thorN

The idea of spooky "Aliens" having come and visited people really makes me think that it's all a product of the subconcious creating some entity as a cause for the paranoia and fear that we all exhibit, because it's an evolutionary advantage. I imagine that the universe, however, is teeming with all kinds of beings. I don't know why they aren't here yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. I don't think that space will be similarly teeming with communication though, radio broadcasting is may be too wasteful for any advanced civilization to use. (We may have to stop once fossil fuels run out and energy becomes more expensive.) As for time travel and telekinesis, they seem too .. fictiony? or too anthropocentric. Maybe they're too obvious/intuitive? I dunno, doesn't seem like they'll exist. I think the new discoveries will be things we're not expecting at all. Think how strange Quantum pheneomena are. My Grandad did some research into psychic ability, last time it was in vogue. He did tests with different kinds of cards, and any psychics they did find were eventually found to be average after continued tests. We're of the shared opinion that while extra-sensory ability is certainly possible (and probable), it will manifest itself in a way that is completely perpendicular to the common conception of ESP. The brain is massively complicated. However, I know it works by electricity, and has an induced magnetic field. What I know about magnetic fields is that they can influence each other at a distance - so by some leap of logic two brains can interact remotely.

In Our Time is an awsome radio programme on Radio 4 (in the UK) on thursdays at 09:00 and 21:00. Bragg gets a few experts into the studio and they talk through all kinds of cool subjects. He makes sure they clearly explain the ideas, and don't overrun into esoterica. What's extra exciting is that all the programmes are online, in Real player* format or podcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_archive_home.shtml Enjoy * If you're on windows, you might wanna get Realplayer Alternative, which is windows media player classic with a RM codec.

I think there's an age limit on donations, yeah. It's 17-50 or something, the NHS sent me a creepy letter on my 17th birthday asking for my body parts. I don't understand the cause/effect for life expentancy to rise here? I thought that longer lifespan was due to improved medicine and hygiene?

Indeed, dttom, it's not just oxygen, there's all the "radicals" earlier posts have discussed. I thought that it wasn't the organs that "wore out", but instead the helices of DNA in every cell are sort of "burned out", so they can no longer divide properly. However, IANAB (i am not a biologist )

same difference, they share core parts. one isn't an offshoot of the other.

Probably know what we're talking about? The cheek! Yeah, anyway, Google's "i'm feeling lucky" is magical.

Perhaps people who oppose stem cell research think that even taking one stem cell from an embryo is evil? (I'm as confused as you Martin.)

Internet explorer has major over-arching flaws in it's design, which MS isn't fixing speedily at all. For instance, it's embedded too deeply in the Windows OS, which is inherently insecure. Also, *conspiracy theorising*, it pays off for them because they can sell software to, such as MS anti-spyware, to fix up the problems they've made. The problems with Firefox are a lot smaller in magnitude and are often fixed faster. Remember- just because there are more problems identified isn't a bad thing- it just means more people are looking, and then the security issues can be fixed.

It depends how you look at it (and how much Stephen Baxter, etc, you've read). I understood it that the reason was died (simply put,) is because oxygen is basically a combustable fuel. It's necessary for life, but really is a highly reactive and corrosive substance (think rust, fire etc.). We could live longer if we used oxygen at a slower rate- like whales and tortoises. However, would you want to give up your dexterity and speed of thought? I think it's a compromise. Also, We live longer by becomming a different sort of life. Moving from organic materials to computers is a fun idea.

I was afraid to click the link at first! I thought there'd be some evil music lurking there like the video in "the ring" Yeah, anyway, maybe that song's just resonating with you for some reason? The different intervals and rhytms in music hide all sorts of emotions, I think. It reminds me of when my cousin, after hearing the start of a song, somehow guessed what the song was about pretty precisely - down to the actual words used.

In the case of turbines in power stations, it's the magnets that are inducing the current. However, the source of energy is the boiling water that is moving the magnets (giving them kinetic energy).

I've just been set an essay today on the moral implications of stem cell research, if there are no silly religious arguments any more, I'll have nothing to write about! This research seems like an extraordinary amount of fuss to save one embryo. Surely it would be a lot more fun just to create a new one?

SF (science/speculative fiction) is my favourite genre! Have you guys read any Stephen Baxter? His books are awsome. I also like reading popular science books and random novels. The last few books I've read: 1) Mammoth trilogy by Baxter 2) Cosmos by Sagan 3) Star wars - last comand (as an experiment into space opera, but it confirmed my worst fears about the genre )

I dunno what .ASF is, but I couldn't see it- here's the flash version: Yatta in Flash http://web.mit.edu/patil/www/media/video/yatta%20(economy).swf *nostalgic sigh* Yatta, a life changing experience for us all, i'm sure

That sort of freedom is awsome. Does the school give you the funds? We're doing "practicals" for A-level (17-18 y/o) that is one fixed project Does a Science Fair mean it'll be a competition (like on the Simpsons)?

How old is 10th grade? What topics have you covered? In terms of sterling, £285.070 is gonna buy you a lot of LASER.

Jump? hehe, would this mean you'd be going even souther still? (If you think Pythagorasly, you're getting futher away from the North pole.)

lol, fair enough. Pretty much anything that is common knowledge is wrong I'll check out fabric of reality. Crazy ideas are awsome - what's fabric of reality about?

I've had a quick scan through The Fabric of the cosmos, it says here that the parallel universes are created as the quantum wave-functions collapse. This means there is an infinate number of parallel universes. In each universe, (for example,) the electron could be in any location, distributed asymtotically. Greene explains how the paradox of travelling backwards in time to kill your grandfather can be resolved if you're actually altering a different universe, and hence have travelled between parallel universes. Anyway, it still doesn't alter the fact that (with Many Worlds) no matter what horse I bet on, in an infinate number of places I win the bet, no matter what.

You're making a good point here, I read somewhere that if Many Worlds is right, then it would be possible to 'time travel' by switching between one reality and another. But this is all pretty flimsy science I think, Severian is right that the Copenhagen view is far more accepted.

It sounds like I'm in the same boat as you - but here's what I've gleaned on the subject up to know: Having a seperate universe for each possible result of a quantum mechanical phenomena is called the "Many Worlds Interpretation" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation). It basically says that there's an unimaginable (almost infinate) number of other universes where the dice landed slightly differently, and as a result (and because of Chaos theory) are completely different. All these universes are completely seperate, and grow in number - sort of "budding" off each other every time anything happens. But, this is just a hypothesis (unsubstantiated theory). I don't like the idea personally, if everything ultimately happens anyway then it nullifies the whole idea of choice and risk.

We're travelling in space right now, on a 6x10^24 kg vehicle with air con. Seriously though, I'd agree with Thing - space travel for the common man, or any sort of serious exploration, isn't gonna happen till society's straightened out down on earth. This is the clichéd "less money spent on killing each oter" argument: http://www.costofwar.com/

Heyup science forumers! I'm Joe, 17 from the UK and I'm studying Physics at A-level at the moment. Here's looking forward to sharing my stupid opinions with you all. (Pirate pictured is not myself)