http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/454669/Georg-von-Peuerbach
www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Georg_von_Peuerbach
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Peurbach.html
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Observation 1.5
Astronomy Cast Ep. 212
"GPS Navigation"
GPS or Global Positioning System, uses satellites to pinpoint the location of the receiver system and show it on a map. While they are very accurate, they aren't always perfect. The blue circle of error shown on many map applications, is the given area that you are determined to be located in by the satellites, because there aren't enough signals to pinpoint your exact location. But what's cool is that these errors aren't locational areas, but timing errors between satellite signals hitting the receiver! It's pretty amazing to think about how it isn't just location, but a simple timing error that causes such errors in our GPS systems!
"GPS Navigation"
GPS or Global Positioning System, uses satellites to pinpoint the location of the receiver system and show it on a map. While they are very accurate, they aren't always perfect. The blue circle of error shown on many map applications, is the given area that you are determined to be located in by the satellites, because there aren't enough signals to pinpoint your exact location. But what's cool is that these errors aren't locational areas, but timing errors between satellite signals hitting the receiver! It's pretty amazing to think about how it isn't just location, but a simple timing error that causes such errors in our GPS systems!
Observation 1.4
Astronomy Cast Ep. 249
"Schrodinger's Cat"
Everyone's heard of it, but not many people understand it. What IS Schrodinger's Cat? Apparently, Schrodinger's Cat wasn't a cat, but a theory. The theory stated that if a cat was placed in a sealed box with available food and water, once sealed, we have no idea whether the cat was dead or alive. This theory is about probability and how we don't actually know certain things about the unknown, until we observe it.
The theory of the cat is then expanded, to include a substance that might decay releasing a radioactive molecule, adding a gieger counter, and connected to that device a vial of poison. If the molecule is formed, the gieger counter will activate, and then knock over the poison, killing the cat. Since the molecule might or might not be produced, we don't know whether the cat is alive or not, and is therefore BOTH dead AND alive! This is a puzzle that cannot be solved by any means in the end...
"Schrodinger's Cat"
Everyone's heard of it, but not many people understand it. What IS Schrodinger's Cat? Apparently, Schrodinger's Cat wasn't a cat, but a theory. The theory stated that if a cat was placed in a sealed box with available food and water, once sealed, we have no idea whether the cat was dead or alive. This theory is about probability and how we don't actually know certain things about the unknown, until we observe it.
The theory of the cat is then expanded, to include a substance that might decay releasing a radioactive molecule, adding a gieger counter, and connected to that device a vial of poison. If the molecule is formed, the gieger counter will activate, and then knock over the poison, killing the cat. Since the molecule might or might not be produced, we don't know whether the cat is alive or not, and is therefore BOTH dead AND alive! This is a puzzle that cannot be solved by any means in the end...
Observation 1.3
Astronomy Cast Ep. 264
"The Hazards of Spaceflight"
Unlike many Sci-fi shows, spaceflight isn't as easy as it looks, there are lots of factors that get in the way of travel through the final frontier. Many of these are mechanical such as the travel device exploding and all the stages they have to go through to make it to space, and others are human. The human obstacles are the fact that space has no air, and is either extremely hot, or extremely cold. We have to take precautions to insulate spacemen as well as physically possible, or they will die just from the temperatures fluctuating.
I never really realized until I listened to this episode though...but without the constant pressure exerted on the human body by the earth's gravity and atmosphere, we would expand and die...Which is what happens when air leaks from spacesuits...
"The Hazards of Spaceflight"
Unlike many Sci-fi shows, spaceflight isn't as easy as it looks, there are lots of factors that get in the way of travel through the final frontier. Many of these are mechanical such as the travel device exploding and all the stages they have to go through to make it to space, and others are human. The human obstacles are the fact that space has no air, and is either extremely hot, or extremely cold. We have to take precautions to insulate spacemen as well as physically possible, or they will die just from the temperatures fluctuating.
I never really realized until I listened to this episode though...but without the constant pressure exerted on the human body by the earth's gravity and atmosphere, we would expand and die...Which is what happens when air leaks from spacesuits...
Observation 1.2
Astronomy Cast Ep. 267
"Infinities"
The episode starts out by defining what infinity really is, with an example about counting grains of sand on a beach. While it is possible because there is a finite number of grains, it is still impossible for one person to do because the number is so large. However there are things that are impossible to count, not because they are so large, but because they are not finite numbers. It then transitions into explaining that there's more than one kind of infinity! Some are smaller, some are larger, but there is no one infinity!
Infinite numbers exist right under our noses too, take for example all the numbers between 1 and 2...1.1,1.11,1.01...2 In truth, if you kept adding decimals, you could keep going forever!
We've discovered that the universe is still expanding, and is almost flat. So in the end, we don't know if it is infinite or not, but it is almost certainly infinite...just really really big...Kind of like how the Earth was seen in the 18th century. This all just blows my mind! There's so much to even simple numbers that we have yet to fully understand!
"Infinities"
The episode starts out by defining what infinity really is, with an example about counting grains of sand on a beach. While it is possible because there is a finite number of grains, it is still impossible for one person to do because the number is so large. However there are things that are impossible to count, not because they are so large, but because they are not finite numbers. It then transitions into explaining that there's more than one kind of infinity! Some are smaller, some are larger, but there is no one infinity!
Infinite numbers exist right under our noses too, take for example all the numbers between 1 and 2...1.1,1.11,1.01...2 In truth, if you kept adding decimals, you could keep going forever!
We've discovered that the universe is still expanding, and is almost flat. So in the end, we don't know if it is infinite or not, but it is almost certainly infinite...just really really big...Kind of like how the Earth was seen in the 18th century. This all just blows my mind! There's so much to even simple numbers that we have yet to fully understand!
Observation 1.1
Astronomy Cast Ep. 271
This episode, entitled "Who Does What in Space?" discusses the many jobs held by scientists who study space, and what exactly they do. The first job they describe is a Fluxual Mechanic, which is a scientist that studies how stars pass one another and who perform equations relating to astronomy. They then transition over to describing Astromotritists, which are scientists that actually measure space. More specifically, they precisely measure where things are, and plan coordinate systems. Later on, they discuss Astro-biology, which is the study of life in space. While their field is still important, they are a branch of scientists who don't study known solid objects, but theoretical life forms that could exist in the cosmos. This taught me a lot about the different jobs that available related to the universe, I never knew the options were so varied, and so amazing!
This episode, entitled "Who Does What in Space?" discusses the many jobs held by scientists who study space, and what exactly they do. The first job they describe is a Fluxual Mechanic, which is a scientist that studies how stars pass one another and who perform equations relating to astronomy. They then transition over to describing Astromotritists, which are scientists that actually measure space. More specifically, they precisely measure where things are, and plan coordinate systems. Later on, they discuss Astro-biology, which is the study of life in space. While their field is still important, they are a branch of scientists who don't study known solid objects, but theoretical life forms that could exist in the cosmos. This taught me a lot about the different jobs that available related to the universe, I never knew the options were so varied, and so amazing!
APOD 1.8
September 24th 2012
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120924.html
This picture shows a Nebula in the shape of a "Pencil". What it is, is a shock wave traveling at over 500,000 Km/h. What look like filaments are actually ripples in a sheet of glowing gas. From the angel of the earth, it looks like it's a pencil because we can only see the edge of it. While it looks small in the picture, it's actually about 5 light years long! And if that sounds long, it's only a small remnant of a supernova that happened over 11,000 years ago! This supernova was from the star Vela (the shock wave is called the Vela remnant so I'm assuming we labeled the former star Vela).
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120924.html
This picture shows a Nebula in the shape of a "Pencil". What it is, is a shock wave traveling at over 500,000 Km/h. What look like filaments are actually ripples in a sheet of glowing gas. From the angel of the earth, it looks like it's a pencil because we can only see the edge of it. While it looks small in the picture, it's actually about 5 light years long! And if that sounds long, it's only a small remnant of a supernova that happened over 11,000 years ago! This supernova was from the star Vela (the shock wave is called the Vela remnant so I'm assuming we labeled the former star Vela).
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