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POPSGraphic: Timeline of the Big Bang An informative graphical timeline of the very creation of time, space, matter, and energy in our universe. Cool! I just clipped the first paragraph of the nicely written description that accompanies it. Of course, cosmology, cosmogony, and quantum physics, and the origins of space-time are some of the hardest fields of study being pursued right now. Any other pointers to clip-size explanations would be welcome additions to Clipmarks.
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POPSVortex Ring Destroys Shed 200 mph blast of air. Granted the brick was just a free standing wall. I would like to see what it does to a house. Probably very little. See the site to get instructions on how to build your own. BTW, when I was a child two adults were killed across the street from my house when a tractor tire they were filling with air exploded, so air can kill if pressured enough.
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POPSA new cosmology The Electric Universe states that the Big Bang never happened, that the universe is predominately electric in nature and that black holes, dark matter and pixie dust aren't real.
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POPSRobert Winston criticises dangerous 'science delusion' Bit like the chook and the egg. Scientists have for centuries been questioned closely by religions and many theories went on hold due to church action. Now that the science world is taking the limelight from religions, they want to do some discussing. The emphasis on trying to prove the big bang theory could be interpreted as a swipe at religion.
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POPSThe End of Everything End of Cosmology – 3 trillion years from now. End of Stars – 100 trillion years from now. The End of Regular Matter – 10 to the power of 30 years from now. End of Black Holes – 10 to the power of 100 years from now. The End of Everything – 10 to the power of 100 years and beyond. Perhaps there will be another Big Bang someday. Perhaps the Universe is cyclical and the whole process will start up again. Perhaps it won't, and this bleak future of a cold, dead Universe is all that awaits us. It's not happy, but it's awe inspiring to consider the long future ahead, and helps us appreciate the vibrant age we live in today.
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POPSBrad Warner: "Enlightenment experiences are crap."
More: I have no problem with people making money, even if they're Buddhist teachers and even if they're earning their money by being Buddhist teachers. What I have a problem with is the way Buddhism is being turned into a commodity. Enlightenment is being sold like mouth wash. The girls aren't running after you? Try Enlightenment and you'll never be without a date on Saturday night! …It's not that hard to induce a whizz-bang experience through hypnotism or other means. If you mesmerize someone and feed their ego with the notion that they are Enlightened and that they can speak with the voice of God Himself, that person will have a pretty amazing time. If a genuine Zen Master certifies that experience as Kensho that seals the deal. Also having paid lots of money for the experience makes the person far less likely to want to admit it might not have been all it was supposed to be. This is so fucking obvious I don't even know why anyone has to point it out.
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POPSSPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK Previous infrared images of the same galaxy taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope showed only a blur (left). Herschel will be able to reveal some of the coldest and most distant objects in the universe, as it is the first space telescope able to see the longer, lower-energy wavelengths of light known as far-infrared to submillimeter wavelengths.
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POPSAn Open Letter to Closed Minds
A challenge to orthodoxy tends to be ignored at first. But if it gains popular support, the first move is to discredit and silence the challenger. “Belief” is the crux of the matter. No amount of evidence will change the consensus view until a sufficient number “convert” to a belief in the new theory. “It gets worse. As the evidence accumulates, the two camps will not only fail to reach consensus but actually be driven further apart - propelled by their different views ..And worst of all, there is no prospect of such a consensus unless the two sides can agree about the cause of the data.” Such a conclusion bodes ill for any attempt to change the status quo. An important scientific innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents. What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out, and that the growing generation is familiarized with the new ideas from the beginning.” Applicable to both science and religion, I reckon. :)
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POPSTop 10 Astronomy Discoveries "Astronomy has come a long way since humans peering at the night sky began asking, "what the heck is going on up there?" From Galileo's first use of the telescope -- which ushered in the dawn of modern astronomy -- to the discovery of the Big Bang's cosmic calling card, here we've chiseled out 10 of the biggest moments in astronomical history."
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