Tag: physicist

The Coldest Natural and Artificial Temperature in the Universe

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The coldest temperature ever measured and/or observed was within a controlled laboratory experiment in Germany; an experiment entitled “Time‑Domain Matter‑Wave Lens System for Atomic Clouds”. During this experiment, physicists cooled a cloud of rubidium atoms to 0.000000000038 (38 trillionths) of 1 degree above absolute zero which is -273.15 degrees Celsius, colder than the vacuum of space, slowing these atoms to a near motionless state for a very short period of time which created a fleeting state of matter existing closer to perfect stillness than anywhere or anything else within the universe. This experiment was the closest scientists have come to achieving complete absence of motion within a controlled setting. Contemporary models of physical cosmology postulate that the theoretical minimum possible temperature is absolute zero, which has a value of 0 kelvin. Temperatures below this are believed to be physically impossible because particle energies become so tiny that all molecular motion ceases to continue functioning, allowing quantum effects to dominate, and producing exotic states of matter (e.g. Bose-Einstein condensates in which matter behaves as a single quantum entity etc.). The coldest naturally occurring place within the universe is the Boomerang Nebula, a dying star cloud located approximately 5,000 light years away from the Earth. The Boomerang Nebula has been measured at 1 degree above absolute zero, making it even colder than the faint afterglow of the Big Bang itself, yet the Time‑Domain Matter‑Wave Lens System for Atomic Cloud experiment is 26,000,000,000x (26 billion) colder and closer to absolute zero than the Boomerang Nebula or any other naturally occurring region with low heat

The 19th Century Discovery of Perfect Reverberation

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The discovery and application of perfect reverberation within opera houses, theaters, university concert venues, etc. was devised by Harvard University physicist Wallace Sabine in the 1890’s. By playing the pipe organ and using a stop watch, Sabine took thousands of measurements and discovered the perfect ratio between room volume and sound absorbing materials. A reverb time of 1.9 seconds, an application of the Sabine Equation, allows for perfect reverberation so that speech and music is intelligible to all audience members, no matter their position in the venue which would otherwise be impossible (e.g. cathedral reverberation)

The Etymology of “Matter Plasma” and “Blood Plasma”

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The term “plasma” is derived from the ancient Greek term “plassein” which means to “shape or mold something”. Plasma related to physics, specifically matter which has had its electrons separated from the rest of its atoms, forcing it to become an ion, more specifically a mixture of free floating electrons and ions, was first identified by British chemist and physicist Sir William Crookes in 1879 using cathode ray tubes. Crookes referred to this discovery initially as “radiant matter” but it became known as “plasma” in 1928 because of American chemist Irving Langmuir. Langmuir was exploring ionized gases, gases which were subjected to strong electrical fields to remove electrons from their orbital shells. Langmuir used the analogy of blood to explain this phenomena, with the ions representative of corpuscles and the remaining gas thought of as clear liquid. Blood is similar to plasma in that it is primarily comprised of 2 components which include its clear liquid and the corpuscles/cells entrapped within this fluid. This clear liquid was named “plasma” by Czech physiologist Johannes Purkinje In 1927. The definition of matter plasma and blood plasma however have absolutely nothing to do with eachother physically, aside from the fact that two different scientists had the idea to use the same term at approximately the same time. It is believed that these two scientists based their name upon the ancient Greek definition of the term “plasma”

Hugh Everett’s “Many World’s” Theory

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Hugh Everett designed the Many World’s Theory which states that if in the first world a particle is found on the left side, in the second world that same particle is found on the right side, with both findings being equally valid. Everett’s main conclusion was that when a particle splits in 2 to act as a wave, the universe also splits into 2 pieces, only going through 1 of the 2 available slits, but doing so in separate universes. The Many World’s theory is now generally accepted as fact by most physicists, however Everett died before receiving the recognition he deserved for his work. Everett’s theory was treated with a frosty reception when it was first released, as most scientists considered such a theory to be science fiction and speculation rather than proper observed and analyzed fact

The Ancient Vedic Texts and Their Relation to the Big Bang Theory

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The Vedas are a collection of texts which have not been modified or updated as language has progressed. The term “veda” means “knowledge” in Sanskrit. The Vedic texts were read and understood by Nobel Prize laureate physicists Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrödinger, and Albert Einstein, as well as the immensely influential physicist Robert Oppenheimer and incredibly revolutionary engineer and inventor Nicola Tesla. These texts had a profound influence upon modern thinking and modern physics. In the Rig Veda, creation is said to have begun suddenly and explosively, from an infinitesimal point of pure energy, which is essentially akin to a rudimentary explanation of the Big Bang Theory. Vedic texts are known to be at least 3000 years old but are suspected by many to be much older

The Advent of the Kaleidoscope

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The kaleidoscope was invented in 1816 by Sir David Brewster who was a Scottish mathematician and physicist noted for his various contributions to the field of optics. Brewster patented his invention in 1817 but thousands of unauthorized reproductions were constructed and sold, resulting in Brewster receiving little financial benefit from his invention. Brewster named the kaleidoscope as he did because of the Greek term “kalos” which means “beautiful”, “eidos” which means “form”, and “scopos” which means “watcher”