Today I Learned

[Drakkith]

TIL that I'm(b. May 1959) older than lasers(b. May 1960).

But you are younger than masers.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that I'm(b. May 1959) older than lasers(b. May 1960).

Twasn't quite as bad as when I learned I was older than the Flintstones(b. Sept 1960).

I can recall seeing the premier of The Flintstones.

 

[Grelbr42]

TIL I learn about linking directly to a specific portion of text in a web document, without requiring the author to annotate it with an ID (only Firefox doesn't support it ). The following is an example:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Text_fragments#:~:text=The syntax, follows:

I learned this by searching for text phrases and having Google proffer up links with the search-for-phrase highlighted.

 

[pinball1970]

TIL : Detailed Structure of bacteriophages illustrated https://phys.org/news/2023-05-phage-captured-benefit-biotech-applications.html

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned that the first demonstration of electric street lighting took place in the London of 1848.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that Murray Gell-Mann's father was in range of the blast of the 1920 Wall Street terrorist bombing. "Two pieces of plate glass blew by either side. Either one could have killed him."

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that Enrico Fermi loved L'il Abner comics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmGwZ4LO39Q

 

[strangerep]

You seen this guy? He works through past [Oxford Entry] exam papers.

Sheesh! How much time do the candidates get for this exam?

 

[pinball1970]

Sheesh! How much time do the candidates get for this exam?

2 hours 30

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/admissions-tests/mat

 

[pinball1970]

2 hours 30

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/admissions-tests/mat

It is Oxford so to be expected, like Harvard, MIT and the like? They are ranked high so they want to attract the gifted youngsters.
Put them under pressure a bit?
Cannot be anywhere near those Math Olympiad trials and competitions in terms of pressure. That is crazy at such a young age.

 

[BillTre]

TIL about Weed Wine, something I never heard about before.

Eric Asimov (son of Issac and NY Times wine guy) wrote an article about it.

Here are some excerpts:

Cannabis is legal for recreational use in 22 states, two territories and Washington, D.C. Cannabis for medical use is permitted in 38 states. It can be sold as chocolates and gummy candies, in nonalcoholic beverages and in creams and rubs. Fine chefs prepare cannabis cuisine. Yet the addition of cannabis to any commercially available alcoholic beverage is strictly prohibited.

The main reason is that cannabis is still illegal federally. As the federal government licenses alcoholic products and wineries, commercial production of weed wine cannot be licensed by the states.

Even states that have legalized marijuana prohibit the blending of two different intoxicants, like alcohol and cannabis. Stores that are licensed to sell alcohol are prohibited from selling cannabis, and vice versa.

While cannabis-infused wines or beers are sold commercially, it’s in name only. These beverages are made with drinks that have been dealcoholized.

While the method is uncomplicated, it permits myriad variations, depending on a winemaker’s intent and appetite for experimentation. Simply add cannabis to grape juice as it begins to ferment. The process of fermentation produces heat, which extracts the active ingredients, largely THC, which causes the buzz, and cannabidiol, or CBD, which has a relaxing effect.

Winemakers can choose to add the weed early, allowing it to steep in the juice before fermentation begins, and they can allow the wine to age on the cannabis lees, or remnants, after fermentation, both of which will add aromas and flavors.

He says it is now becoming less popular due to other eatables which are very easy to get.
(I had some great Baklava at a Dead concert once.)

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL that people used to drill a hole in the top of an integrated circuit package in certain Microsoft gaming devices in order to defeat anti-piracy features. Essentially, hacking right into the silicon.

 

[strangerep]

It is Oxford so to be expected, like Harvard, MIT and the like? They are ranked high so they want to attract the gifted youngsters.

I was surprised, and a bit depressed, to find that although I knew immediately how to do (almost) every problem, I kept making silly mistakes when I tried to write out the full solution by hand. I'm so used to doing everything directly in latex, which eliminates a plethora of silly line-to-line copying errors. I'm also accustomed now to looking up (almost) every elementary formula instead of relying of memory (e.g., for trig identities). <Sigh>

Put them under pressure a bit?
Cannot be anywhere near those Math Olympiad trials and competitions in terms of pressure. That is crazy at such a young age.

Hmm. At that age, my self-assured arrogance used to compensate totally for any feeling of anxiety. I never once felt under pressure in any exam (even when I was the only one in my class who managed to complete the final year-12 science exam). If I tried to do a serious exam now under time pressure I'd probably collapse with a heart attack.

 

[KingGambit]

Today I learned that,
Szilard letter was signed on August 2nd 1939,
Wow, that was before Germany Hitler invaded Poland, right. September 1st that year.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It was Einstein name there all along.

Then it intrigued me to search when was Manhattan Project started.
And it was in 1942. January 19th to be exact as FDR signed the Atomic Bomb Project.
And also from that link I search "Oppenheimer" name. It first comes up at July 1942.
Leslie Groves name, September 1942.
So what's taking FDR so long to start that project. When he had Pearl Harbor??

Btw, the United States have had Pearl Harbor since 19th century, if you know what I mean.

 

[PeterDonis]

So what's taking FDR so long to start that project.

It didn't. By early 1940 the US government already had researchers working on nuclear fission. What took until January 1942 was doing enough research to show that an atomic bomb was a real possibility--enough of one to justify a full-on effort to design, produce, test, and deploy bombs.

 

[KingGambit]

It didn't. By early 1940 the US government already had researchers working on nuclear fission...

Oh, that.
And thanks for the information.
I'm aware of Szilard - Einstein letter. I thought the letter was written after Germany invaded Poland, and not before Pearl Harbor, somewhere in 1940. And then I thought that the US Government appointed Leslie Groves a few days later and then Groves approached Oppenheimer, and all this before attack on Pearl Harbor.

And in my opinion regarding US government attitude in WW 2, is that the US gorvernment had tooo much waiting.
Germany had launched blitzkrieg, Benelux fell in three weeks. And in June 1st 1940, German soldiers marched in Paris. V2 had been raining on London and other cities, still the US Gorvernment only gave UK lend lease.
But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, US declared war on Japan and Hitler declared war on US (fortunately), and Churchill declared war on Japan, etc... and then we had D-Day operation. (Neptune)

 

[KingGambit]

Since the coming Chris Nolan's Oppenheimer in the theaters in July 2023, I've been reading Manhattan Project thoroughly.

And I come accross this video today.


Today I learned that Oppenheimer quotes "I'm the destoyer of the world..." long after Trinity Test.
All these years I thought Oppenheimer said "I become death, the destroyer of the world" right after Trinity Test, countdown to zero. How arrogant.
But, no. Oppenheimer still the introvert scientist who dedicated his work in science.
And he quoted Bhagavad Gita, I think in the 60's, judging by his face.
He said this not out of pride or arrogance, but out of exasperation, that the FBI suspected him and interrogated him to be a communist agent.
Okay, so what, I'm the destroyer of the world. Confiscate me, arrrest me!

Oppenheimer, "... a few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty. And to impress him takes on his multiarmed form and says: 'Now I am become death the destroyer of the worlds.' I suppose we all thought that one way or another'"

 

[KingGambit]

Oppenheimer, "... a few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty. And to impress him takes on his multiarmed form and says: 'Now I am become death the destroyer of the worlds.' I suppose we all thought that one way or another'"

Perhaps I was wrong.
If I have to interprete his quotes.
"Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince."
And I think Vishnu in this context is Krishna, one of Vishnu Avatar.
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna. So the "prince" in this quotes is Arjuna.
Yes, Arjuna has some doubt that he has to fight his brothers (Kurava, 100 princess and 1 princest). But Krishna (Vishnu) assured Arjuna that what Arjuna fight are not his brothers but the evils.
Perhaps this what Oppenheimer trying to say.
That Oppenheimer (not as Vishnu, the destroyer of the world. But as Arjuna, the prince), that he/Oppenheimer should do his duty, because I am (Krishna) is the destroyer of the worlds.
And all Arjuna does is only his duty.
And as Oppenheimer himself, I myself reads Mahabharata a lot.

 

[PeterDonis]

I'm aware of Szilard - Einstein letter. I thought the letter was written after Germany invaded Poland

No, it was written on August 2, 1939, according to Wikipedia [1]. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.

And then I thought that the US Government appointed Leslie Groves a few days later and then Groves approached Oppenheimer, and all this before attack on Pearl Harbor.

No, Groves was not appointed to head the Manhattan Project until September 1942, according to Wikipedia [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein–Szilard_letter

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Groves

 

[PeterDonis]

Perhaps I was wrong.

What you quoted is Oppenheimer recalling the Trinity test. Whether he actually said "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" out loud at that time is, I believe, a matter of some debate (other witnesses who were present and nearby differ about what they did or didn't hear him say), but it seems clear that he had the thoughts he describes at the time, not just decades later.

 

[PeterDonis]

If I have to interprete his quotes.

A good discussion of what the quote might actually mean is in this article:

https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/05/23/oppenheimer-gita/

The article is from Alex Wellerstein's blog Nuclear Secrecy, which is worth reading for much more than just this article.

 

[gmax137]

A good discussion of what the quote might actually mean is in this article:

https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/05/23/oppenheimer-gita/

The article is from Alex Wellerstein's blog Nuclear Secrecy, which is worth reading for much more than just this article.

Thanks for that link, @PeterDonis . That blog had dropped off my list.

 

[BillTre]

 

[Drakkith]

Germany had launched blitzkrieg, Benelux fell in three weeks. And in June 1st 1940, German soldiers marched in Paris. V2 had been raining on London and other cities, still the US Gorvernment only gave UK lend lease.

Yep. The public didn't want to help The United Kingdom. It was all that Roosevelt could do just to get Lend Lease passed. We were very 'isolationist' at the time.

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL that the wire wheel (e.g. as used in bicycles) was invented by none other than 19th century aviation pioneer George Cayley.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wheel

 

[Grelbr42]

It didn't. By early 1940 the US government already had researchers working on nuclear fission. What took until January 1942 was doing enough research to show that an atomic bomb was a real possibility--enough of one to justify a full-on effort to design, produce, test, and deploy bombs.

Indeed yes.

I think it's actually in the letter that a snip is posted here that the "lore" at the time was that a uranium-based bomb was possible but might require something that could only be delivered by an ocean ship. They were thinking it might require something like a reactor, and so many many tons of material. So at the time of the letter, folks were thinking that it would be a pretty drastic increase in destructive capability, but they didn't quite have a handle on how drastic. They were thinking in terms of bringing a barge into a harbor and wiping out the harbor. Nobody was thinking airplane delivery.

But there was a lot of research going on. And presently the lore changed to something a little more accurate. An airplane delivered device seemed possible.

Plus, various hints were coming out the NAZIs and Japan had their programs. This worried a lot of people. It turned out that the NAZIs were not as far along as was feared. And Japan was even farther behind. Turns out that getting your city bombed frequently makes it tough to construct precision scientific equipment. But it was not possible to be sure of that.

 

[jtbell]

Today (OK, yesterday) I learned about the "Carolina Squat" pickup truck modification, after both North and South Carolina banned it.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/south-carolina-latest-to-ban-notorious-carolina-squat-truck-mod

 

[Hornbein]

TIL elections in the USSR had only one candidate. However victory was not certain. They had to get at least fifty percent of the vote. It was possible to vote against the candidate by writing an angry message on the otherwise blank ballot. Evidently this was a real possibility.

Murray Gell-Mann got involved in advising about anti-ballistic missiles. He found them destabilizing. At a conference an official of the USSR, Millionshchikov, sought him out. This man told Murray that the people of Moscow wanted the ABM, destabilizing or not. He said, if we do not put up this system then we would not get a single vote in the next election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzFw2d2YHCU

 

[BillTre]

Reminds me of a ciliate:

 

[pinball1970]

Brits have been getting drunk and making up silly stories for a long time.

https://phys.org/news/2023-05-unique-bawdy-bard-revealing-15th-century.html