The Science Thread

Thrasher said:
Hmm, if we can't count on our perceptions, we will go insane…
Click to expand...

The brain will make you perceive that you are sane, so it's not a problem. ;)
 
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I out this into the "Science Thread", because it is in my opinion one great example of "applied science" : There exists one prototype of a shirt which enables people cwho are completely deaf to truly "feel the music" : https://www.ndr.de/kultur/musik/Hoeren-per-Sound-Shirt-Klassik-fuer-Gehoerlose,soundshirt104.html

This shirt has several "devices" (I don't understand what devices exactly) attached to it, which get signals sent out from microphones in the orchestra. These "devices" (or "motors", as the article calls them) are them sending out vbrations ? according to what instruments are played. These "devices" are attached to different parts of the body, as the graphic there explains it (in German language).

This reminds me of a part in Aldous Huxley's novel "Brave New World" ...
 
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It is finally here! Scientists from all over the world have been looking forward to this. The long awaited article from Erik Verlinde about gravity has just been published on Arxiv:
Emergent Gravity and the Dark Universe .

I'm sure y'all know Erik Verlinde and his 'dark matter is an ilusion'? And his claim that Newton's understanding of gravity is flawed?
Well, I never heard of this world famous Dutch guy, did not know he is the next Einstein. But then I hardly read anything about dark matter.

Here is a google translation from a Dutch article in the newspaper De Volkskrant, could not find todays topic on any English site yet. But if you would like to know more about Erik Verlinde and his Dark matter illusion, just google these words.

Groundbreaking theory: dark matter is an absolute illusion

Amsterdam professor Einstein rivals

Amsterdam professor of theoretical physics Erik Verlinde Monday night finally published a potentially groundbreaking article about gravity, which in professional circles for years is anticipated. The theory may be a successor to Einstein's theory of relativity in 1915, is the claim, which for months was around in the rumor mill.

By: Martijn van Calmthout November 8, 2016, 06:00

Online on the web platform arXiv published article of over 40 pages gives for the first time an explanation for the so-called dark matter, which astronomers are struggling for decades. From their observations on rotating galaxies shows that gravity is more in the systems, then, on the basis of the stars to be expected. Usually it attributed to matter that does not emit light and perhaps even invisible. It is estimated that four-fifths of all mass in the universe would be dark.

According UvA professor and Spinoza prize winner Verlinde (54) is the existence of dark matter, however, an absolute illusion. Which stems from a what he regards outdated conception of gravity, he writes. In 2010, Verlinde already world was his belief that gravity is not a force as Newton himself who proposed. Even Einstein's relativity, which interprets gravity as the curvature of space and time, he called outdated.

Instead of a force is the tendency of masses to move towards each other, a kind of pressure that arises is changed in moving of mass of the information of the whole universe. If a mass looks heavy, it is because the universe precludes its lift.

At that Verlinde did to the surprise of many Newton's laws to deduce that way from his cosmic information theory. Are so-called emergent gravity was to compare the pressure of a gas, which is produced by the numerous collisions of molecules on a housing. The dark matter could at that time not yet explain. With the new more comprehensive theory that succeeds.

Dizzying concepts

Erik Verlinde, along with his brother Herman star pupils of Nobel Prize winner Gerard 't Hooft, announced on several occasions over the past two years to bring forward a new publication, but according to insiders struggled violently with the dizzying concepts. Moreover, there was a lot of pressure, because many astronomers and astrophysicists are still convinced of the existence of dark matter, even if there is not a good idea where that should exist. Worldwide, tens of experiments are arranged there to get a grip on, inter alia, on deeltjeslab CERN in Geneva.

In interviews, particularly after the award of the Spinoza Prize in 2011, Verlinde acknowledged that he had as his views on the nature of gravity draw that suited the astronomical observations. That previously had his own theory again on the slope, he had not realized then, Verlinde said this spring at all include the Volkskrant. (+)
Click to expand...
 
Frustrating,
Although I have a masters degree in chemistry, specialised a bit in Quantum mechanics, I am really struggling to even understand what is in the abstract. >:O
 
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It's an interesting idea, but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. There are a number of theories out there that attempt to remove the need for dark matter, by invoking new gravitational models, variable speed of light, and so on. One of them might turn out to be right, but I don't think we can break out the champagne just yet.
 
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Found an english text. A Press Release

The news of this paper even made it to the evening news on the tele in the Netherlands.
Dark matter is not one of the usual topics. Last thing they reported is quite some time ago: an experiment in Switzerland to find … whatever. If I'm correct.

The reporter informed us first about Newton and Einstein, and then introduced Verlinde who started drawing on a white board to explain the problem scientists have that gravity can not explain why stars stay together. Science tried to fill that gap with dark matter. Which nobody has found yet.

Okay, got that. So I was excited to finally hear in simple language what's in Verlindes latest paper.

Next shot. Reporter is standing outside again, Verlinde is nowhere to be seen.
Reporter says: Verlinde has found an answer, but it is way too complicated to explain.
:-/
 
Thrasher said:
Still not clear to me how entropy relates to gravity…
Click to expand...

I know that the mysterious link between entropy and gravity goes back to Hawking's work on the surface of black holes. From there, there came the idea of the holographic universe, which says that entire universe can be thought of as information encoded on a 2 dimensional plane. But how this guy's idea of specifically how gravity arises from that theory, I don't understand.

Is there a physicist in the house?
 
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I understand the inforamation theoretic view on the universe, but the entropy / gravity angle not sure. Second Law of Thermodynamics says that a system will grow in entropy if left to itself. But growing in entropy seems contradictory to gravity where everything wants to pull together into a singularity / black hole and less entropy.

Thus the cognitive dissonance.
 
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The way I understand it - ha! - the more entropy (information) the more gravitation.
I think that's what I've read somewhere today…
 
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