Calling All Science Nerds Page 4

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 6 2009, 1:24 AM BST

On an unrelated note, how come the moon is exactly the right size and distance between the Earth and the Sun that a total solar eclipse can occur? What are the chances, eh? Bit fishy, isn't it? It's got bells on guv'nor!

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Strangely enough I consider this one of the best bits of evidence that there is a creator (God) or Gods.

"OK, lads lets create this solar system here as a tourist spot, we'll give it some of the best sights in the galaxy. We will make the moon on the third planet just the right size so they can have a total eclipse of the sun, so they can see the mighty corona. Oh and we'll throw in a gas giant, with pretty rings around it and a mystery little wanderer planet with a strange albedo."

A bit like that Holiday Advert currently running on the tele.

Isn't the idea that the matter tries out every possibility at once, and on balance the one with the highest probability tends to happen. Using phasors (arrows pointing in a direction) and lining them up tip-to-tail, this can be used to explain the behaviour of, say photons against a mirror/through slits.

Anyway, this explains a bit: http://www.slideshare.net/PhysicsJackson/phasors-refraction-and-gratings

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 6 2009, 1:55 AM BST

I just find it a bit suspicious, that's all. And does anyone know why the moon doesn't spin at all?

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The twisted elastic rubber band ran down.

"interferes with itself" *sniggers*

It is a bit of a mind-f**k, but then that's the nature of quantum physics. Some reckon that the vast masses of unseen dark matter which must be in our universe in order for gravity to hold the thing together is, in fact, matter from another dimension/universe that only interacts with ours at a quantum level.

Isn't Jake How's brain made soley of dark matter?

What if we're all just the imagination of Jake How? Mere thoughts in his own personal Waterloo Road?

Yup, one big mind-f**k.

Didn't know the moon doesn't rotate - is that so?

Anyway, a fun time-lapse of it moving slightly over a month:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010218.html

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 6 2009, 2:25 AM BST

What if we're all just the imagination of Jake How? Mere thoughts in his own personal Waterloo Road?

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With the theme tune to Birds of a Feather on constant loop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90qcUpGA_yU

Quote: Leevil @ September 6 2009, 2:27 AM BST

With the theme tune to Birds of a Feather on constant loop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90qcUpGA_yU

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Quote: Rob0 @ September 6 2009, 2:27 AM BST

Didn't know the moon doesn't rotate - is that so?

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Um, hence the "dark side" of the Moon?

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 6 2009, 2:30 AM BST

Um, hence the "dark side" of the Moon?

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Billwill, you might want to have a look at this book...

Who Built The Moon?

Quote: Rob0 @ September 6 2009, 2:27 AM BST

Didn't know the moon doesn't rotate - is that so?

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Like Tim keeps suggesting, it coincidentally and freakishly rotates at the right speed (slowed down by the earth's gravitational pull) making it appear to be always facing the earth (with its face).

So as it orbits us, we orbit it and follow the face around, as we both orbit the sun. Bah, I need diagrams.

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 6 2009, 2:30 AM BST

Um, hence the "dark side" of the Moon?

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Thought that was just some musicians with inflatable animals. And a convenient location for Superman to beat that sun man dude.

http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/moon_spin.html

Heard this guy a few months ago on Five Live on up all night-might appeal to you sci-fi peeps: http://physics.about.com/od/physicsbooks/gr/impossphysics.htm

Quote: Leevil @ September 6 2009, 2:36 AM BST

Like Tim keeps suggesting, it coincidentally and freakishly rotates at the right speed (slowed down by the earth's gravitational pull) making it appear to be always facing the earth (with its face).

So as it orbits us, we orbit it and follow the face around, as we both orbit the sun. Bah, I need diagrams.

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Yes, that makes sense

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LcbuPOJPhI&feature=PlayList&p=A68E26608435A38B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=38

Bah! Forget all this eclipse and moon-face nonsense, the Moon's primary task is stop the Earth from being hit by giant asteroids, that's why it's covered in craters and shit.

Without it, we would have perished long ago. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm working on my Nebula Hypothesis involving a bag of Revels...let's see the Malteser ones are the planetesimals, the flat chocolate one is an accretion disk, the coffee ones are gross...

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 6 2009, 2:54 AM BST

Bah! Forget all this eclipse and moon-face nonsense

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I was only trying to explain it in Lee Henman ter, sorry, I mean Layman's terms.