Tag: science

  • God. Angels. Particles. Lost.

    God. Angels. Particles. Lost.

    A 2017 report of the discovery of a particular kind of Majorana fermion – the chiral Majorana fermion, referred to as the “angel particle” – is likely a false alarm, according to another research. Majorana fermions are enigmatic particles that act as their own antiparticle and were first hypothesized to exist in 1937. They are […]

  • Measuring… (What?)

    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, […]

  • Playing itself…

    Playing itself…

    Scientists have created a nano-electronic circuit which vibrates without any external force. Just as a guitar string vibrates when plucked, the wire — 100,000 times thinner than a guitar string — vibrates when forced into motion by an oscillating voltage. The surprise came when they repeated the experiment without the forcing voltage. Under the right […]

  • Chaos. Numbers. Simulations.

    Chaos. Numbers. Simulations.

    Digital computers use numbers based on flawed representations of real numbers, which may lead to inaccuracies when simulating the motion of molecules, weather systems and fluids, find scientists. The study, published today in Advanced Theory and Simulations, shows that digital computers cannot reliably reproduce the behaviour of ‘chaotic systems’ which are widespread. This fundamental limitation […]

  • Statistical significance. Not so… significant!

    Statistical significance. Not so… significant!

    In science, the success of an experiment is often determined by a measure called “statistical significance.” A result is considered to be “significant” if the difference observed in the experiment between groups (of people, plants, etc) would be very unlikely if no difference actually exists. The common cutoff for “very unlikely” is that you’d see […]