Ask any question you want about Physics

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: ImaFungi
We are still waiting for a depiction of what and how the photon itself might be.

Wood. It's a little wooden ball, typically painted yellow.

Nicely done.

a reply to: pfishy

So far I think that's the only description of a photon that ImaFungi hasn't complained about. Maybe he finally got the answer he wanted to hear?

Whoever said nobody would give ImaFungi the answer he wanted to hear, let's amend that to nobody except Bedlam.

Question about Physics?

What is the cause and purpose of the Plasma Tubes Floating Above Earth and how may humans use it to their benefit?

a reply to: oletimer
Good question. Of course we knew there was plasma, and we knew that the Earth had a magnetic field and that there was some interaction between the two, as we see the results in the polar aurorae phenomena.

However I don't think we knew that it formed "tubes", and I'm not sure why it does that, but it appears one possible benefit of the discovery is if we can define the amount of distortion the tubes create in astronomical images, we might be able to compensate for it and improve the quality of our imagery, or we can't compensate for the distortion the tubes create, and we need better observations, we could try to look between the tubes, maybe.

a reply to: ImaFungi

Helpful Tool For Comprehension
It seems that your strategy of trying to use linguistics to shape reality to your desired form is still experiencing hiccups. Since words don't seem to be packing the required force, it thought the embedded link might help. Unfortunately, I am having problems getting the image to show in this post, so the link will have to suffice.

Ok, here's another actual physics question. What are your various thoughts on the theorized 'island of stability' in the trans-uranium elements?

originally posted by: pfishy
Ok, here's another actual physics question. What are your various thoughts on the theorized 'island of stability' in the trans-uranium elements?

I wouldn't characterize it as "theorized", I would characterize it as "hypothesized", and the hypothesis was a bust at element 114 but 120 and 126 are still on the table. It might be prudent to adopt the Missouri state slogan if you're familiar with that.

Superheavy Element 114's Synthesis Confirmed, Dashes Hopes of "Island of Stability"

Scientists hypothesized that element 114 had that magic number, a hypothesis this experiment has disproved. Now the hope rests on elements 120 and 126, the next heaviest elements believed to contain the magic number of nuclear particles needed for stability.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Ok. Do you think it will be proven within that range? Or is there a higher set of elemental numbers where it might be achieved?

I used to remember how to work out these sorts of things, but it's been a very long time since I have done it, and I have lost the skill.

a reply to: pfishy
a reply to: pfishy
It's hard for the experts to work out. If you want speculation, I'm no expert but my personal expectation is that at best we will probably see a dip of instability, but I think it's a misnomer to call that an island of stability if the elements aren't really stable, though a few people apparently think element 126 might actually be stable.

This paper predicted that element 114 would be somewhat stable and that 120 would be less stable:

Predictions of Alpha Decay Half lives of Heavy and Superheavy Elements

The present calculation does not indicate a pronounced island of increased stability around Z = 120. In fact the half lives show a decreasing trend with increasing Z from Z = 114 to Z=120.

So they missed the boat on their predictions of 114, though I don't think this necessarily makes them bad physicists; as far as I know, nobody really knows how to make accurate predictions of stability, a fact which those authors state as follows:

Detail comparison with the experimental data available so far in the heavy and superheavy mass region suggests that further improvement of mass formulae in the superheavy region is essential for more precise predictions of unknown half-lives.

I find it very easy to agree with that statement, and in fact that may be the best answer to your question.

Accurate predictions aside there is some reason to think there could be some relative increase in stability maybe at element 126, with a hypothetical second island centered around element 164 but I don't think those elements will be stable either. Less unstable than surrounding elements, probably, but not stable, if stable means lasting minutes or days because I doubt they will last more than a few seconds at most and probably not that long. However take this comment with a huge grain of salt because I have even less basis for my speculation than all the mathematical models the experts used which "need further improvement", and element 126 could be stable, though I admit I'll be a little surprised if it is.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Dip in instability does seem like a much more applicable term. And thanks for the insight and links, once again. I have been curious about this since I first heard it mentioned a few years ago. I've often wondered what practical applications could exist for a long-lived or truly stable superheavy element. I'm sure someone will make APM for tanks or something with it, especially if it's stable. But beyond that and radiation shielding, what could we actually use a stable element 164 for?

a reply to: pfishy
Keep in mind how these super heavy elements are produced, for example you could use a particle accelerator with an electric bill of a million dollars a month, and then not get very much out, just fractions of a gram. Take element 98 for example, Californium. A few years ago it was worth something like 60 million dollars per gram, though they might find less expensive ways to make it but it would take a real breakthrough to make it cheap enough to use for most commercial applications where more than a fraction of a gram is needed, thus I think tank armor is not a likely application for that or even heavier elements, unless some unexpected low cost production method can be found. Even expendable projectile weapons would probably be too expensive but they might be a safer alternative to depleted uranium shells if they weren't so expensive. Unfortunately the one application that comes to mind for a quantity in kilograms would be a fission bomb, though 2 kilograms at 60 million dollars a gram would cost 120 billion dollars, but this claims a critical mass of 1.94kg:

nuclearweaponarchive.org...

I'd rather not see new smaller more powerful weapons developed, but what else is someone going to spend that kind of money on for materials that are so expensive to produce? The other applications are scientific where you try to combine your super heavy element with another element to try to make a yet heavier superheavy element, but you don't need much for that, maybe micrograms.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Good point. But I could swear I have seen Californium used in commercial applications as an Alpha source before. In place of Am241. I'll double check, though.

a reply to: pfishy
Sure, but how much do you need for that?

Oh, I did. Californium 252. But only 60 microCuries. Mass equivalent is probably about as much a s fly fart.

MiliCuries not micro

a reply to: pfishy
I don't know the mass of a fly fart, but you're on the right track if you want to look for applications which use such small quantities of the super-heavy elements. I think tank armor will not be economical though as you need too much material and the cost is too high, without some kind of breakthrough.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

I have seen it used in sealed source form for moisture/hydrogen content tests. But yeah, not much in the way of mass, I don't guess. Still, the devices are around the $6k mark, and that's not the only artificial element they contain. I guess it's not much of anything, though.

What was your first clue that Bob Lazar was full of #t?

a reply to: pfishy
I don't have much problem with what he says in this video, just the title of the video which Lazar denies in the video so whoever wrote that title should be admonished for that, not Lazar:

run your car on water. This guy does just that!


So he's not completely full of it all the time. When he first started talking about UFOs at S4 I tried to keep an open mind and I can't recall what the first clue was that led me to decide he wasn't on the level completely. Probably the lack of claimed education is the most telling, and no amount of implausible diploma erasure would have caused him to forget the physics he supposedly learned but didn't know, according to both Stanton Friedman and David Morgan. He does mix in enough half truths to make it interesting like most con men do, but the obvious lack of stability in element 115 was another nail in his story's coffin about him having a big block of 115 that even if it could exist in stable form would have been worth billions.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

The alien drive tech is specifically what I was referring to. Not the hydrolysis