Science!: Dark Matter, Google and Junk Food

[Lauren Admire]

Science!: Dark Matter, Google and Junk Food

Inside: How junk food is like heroin and why dark matter is truly terrifying.

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[Redingold]

Non-baryonic means that it is not a baryon. A baryon is a particle consisting of three quarks. Electrons are non-baryonic, but are also a major constituent of everyday matter. Just pointing that out.

 

[Lauren Admire]

Non-baryonic means that it is not a baryon. A baryon is a particle consisting of three quarks. Electrons are non-baryonic, but are also a major constituent of everyday matter. Just pointing that out.

Good catch - that line was misleading and has been removed.

 

[Ekonk]

That 'how is babby formed' thing had me laughing hysterically.

Still, I like these articles. Or whatever you call it.

 

[SharedProphet]

These articles are great. Thanks, and I look forward to the next. I also subscribed to the Improbable Research RSS found from the Ig Nobel Prize article, though there hasn't been anything on there yet as interesting as these articles...

 

[thiosk]

The whole "standard model" thing never really made much sense to me anyway. I've been hoping my physics counterparts came up with a better solution to the makeup of the universe than "96% of everything is LOL, basically." Seriously, one of my phD track physics friends said exactly that.

I've been partial to the concept that gravity simply works differently depending on the length scale you're talking about. Theres no evidence of that (except for the whole galaxy spinning thing). But it never sat right with me that "ok, gravity doesn't work right, unless we assume that 37% of all matter is like, dark or something. So, ok, 4% is matter, 30something is dark, and the rest is 'dark energy.' IT FITS. Lets publish."

 

[Sniper430]

"pizza is the gateway food" i lol'd

 

[wasalp]

great series of article keep up the great work.

 

[Echolocating]

That dark matter stuff is pretty cool. I think I remember watching a documentary where they were able to detect dark matter pockets in our galaxy because the light from the stars would become warped as they passed through our line of view.

 

[NInjaguy]

The food article sounds a lot like a 5th grade science experiment. Thing is the human body doesn't know what do with Corn Syrup, the basic ingredient for processed foods. Corn syrup is processed for what it is, but the body never gets the signal that its full or has had it needed in take. That is why the rats are willing to get shocked, because the body of the rats feels its being starved. Think of Corn Syrup as packing peanuts there just to fill the box and nothing more.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

There's a lot of things that happen at extreme scales that science doesn't really understand yet, like the viscosity of superfluids at extremely low temperatures [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluid]. But that's the thing I like about science- it's not afraid to ask the all-important question, "Hey, why the hell is that thing doing that? Gimme a beaker."

 

[LTK_70]

Wow, that food article is really a bit depressing when you think of all the obese people in the world. Then again, it gains a whole different perspective if you also think of all the starving people in the world...

 

[samsonguy920]

-

There's a lot of things that happen at extreme scales that science doesn't really understand yet, like the viscosity of superfluids at extremely low temperatures [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluid]. But that's the thing I like about science- it's not afraid to ask the all-important question, "Hey, why the hell is that thing doing that? Gimme a beaker."

Trouble is many scientists are impatient and would rather just pull an answer out of their ass before more details and facts are discovered. But in the case of dark matter, I call it a power of Mother Nature acting within the cosmos. In time it may become important, and perhaps even a potential energy source or habitat for lifeforms way different than ours, but for now, it's harmless to conjecture on such. But when scientists get reckless in their impatience for the answer, putting lives at risk, I call time out. LHC, anyone?
-The details on junk food makes sense, too bad many people would still rather blame their genes on obesity. True a genetic quirk might affect how you are with food, but in the end, it is up to each of us to watch what we eat. Pizza, anyone?
-I like to think many things on the web stimulate a geek's brain, especially The Escapist, with its potential as a debate platform for all things geek. Google is just an easy tool to point at with it being well-known. There are plenty of things out in the world that can stimulate a non-geek. This little tidbit just points out that websites, search engines, and forums are good for a geek's brain usage. Bejeweled, anyone?
-One has to wonder if the timing on our effect on the environment might be in our favor? If another ice age wasn't over the horizon, just what would it be like today? Quite possibly we would be looking at rampant desert spread, a faster growth in sea level, which in turn would lead to flooding, displacement, and rampant disease. But it don't mean we shouldn't stop working to decrease our impact, nor let industry just use "experts" to say its just natural change. Black Plague, anyone?

 

[LewsTherin]

You mentioned climate change, and I get another opportunity to post

Spoiler: this.

Anyway, didn't we already know that dark matter was scary?

 

[Yokai]

Dark matter is scary. That and all the other insane theories out there--strange matter, string theory, quantum entanglement. It's enough to make your head explode. The universe is just about the weirdest thing ever.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Your tag line inexplicably brought to mind the phrase "I'd like to study herdark matter all day!". It wasn't directed at anything, it just popped into thought.

On the topic, though, The more I hear about how gravity goes wonky towards the edges, or how most of what we can't see isn't the kind of matter we're used to, I'm always reminded of those weird dreams/games/cartoons/pictures/etc that have something in the background that you can't quite make out, so you go in closer to inspect it, only to find it quickly being created/drawn/pulled into focus as you approach, instead of having always been drawn, as if there's only so much memory or processing power that can be used, so the things on the fringes get left out until they come under imperious scrutiny, and even then, some of the details are off.

There's a lot of things that happen at extreme scales that science doesn't really understand yet, like the viscosity of superfluids at extremely low temperatures [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluid]. But that's the thing I like about science- it's not afraid to ask the all-important question, "Hey, why the hell is that thing doing that? Gimme a beaker."

Ooooh, I remember reading about that! They used it to super cool a satellite to 1.6 Kelvin, right? That stuff is crazy cool.

 

[KazNecro]

-Trouble is many scientists are impatient and would rather just pull an answer out of their ass before more details and facts are discovered. But in the case of dark matter, I call it a power of Mother Nature acting within the cosmos. In time it may become important, and perhaps even a potential energy source or habitat for lifeforms way different than ours, but for now, it's harmless to conjecture on such. But when scientists get reckless in their impatience for the answer, putting lives at risk, I call time out. LHC, anyone?

*Waves my hands frantically* Oooo... MEMEMEMEME!!!!

-The details on junk food makes sense, too bad many people would still rather blame their genes on obesity. True a genetic quirk might affect how you are with food, but in the end, it is up to each of us to watch what we eat. Pizza, anyone?

*Jumps up and down, waving* Oooo... MEMEMEMEME!!!!

-I like to think many things on the web stimulate a geek's brain, especially The Escapist, with its potential as a debate platform for all things geek. Google is just an easy tool to point at with it being well-known. There are plenty of things out in the world that can stimulate a non-geek. This little tidbit just points out that websites, search engines, and forums are good for a geek's brain usage. Bejeweled, anyone?

*Dislocate my arm waving* MEEE!!! MEEEE!!!

-One has to wonder if the timing on our effect on the environment might be in our favor? If another ice age wasn't over the horizon, just what would it be like today? Quite possibly we would be looking at rampant desert spread, a faster growth in sea level, which in turn would lead to flooding, displacement, and rampant disease. But it don't mean we shouldn't stop working to decrease our impact, nor let industry just use "experts" to say its just natural change. Black Plague, anyone?

*Suddenly stops waving* MEEE... er, what?!

 

[Lauren Admire]

Your tag line inexplicably brought to mind the phrase "I'd like to study herdark matter all day!". It wasn't directed at anything, it just popped into thought.

Best.Pickup.Line.Ever.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Your tag line inexplicably brought to mind the phrase "I'd like to study herdark matter all day!". It wasn't directed at anything, it just popped into thought.

Best.Pickup.Line.Ever.

*Bows* I'm so tempted to use it now.