Star Trek: ...And The Neckbeards Shall Post

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MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Grand Fromage posted:

Virtual particles.

I assume the change into two particles then the annihilation are the same amount of energy and balance out? Otherwise 10% of your mass constantly annihilating seems like you'd notice.

The energy all balances out, yep.

In fact, things balance out so well (net charge remains the same, as the particles have equal and opposite charge, so EM doesn't care. Not enough energy to do anything with the weak force, so that doesn't care. Amount of energy is the same, so gravity doesn't care. Strong force does care, but only to annihilate them again...) that the only way you can see all this poo poo happening inside the particle is to fire electrons at them really really really fast in a process called Deep Inelastic Scattering.

To the rest of the universe the proton may as well be three happy little quarks just sitting there, unless you manage to get inside you really can't tell!

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:20

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# ? Jun 12, 2024 00:28

Islam is the Lite Rock FM: Jul 27, 2007; by exmarx

That's actually kind of cool. Thanks for that technobabble.

My own uncertainty experience comes from spectroscopy. Shorter the excitation pulse, greater the bandwidth (wider range of wavelengths in the pulse). Turned out to be useful since we wanted to excite a bunch of transitions instead of just one.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:25

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

Cool, I have learned something today.

I think QM is my favorite area of science because it's so loving bizarre, it's totally understandable why even Einstein had his "gently caress this poo poo" attitude, but unlike some of the other bizarre hypotheses out there it's a demonstrably true theory.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:27

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

QM is arguably the most understood thing in human history. There's one number (to do with how the EM force works) that we can predict with a precision of knowing the distance between me and the moon to less than an inch.

In other news, McLaren (the sports car manufacturer) are developing a system similar to one used on some jet aircraft in order to replace your windscreen wipers. It vibrates the top layer of the windscreen at some resonant frequency, making water, snow, insects, whatever just bounce off the edge. A force field for your car!

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:29

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

MrL_JaKiri posted:

QM is arguably the most understood thing in human history. There's one number (to do with how the EM force works) that we can predict with a precision of knowing the distance between me and the moon to less than an inch.

That's why I love it. Most of it makes little to no intuitive sense but every time you turn on a computer, it reminds you that it's the way the universe works.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:32

Islam is the Lite Rock FM: Jul 27, 2007; by exmarx

MrL_JaKiri posted:

QM is arguably the most understood thing in human history. There's one number (to do with how the EM force works) that we can predict with a precision of knowing the distance between me and the moon to less than an inch.

In other news, McLaren (the sports car manufacturer) are developing a system similar to one used on some jet aircraft in order to replace your windscreen wipers. It vibrates the top layer of the windscreen at some resonant frequency, making water, snow, insects, whatever just bounce off the edge. A force field for your car!

You mean a deflector for your car, right?

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:36

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

Windshield wipers stink, and thankfully, at long last, the technology is being improved upon.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:37

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

DemeaninDemon posted:

You mean a deflector for your car, right?

The bridge is out! We need to pass an anti-polarised hyperwave beam through the windscreen!

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:38

Mc Do Well: Aug 2, 2008; by FactsAreUseless

DemeaninDemon posted:

You mean a deflector for your car, right?

It's more like hull plating.

The percentages refer to the layer that is being harmonically vibrated :techno:

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:38

DrSunshine: Mar 23, 2009; Did I just say that out loud~~?!!!

MrL_JaKiri posted:

Amazingly, this can also happen when the gluon doesn't have enough energy to do this(!!!) if the particle is short lived, due to the uncertainty principle! (small uncertainty in time due to short lifespan = big uncertainty in energy)

Quantum Physics is really strange in ways you don't really anticipate.

Seriously, Quantum Physics is completely bonkers. I'm glad I went into atmospheric science, because that poo poo is bananas.

--But very interesting! Thanks for that thoroughly enlightening post!

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:40

Brute Squad: Dec 20, 2006; Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human race

Grand Fromage posted:

If you don't read physics books for fun you are without honor.

Loving the particle physics talk. Star Trek thread has the best derails.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:43

Thom12255: Feb 23, 2013; WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY

All this physics talk just reminds me of why I chose an Engineering major instead of Physics.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:45

edogawa rando: Mar 20, 2007

Let's dumb this thread back down a bit.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:45

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Thom12255 posted:

All this physics talk just reminds me of why I chose an Engineering major instead of Physics.

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the warp core :colbert:

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:46

Brute Squad: Dec 20, 2006; Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human race

Vagabundo posted:

Let's dumb this thread back down a bit.

Careful what you wish for, Conquistador might come back.

Today on "It Came From TAS"

"The Infinite Vulcan"

I really need to watch TAS. It's the only series I haven't seen.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:50

1st AD: Dec 3, 2004; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.

Science talk is cool but unfortunately you're all in the wrong thread, Star Trek has not ever been nor will it ever be about science.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:51

Islam is the Lite Rock FM: Jul 27, 2007; by exmarx

McDowell posted:

It's more like hull plating.

The percentages refer to the layer that is being harmonically vibrated

There's a hail storm coming Billy. Better polarize the windshield.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:54

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

1st AD posted:

Science talk is cool but unfortunately you're all in the wrong thread, Star Trek has not ever been nor will it ever be about science.

Star Trek isn't, but Star Trek fans are all about that poo poo. Were I at home I could check my Enterprise D technical manual, I'm pretty sure that's in there.

MrL_JaKiri fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Dec 22, 2013

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:57

Blade_of_tyshalle: Jul 12, 2009; If you think that, along the way, you're not going to fail... you're blind.

There's no one I've ever met, no matter how successful they are, who hasn't said they had their failures along the way.

Vagabundo posted:

Let's dumb this thread back down a bit.

The omega particles... they're self-stabilizing! :suicide:

# ? Dec 22, 2013 22:59

Apollodorus: Feb 13, 2010; TEST YOUR MIGHT

MrL_JaKiri posted:

In other news, McLaren (the sports car manufacturer) are developing a system similar to one used on some jet aircraft in order to replace your windscreen wipers. It vibrates the top layer of the windscreen at some resonant frequency, making water, snow, insects, whatever just bounce off the edge. A force field for your car!

This was a thing in an Arthur C. Clarke novel though, the one about the Titanic and Mandelbrot patterns.

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:16

Lowen SoDium: Jun 5, 2003; Highen Fiber; Clapping Larry

Can any of these gluons turn in to warp particles?

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:31

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Lowen SoDium posted:

Can any of these gluons turn in to warp particles?

Don't be silly, it's Z⁰ bosons that turn into warp particles

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:41

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Vagabundo posted:

Let's dumb this thread back down a bit.

gently caress THAT poo poo

we don't understand it at all, but we can beam some aboard.... how do transporters work again? Oh, and the Borg suddenly have a collective nanoboner for perfection in particle form

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:49

hailthefish: Oct 24, 2010

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:54

1st AD: Dec 3, 2004; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: sometimes passing just isn't an option.

O'Brien must suffer

# ? Dec 22, 2013 23:59

MikeJF: Dec 20, 2003

Trent posted:

we don't understand it at all, but we can beam some aboard.... how do transporters work again?

Look, on DS9 they once beamed a universe.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 00:01

Blade_of_tyshalle: Jul 12, 2009; If you think that, along the way, you're not going to fail... you're blind.

There's no one I've ever met, no matter how successful they are, who hasn't said they had their failures along the way.

1st AD posted:

O'Brien must suffer

End O'Brien's suffrage now!

_{Nice chiefs don't want the vote.}

# ? Dec 23, 2013 00:04

Farecoal: Oct 15, 2011; There he go

hailthefish posted:

# ? Dec 23, 2013 00:22

Islam is the Lite Rock FM: Jul 27, 2007; by exmarx

Farecoal posted:

Beats the hell out of mind prison.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 00:37

hailthefish: Oct 24, 2010

There's more if you click through. It gets pretty dark at the end.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 00:39

Apple Jax: May 19, 2008; IDIC 4 LYF

hailthefish posted:

There's more if you click through. It gets pretty dark at the end.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 01:30

Kibayasu: Mar 28, 2010

hailthefish posted:

Jesus

Well, good thing he ended up on DS9 where he never wants for people bugging him to do and fix mundane poo poo :buddy:

# ? Dec 23, 2013 02:21

Iowa Snow King: Jan 5, 2008

Brawnfire posted:

I would love that.

Most people talk to her at Ten Forward, because she's constantly there knocking back beers and shots of whiskey. The drunker she is, the better her empathic abilities, but also the more likely she is to just tell it like she sees it. Around a burning cigarette, she slurs out that obviously, Ensign, you're a homosexual and you need to suck a dick on the holodeck and see where you go from there, it's no sense hiding it god I need a loving chocolate mousse GUINAN

"This appears to be a combination of several holodeck programs."

Pan shot: Inside the Orient Express, a medieval knight struggles to remain standing, a gunslinger helps a flapper put a puzzle together, ensign Steve "services" a long line of Klingon warriors.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 02:26

redshirt: Aug 11, 2007

Why have a transporter room if you can transport anywhere?

# ? Dec 23, 2013 04:46

LEGO Genetics: Oct 8, 2013; She growls as she storms the stadium
A villain mean and rough
And the cops all shake and quiver and quake
as she stabs them with her cuffs

redshirt posted:

Why have a transporter room if you can transport anywhere?

It was made specifically for O'Brien.

To suffer.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 04:51

Knormal: Nov 11, 2001

redshirt posted:

Why have a transporter room if you can transport anywhere?

They've got you beat.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 04:55

Luigi Thirty: Apr 30, 2006; Emergency confection port.

MrL_JaKiri posted:

They do!

This is something called "pair production". Some exchange particle (ie a photon or a gluon or whatnot) has enough energy to turn into two actual particles (through E=mc², there's a probability that it can turn into a particle and its antiparticle (the same reaction as the two annihilating eachother, but in reverse).

Amazingly, this can also happen when the gluon doesn't have enough energy to do this(!!!) if the particle is short lived, due to the uncertainty principle! (small uncertainty in time due to short lifespan = big uncertainty in energy)

So what's happening inside the proton is that a gluon is bobbing along with some energy, it turns into an antiparticle/particle pair with the same total energy as the original gluon and then they recombine back into a gluon with the original energy. The Feynman diagram for that is below (dodgily drawn in ms paint):

This is going on all the time, so while there's a load of antiquarks at any one time they will all be annihilated within a fraction of a second, and a load of new ones will have turned up instead.

Also, a gluon can only turn into quarks and not things like electrons because gluons carry colour and that colour has to go somewhere (electrons don't carry colour, but quarks do). Colour being another charge like + or - electrical charge, but there's 6 kinds - red, green, blue, antired, antigreen, antiblue.

Quantum Physics is really strange in ways you don't really anticipate.

[edit]

Pair production is also involved in the coolest thing I've heard of from astrophysics, a pair instability supernova.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_instability_supernova

Yep, that's a star going from 250 solar masses to nothing left behind in a few seconds.

Like putting too much air in a balloon!

# ? Dec 23, 2013 05:18

Blade_of_tyshalle: Jul 12, 2009; If you think that, along the way, you're not going to fail... you're blind.

There's no one I've ever met, no matter how successful they are, who hasn't said they had their failures along the way.

You soured the milk, laddie!

# ? Dec 23, 2013 05:26

Mc Do Well: Aug 2, 2008; by FactsAreUseless

redshirt posted:

Why have a transporter room if you can transport anywhere?

The machine itself has to be somewhere, and maybe using the pads for embarking/disembarking became a kind of naval tradition; even if the technology made it obsolete.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 06:49

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# ? Jun 12, 2024 00:28

Gau: Nov 18, 2003; I don't think you understand, Gau.

Transporting site-to-site takes at least double the power, per the TNG Tech Manual. It also limits the capacity of the system and is more prone to errors.

# ? Dec 23, 2013 06:53

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