Today I Learned

[KingGambit]

Today I learned, that the definition of the speed of light is 299,792,458 meter per second.
Not that speed of light that I learned.
But that the definitions was settled in 1983. What the hell??
Why didn't they set the speed of light is 300,000,000.000000 meter per second exactly, and let the circumference of the earth (I mean the lateral line) to be 40 thousands km plus some meters.
Anyway the lateral line can change in some region right.

 

[KingGambit]

I see only one apostrophe, and my French is almost as bad as my Klingon, but I would guess that it was not his fault. Wiki seems to have fixed the error:

"Il ne leur a fallu qu’un moment pour faire tomber cette tête, et cent années peut-être ne suffiront pas pour en reproduire une semblable."
("It took them only an instant to cut off this head, and one hundred years might not suffice to reproduce its like.")

ps. Lavoisier named Oxygen.

pps. The wiki entry on his last days: Final days and execution
sounds very much like, um, right now.

ppps. Was that here, FB, or in a dream, where I theorized that the French were nice to us back then, because they knew we'd be here one day?

Never mind. It was on my sister's FB page, regarding her disgust of the images that U.S. kids were tweeting of their icky looking lunches. And then she commented on how healthy French children ate. And then, it happened...OmCheeto: I hope that you are aware, that France has the highest tax burden in the world. hmmm... I wonder if this is why the French, from our very beginning, as a country, sided with us. They went through what we are going through now, 200 years ago. Don't we have a castle in the north of France?

Yes, Lavoisier, sadly.
La République n'a pas besoin de savants ni de chimistes.

 

[pinball1970]

Yes, Lavoisier, sadly.
La République n'a pas besoin de savants ni de chimistes.

@PeterDonis answered this in another thread from memory.

 

[Ibix]

Why didn't they set the speed of light is 300,000,000.000000 meter per second exactly, and let the circumference of the earth (I mean the lateral line) to be 40 thousands km plus some meters.

Because that would have changed the definition of the meter by about 0.3mm, enough to matter. Inch/metric conversions are already a minefield - imagine if there were two meters that you had to convert between the two...

 

[KingGambit]

Here is another nice Feynman video.

This one is about 15 minutes long and has the approach that Feynman was more of an ordinary guy than a super high IQ person.
Thus great achievements like his can be realistically considered to be not beyond the grasp of greater numbers of people.

Yeah, everytime I see Richard Feynman, I can't shake off @PeterDonis signature.
Nature can't be fooled.
Challenger investigation?

 

[KingGambit]

Because that would have changed the definition of the meter by about 0.3mm, enough to matter. Inch/metric conversions are already a minefield - imagine if there were two meters that you had to convert between the two...

Ahh, the imperial system. Haven't thought of that.
Well, metric was introduced right after Lavoisier lost his head I think.

 

[PeterDonis]

Nature can't be fooled.
Challenger investigation?

Yes, that's what the Feynman quote in my signature is from: the closing sentence of "Appendix F" that Feynman wrote as a supplement to the investigation report. The full sentence is: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

 

[gmax137]

Because that would have changed the definition of the meter by about 0.3mm, enough to matter. Inch/metric conversions are already a minefield - imagine if there were two meters that you had to convert between the two...

The OP should note, also changing every measured value of anything that includes LENGTH in its units. Not a good idea.

The whole point of SI is to avoid "old meters" and "new meters."

 

[KingGambit]

Yes, that's what the Feynman quote in my signature is from: the closing sentence of "Appendix F" that Feynman wrote as a supplement to the investigation report. The full sentence is: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

Yes, Challenger disaster was very sadly and also traumatic.
It's been watch by relatives, all the Christa's students and exploded.
Not like Columbia. Which Leroy (the Flight Director) realized something was wrong between 15 minutes of comm black out.
And everytime I watch Youtube footage about space shuttle launch and hear "Endeavour (or Atlantis, Discovery) go for throttle up". It sometimes send chill at my spine.

I'm not superstitious, but every shuttle begins with C, Challenger and Columbia, experienced catasthrope.

 

[KingGambit]

Yes, Challenger disaster was very sadly and also traumatic.
It's been watch by relatives, all the Christa's students and exploded.
Not like Columbia. Which Leroy (the Flight Director) realized something was wrong between 15 minutes of comm black out.
And everytime I watch Youtube footage about space shuttle launch and hear "Endeavour (or Atlantis, Discovery) go for throttle up". It sometimes send chill at my spine.

I'm not superstitious, but every shuttle begins with C, Challenger and Columbia, experienced catasthrope.

Add: And the first to carry a civilian.

 

[Hornbein]

Yes, Lavoisier, sadly.
La République n'a pas besoin de savants ni de chimistes.

Lavoisier in my opinion did the most of any man to provoke the French revolution. He was the head tax collector for Paris. He had a wall built that encircled Paris, essentially transforming it into a prison. Those entering had to submit to inspection for the purpose of tax collection.

As if that weren't bad enough such systems inevitably become corrupt. Criminals bribe their way through and ordinary people pick up the tab.

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned that this past year half a million people went missing in the United States. Twenty years ago it was a million.
In Japan there are companies that help people to do this.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm not superstitious, but every shuttle begins with C, Challenger and Columbia, experienced catasthrope.

33% of them had a name beginning with C. ;)

 

[PeterDonis]

33% of them had a name beginning with C. ;)

Or 40% of the ones that got launched using rockets and flew orbital missions.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Or 40% of the ones that got launched using rockets and flew orbital missions.

Ah yes! Enterprise was only used for testing. It never launched.

 

[BillTre]

Great Salt Lake still on a slow motion path to disaster:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/us/utah-great-salt-lake-dust-pollution-weir-wxc/index.html

 

[Hornbein]

TIL about the toroidal propeller.

 

[KingGambit]

Today (yesterday, actually) I learned that YouTube (or Google?) is more scarier than it looks.

Just when I'm searching on Google to see what is Appendix F in Challenger disaster report. Then later when I opened my phone, not the computer, Youtube suggested this:


Just how the h*ll that they (Youtube/Google) know that I would like that video.

And yesterday I also learned in that video that in Challenger disaster commission, there was a lengthy and heated argument (or controversy if you will) concerning Appendix F, and Feynman threatened to back off.
Sadly, he died two years later. Well, I like that SOB. He was a bad boy scientist with girls and everything.
And yeah, Challenger disaster report was much better than Warren commision.

 

[Hornbein]

Just how the h*ll that they (Youtube/Google) know that I would like that video.

Everything goes into a central data base. I would mention unusual things on very obscure web sites that would subsequently show up in Youtube recommendations. I get the impression that these little web sites make their money by selling the data to the Central Scrutinizer.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

TIL about the toroidal propeller.

WOW!!!

 

[Ibix]

TIL that Gibbs is married to Mindy (well, their actors are married, anyway), which is one of the stranger crossovers I could have imagined.

 

[KingGambit]

Today I learned, that Picasso, after watched the cave paintings said "In 15 thousands years, we have invented nothing"

Can't help but remember Aristotle claim.
Aristotle: Earth is the center of the universe
Early Astronomy: Milky way center is the center of the universe.
Hubble (law): Earth (or even you) is the center of the universe.

So what is this. In 2000 years, we learned nothing?

 

[pinball1970]

TIL Footage from the 1960s of the Belgian physicist George Lemaitre has been found. Anton has made a video on this but he uses some terminology that is off so I won't post the link. He also gets a quote from Einstein a wrong too. He posts some great stuff but will leave that one.
Last week Sabine posted another inflammatory video on particle physics. She is a bit of a marmite character so I will leave that one for members to seek out if they want to!

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL Footage from the 1960s of the Belgian physicist George Lemaitre has been found. Anton has made a video on this but he uses some terminology that is off so I won't post the link. He also gets a quote from Einstein a wrong too. He posts some great stuff but will leave that one.
Last week Sabine posted another inflammatory video on particle physics. She is a bit of a marmite character so I will leave that one for members to seek out if they want to!

An English language translation of the Lemaitre interview is here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.07198.pdf

 

[gmax137]

TIL what a "marmite character " is. Thx, @pinball1970

I don't think we have marmite in the US.

 

[Ibix]

I don't think we have marmite in the US.

You don't know what you're missing.

 

[gmax137]

You don't know what you're missing.

I found a place nearby that claims to have it. How is it normally used? On toast? Any advice appreciated!

 

[mfb]

I'm not superstitious, but every shuttle begins with C, Challenger and Columbia, experienced catasthrope.

Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, Endeavour flew.

Here are some alternatives:
"Every orbiter ending with r ended in a disaster (Challenger, Endeavour)"
"Every orbiter with 9 letters was destroyed (Discovery, Endeavour)"
"Every orbiter with 8 letters ended in a disaster (Atlantis, Columbia)"
"Every orbiter beginning with a vowel was destroyed (Atlantis, Endeavour)" (any word starting with a vowel? annihilated sounds awkward)
"Every orbiter with an even number got destroyed (Atlantis, Columbia)"
"Every orbiter introduced in an even year got destroyed (Discovery, Endeavour)"
"Every orbiter with a square number as first mission number got destroyed (Columbia, Endeavour)"
"Every orbiter with a multiple of 3 as first mission number got destroyed (Atlantis, Challenger)"

I'm sure with a bit more searching we find a pattern for all 10 combinations.

 

[Ibix]

I found a place nearby that claims to have it. How is it normally used? On toast? Any advice appreciated!

Yes, it's a spread. Butter is optional. You can also dissolve it in hot water and drink it, but I don't particularly like that.

Do note that there is a very good reason why the stuff is a byword for "highly divisive". It's a unique flavour, kind of sharp (somehow) and very salty, and people really do either love it or insist that it's inedible.

 

[DaveC426913]

I found a place nearby that claims to have it. How is it normally used? On toast? Any advice appreciated!

On toast... As an exfoliant... As axle grease...

 

[Ibix]

As an exfoliant

Don't let it get in your eyes if you try this, though.

 

[gmax137]

I found a place nearby that claims to have it. How is it normally used? On toast? Any advice appreciated!

Yes, it's a spread. Butter is optional. You can also dissolve it in hot water and drink it, but I don't particularly like that.

Do note that there is a very good reason why the stuff is a byword for "highly divisive". It's a unique flavour, kind of sharp (somehow) and very salty, and people really do either love it or insist that it's inedible.

On toast... As an exfoliant... As axle grease...

Don't let it get in your eyes if you try this, though.

Well, TIL I am in the "like it" Marmite camp. It is, as mentioned, very salty. And "sharp." It reminds me of a bullion paste, with maybe swiss cheese mixed in. I wouldn't spread it on too thick, but I like it. And @DaveC426913 is right, it looks like axle grease (and sticks to my fingers like grease, too).

Is this truly popular in the UK?

 

[strangerep]

I don't think we have marmite in the US.

Vegemite is better.

 

[Hornbein]

Vegemite is better.

"I said, do you speak my language?
He just smiled, and gave me a Vegemite sandwich."

 

[Ibix]

Is this truly popular in the UK?

Any supermarket will have it, so I suppose so.

Vegemite is better.

I don't think I've even seen that here. I've certainly never tried it. Maybe one day...