Spooky action vs. spooky communication
General · Language · Problem

Spooky action vs. spooky communication

John Healy2 Comments

Is communication at faster than the speed of light possible – actual, instantaneous communication across vast distances using entangled (so-called) particles? After a conversation with an acquaintance last June … He was reading Katie Mack’s book re cosmology, and said that entanglement permitted instantaneous communication. He referenced information theory. And that information requires no “embodiment.”… Continue reading Spooky action vs. spooky communication

Visualization In two places at once – popsci call-outs
General · Language · Media · Problem

In two places at once – popsci call-outs

John Healy1 Comment

[Communicating science series][Gobbledygook ahoy, PopSci call-outs, …] “Can particles really be in two places at once?“ So remote from everyday experience: How to describe physical behavior that human communication never evolved to describe? To describe something that the mere act of observation extinguishes? Use an abstract symbolic framework like mathematics? And then “convert” mathematical expressions… Continue reading In two places at once – popsci call-outs

General · Language · Media · Problem

Higgs 10 years on – expectations for a path beyond

John Healy

[Draft – more citations to come] Lately I’ve encountered many articles about research on the Higgs boson. Retrospectives, ongoing discoveries, and expectations for the upgraded LHC and its third run. The stuff of careers for 1000’s of scientists. This research is a fascinating effort akin to “particle archeology.” Inferring – detecting evidence for – the… Continue reading Higgs 10 years on – expectations for a path beyond

NASA SDO eclipse 20220629-frame Living with stellar storms – the moods of our Sun
General · Language · Media

Living with stellar storms – the moods of our Sun

John Healy6 Comments

[“Living with a star” series] [This post was inspired by a Wired article (noted below).] Much has been written about our good fortune to live on a water world (with a stabilizing moon) in a goldilocks zone of a solar system with a star in a stable stage [1]. But stellar and planetary conditions are… Continue reading Living with stellar storms – the moods of our Sun

Twisted fields Knotty fields – quantum-topology-knot theory
General · Language · Problem

Knotty fields – quantum-topology-knot theory

John Healy2 Comments

[“Knot theory” series] Regarding the topology of fundamental particles as spinors, like the electron, I prefer the term knot, rather than kink or twist or vortex [1]. Then I’m curious about ordering the complexity (à la generations) of these knots. And whether such knots are situated in additional dimensions. Wiki: In quantum field theory, the… Continue reading Knotty fields – quantum-topology-knot theory

General · Language · Media · Photo

A ringed darkness at our Milky Way’s center – EHT images Sagittarius A*

John Healy2 Comments

[“Our Milky Way” series] Years in the works. The announcement had been anticipated for awhile. The big news was released today: First image of Black Hole at the center of our galaxy. Heart of the Milky Way, eh. This is about more than synthesizing an image from photos taken by “telescopes on high mountaintops” positioned… Continue reading A ringed darkness at our Milky Way’s center – EHT images Sagittarius A*

General · Language · Media

The scale of things – our solar system

John Healy4 Comments

[“Communicating science” series] This post celebrates communicating the cosmos at a scale local to the nearest star, our Sun. Our solar system. A recent Science Alert article acclaims a science communicator and his visualization of the scale of things. In this case, the scale of planets (also Ceres, Pluto, our Moon) and the Sun. Perhaps… Continue reading The scale of things – our solar system

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300 A universe without math?
General · Language · Problem

A universe without math?

John Healy5 Comments

The context “He [Einstein] could construct complex equations, but more important, he knew that math is the language nature uses to describe her wonders.” – Isaacson, Walter. Einstein: His Life and Universe. Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. • YouTube > The Science Asylum > “Is Math the Language of the Universe?” (published 12-31-2016) (video description)… Continue reading A universe without math?

What the heck is quantum entanglement?
General · Language · Media · Problem

What the heck is quantum entanglement?

John Healy3 Comments

[“Communicating science” series] [“Quantum foundations” series] [“What the heck” series] I’ve written about entanglement in prior posts and comments. Over a year ago, I also wrote some preliminary notes. A recent issue of The Caltech Weekly (April 14, 2022) prompted this post. In part because of my ongoing search for better, more compelling analogies (for… Continue reading What the heck is quantum entanglement?