The only truth in the universe
Hi, everybody, and welcome to the first in what I hope is a regular series on electronics theory, experimentation, demonstration, repair and project construction from a hobbyist’s perspective. I hope to occasionally explore topics in physics, chemistry, and computer science … Continue reading My Hideous Workbench: Smart Garage Door Opener Part 1
Well, here it is, the last part in what you probably thought was an interminably long series on the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. In this part, I want to do three things – first, mention a few other interpretations that … Continue reading A Primer on the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Part 5
I was going to wrap things up with this article, but I decided that the Everett-tradition deserves its own post, so I’ll wait until next week for a final post taking a broader view of these issues and tackling what … Continue reading A Primer on the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Part 4
If you missed them, parts 1 and 2 are here: https://the-avocado.org/2019/07/02/a-primer-on-the-interpretations-of-quantum-mechanics-part-1/ https://the-avocado.org/2019/07/16/a-primer-on-the-interpretations-of-quantum-mechanics-part-2/ Hidden Variables Last time, I talked about interpretations involving wave function collapse, which collectively form one of the three main traditions in the foundations of Quantum Mechanics. … Continue reading A Primer on the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Part 3
If you missed it, part 1 of this article is here: https://the-avocado.org/2019/07/02/a-primer-on-the-interpretations-of-quantum-mechanics-part-1/ I’m not going to lie; there are some challenging concepts in here. But give it a go. At worst, you’ll have learned a few phrases you can throw … Continue reading A Primer on the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Part 2
The term “Quantum Mechanics” conjures not just all manner of science fictional strangeness, but also philosophical questions about the nature of reality. Indeed, while the theory itself is well-worked out and rigorous, the interpretation of that theory has been one … Continue reading A Primer on the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, Part 1
In part 1 of this article, I talked about the evidence for the existence of “dark matter” – that is, some kind of matter that we can’t see, and that likely is not made of the familiar protons, neutrons, and … Continue reading A Primer on Dark Matter Physics, Part 2
A while back I had a conversation with a friend about epitaphs and we reached the conclusion than rather than a phrase we would prefer a GIF. That got me thinking on how can you create a portable GIF … Continue reading How to Make a Portable Reaction GIF
Every day, there are scientists who travel miles underground to tend to their dark matter detectors. This may be old news to you; you may even, like me, be one of those scientists – nevertheless, I invite you to pause … Continue reading A Primer on Dark Matter Physics, Part 1
Cats! Does the internet talk about cats enough? Are you sure? Were that a headline, Betteridge’s Law dictates that the answer to that question would be “no,” so I’m going to fix that deficit by discussing a certain cat issue … Continue reading Cats: Toxoplasmosis And You!
If you take a two-lane blacktop three hours northwest of Albuquerque New Mexico, you’ll find a sign for the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which also reads ROUGH ROAD May Be Impassible Travel At Your Own Risk They’re not lying. … Continue reading Chaco Canyon Ruins
The Halloween season is upon us, and although its seasonal hordes of monsters are legion – ghosts, goblins, mummies, Frankenstein’s monsters, people putting razor blades in apples, etc. – only the vampire has any sort of real world presence, plus … Continue reading REAL Vampires!
It is officially the scariest time of the year and what could be scarier than the media misusing a bit of science a ghost story to scare people with? That’s right, today I’m going to talk about Asteroid 2015 TB145, … Continue reading Halloween In SPAAAAACE!
Does the internet talk about cats enough? Are you sure? Betteridge’s Law dictates that if my question was a headline, that answer would be “no,” so in hopes of fixing that, here’s some trivia about some famous or historical cats … Continue reading Science: Prehistoric Cats II
Ready for another write-up about another weird-ass thing in outer space? You know you are, and so am I! This time I’m going to tell you about the Boomerang Nebula, which has many other names: The Bow-Tie Nebula (shared with … Continue reading Science: A Dish Best Served Cold: The Boomerang Nebula
From the Secret Pages Of The Official Handbook for the Animal Heroes Universe: The Malevolent Mantis Shrimp “A menacing Mantis Shrimp packs a punch of peculiar power, even for an animal hero!” Real Name: Animalia Euarthropoda Crustacea Malacostraca Hoplocarida Stomatopoda … Continue reading Mantis Shrimp SMASH!
The year: 2010 – the future! The place: in SPAAAAAACE!, orbiting high above the Earth! The technological marvel known as the Hubble Space Telescope cast the penetrating gaze of its great celestial eye deep into the stygian darkness space. Not … Continue reading Not A Meme Spiral, It’s Just LL Pegasi
From the Secret Pages Of The Official Handbook for the Animal Heroes Universe: The Two-Dimensional Trichoplax adhaerens “Once just an overlooked animalcule, Trichoplax adhaerens has transformed into the world’s simplest animal hero!” Real Name: Animalia Eumetazoa ParaHoxozoa Placozoa Trichoplacidae … Continue reading Trichoplax adhaerens, Earth Simplest Animal Hero!
No, not Wonder Woman’s sidekick Etta Candy, Eta Carinae! “Ate a car in a what???” you ask, “what’s this Eta Carinae?” Eta Carinae is a popular interstellar sightseeing spot, so some of you may already know – if you do, … Continue reading Eta Carinae
The academic subject, not the lifestyle store. Louis, Mary, and Richard are three famed paleoanthropologists who did much of their work studying human origins in east Africa. What is their last name? What word has been redacted from the title … Continue reading Shoeless Trivia: Anthropology
Stargazing is often dull, uneventful stuff. Sure, once in awhile you might catch something creeping across some tiny sliver of the sky, but you don’t have to tune every night to see how hot Venus is or who’s orbiting Uranus … Continue reading Science: The Star Betelgeuse
