Life Definition and 1000 Threads

  1. H

    Calculate Money Owed Between A, B & C in Shared Apartment Flat

    I'm a collage student, I rented an apartment flat with my 2 friends. We bought all house things by each of us paying 1/3 of their price. An now we are to break apart, I decided to make a drawing (like lottery) to decide who take which house hold. Assume that, A, B, C: Names of three...
  2. B

    What's the probability of a universe capable of life?

    What's the probability of a universe capable of life? In other words, what's the probability that the laws of the universe allow for life? And if the probability is low, does that imply there are infinite universes? Or there is a "god"?
  3. B

    What Are the Chances of Life on Jupiter's Moons and Other Saturnian Moons?

    I was watching a video on the JIMO mission to Jupiter's moons: Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. What is the approximate chance of life for these moons? And what about Titan, and Enceladus (misspelled?), can they be ruled out? What is the likelihood for water on these moons? If there is...
  4. M

    Traveling anywhere in the galaxy in your life time

    If we pick a target star 1000 light years away, from the point of view of an observer on Earth we will need at least 1000 years to send a ship there even with the ship traveling near the speed of light. But, from the point of view of someone on that ship that travels with near the speed of...
  5. R

    Optimizing Your Urban Homestead with Backyard Chickens

    The Backyard Chickens The Backyard Chickens gives you information about raising chickens in the city. We try to provide information to help you have a successful and enjoyable time raising your chickens.
  6. G

    Real-Life Free Fall: Factors Affecting Rate of Descent

    I was curious what some factors may contribute to free falling objects not falling at the same rate as would be expected in a vacuum. I remember from physics classes that two objects should fall at the same speed regardless of their weight. I know that surface area and air resistance plays a...
  7. EnumaElish

    Gulf spill, bioengineered life, and oil-eating bacteria

    Are there plans to treat the BP oil spill with oil-eating bacteria? http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/04/can-microbes-save-the-gulf-beach.html
  8. W

    What is the future of synthetic life?

    BBC News It's going to be a pretty interesting field to get into now.
  9. EnumaElish

    What is the Impact of Youth and Money on the Search for Meaning in Life?

    http://www.ted.com/talks/viktor_frankl_youth_in_search_of_meaning.html
  10. C

    Exploring Habitable Zones: Searching for Life Beyond Earth

    With the confirmation of water on at least two other major bodies in our solar system so far (Mars, Moon), has this expanded the range of the "habitable zone" when searching for locations of possible life in the solar system?
  11. M

    I got a C in discrete math My life is over

    I think I've screwed up my future. I am in my third year, double major in physics and math (math major more to supplement my understanding of physics), and this semester was just horrid. I made the mistake of moving off campus, working two jobs, and in the time I had to study, could not focus...
  12. F

    The Eternal Cycle of Life: Nature, Death and Burial

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The origin of life and humans is unknown.That is to say that humans do not know how they came into being and why humans come to this world. We only know that life and humanity is the product of natural...
  13. M

    Another Late in Life Physics thread

    Another "Late in Life Physics" thread I should really say "Really really late-in-life" I'm 56. About 20 years ago, I flushed myself out of grad school (physics) largely over just being fed-up. Lately I've been reading again because of the huge number of very good books immediately...
  14. wolram

    Jet Engine Life Span: What to Know

    Does a jet engine have a life span?
  15. D

    It's tragic but true: love is life and life is love

    If you love something, let it go...if it comes back, it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was! What if the day she/he comes back...you are long gone? What if some day you learn that she/he is long gone?
  16. D

    Half Life Questions: Solving Physics 30 Issues

    i am taking upgrading, and one of the main reasons i failed physics 30 to start with was due to half life. the book can't explain it good enough to me and either could my teacher. so i have a few questions that i would appreciate a starting point for. How much time elapses before 90% of the...
  17. U

    How to find the mass of a compound given the half life and activity?

    Homework Statement What mass of Na2 SO4 has an activity of 10.0 mCi? Sulfur-38 has an atomic mass of 38.0 and a half life of 2.87h Homework Equations Half life= 0.693/ k Rate= kN The Attempt at a Solution I'm not sure where to begin the sulfur-38 part is throwing me off All I...
  18. Chi Meson

    Finally Now I can carry on with my life

    Just the very things: First:http://bluecanarynightlight.com/" Then:http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/lighthouse.html" Some people know what I'm talking about.
  19. B

    Life Span & Size: Research & Average Ratios

    There is an obvious connecting with the size of a living creature and how long it lives. I know that this is not always true but for the most part it is. I was wondering what this field of research this is called. Is there an average life span to mass ratio?
  20. E

    Introductory Calculus Based Physics, Help save Matt's life. He needs you.

    Hello all, this is my first of likely many posts here at the newly discovered Physics Forums. I'll do my best to help others out, and hopefully will receive the same in return. I've gotten through about 3/4 of a large problem that I'm working through in my book (no solution manual FTL). Here's...
  21. C

    How Long Ago Did the Supernova Occur That Created Earth's Heavy Elements?

    All the very heavy atoms found in the Earth were created long ago by nuclear fusion reactions in a supernova, an exploding star. The debris spewed out by the supernova later coalesced to form the sun and the planets of our solar system. Nuclear physics suggests that the uranium isotopes 235U...
  22. M

    What is the anthropic principle and how does it relate to defining life?

    As far as I know, there isn't any definition of "life" that holds up to a physics standard. Sure enough, we can talk about (bio) chemistry and the specific arrangements of certain molecules, but what I'm missing is a simple, physical definition of life. I know that Erwin Schroedinger once...
  23. D

    Circular Polarization and the Search for Semi-Intelligent Life

    It took me a little while to wrap my head around circularly polarized light, or more specifically how this can be done "passively". Wikipedia didn't do much help until I found the article at Polarizer, if any of you were wondering how the new 3D movie technology works. My first question is...
  24. E

    Life of a Theoretical Physicist?

    I am a junior in high school in AP Physics. Although not in the curriculum, I have been reading about theoretical quantum mechanics, string theory, et cetera for the past few months and I am extremely intrigued. If I do end up furthering my "physics career," where might it take me? There...
  25. C

    Is Life on Jupiter's Moons More Probable Than on Earth-like Planets?

    why planethunters and astrobiologists are concentrating on finding life on Earth like planet with an orbit around host star rather than on jupiterlike planets moon i was browsing through the essentials of complex life to evolve on a planet. i am sure you all pretty much know that. plate...
  26. G

    A universe that supports intelligent life is likely to

    If there existed one universe that could support intelligent life on its own, it is likely to lead to a myriad of simulated universes. True or false?
  27. D

    Are Nuclear Engineers Still Innovating Despite Few New Plants Being Built?

    Where does a nuclear engineer work? At a nuclear plant? Out of an office? There have not been any new nuclear plants built in the US in many, many years. So is there any new designing/innovation going on or is it just maintaining day-to-day operations (checking dials, running diagnostics and...
  28. Z

    Improve Fatigue Life with Shot Peening: Compressive Stress Benefits

    How does shot peening help improve fatigue life, or rather, how does the compressive surface stress imposed help improve fatigue life? How does materials having high elastic moduli and large grain size prevent creep?
  29. S

    What is the single most important thing for life to exist in the universe?

    I know a lot of people say water or carbon and some people even say fusion or gravity. I think these are just the building blocks we happen to find in our universe but I think life could exist without any of those things as long as the laws of physics of any particular universe allow for...
  30. G

    Visualizing daily life through broader EM spectrum

    Sorry if this isn't the best forum for this question; putting it here due to a gut feeling cos my brain wouldn't tell me where to put it. I'm thinking of an idea for an art project. I'd like to somehow depict what a boring, every-day scene might look like if our eyes could see more of the EM...
  31. Greg Bernhardt

    Second Life Continues to Blur the Line on its Currency

    More...
  32. 2

    Infinite of finite life for a shaft

    I am having trouble finding the method to figure out if a shaft has finite or infinite life if it is subjected to a fluctuating load. I know how to solve for n(factor of safety) in these types of problems. Is there a value that if n is above it has infinite life.
  33. Y

    Real Life Applications of Circular Motion involving Liquids

    Guys, our thesis defense is near already. It will be this thursday. I just want to know some more real life applications of Circular Motion involving liquids. The experiment we performed was we placed water inside a bucket then we spin it around. (Vertically) Some water spilled but most of the...
  34. D

    If anyone needs motivation to keep an active life

    If anyone needs motivation to keep an active life, or work shoulder to shoulder with his/her children to prevent them from ending as adolescent fat slobs, here is something to think about: story of a 11 year double amputee excelling at wrestling...
  35. J

    Irrational Numbers and Real Life I need 6 answers

    Once again my professor asked us to ask 6 people the following question and see how they answer it so if you could respond and give an answer, I would really appreciate it. And if possible can you also tell me a little bit about your mathematics background? We are supposed to write up what...
  36. F

    Physics Life after Theoretical Particle Physics Ph.D.

    Hi, I am half way of a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics in an European university. I have started to worry about my future after learning how really difficult it is to get a position, how much do postdocs earn and how difficult it is for some to find a good job outside academy. The truth...
  37. H

    The Importance of Showing Empathy and Compassion in Relationships

    The Greatest Pain in Life The greatest pain in lifeis not to die, but to be ignored To lose the person you love somuch to another who doesn't care at all The greatest pain in life, is not to die, but to be forgotten When you show someone your innermost thoughts and he laughs in...
  38. E

    The Fermi Paradox: Are We Alone in the Universe?

    Rare Earth or rampant life? I remember watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos and seeing the equation for life in the universe for the first time. It really made me wonder if indeed we might find some form of life at one of our nearby extra solar systems. But I remember even then wondering if the...
  39. M

    Biology life span of nerve and red blood cells

    Question given. Predict how the average life span of a nerve cell located in the brain differs from the average life span of a red blood cell. Provide a basis based on cellular features. I know that the average life span of a nerve cell is the life span of the organism which it lives in. The...
  40. Q

    Is Directed Panspermia the Key to Spreading Life Across the Universe?

    Hi All Following this Physorg article... http://www.physorg.com/news184915200.html" ...here's the webpage of the Professor's Directed Panspermia Society... "[URL Society for Life in Space (SOLIS)[/URL] ...in which he describes a program for propagating microbes throughout the Galaxy, as a...
  41. C

    Could Titan Support Life Like Earth in the Future?

    Hello, I'm new here, and I really don't know much about astrophysics so would appreciate it if your replies were as simple as possible I've read that scientists are hopeful to find life on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, because the planet resembles Earth in its earlier stages. I have a few...
  42. Ivan Seeking

    Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier

    I am watching this now and it looks pretty interesting. One thing that caught my attention was a segment about a Japanese school that teaches internet etiquette to young children. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/etc/synopsis.html Watch online...
  43. Q

    Perceiving the expansion of the universe in daily life

    Hi, A few days ago I attended an astronomy lecture and while explaining the basic theoretical background of astronomy the lecturer compared the expansion of the universe from the big bang onwards to a balloon filling with air. Since the galaxies/stars are (loosely speaking) dots fixed on...
  44. I

    Need help understanding Half life, decay constant & activity equations

    Hi guys i'm having much difficulties in understanding the relations between half life, decay constant and activity. I'll explain what i known here. T^{\frac{1}{2}} is the half life which is the time to reduce the nuclides by half. \lambda is the decay constant which can be solved...
  45. Pattonias

    Questioning "Proof" of Past Life on Mars Found Through Rocks on Earth

    I'm skeptical of "proof" of past life on Mars as as result of rocks found on Earth. I'm skeptical of "proof" of past life on Mars as a result of rocks found on Earth. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/285660" Wouldn't real proof be found on the planet? I thought these Martian...
  46. E

    Could Ammonia be the Basis of Life?

    I'm guessing this is the right forum to post in. Ammonia shares many properties with water. It is polar, it is amphoteric, it reacts with itself to form its acid and base conjugates NH4+ and NH2-. Just as water is our basis of life, could another species use ammonia like we use water...
  47. A

    Can Physicists Balance Career and Social Life?

    I love Physics and Math and really want to become good a it. I like to make exercise, hang out with friends, have a girlfriend and maybe in the future have a family. I know that you have to put the effort to succeed but i like to know if at least let you time to do the thing i mentioned above.
  48. rhody

    ITouch application: disable video, keep audio saving battery life

    I have a first generation Apple iTouch 16 GB, and frequently download podcasts to watch and listen to. With over 1 million applications written, I have searched in vain to locate an application that will allow you to launch a video, and instead of displaying video and audio to suppress the...
  49. T

    Can anybody tell me what the life of a aerospace engineer is like

    can anybody tell me what the life of a aerospace engineer is like
  50. S

    Starting a life and Self Fulfillment

    I've gone through both "ZapperZ's "So you want to be a Physicist?"" and "The Should-I-Become-An-Engineer? Thread", and I am still having a tough time figuring out what exactly I want to do. Both threads, and many other threads, have given me a lot of insight about what each field involves, but a...
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