Institute in 1985 and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1990 and 1992, respectively. In the early part of his career, he was employed in industrial research positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J. and at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. From August 1994 through December 1997, he was an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Purdue University. In 1997, Professor Kornegay was the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor in the EECS department at MIT.
Faculty Profile, Georgia Tech: Kevin Kornegay, PhD
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| Nanoshells - Tiny spheres capture light |
Researchers in the US have reported on a new way to increase the amount of light absorbed by thin-film solar-cell materials. The new technique relies on "whispering gallery" modes in which light becomes trapped inside tiny shells made of silicon. The result could lead to more efficient photovoltaics, claims the team.
Nanocrystalline silicon could be ideal for making photovoltaic devices because it is an excellent conductor of electricity and can withstand harsh sunlight without suffering any damage. However, there is a problem: silicon does not absorb light very efficiently. Layers of the material have to be built up to increase the amount of light absorbed – a process that is both time-consuming and expensive.
Now, Yi Cui and colleagues at Stanford University have shown that nanoshells made of silicon could offer a quicker and cheaper route to solar-cell fabrication.
Physicsworld: Nanoshells could boost photovoltaics
From the Welcome page:
"The dream of blacks making science fiction as a concept has been in the minds of many of us since we were all children watching science fiction movies and television shows such as Buck Rogers, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. Most of us have however, found that the characters that are ethnic, as a general rule most often have been relegated to secondary roles, sidekicks, stereotypes, sex objects, dope heads, not in the show at all, or my favorite: the first to die in the show.
"We however, feel it is only right to present science fiction with a different face, one that is not filled with the normal negative representation of ethnic characters. We think that it is essential for characters of all colors and creeds to be represented positively and fairly."
Many of us...
Henry David Thoureau said: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
Many of us played the game of "go along to get along," quietly knowing full well the security guy in the red shirt (old Star Trek) was always the first to go down by phaser fire, the first to die. Insignificant to the storyline, but "PC enough" to attract a diverse audience.
I proudly own copies of "Dark Matter" and "Future Earths Under African Skies" as well as books by Octavia Butler and other Diaspora authors of speculative fiction. Part of building positive futures are what we dare to dream for ourselves to participate in (and be).
I'm grateful for the images in my young mind of Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura), and for my own sons, LeVar Burton (Lieutenant Commander Geordi la Forge), Michael Dorn (Lieutenant Commander Worf) and Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko).
Images still are needed for this generation, to dare to dream, participate, and be. Many members of the Black Science Fiction Society are published authors - print and Kindle/Nook - I am thankful and proud they will not go to the grave with "the [many] songs still in them," ...that many still need to hear.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Dr. Maya Angelou
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| Shirley M. Malcom, PhD |
Shirley Malcom is Head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The directorate includes AAAS programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. Dr. Malcom serves on several boards—including the Heinz Endowments and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment—and is an honorary trustee of the American Museum of Natural History. In 2006 she was named as co-chair (with Leon Lederman) of the National Science Board Commission on 21st Century Education in STEM . She serves as a Regent of Morgan State University and as a trustee of Caltech. In addition, she has chaired a number of national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. Dr. Malcom received her doctorate in ecology from Pennsylvania State University; master's degree in zoology from the University of California, Los Angeles; and bachelor's degree with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. She also holds 15 honorary degrees. In 2003 Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.
AAAS Science Talk: Shirley M. Malcom, PhD
From a previous post on supposed superluminal neutrinos (a response):
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| io9 |
Tadias is an online magazine for the Ethiopian-American community. It means "hi," "what's up," or "how are you?"
This is about a professor at my alma mater. The text and link will speak for itself:
"WASHINGTON, DC (TADIAS) – When Physicist Solomon Bililign was a young teacher imprisoned in Ethiopia during the “Red Terror” era, he never imagined that he would one day receive a Presidential Award in the United States.
Now a professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Dr. Bililignis one of nine individuals whom President Obama this week named recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The honorees will receive their awards at a White House ceremony later this year. The award recognizes the role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering. According to the White House, candidates are nominated by colleagues, administrators, and students at their home institutions.
“Through their commitment to education and innovation, these individuals are playing a crucial role in the development of our 21st century workforce,” President Obama said. “Our nation owes them a debt of gratitude for helping ensure that America remains the global leader in science and engineering for years to come.”
Dr. Bililign said that success in science, engineering or math is not as glamorous as success in performing arts or sports in the U.S., but the economic competitiveness of the nation, depends on a solid foundation in the sciences. “Young people need to be encouraged, pushed, persuaded to do it,” he said. “Not for the money or fame but for the love of discovery and innovation. I believe every one has a gift, and a mentor’s role is to identify the gift and nurture it.”
TADIAS: Obama Honors Physicist Solomon Bililign With Presidential Award for Excellence
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| NASA - Gold Record on Voyager spacecraft |
"In the upper left-hand corner is an easily recognized drawing of the phonograph record and the stylus carried with it. The stylus is in the correct position to play the record from the beginning. Written around it in binary arithmetic is the correct time of one rotation of the record, 3.6 seconds, expressed in time units of 0,70 billionths of a second, the time period associated with a fundamental transition of the hydrogen atom. The drawing indicates that the record should be played from the outside in. Below this drawing is a side view of the record and stylus, with a binary number giving the time to play one side of the record - about an hour."
"Things that make you go: hmm..."
That's assuming our aliens still have something like a record player with a stylus. (For me), I'm afraid my father's collection of Nate King Cole albums (to date) remain unplayed. I bought the CD.
NASA: Voyager Golden Record
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| Percy A. Pierre, PhD Electrical Engineering |
Percy A. Pierre is Vice President Emeritus and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University. He created and directs the Sloan Engineering Program which recruits, helps fund, and mentors domestic engineering doctoral students, with an emphasis on underrepresented groups. Since 1998, he has personally mentored 45 engineering doctoral graduates, including 36 underrepresented minority doctoral graduates.
He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. He is recognized as the first African American to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering (http://blacksuccessfoundation.org/first_science_phd's.htm).
He subsequently published research on stochastic processes in communications systems. His work focused on characterizing non-Gaussian random processes, including commonly used "linear processes". Results in signal detection, central limit theorems, sample function properties, and conditions for stochastic independence were developed.
List of papers: Mathematicians of the African Diaspora (bottom of page)
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| Physics arXiv - Seismic Metamaterials |
In recent years, cloaking technology has taken the world of physics and engineering by storm. The possibility that any object can be hidden from incident waves has numerous applications, both practical and fantastical.
One of the more interesting is the possibility of protecting buildings from seismic waves. The idea here is to surround a building, or at least its foundations, with a metamaterial that steers seismic waves around the structure. Various groups have explored ways of doing this.
Today, however, Sang-Hoon Kim at the Mokpo National Maritime University in South Korea and Mukunda Das at The Australian National Universityin Canberra, suggest another idea. They point out that while seismic cloaks can protect buildings, they steer waves towards other buildings. "The cloaked seismic waves are still destructive to the buildings behind the cloaked region," they say.
Instead, they suggest that metamaterials could instead dissipate the energy in seismic waves by converting them into evanescent waves, which die down exponentially as they travel.
This would have been a good thing for Fukushima Daiichi, or any other reactors in the future...
Physics arXiv: Seismic Metamaterials Could Cloak Dams and Power Stations
