One drone, four microphones and a loudspeaker: nothing more is needed to determine the position of walls and other flat surfaces within a room. This has been mathematically proved by Prof. Gregor Kemper of the Technical University of Munich and Prof. Mireille Boutin of Purdue University in Indiana, USA. (1)
Most natural and artificial surfaces are rough: metals and even glasses that appear smooth to the naked eye can look like jagged mountain ranges under the microscope. There is currently no uniform theory about the origin of this roughness despite it being observed on all scales, from the atomic to the tectonic. Scientists suspect that the rough surface is formed by irreversible plastic deformation that occurs in many processes of mechanical machining of components such as milling. (1)
In a rough cosmos we try to build mirrors.
In an ever changing universe we try to see patterns.
In a living cosmos we try to analyze death.
Staring on the calm lake.
Feeling good that we see out self.
Oh, happy man.
I know you would cry if you knew there is nothing to see.
When we predict future climate, it is important to understand the climate of the past. We do. Mostly. Some details are still debatable.
An example of that are the periodicities of ice ages – that is, how ice ages come and go. This is described in a theory developed by amongst others the astronomer Milankovitch in the 1920ies. The theory is good, but it doesn’t explain everything. The periodicity of ice ages has not been as precise as the theory would indicate. Why is that? Is it because of noise in the system.
Now climate scientist document that the climate system is more chaotic than the model indicates. A myriad of coincidences seem to displace the ice ages from the predictions of the theory. (1)
In a study published in Nature Astronomy, researchers from the United States and Japan unveiled the possible origins of our cosmic neighborhood’s “Great Divide”. A well-known schism which resulted to have on the one side the “terrestrial” planets, such as Earth and Mars and on the other side the more distant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, with different composition than the first ones.
“How do you create this compositional dichotomy?” said lead author Ramon Brasser.
Brasser and coauthor Stephen Mojzsis, a professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Geological Sciences, suggested that the early solar system was partitioned into at least two regions by a ring-like structure that formed a disk around the young sun. This disk might have held major implications for the evolution of planets and asteroids, and even the history of life on Earth. (1)
A world organized in patterns.
A world split.
A world united under our eye.
Constantly moving. Constantly changing. And yet, staying the same. Ancient Greeks watching at the night sky. Modern people measuring distances. Kids playing. Drawing lines on the dirt. Separating the solar system into pieces. Forming the cosmos in laughter.
