A Toaster vs. Large Hadron Collider

bird shit comet  © the cinemascapist

I probably couldn't tell you how the inner components of a toaster work. I definitely am clueless and in awe of tech like microchips and cell phones as well. These are just a few of the many, many reasons that I will never become a physicists or cosmologist. This is also why I am still reading (actually reading again) an article in the NY Times regarding the discovery of the Higgs Boson (God Particle) that was published this past March. Even though these things intrigue to no end, my mind struggles to grasp what exactly they are talking about.

One simple stat I thought I'd share from this article, as I am still trying to decipher the gist of the Higgs Boson discovery and will post at a later date if I can, is the process of finding the God particle. The Hadron Collider is giant circle that extends for 17 miles underneath the Swiss and French countrysides and at full power, protons race around the entire loop 11,245 times per second!


What fascinates me most about this stat is not the fact that CERN scientists can manipulate protons and get them up to that incredible speed, it's the fact that they can measure the exact speed...

11,245 times per second

Not approximately 11,000 times per second or "a whole buncha times" as I would probably guess. But exactly 11,245 times. They are measuring the speed of something going around a 17 mile loop 11,245 per second. Per Second. Every one second they are measuring 11,245 laps by a proton.

If I can't wrap my head around that, how the hell am I supposed to understand the Higgs Boson?

we are all star bellied sneetches...

portion of stars from the tile floor galaxy © the cinemascapist

Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.
- Dr. Seuss

Oh, how right you were Dr. Seuss.

I know it's hard to consider, but your entire physical being was once part of a star. Before our atoms evolved into what you and I are today, we were a part of an orgasmic series of thermonuclear reactions that spewed elements like iron, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen into the universe as stars died and exploded. Thus becoming the fertilizer for planet earth and eventually humanity.

So if we evolved from the most primordial hydrogen and helium, should helium and hydrogen be considered life or potential life? Think about that next time you're talking in a silly voice from sucking on a balloon. You could be exhaling an entire new species.

Pink Floyd and the Northern Lights

Clear Sky Supernova #1  © the cinemascapist

Aurora Borealis, more commonly called the Northern Lights, is a natural version of the Pink Floyd Laser shows that you saw as a kid at your local science center. And if you have Glaucoma or are going through Chemo therapy, I have been told that Northern Lights and Floyd laser shows are both significantly enhanced through a prescribed medicine.

Science centers are found all over the planet, but your chances at catching a Northern Lights show are between slim and none if you live much lower than the Canadian border. I've had the opportunity to spot them a few times up here in the Adirondack Mountains because of the clear skies, unpolluted by artificial light, and the 20 below zero night-time temperatures.

But good news might be coming to folks that hail from cities like New York, Boise, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Portland, Des Moines, and others along a similar latitude. In three to four months, our sun is going to completely flip it's magnetic poles from north to south. No cause for alarm though, this won't turn our world upside down or end life on earth. This process happens every 11 years or so.

The last flip happened in 2000 and the resulting flares and convulsions from the sun may have disrupted a few cell phone calls and pay-per-view UFC matches, but that was the extent of it. But scientist predict that this next Solar Maximum (as the process is called) will be the strongest in a very long time. If this reversal is anything as large as the 1859 Solar Maximum that spewed flares so intense that they bombarded our atmosphere and were seen as far south as Italy, then I suspect that residents in the cities cited above will have a good chance at seeing this awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.

So keep your ears posted for news on the reversal (NASA.gov and Sciencemag.org are two good sources) and make sure your iPod has plenty of Pink Floyd tunes to accompany your viewing party. Glaucoma and chemo patients should also stockpile medicine for the event.

We Do or Don't Surrender...?!

Cobweb Neula  © the cinemascapist

Now a bit of news closer to home and poor planning by NASA.

5 of the 6 American flags planted on the Lunar surface during the Apollo missions of the 1960's - 1970's have been found and are still standing. Buzz Aldrin believes that the sixth missing flag was toppled over by the rocket blast during their lift off from the surface (nice going Buzz).

And why should you/we care?

Because after 40+ years of ultraviolet bombardment and extreme temperature fluctuations, it is assumed that the flags are completely void of the familiar stars and stripes and now resemble that of a truce/surrender flag.

If we don't prioritize and send up replacement flags made from "spaceproof" material, chances are that our first visitors will assume we've already surrendered. Then, without warning or attempting to contact us, they will swoop down and invade by means of death and destruction. And nobody wants that, not even Will Smith.

Psychedlic Mind Expansion 101

PL Asphalt Galaxy #2  © the cinemascapist

“You have to take seriously the notion that understanding the universe is your responsibility, because the only understanding of the universe that will be useful to you is your own understanding.” ― Terence McKenna 

From the infinitesimally smallest particle to the immeasurably vast expanse of space, I think the only way our limited human brains can even come close to grasping what this all really means, is with the assistance of mind expanding psychedelics. I firmly believe that a prerequisite of at least 2 years in the field of psychedelic mind expansion should be a prerequisite for all astrophysicists and cosmologists.

Chuck Berry reaches the edge of our Solar System...

the faint edge of the Drywall Galaxy Heliosphere on the border of the Interstellar Medium

On September 5, 1977 (3 months before my birth), NASA launched Voyager 1. It's mission was to study the outer limits of our solar system and to break through the Heliosphere into the Interstellar Medium. A quick breakdown... The Heliosphere is the bubble that our solar system safely exists inside of. It protects our planets from cosmic rays n' such. It functions similarly to the way our atmosphere protects earth. The Interstellar Medium is the space in the Milky Way that lies between other star systems & nebulae within the Milky Way. It is unclear what trajectory or path Voyager 1 will take once it's within the Interstellar Medium.

As of March 20, 2012, Voyager 1 reached the edge of the Heliosphere. Whether it is currently in the Interstellar Medium or within some previously unknown portion of the solar system is still being debated. 

Kudos (or "big ups" as the kids say) to NASA for launching something nearly 36 years ago (now at a distance of 11.5 trillion miles) and having it still remain operational. Scientist are still sending Voyager 1 commands and collecting data. Sadly, it is nearing the final stages of it's life. Several instruments have already broken down and it is expected to fully cease function by 2025. From there it will continue to travel until collision or confiscation, the latter of which is, by far, the most desirable and exciting outcome.

THE GOLDEN DISC: On board Voyager 1 is a gold-plated disc which loosely represents humanities portfolio. Photos of humans and other life forms, a greeting from the president (Jimmy Carter), a melody of sounds from babies crying (why would anyone enjoy this sound?), whales singing, waves breaking, and music. Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" is one of the songs included on the disc. No doubt to show whatever life form that happens upon this disc, that we are a friendly, energetic, hip gyrating race.

If the disc is discovered and deciphered by a life form that possess the ability to travel through space (I assume there are directions to earth on this disc), they will undoubtedly hightail it to earth and then down to Louisiana close to New Orleans, way back up in the woods among the evergreens. Searching for a cabin made of earth and wood, and the country boy we called Johnny B. Goode. Even though he never learned to read or write so well, the look forward to hearing him play his guitar like he was ringing a bell.

there's gold in them thar supernovas

near collision of two neutron stars in the rotten wood plank nedbula  ©  the cinemascapist

Astronomer's discover the origins of Gold from cataclysmic stellar explosions.
(or so they think for now)

Laymen's terms: Two very old ass stars crashed into each other and a river of gold larger than the earth came spewing from their arses like a pot at the end of a Leprechaun's rainbow.

my caricaturization of
a gold "grill"

scientific (using that term loosely) terms: Scientist have stumbled upon a huge tail of radioactive elements that was the result of a collision of two neutron stars while scanning the heavens for gamma-ray bursts.

Let's start with gamma-ray bursts. These are extremely energetic explosions, the biggest of any kind in the universe some say* (*wikipedia). Not sure exactly why they were looking for these events or what they might be trying to find from them (that'll be a read for another day), but they were, and they found gold.

This explosion was the result of two neutron stars colliding (reenactment photo above). Neutron stars are wicked dense balls of neutron rock left after a star dies from a gravitational implosion. When these two balls collide the explosion causes quite a commotion in the immediately area. This one caused a black hole and a large area of radioactive elements (iron, thorium, uranium).

Long story short... Out of this radioactive wasteland they discovered gold. So much gold that they estimate it's mass to be 10 times that of our moon with a street value of $10 octillion (FACT: I've never written nor said the word octillion until today). With this find they hypothesize that all the gold in the cosmos stems from these types of explosions.

So who's down with smashing two dense balls together to see if we can make gold? You bring the rocks, I'll bring the muscle.

May we have your liver then?

Massive Black Hole in the Ant Hill galaxy

"So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, How amazingly unlikely is your birth, And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth."

- Watch the Galaxy Song, Monty Python

Buckle Up...

Sandy Pines Nebula #1  © the cinemascapist

Our Milky Way is floating along at an unfathomable 250 miles per second.

Our spiral neighbor galaxy, Andromeda, is traveling at a hefty 68 miles per second.

We are traveling towards each other.

Enjoy the thought. 

Loner 308.9, plus a send off for Mother Earth.

PL Asphalt Galaxy #1  © the cinemascapist

I was reading about CFBDSIRJ214947.2-040308.9, or as I like to call it, Loner 308.9. A vagabond planet (Isolated Planetary Mass Object) that meanders through our galaxy without any concern for planetary responsibilities or cosmic hierarchy. While it is a registered member of the Milky Way Galaxy Club, it is without a star. It doesn't spend its life endlessly circling and twirling around a parent object. It is free to explore the galaxy and to enjoy all the sites and sounds there are to offer. I'm sure there is probably some added safety and security when you belong to one of the millions of solar systems in the galaxy club, with gravity and all that orbital path chaos that seems to protect and detour debris that could cause a nasty crash and gash with a planet, but who wants to live a solitary, sheltered life in a boring planetary system? Where's the culture? What about the other corners of the galaxy? What about even hopping out of the galaxial orbit into the nothingness between galaxies?

This got me to thinking about Earth. How cool would it be for Mother Earth if she decided to drop out and run away from home, leaving her 7 siblings planets and parent star behind (I grew up thinking she had 8 siblings, but it turns out that Pluto, the runt of the litter, was cold, unfriendly, and not even family. What a liar and a douche). Doesn't she deserve a break? Being covered with lava filled boils for centuries, her face frozen for years and years, giant clumsy bird-brain lizards galloping freely, followed by the current day rash of advanced apes tinkering and probing at her. I'd have taken a flea bath long before now if I was her.

My hope is that we can somehow find a way to exist on our own in the galaxy/universe, get off her back and give her a nice little shove to send her off, breaking her orbital chain. Before you tree huggers start crying that she's too sensitive and fragile for that, she needs to be taken care of, she will perish out there, etc... guess what... she's a giant fucking space rock with a molten core. She doesn't need this atmosphere with it's lush trees and pristine waters, and she definitely does not need us. She is a sexy, young space chick that will be the envy of all the planets and solar systems that she comes across.

She is a rock star and I wish her a long, safe journey.