Tag: definitions
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Measuring… (What?)
A new optical atomic clock makes ultra-precise time measurements. (1) Measuring time. Even though we are not certain what time is. You see, not knowing something does not hinder you from handling it. But this goes even further than that. Not knowing something is the sole pre-requisite of handling it. Because if you knew it,…
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Philosophical snapshot: Words… Words… Words…
Philosophers wonder about what existence is. Philosophers try to find out the meaning of being. Different words. Entangled in huge conversations. The theme of endless research. But what if our thoughts are trapped inside a cave (cafe) we created? What if we created these notions as we created these words? Existence… Being… Are they different?…
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Evolution. Dark DNA.
Scientists long assumed that new genes appear when evolution tinkers with old ones. There are studies suggesting that genes do not always evolve from existing ones, as biologists long supposed. Instead, some are fashioned from desolate stretches of the genome that do not code for any functional molecules. For example in the fish genomes, there…
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Expert decisions…
Does a mass on a mammogram indicate breast cancer? Will Serbia be a member of the EU by 2025? Will there be more floods in Germany in five years’ time? The diagnoses and predictions made by doctors, scientists, and experts often have far-reaching consequences. And in many cases, it is only years later that it…
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Measuring laws…
One of the fundamental physical constants, the ‘weak axial vector coupling constant’ (gA), has now been measured with very high precision for the first time. It is needed to explain nuclear fusion in the sun, to understand the formation of elements shortly after the Big Bang, or to understand important experiments in particle physics. With…
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