Poem mystery author

Although I can't say I'm a big fan of poetry, I do like a very few which deal with the stars, our Universe and (big surprise here) Man's quest to venture to the stars. When I was a small boy and pointed my telescope to Saturn for the first time, this was one of those moments you never forget for the rest of your life. After countless nights behind the eyepiece (it's quite addictive!), one eventually starts to ponder on thoughts on interstellar travel and watching StarTrek makes it worse ;-) There is one poem which I can't seem to find out who wrote it. I've posted the question to poem newsgroups and contacted various knowledgeable people but to no avail. It's engraved on the back on one of my brass compasses (Dollond London) which I got from a flea market a while ago next the Maritime Museum. Do you know who wrote this poem so I can give this mystery author proper credit?

One of the reasons why I bought this compass was because I liked this poem very much, if I didn't know better my first thoughts were either a Physicist wrote it or an author with deep thoughts on Nature. It talks about time, "a continuum moves and swirls..." (the vacuum?), the celestial sphere and life. Talk about big topics! The vacuum is central to Physics and today is still "beyond my inner sight and imagination" ie Physicists still don't understand it at the quantum level although they are getting better. Actually understanding the vacuum has been central to Physics most of our history, see this very interesting painting.

Some of you who work on Sydney Harbour may have noticed that Thor Gitta was docked in White Bay for quite a while (over a month), the mystery why she was there for all this time has been solved: she was waiting for this barge to unload her big load of cable:

Cosmology, The Big Bang and Entropy

I went to Sean Carroll's talk yesterday at Sydney University. As many of you are aware, Sean is one of the bloggers on Cosmic Variance and is touring Australia for his talks. He also has an upcoming book titled From Here to Eternity: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time.

Sean talked about all the big ideas that face Cosmologists these days and in particular Entropy and its relation to the evolution of our Universe starting from a state of low entropy / high order progressing towards a state of high entropy / low order. I didn't like his interpretation of time (particularly the "arrow of time") as mentioned in my previous post and as for the state of the Universe, this is ambiguous because we cannot observe the Universe from the outside hence there is no entropy for the Universe either.

Cosmologists have a fairly good idea what the state of the Universe was 1 second after the Big Bang however at "t = 0" (time cannot be defined here as there is no matter at this stage hence no clocks), no one knows as General Relativity breaks down however before the Big Bang? Sean speculated on an idea that our Universe may have begun from a single quantum fluctuation from the inherent energy of the vacuum, ie we live in a baby Universe an offshoot from another Universe. There was quite a good turnup and the lecture theatre was pretty full, all in all enjoyed the talk.

Still experimenting with $\LaTeX$ in Blogger using this script. Testing...

\[\tan(2\theta) = {2\tan\theta \over 1-\tan^2\theta}\]

\[\int \csc^2x\, dx = -\cot x+ C.\]

\[\ P_{r-j}=\begin{cases} 0& \text{if $r-j$ is odd},\\ r!\,(-1)^{(r-j)/2}& \text{if $r-j$ is even}. \end{cases}\]

\[\qquad \lim_{\alpha\to \infty} {\sin\alpha \over \alpha} = 0\]

\[\root n \of {\prod_{i=1}^n X_i} \leq {1 \over n} \sum_{i=1}^n\]

\[\ \cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\dotsb }}}\]

\[\ \nabla \cdot \mathbf{D} = \rho_f \]
\[\ \nabla \cdot \mathbf{B} = 0 \]
\[\ \nabla \times \mathbf{E} = -\frac{\partial \mathbf{B}} {\partial t} \]
\[\ \nabla \times \mathbf{H} = \mathbf{J}_f + \frac{\partial \mathbf{D}} {\partial t } \]

\[\ \boxed{m &= \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}}\]

What exactly is time?

I came across today the following paper reviewed on the arXiv Blog and also on arXiv: Can the Arrow of Time be understood from Quantum Cosmology?

The question itself used as the title is flawed. There is no such thing as the "Arrow of Time" in Nature and after reading the paper suspect this will lead to another Not Even Wrong theory. This is a common misunderstanding in Physics so what exactly is time? It's about time we have a look. There's a wiki article however I prefer the explanation on p40 of the first volume of Motion Mountain:

"Time is what we read from a clock."

That's it! Your first intuition is correct ie you check your clock to find out what time it is. Note that clocks can be the Moon, the Sun, sundials, atomic clocks, Harrison's H1 clock etc.

Schiller goes on:

"Time is a concept introduced specially to describe the flow of events around us; it does not itself flow, it describes flow. Time does not advance. Time is neither linear nor cyclic. The idea that time flows is as hindering to understanding nature as is the idea that mirrors Page 71 exchange right and left. The misleading use of the expression ‘flow of time’, propagated first by some flawed Ref. 36 Greek thinkers and then again by Newton, continues. Aristotle (384/3–322 bce), careful to think logically, pointed out its misconception, and many did so after him. Nevertheless, expressions such as ‘time reversal’, the ‘irreversibility of time’, and the much-abused ‘time’s arrow’ are still common. Just read a popular science magazine chosen at random.

The fact is: time cannot be reversed, only motion can, or more precisely, only velocities of objects; time has no arrow, only motion has; it is not the flow of time that humans are unable to stop, but the motion of all the objects in nature. Incredibly, there are even books written by respected physicists that study different types of ‘time’s arrows’ and compare them with each other. Predictably, no tangible or new result is extracted. Time does not flow."

There you have it, if you were thinking of becoming a time traveller with exotic machinery don't waste your time. However time machines are available for purchase if you want one ;-), they only allow you to see back in time though and we are constrained to seeing the observable Universe.
 
Because light from the Sun for eg takes just over 8 minutes to reach us here on Earth, astronomical objects you see in the sky are essentially as they were when the light left them and because of the vastness of space and the speed of light, it takes time for the light from these objects to reach us. For eg light from our neighbour the Andromeda Galaxy takes 2.5 million years to reach us so if you look at it with a telescope (or with binoculars), you are seeing the galaxy as it was 2.5 million years ago. The bigger the telescope, the further you can see back:
 

At time t = 0, current Physics cannot explain what happened as the Physics cube mentioned in the previous post isn't complete. And before that? Roger Penrose gave a good talk in 2007 at Darling Harbour titled: What happened before the Big Bang?

Photos: Claudia I coming into Blackwattle Bay the other day delivering more concrete supplies.

Who said the sky's the limit and is Physics wrong?

(23/10/09)

I was walking in the city earlier today and saw these ad billboards in the street:

Normally I wouldn't take a second look (I don't even have a credit card myself, think they're a waste of money) but saw a rocket in the stars so had to study it in detail! :-)) These ads actually give sound advice for anyone into Physics&Astronomy! When I looked at the first ad "Who said the sky's the limit?", immediate thoughts were, well Nature says what the limits are and the maximum speed that anything can travel in our Universe is the speed of light, C = 300,000Km/s.This applies not only to light but also matter, radio waves, information transfer etc. Protons, electrons etc are routinely accelerated to 0.99C at particle accelerators but never go over the speed limit.

Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity 101: "The speed of light in vacuum is always C, independent of the motion of thesource or of the observer".

This at first seems counter intuitive after all if you see a car moving at 100Km/h on the freeway then light leaving their headlights should be travelling at 100Km/h + C right? Wrong, light still travels at C! (Don't worry about the air makes very little difference you could do this in space for eg). This makes perfect sense if you think of everything you see around you immersed in the vacuum and this vacuum (which is a complicated "quantum fluctuating soup") doesn't allow light to travel faster then C. Strange things happen as you travel 1/3C or faster (time dilation etc...)

Second ad basically was telling me that although exploring the Universe with telescopes etc is good, get off your butts and build some ships to do some serious exploring beyond the solar system! ;-) Given the distances involved in our Galaxy, the speed limit (C) imposed on us by the vacuum is problematic. Closest star is 4.2 lightyears away for eg however if you're planning your next trip to Alpha Centauri don't despair this isn't the end of the story there are different types of vacuums which are under study... even Roger Penrose (who wrote the masterpiece The Road to Reality) recently mentions that our current theories are "wrong" although some don't agree with all he says it's interesting reading:

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/sep/06-discover-interview-roger-penrose-says-physics-is-wrong-string-theory-quantum-mechanics

Looking forward to some more American Express credit card ads! ;-)

Submarine neutrino communication‏

(07/10/09)

Here's some interesting reading for you submarine buffs out there:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24203/

This Physicist published a paper on how to use neutrinos as a possible effective communication method for submarines underwater to receive messages only. As you know only extra low frequency (ELF-VLF) radio waves can be used for communications by submarines underwater as the higher frequencies get severely attenuated and because of the very low frequency, only very low bit rates can be used. Neutrinos are particles that are created in certain nuclear reactions and radioactive decays, they travel close to the speed of light and interact very rarely with normal matter. Although we don't realise it, right now your body is emitting roughly 400 neutrinos per second due to the naturally occuring radioactive isotopes of Calcium and Potassium in your bones. You are basically neutrino transmitters.

Attached photos:
- Someone who named this barge "Nebula" must be into Astronomy ;-)
- This catamaran had a Compass Adjuster onboard the other morning, heard them call up Harbour Control on Ch13 when they were using transits in the channel. I better finish the course ASAP!

New rocky exoplanet found and first detailed photos of an atom!‏

(18/09/09)

Lots of good things happening in Physics & Astronomy this week! I read an article in today's MX newspaper but check the articles below for more info:

http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2009/pr-33-09.html
http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=9451

The Astronomers did a good job and confirmed that a planet outside our solar system (500 lightyears away) is rocky (not like Jupiter size planets for eg made of gas). Might be a bit too hot for your comfort though so lets hope the Astronomers get lucky and find another Earth-like planet soon because this one is starting to get too crowded ;-) Have a look at these first detailed photos of the electron clouds of carbon atoms:

http://www.insidescience.org/research/first_detailed_photos_of_atoms

The nucleus itself (protons and neutrons) is too small to be seen, between the electrons and the nucleaus itself it's empty space.

Attached photos: ships docked in White Bay last Saturday night. Reef Endeavour has been there for months and Golden Mermaid with the red flashing light on top stank like fertiliser or nitrates, busy discharging into lots of tankers waiting at the wharf.

Lucas Heights nuclear reactor open day‏

(13/09/09)

In case you didn't know the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor is having an open day for the public on Saturday 19th September (thanks to Tony for the info):

http://www.ansto.gov.au/

Not sure if I can make it that day but if I'm free I'll be bringingwith me my specially modified geiger counter
:-) I checked again tonight (Sunday) how many ships there are anchored off Newcastle on http://marinetraffic.com/ and I counted over 40 ships!!!?! Talk about busy little Harbour!

The Matrix revisited: Is the Universe a giant computer?

(27/08/09)

A nobel prize winner Physicist has recently published a theory (which has problems) that basically concludes Einstein's views that Nature or "God does NOT play dice" when it comes to quantum mechanics ie quantum mechanics is deterministic rather than probabilistic and there is a hidden mechanism that determines if a state is in A or B for eg rather than say 50% chance for state A and 50% chance for state B. Without getting into the physics, it says

"The universe is a cellular automaton in which reality is simply the read out of a giant, fantasticallycomplex computing machine"

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24044/

You bloody hope that this computer doesn't run on Windows Vista!!! hehe ;-)))
Attached photo: today True Blue pulling into King Street Wharf, still whale watching season.

Ultimo Science Festival starts this friday‏

(20/08/09)

In case you people didn't know, the Ultimo Science Festival kicks off this friday night at the Powerhouse Museum with "Psychology, live jazz, physics, space-art, dark matter and more…", be there or be square:

http://www.ultimosciencefestival.com/usf09/

I'll be there ;-) Attached some recent photos dumped from my camera:

Photo 1: Golden Georgia in Athol Bay.
Photo 2: Beautiful ferry "Bundeena" at the Fish Markets.
Photo 3: In the bow thruster compartment on Bella Vista.

Re: Many Earths + Sharks in Sydney Harbour‏

(21/02/09)

Everyone knows about the recent shark attacks we've had in Sydney lately but I caught one shark red handed on camera trying to have a feed. I saw one in Rose Bay a couple years ago chasing a runabout, obviously the shark must have been really hungry, I've never seen a shark so big before, it was huge!

Does anyone know why there are so many passenger ships coming to Sydney lately? The paper on thursday was saying 27 passenger ships are coming in the next 27 days didn't say much else. Queen Victoria is in CQ at the moment and Queen Mary is coming as well. Just as we were dropping off at casino last night, the Tahitian Princess was departing Darling Harbour...

Following up the many Earths post, for those interested:

- Where are these Earths? NASA is launching its Earth hunter Kepler mission next month (March 5):
 http://kepler.nasa.gov/

- How do we get to them? Those into Propulsion Physics might be interested in this year's SPESIF in a few days time:
http://ias-spes.org/SPESIF.html

Why is the sea blue? (02/02/09)

Anyone wondered why the deep ocean is blue? The water in a glass doesn't look blue... What's going on? Reflection from the blue sky? Since you guys work on the water you better go find out! Stephan in his 29th January blogpost gives a good article explaining how "Beautiful physics is hidden below the blue surface of the ocean.":

http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2009/01/water-is-blue-because-water-is-blue.html

There's also a good photo showing the difference between normal water (H2O) and heavy water (D2O). Deuterium is a heavy version of hydrogen in the water molecule, and makes for about 0.015% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in the oceans on Earth. In 1944 a commando sabotaged the ferry Hydro in Norway to stop the Nazis getting hold of a shipment of heavy water for their nuclear physics research:

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

They made a movie of it on DVD called "The Heroes of Telemark".