Introducing a slow-light medium into an optical microresonator extends the lifetime of a photon circulating in the device by several orders of magnitude.
Read more
Synopsis: Photon’s Lifetime Extended
Posted in physics
Category: physics – Page 325
Why You Should Care About Nukes
Posted in media & arts, military, physics
For info about divesting from nuclear weapons companies, go to http://responsibleinvest.org/
Thanks to the Future of Life Institute for helping support this video http://www.futureoflife.org (in particular, thanks to Max Tegmark for guest narrating and Meia Chita-Tegmark for her feedback)
And thanks to everyone who supports MinutePhysics on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/minutephysics
Link to Patreon supporters here: http://www.minutephysics.com/supporters.html
Music by Nathaniel Schroeder, http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder
References
Space Propulsion « MSNW LLC
Posted in physics, space travel
The EMPT thruster, funded by NASA, is a 1 kW-class RMF thruster, operates on the same physics principles as the ELF thruster. This device, less than 4 inches in diameter, has proven that pulsed inductive technolgoies can be succesfully miniaturized. Indeed, this thruster has demonstrated operation from 0.5 to 5 Joules, as well as the first pulsed inductive steady state operation. The EMPT has demonstrated greater than 1E8 continuous plasma discharges.
Read more
Are parallel universes real?
Right now there might be a whole other universe where instead of brown hair you have red hair, or a universe where you’re a classical pianist, not an engineer. In fact, an infinite number of versions of you may exist in an infinite number of other universes.The idea sounds like science fiction, but multiverse theories — especially those that are actually testable — are gaining traction among physicists. Here are three of the most compelling theories:
If the universe is infinite, multiple universes probably exist.
If the universe is infinite, like many believe it is, then there must be huge patches of the universe that are simply too distant for us to see.
Read more
Going back to the start, how did you come to studying Theoretical Physics?
As with most people my path was determined by a series of choices involving random factors. I liked mathematics and physics at school, and did well in the olympiads, but I liked also literature, history, etc. At the age of fourteen I choose a technical-type high school oriented at nuclear disciplines, as popular then as they are despised by many these days, probably because it was one of the most difficult and challenging ones.
The way from there to the Technical University was straightforward. Since I have the need to understand things from the first principles, I drifted gradually towards theoretical physics and it was only natural that in the middle of my studies, corresponding roughly to the bachelor degree nowadays, I ended up at the Theoretical Physics Department of the Charles University, where I subsequently graduated.
Read more
studioforcreativeinquiry.org/projects/the-networked-virtual-art-museum
studioforcreativeinquiry.org/projects/iten-interdisciplinary-teaching-network
Directed by Carl Loeffler, The Networked Virtual Art Museum was a pioneering project that investigated telecommunications and virtual reality, and provided a basis for multiple users located in distant geographical locations to be conjoined in the same virtual, immersion environment. The project employed telecommunication hardware, as well as the hardware associated with virtual reality: data eyephones and multi-directional navigation devices. The immersion environment was an art museum with galleries offering various exhibitions.
Considered as a whole, the project was on the advancing edge of telecommunications thru the exploration of immersion environments, networked over long distance, while supporting multiple users. The use of agents, and the articulation of physics and other details like reflective mirrors, places the project at the forefront of the design of virtual worlds. The Networked Virtual Art Museum utilized the WorldToolKit, a virtual world development software, that was available from Sense8 Corporation. The Virtual Research head mounted display, and the Ascension Technology 6-D mouse (The Bird), and 486/50 compatible with DVI and MIDI comprised the basic system hardware.
Read more
Interstellar Missions Survey
Posted in evolution, physics, space travel
An interstellar precursor mission has been discussed as a priority for science for over 30 years. It would improve our knowledge of the interstellar environment and address fundamental questions of astrophysics, from the origin of matter to the evolution of the Galaxy. A precursor mission would involve an initial exploration probe and aim to test technological capabilities for future large-scale missions. With this survey we intend to identify potential backers and gauge the public’s interest in such a mission.
This survey is conducted by the International Space University (www.isunet.edu) in collaboration with the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (www.I4IS.org). Your data will not be shared with any other organisation.
Read more