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Banana Republic...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 21, 2017 at 7:30am

Topics: Civics, Existentialism, Politics

Banana Republic, Cambridge Dictionary (noun): a small country, especially in South and Central America, that is poor, corrupt, and badly ruled

Also from Cambridge Dictionary, Junta (noun): a government, especially a military one, that has taken power in a country by force and not by election

Now by the purity of the definitions, the United States is not small by a long shot and takeovers by Juntas are usually bloody and violent. With the advent of cyberwarfare and hacking attacks, we may be living through the prescient original Star Trek episode "A Taste of Armageddon." However, at the abdication of leadership on the world stage, it makes us appear "small." Diplomacy-by-tweet and not studious discipline devoted to LEARN the job can be construed as badly ruled. The United States - with little analysis and observation is approaching a stratification between classes; wages have been pretty much stagnant since the 1970s such that there is a dangerous paradigm we're approaching as a nation that we won't be able to incarcerate ourselves out of (by that I mean our fellow citizens, specifically people of color that can't afford high-price lawyers). It is a recipe for modern Eugenics.

American influence is less hard power (military, nukes) than soft power (culture, influence). Retreating from the world stage leaves us lacking in the latter and backed in a corner where the former may be our only deadly lever. Another ominous recipe for species extinction, for which there is no reset button.

*****

This is something I originally said on Facebook with reference links I've added to explain the source of my feelings at the time of the post.

To Whom it May Concern:

I share my thoughts as a US Veteran (and I sincerely hope I'm wrong).

I'm sorry, I CAN'T:

1. As someone who possessed a Top Secret Special (now called Sensitive) Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) clearance as a Communications Officer for an Intelligence Squadron, I recognized the last election as an intelligence operation, as people like Malcolm Nance et al did.

2. Chaos in our body politics on both sides only helps the interests of Putin and other oligarchs, who gave up being communists a LONG time ago for the pure pursuit of money.

3. That being said, they expertly had Paul Manafort lobby and REMOVE all language from the GOP platform hostile to Russia and their invasion of the Ukraine.

4. Their bots/hackers have been active in France, England and soon Germany's democratic elections.

5. The Russian economy only has one product and industry - oil, and no other diversification. It is the major reason the fossil fuel industry and the oligarchs are so "friendly" with one another (e.g. Ex-Exxon CEO and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson receiving the Order of Friendship directly from Putin).

6. Returning to the chaos theme of point 2, it behooves Russia to have constant infighting within both major political parties such that they are essentially nonfunctional. Third party candidates like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are merely used as related-to major political parties tangentially (right e.g.: Ross Perot with the Reform Party as "republican-lite") as spoilers to drain votes. If an independent like Bernie Sanders were to gain traction, bots/hackers would disseminate disinformation on HIM; American political tribalism and racism (Antisemitism) would take over.

Our republic is lost. (Postscript: Only if we want it to be.)

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Know thy self, know thy enemy. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Big to Small...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 20, 2017 at 9:37am

The cosmos can be considered as a collider for human to access the results of particle physics experiments at ultimate high energies. Credit: Department of Physics, HKUST

Topics: Cosmology, Particle Physics, Standard Model, Theoretical Physics

Our observable universe is the largest object that physicists study: It spans a diameter of almost 100 billion light years. The density correlations in our universe, for example, correlations between numbers of galaxies at different parts of the universe, indicate that our vast universe has originated from a stage of cosmic inflation.

On the other hand, elementary particles are the smallest object that physicists study. A particle physics Standard Model (SM) was established 50 years ago, describing all known particles and their interactions.

Are density distributions of the vast universe and the nature of smallest particles related? In a recent research, scientists from HKUST and Harvard University revealed the connection between those two aspects, and argued that our universe could be used as a particle physics "collider" to study the high energy particle physics. Their findings mark the first step of cosmological collider phenomenology and pave the way for future discovery of new physics unknown yet to mankind.

The research was published in the journal Physical Review Letters on June 29, 2017 and the preprint is available online.

"Ongoing observations of cosmological microwave background and large scale structures have achieved impressive precision, from which valuable information about primordial density perturbations can be extracted, " said Yi Wang, a co-author of the paper and an assistant professor at HKUST's department of physics. "A careful study of this SM background would be the prerequisite for using the cosmological collider to explore any new physics, and any observational signal that deviates from this background would then be a sign of physics beyond the SM."

Scientist reveal new connections between small particles and the vast universe, Xingang Chen et al, Standard Model Background of the Cosmological Collider, Physical Review Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.261302 , On Arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.06597, Phys.org

INFO...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 19, 2017 at 8:26am

This image shows the NIST logo made from glowing nanowire LEDs. While the color of the nanowires in the image looks blue, they are actually emitting in the ultraviolet with a wavelength of approximately 380 nm. The other two images, from a scanning electron microscope, show the overall structure of the nanowires.

Topics: Atomic Force Microscopy, LEDs, Nanotechnology, Optical Physics

One of the persistent challenges in 21st century metrology is the need to measure ever-more-detailed properties of ever-smaller things, from microchip features to subcomponents of biological cells. That’s why, four years ago, a team of NIST scientists patented (link is external) the design for a nanoscale probe system that can simultaneously measure the shape, electrical characteristics, and optical response of sample regions a few tens of nanometers (nm, billionths of a meter) wide. 100 nm is about one-thousandth the width of a human hair.

Now the researchers from NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory are closing in on a working prototype. The newest version of the device, which has a probe tip that functions as an ultra-tiny LED “spotlight,” holds great promise for identifying cancer-prone tissue, testing materials for improved solar cells, and providing a new way to put circuits on microchips, among other uses.

The Integrated Near-Field Optoelectronic (INFO) system has the general configuration of an atomic force microscope (AFM), in which a probe tip on the end of a tiny cantilever beam passes a few nanometers over the surface of a sample, recording exact details of its morphology. But the metal-plated INFO probe also serves as a transmitter that projects microwaves into the sample as well as a receiving antenna that detects the altered microwaves coming back out. The nature of that alteration reveals electrical and chemical properties of the material.

Sub-microscopic LEDs Shed New Light on Advanced Materials, Ben Stein, NIST

Colloidal Coulomb Transistor...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 18, 2017 at 8:00am

Thin films made of metal nanoparticles (grey spheres) are electrically contacted by gold electrodes. The current flowing through the films (in blue) is adjustable by the voltage of a local electrode located below the film. For the characterization, needle-shaped probes are applied to the electrodes, which provide the corresponding voltages and measure the current. Credit: Christian Klinke, University of Hamburg

Topics: Electrical Engineering, Nanotechnology, Semiconductor Technology

Researchers at the University of Hamburg in Germany have succeeded in making the first Coulomb transistor from structured thin films of colloidal metal nanoparticles. Instead of having only two states, ON and OFF, as in classic transistors based on semiconductors, the new device has sinusoidal ON/OFF characteristics.

Modern-day transistors are based on semiconducting-type materials, usually silicon. In the quest for cheaper, less power-hungry microelectronics devices, such as those in laptops, tablets and smartphones, researchers are looking into alternatives to these materials.

A team led by Christian Klinke has now made transistors from metal nanoparticles. The small size of the particles means that they no longer show metallic characteristics under current flow but instead have an energy bandgap (akin to that in semiconductors) that arises from the Coulomb repulsion between electrons in the material. This effect is known as the Coulomb blockade, and it exists even at room temperature in the materials employed in the new devices (in this case cobalt-platinum nanoparticles).

Colloidal metal nanoparticles make Coulomb transistor, Belle Dumé, Nanotech Web

The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy concludes....

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 18, 2017 at 1:51am

The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy concludes as the Princess Meru waits as final preparations to defend Sea City from an impending Tenaree attack. She won't 'wait' long for within the hour, Meru will be introduced to her betrothed, Prince Tinochika of the Island Nation! However, as hour grows short Meru is conflicted as to what her future entails. Against her better judgement, Meru summons the foreign Amoosu, Mjarga the Witch of Aesirfjord to divine her future. With war and marriage imminent, the Princess must know if there is hope for her love of the Valley Knight to bear fruit! It is a dangerous question and having seen the Amoosu's power, Meru may well not like what she sees if Mjarga is willing to help her at all! These questions as with others will be revealed in the conclusion of 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 6!

Short Stories from the Spiral Galaxy and other audio books

Posted by Larry Johnson on July 16, 2017 at 7:00pm

Over the years I have written over a dozen short stories. During that time I have grown as a writer but I am still learning. Most writers cannot afford to hire professional editors, proof readers etc. to polish their scripts. If you have a good, well-written story going audio could make a difference, it could also breathe new life into old stories. The Alexander Steele Mystery Trilogy was my first venture into audio books. It's not listed on this site because it is not science fiction. The reception was better than expected so I decided to resurrect my sci fi short stories. So far the collaboration between the narrators and myself has gone very well. The only downside is pricing. Audio books tend to cost a lot more which may not sit well with your core fans.

The completion date for Short Stories from the Spiral Galaxy Featuring Intergalactic Detective Da'Quan is August 31st.

Murder on the Eros Star, Planet of Doom and Terror on Telderan.

The Second Saga Continues in: Stones, Conflict and Legacy, Part V

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 16, 2017 at 4:19am

The Second Saga continues as the Aesir traitor Turid is confronted by Chief Svengald! Can the Chief reach his former subject through the brutal conditioning Turid endured at the hands of the Red Spirit? What can even he learn from a fanatic? Will his new 'sight' granted by the mighty sea serpent 'Sir Fish' be successfully brought to bear against the power of a goddess? Meanwhile, the Valley Knight must bring newly arrived Prince Tinochika up to speed concerning plans to defend Sea City from the Tenaree one day away! He must do this and stand aside for the Prince to take Princess Meru as bride. Can he do such a thing after professing love for her? Even so, how will this affect the Priestess? All will be revealed in, 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 5!

Torches and Pitchforks...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 14, 2017 at 4:30am

Image Source: Giphy.com

Topics: Existentialism, Humor, Politics

I'm 50% there after moving from New York to North Carolina, as I'm seeing more floor in the new place. Successfully registered Lowe's and Harris Teeter grocery store cards for discounts and gas points. I've humbly had to use GPS to relearn my way in my "old stomping grounds." I bought two Amazon Fire Sticks (ironically from Best Buy), and "jail broke" both to get local news and entertainment channels. It saves me $44.90 on a bundle from Spectrum/Time Warner that will likely double at the end of the year discount. I made an appointment with Dr. Zhang at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering for 11:00 am, at the very least to meet him and thank him for his assistance thus far. That will be my "formal" tour, since out of excitement and to show [to] myself I could FIND the place, I visited already on Tuesday.

Planning on posting today; next week Tuesday - Friday. I'll hopefully be back on schedule after a week of unpacking and the viewing of more floor in the new home.

I've spent a while looking at the news, aghast at how bad our dysfunctional republic is, how some of my fellow citizens are practicing cognitive dissonance on steroids:

The emails show music promoter Rob Goldstone telling the future US president's son that "the crown prosecutor of Russia" had offered "to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father". Goldstone adds: "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump." Trump Jr replies 17 minutes later and welcomes the offer. "If it's what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer."

The email chain makes clear that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Further, it also makes plain that not only Junior, but also Manafort and Kushner knew the campaign had done so because Junior was kind enough to forward the emails to them. He incriminated himself. He incriminated the other two. He made a lie out of practically everything that the Trump camp has said on the subject for over a year. He landed a clean shot below the waterline of his father's administration. Again, I thought of Nixon, standing behind a podium in the White House, while the tape from June 23, 1972 unspooled to an eager world, and then telling the assembled press corps, "See? It's just like I said. I'm not involved." It also was announced that Junior would appear with Sean Hannity on Tuesday night. I fully expected Junior to show up on the set dressed as an evil boyar from an Eisenstein film.

The government of the United States is a shambles. An incompetent administration headed by an unqualified buffoon is now descending into criminal comedy and maladroit backstabbing. It is an administration that not only self-destructs, but glories in the process. There seems to be no end to it, and no desire to end it by the people who actually have the power to do so. That, in itself, seems curious, and it probably should remind us all that Paul Ryan's Super PAC was hip-deep in the borscht itself. Ryan, who really is the person best situated to close the circus down, seems to be afflicted with one of his periodic bouts of invisibility, poor lad. [1]

**********

Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney on the Russia case, threatened a stranger in a string of profanity-laden emails Wednesday night.

The man, a retired public relations professional in the western United States who asked not to be identified, read ProPublica’s story this week on Kasowitz and sent the lawyer an email with the subject line: “Resign Now.’’

Kasowitz replied with series of angry messages sent between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time. One read: “I’m on you now. You are f*cking with me now Let’s see who you are Watch your back , b---h.”

In another email, Kasowitz wrote: “Call me. Don’t be afraid, you piece of s--t. Stand up. If you don’t call, you’re just afraid.” And later: “I already know where you live, I’m on you. You might as well call me. You will see me. I promise. Bro.” [2]

What ELSE can be said? If Putin had put in a Democrat (and for grins, he likely could in the future) we would be looking at torches, pitchforks, civil war: champaign and vodka as the Kremlin toasts our descent into dystopia; his Cheshire Cat, cheese-eating grin as he proves we were always only a nudge and a few clicks away from anarchy.

Other than...

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone. Rod Serling

1. How Much More Absurdity Can You Handle? Charles P. Pierce, Esquire Magazine
2. Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz Threatens Stranger in Emails: ‘Watch Your Back , B---h’, Justin Elliott, ProPublica

Consider The Great War of Africa When You Write

Posted by Stafford Battle on July 12, 2017 at 10:22pm

I want AFROcreators to produce more stories, movies, comics, art, and music about the "Great War of Africa."

The BSFS is a good place for AFROFuturistic writers to gain inspiration. Here, we can share, critique and support as well as promote each other's works. Let's put out more ideas for education, entertainment, and enlightenment. Let's consider the Great War of Africa as a shared theme.

The modern cinema is crammed with European War stories: Wonder Woman, Captain America, Nick Fury and on and on. But the Great War of Africa is mostly absent. Hollywood spent millions on the movie "Dunkirk, " but some of the greatest WWII battles were fought in Northern Africa.

The Great War of Africa began in the late 1800s when Europeans sought to steal the treasures of the Mother Land. There were many heroes, villains, and survivors worthy of prominence in our speculative arts. Real superheroes. We have much more than Black Panther.

These stories have to be told.

Who writes and produces those works? We should. We must. We will do this. And, many of us are acting on it now.

The Priestess Second Saga Continues in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy', Pt III

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 12, 2017 at 10:27am

The Red Spirit broods deep within an extinct volcano as she licks her wounds after being thwarted by a new enemy. An enemy which has proven resourceful and capable of wounding even her, a semi-divine being! Brooding will not be enough to make her plans to conquer the Nation of Palm and all the surrounding kingdoms. It will take clear focus to stick with her plans though the prospect of an individual mortal or god capable of killing her is a sobering development.

A surprise visit by an uninvited guest, has the potential to bring everything back into focus for the Red Spirit and potentially give her greater means to accomplish her 'ultimate goal'. Or will her guest bring ill tidings for the coming attack on Sea City? All will be revealed in, 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 3!

The Queen of Dark

Posted by Stephen Alexander on July 11, 2017 at 11:04pm

An interesting article about 'The Queen of Dark' a famous South Sudanese model living in Minnesota. You can read about it here. http://tinyurl.com/yb7on2ws

When I wrote Super Humanity, I included some jokes about the characters' blackness and American society's almost 'rejection' of those with very dark skin from the entertainment industry. It's become a running joke in some ways. You've heard them all before- too black for music videos, for one.

If my books get made in movies, I'd like her in to be in it. Probably not as a star, since my main characters are much younger.

http://www.boredpanda.com/sudanese-model-queen-of-the-dark-nyakim-gatwech/?page_numb=1&utm_content=inf_10_2558_2&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=socialedge

The Priestess Second Saga Continues in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 2

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 10, 2017 at 11:57pm

Palm's Champion N'Sisi's unsanctioned reconnaisance mission bears bitter fruit as she reveals what the Tennaree have been up to on their march towards Sea City! It will fall upon the Valley Knight to keep Palm's remaining high command from panicking in the face of such grim news. With the power of Little Fish, the Witch Mjarga and his comrade-in-arms Chief Svengald, the Valley Knight may well have the means to keep things together! Meanwhile, an unsettling development occurs that casts a shadow that should not be present. Will the Valley Knight and his allies catch it in time? All will be revealed in 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy', Part 2!

The Priestess Returns in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy'....

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 10, 2017 at 1:36am

The Priestess returns today and you are privy to a meeting of the Nobles of Palm as they commend the Valley Knight and his new allies the Aesir for the daring action against the Tenaree and the Red Spirit! Ghilda, Chief's Vife of Svengald takes in the spectacle and assesses her husband's place in this strange new land with stranger people. Clothing, food and customs are vastly different from what she knew in Aesirfjord, but the potential for reward in the coming attack on Sea City has the Chief's Vife's eye on things bigger than simply returning home. While plans are being made, Little Fish and the Aesir Witch Mjarga have an unexpected and important visitor. One who asks questions which prove difficult for both to answer...but they must if he is to reveal that which they need to know about the coming attack. All will find the 'battle' on the homefront can be precarious as on the frontlines in 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 1!

Novels?

Posted by Nelo Maxwell on July 9, 2017 at 3:00pm

So for a while now, I've been trying work on a prose novel. Slowly becoming disillusioned with the comic books industry, I figure it's a good time to continue the journey that I began in 08'. But I can't because honestly...I'm scared. Not of one thing in particular, but a number. Novel's seem extremely daunting, the sheer size and scope are frightening to me. I really don't even understand how people write novels? What drives you? What keeps you driven? What pushes all the fear and anxiety out of your heads? And do you have some of, whatever it is, I can borrow? Also what if my novel sucks? What if it's just not a good story? I'm writing this as a sort of confession and maybe a little therapy. I've been told to outline or to take it one chapter at a time. But ever time I sit down to write I feel like I'm facing a wall of water that is about to annihilate me. Anyone have any recommendations about how to get over that?

The Death of Expertise...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 8, 2017 at 5:00am

Image Source: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH BROCKWAY/THE DAILY BEAST

Topics: Existentialism, Politics, Science, Research

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." Bertrand Russell

I've had similar posts as well as off line conversations about this theme. The unexpected caveat from the "Information Superhighway" has been the rise of know-nothings that feel search engines are a part of human DNA; that become *experts* on any subject with a few inquiries and clicks. It has extended quite contemporaneously to members of the clergy: some work in pulpits without a license to preach, ordination or degree from a divinity school. They just look and sound good, thus *anointed*, not credentialed.

From the article excerpt:

These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had so much access to so much knowledge and yet have been so resistant to learning anything. In the United States and other developed nations, otherwise intelligent people denigrate intellectual achievement and reject the advice of experts. Not only do increasing numbers of lay people lack basic knowledge, they reject fundamental rules of evidence and refuse to learn how to make a logical argument. In doing so, they risk throwing away centuries of accumulated knowledge and undermining the practices and habits that allow us to develop new knowledge.

This is more than a natural skepticism toward experts. I fear we are witnessing the death of the ideal of expertise itself, a Google-fueled, Wikipedia-based, blog-sodden collapse of any division between professionals and laypeople, students and teachers, knowers and wonderers—in other words, between those of any achievement in an area and those with none at all.

I sincerely hope to not be a part of the "blog-sodden" or contributing to the morass. I used the term Information Superhighway - as the Internet was once publicly coined - deliberately, as the concern was there would be a divide between the "haves" (those who could afford $2,500 to plop down on a home desktop computer) and the 'have-nots," i.e. the urban poor demarcated by economics, ethnicity and cultural differences.

Enter the cellular telephone, first initially called a "brick" as it was heavy, clunky and analog as in Michael Douglas in "Wall Street." The conversion from analog to digital, the merger of phone and autonomous pager (obviously, the work of the devil); the miniaturization of transistors following Moore's Law increasing speeds and features to share cat, dog, owl and most recently cute baby elephants chasing birds on phones dubbed "smart", their owners another matter.

This has so far given us an interesting social makeup of a society that thoroughly depends on science and technology*, and disdains the people most equipped to bring about new systems and designs. The intellectual student is still a "nerd," noses are still shoved into lockers (or, students stuffed in them), bullying of them is still ignored; cheerleaders and jocks worshiped as the in-crowd cool gods from Mt. Olympus.

We tweet our versions of reality (45 is particularly deft at this), we join social media groups that conform to our already dug in notions. Google driver-less cars will likely lead to more distracted humans and stupid pet videos shared before they disembark.

The causalities of such an accidental dystopia are rationality, reality, science and ultimately what in an Orwellian era of "alternate facts" seems malleable and dangerously fungible: truth.

Social changes only in the past half century finally broke down old barriers of race, class, and sex not only between Americans in general but also between uneducated citizens and elite experts in particular. A wider circle of debate meant more knowledge but more social friction. Universal education, the greater empowerment of women and minorities, the growth of a middle class, and increased social mobility all threw a minority of experts and the majority of citizens into direct contact, after nearly two centuries in which they rarely had to interact with each other.

And yet the result has not been a greater respect for knowledge, but the growth of an irrational conviction among Americans that everyone is as smart as everyone else. This is the opposite of education, which should aim to make people, no matter how smart or accomplished they are, learners for the rest of their lives. Rather, we now live in a society where the acquisition of even a little learning is the endpoint, rather than the beginning, of education. And this is a dangerous thing.

* "We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology." Carl Sagan

America's Cult of Ignorance (excerpt), by Tom Nichols on The Daily Beast, author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters.

Read WHAT THE BONES SAY Online

Posted by Tonya R. Moore on July 7, 2017 at 9:00pm

What the Bones Say is the title of my web-serialized novella for this year’s Summer Writing Project which is a collaborative effort by Jukepop and 1888.

PREMISE

Niara’s people inhabit a village within a walled enclosure on an alien planet. To carve out a future for humanity, she must disobey their alien benefactors and venture beyond the wall. She joins forces with Wendi, tribal queen of the eastern village. The two women forge a bond stronger than blood as they uncover the secrets of their buried history and incite the wrath of an advanced alien force.

READ CHAPTERS ONLINE:

0: Prologue (Trance)

1: Chapter 1 (Boabab)

Selenide Vibrations...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 7, 2017 at 5:00am

In this illustration, an infrared laser beam (orange) triggers atomic vibrations in a thin layer of iron selenide, which are then recorded by ultrafast X-ray laser pulses (white) to create an ultrafast movie. The motion of the selenium atoms (red) changes the energy of the electron orbitals of the iron atoms (blue). (Courtesy: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

Topics: Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Science, Solid State Physics, Superconductors

Two important breakthroughs in the understanding of iron-selenide superconductors have been made by two independent research groups. One team has shown that the electrons responsible for superconductivity in the material probably come from a specific atomic orbital. The other team, meanwhile, has measured the interaction between electrons and atomic vibrations in iron selenide, which is believed to be involved in its superconductivity.

The research could shed light on the mystery of why some materials based on iron selenide are superconductors at relatively high temperatures, which has puzzled physicists for more than a decade. While bulk iron selenide is a superconductor below 8.5K, this transition temperature can reach as high as 75K when an ultrathin trilayer of the material is grown on certain substrates.

Experiments shed new light on iron superconductors, Hamish Johnston, Physics World

The Priestess Second Saga Returns Monday July 10th!

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on July 6, 2017 at 2:16pm

The Priestess Second Saga returns as the fledgling army organized by the Valley Knight prepares for the Tenaree attack on Sea City, the Prince of the Island Nations arrives with his fleet and to claim the hand of Princess Meru. Can the Valley Knight keep his word to his 'new' love that she will never lay eyes on the Prince and in doing so, still maintain the alliance between two countries with war imminent? Amid all the preparations the Aesir Witch Mjarga has a vision that will challenge even the Valley Knight's ability to motivate the remaining forces of Palm to stand fast and fight! The Red Spirit now revealed as a merciless Fire Goddess has licked her wounds from the unexpected challenge from the defenders of Palm. Her path to victory presents itself with a traitor and the powerful new weapons she's given the Tenaree horde at her command. The Priestess' life hangs in the balance as these forces move towards their climactic conflict. It will take the Valley Knight, his Godling son Little Fish along with the people of Palm and their new Aesir allies to stand firm against the coming tide. But can they when faced with such an implacable enemy? All will be revealed in 'The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy'

Crystal Cavitation...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 6, 2017 at 5:00am

Time sequence showing the growth of a cavitation bubble. The large circle is an obstruction to the flow of a liquid crystal, which is moving from left to right. The cavitation bubble is forming at the right side of the obstruction. (Courtesy: Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization)

Topics: Condensed Matter Physics, Fluid Mechanics, Materials Science

The formation and subsequent collapse of bubbles has been seen for the first time in a flowing liquid crystal. This process is called cavitation and occurs when the pressure drop in a flowing fluid is large enough to allow some of the fluid to vaporize and create a bubble. Cavitation is of great interest in hydrodynamics because the collapsing bubbles can dissipate large amounts of energy in small regions and cause significant damage to machinery such as propellers.

The discovery was made by Tillmann Stieger and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, the Technical University of Berlin and the ETH Zürich. Liquid crystals are fluids that are made of rod-like molecules that tend to align under certain conditions. In its experiments, the team pumped liquid-crystal fluids through tiny channels just 0.1 mm wide. The channels contained obstructions, which increase the speed of the flow and encourage cavitation (see image).

Bubble cavitation spotted in liquid crystals, Hamish Johnston, Physics World

Star Weight...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on July 5, 2017 at 5:00am

Image Source: Link below

Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Einstein, General Relativity, Gravitational Lensing, White Dwarfs

The passage of a white dwarf almost in front of a distant background star created the conditions for gravitational lensing

Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts that in the gravitational field of a massive body, light rays should bend by an angle that depends on the body’s mass. Researchers at the Space Telescope Science Institute have now exploited that effect, known as gravitational lensing, to determine the mass of a star. For two years, the team tracked white dwarf Stein 2051 B as it crossed in front of a distant background star. The Hubble image shows Stein 2051 B and the background star, labeled “Source,” on 1 October 2013. Overlain are the nearer star’s trajectory and dots indicating its location on seven subsequent imaging dates. (The trajectory appears curved due to parallax.) At their closest, the stars were separated by a mere 10th of an arcsecond—roughly the angle subtended in the sky by Pluto.

As the stars came into alignment, gravitational lensing by the white dwarf subtly distorted the apparent position of the background star. Specifically, the background star appeared to trace an ellipse a couple of milliarcseconds wide, even though its actual position in the sky all but remained fixed. From the ellipse’s dimensions the researchers could infer Stein 2051 B’s mass, roughly two-thirds that of the Sun.

Weighing a star with light, Ashley G. Smart, Physics Today

BLOGS

All Posts (6399)

Banana Republic...

Big to Small...

INFO...

Colloidal Coulomb Transistor...

The Priestess: Stones, Conflict and Legacy concludes....

Short Stories from the Spiral Galaxy and other audio books

The Second Saga Continues in: Stones, Conflict and Legacy, Part V

Torches and Pitchforks...

Consider The Great War of Africa When You Write

The Priestess Second Saga Continues in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy', Pt III

The Queen of Dark

The Priestess Second Saga Continues in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy' Part 2

The Priestess Returns in 'Stones, Conflict and Legacy'....

Novels?

The Death of Expertise...

Read WHAT THE BONES SAY Online

Selenide Vibrations...

The Priestess Second Saga Returns Monday July 10th!

Crystal Cavitation...

Star Weight...

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