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  1. M

    Accelerating Universe and the Loss of Mass

    I had a thought the other day that I would quite like feedback on: Could the universes accelerating expansion be fuelled by the amount of mass in the universe decreasing? Is it possible that a black hole could become so massive that it tears away from/gets pinched off spacetime, how much mass...
  2. M

    How do I correct Windows Pacman flaw?

    Sounds like you've inadvertently switched from insert to overwrite mode. If it happens again try pressing the Insert key on your keyboard. PS That is proably the most compliacted description of that problem I have ever seen ;)
  3. M

    Best Type of computer to use?

    You might not like ms too much but <cliche>Don't cut off your nose to spite your face</cliche>. The best advice I can give you is to find the software you want to run and then get the platform it runs best on, whatever that might be. If it seems to be much of a muchness then Linux is free...
  4. M

    Xor of multiple bytes

    As far as I know an XOR operation can only have 2 operands. Having said that I don't see why you couldn't have an operator with a truth table like so... a b c 3bitXOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 And I think that would give you a different...
  5. M

    Dark Matter and black holes

    Interesting, and I find the concept of some sort of “super insulated sun” amusing but… If dark matter cannot interact with itself, why would a dense collection of it cause an increase in temperature? In fact, if dark matter is so weekly interacting, could several particles exist at the same...
  6. M

    Dark Matter and black holes

    Ah. OK. Could it fall into stable orbits around massive objects or is the reason we do not observe the effect of dark matter’s gravity locally because it has a uniform density throughout the galaxy? As the solar system was forming would you expect dark matter to go through the same "sieving"...
  7. M

    Dark Matter and black holes

    If dark matter has mass, interacts with gravity, and is pervasive then why isn’t it gathering at points of mass and turning all the suns into black holes?
  8. M

    A Bomb in Space

    It does look cool, look better with a big bull rising out of the flames though! :wink: So they do exist then. I take it they’re made of whatever’s left of whatever exploded? Does the force of the blast travel primarily in this plane? How about if a nuclear or chemical explosive where to...
  9. M

    A Bomb in Space

    As an aside to this question, whenever I see an explosion in space on TV it always has a taurus carrying the energy away. Does this really happen and if so what defines its plane?
  10. M

    Physics and Computer Science

    Going back to arrays... An understanding of physics or maths is not a prerequisite for imagining a 4d array. A 1d array can be imagined as a line of boxes (each box containing some piece of information). Reference by box number A 2d array is a stack of these information boxes. Reference...
  11. M

    Magnetic Energy

    My reference point would be any magnetic body. I am holding a magnet does it "contain" MPE in relation to all other magnetic bodies?
  12. M

    Magnetic Energy

    Does this mean that every magnetic body in the universe has (near maximum) MPE in relation to every other magnet in the universe. Thats a lot of MPE, where does it keep it all?!
  13. M

    Magnetic Energy

    Separating the magnets and letting them slam back together again makes sense to me. It’s when you allow the magnets to join and then separate them that bothers me. It seems a bit like cause preceding effect - the kinetic energy is released and then I provide the energy used in that release by...
  14. M

    Magnetic Energy

    So are the magnets now slightly less magnetic?
  15. M

    Magnetic Energy

    I place two permanent magnets on a desk so that their poles are orientated for attraction. I take my hands away and they move towards each other. Where does the energy come from? Are the magnets now slightly less magnetic?
  16. M

    Locking, at the speed of light.

    I'm not sure you could make it strong enough. I imagine the systems mass (and hence its inertia) would be approaching infinity as its speed approaches C.
  17. M

    Speed of Light?

    The reason refraction made sense to me was that as light entered a denser medium its speed decreased and due to its frequency remaining the same the wave length also decreased, balancing the equation c=f.<lambda>. This change in wavelength was then responsible for the change in direction...
  18. M

    Solar Windmill

    Lets nail it to the moon.
  19. M

    Solar Windmill

    How fast could a space based windmill turn when driven by the solar wind? Would such a device produce more or less energy than a solar panel of the same cost?
  20. M

    Dimension's i dont get it?

    Sorry I don’t think that’s right. In this analogy the water would represent space. Let’s imagine that swimming pool again only this time it has a metre scale running down each side, and one running down the wall indicating depth. There is a swimmer in the pool and we want to describe his...
  21. M

    How much light does your average home mirror reflect?

    A few questions about mirrors: 1) How much light (as a percentage) does your average home mirror reflect? 2) How much light (as a percentage) does a very high quality mirror reflect? 3) How much does a very high quality mirror cost? Thanks.
  22. M

    Using gravity to explain gravity

    I thought relativity described gravity solely in terms of warped space-time?
  23. M

    Using gravity to explain gravity

    I posted a similar question to this a year or so ago, I’d link to it but it seems to have been lost in various forum updates, is there an archive anywhere? I’ll try and recount the conclusions but my memory is not brilliant so feel free to correct me. Firstly some stuff about the rubber...
  24. M

    Doppler shift and relativity

    Thanks for all the responses. At first I was disapointed with this answer but now I see it was for the best :wink: If I understand this correctly the basic answer to my question seems to be that wavelength is decreased due to length contraction and since c is always constant this means...
  25. M

    Computer and chaos

    No. Any random data generated by a computer is known as pseudorandom, data that has the characteristics of random data but that was created (and can be exactly recreated by) an algorithm. The computer could sample information from the environment (CPU temperature or fan speed would be...
  26. M

    Doppler shift and relativity

    I’m on a train sitting next to an open window - it’s a bit stuffy - traveling towards a station. A siren is sounding at the station. As I travel toward the siren its pitch is higher that it would be if I were stood on the platform. Once I have passed the siren and I’m moving away, its pitch...
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