silkworm

True, this is another unfortunate dramatization that skews the perception of science. Tracing species B back to species A will not have a transitional species A+B/2 which I think is what everyone is expecting. Evolution is a gradual process where many things are effected through generations. There are many many many links along the way, and I'm sure many of those will never be found. Unfortunately this missing link term seems to imply in the public's mind that we'll find an A+B/2 between human and ape, which if one were found won't satisfy skeptics because what A+B/2 is cannot be clearly defined. AP are these the skulls you showed me earlier? I just heard about this and want to see them. But the way, here's a link to a picture of a man holding the skull in question. http://www.stoneageinstitute.org/news/images/news_gawis_hominid_lg.jpg

Well, that depends. Facism appeals to some people, but I'm more of a communist because I don't believe that money has value. However, it should be noted that while being idealogs the democrats are poorly organized. The replicans function like the borg on Star Trek The Next Generation, and there should be something said for that considering the game they're playing. It also should be noted that democrats are ninnies. I'm not saying that because they're not as willing to invade other nations at will, but because movements like trying to make teachers to not use red ink when grading because it causes anxiety in school children. Honestly since we're in a representative government it would be nice for the Senator from Kansas to be the Senator from Kansas and not be the Republican Senator from Kansas so he or she can represent our state on a per issue basis and not some other entity that appears to have a blanket approach to all issues. Frankly, parties should be outlawed if we hope to make any progress at all.

They're both useless kid. Subscribing to an idealogy shows that you are incapable of making decisions. Essentially though democrats, or liberals, tend to believe in helping the little guy and get a lot of crap for raising tax money because they actually believe in funding programs and not just going further into debt. The republican party is full of big businessmen who use the ignorance of the relgious majority against them to gain support and loot the nation blind. Republicans, or conservatives, claim to believe in limitied government, but they'd be the first of the two parties to declare martial law and like to regulate what happens in bedrooms and reproductive rights (though they do both to get votes and I doubt they really care about either). They also tend to invade other nations at will, for no clearly definied reason and with no clear plan, but appararently for war profiteering for those among them. An extreme democrat is a communist. An extreme republican is a fascist. That's the simplest way to put it. But once again, it's all crap.

I don't know how many here are following this but I've been waiting for these to become available in the US for about 6 months. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait longer, but the UKer's here appear to be lucky enough to get one next month. Once thought to be long extinct, this ancient species was discovered endangered in Australia. Now, the Australians are selling as much of it as the can to try to keep its numbers up. Why would I want one? What's not to love? http://www.wollemipine.com/ It's ancient: It has strange bark: And you can tell by looking at it it's not your average pine: Here's a note on availability oustide of Australia: For those inside Australia, you should be able to get one April 1st. I like what the Australians are doing here, but I have no idea how much one of these are going for and where the money goes when they get it. Hopefully it funds similar efforts.

I keep hearing good things about Urbana. They may just be straight chemistry though. Borrow as much money as possible, moey is fiction and knowledge is something worth having. You'll just have to overrule them. And, as with my usual advice for young students, struggle through as much math, physics, and chemistry as possible because with that sort of base everything else becomes easy.

Geology is fantastic. If you're still young, and even if you aren't, I have to suggest that you struggle and fight your way through as much math, chemistry, and physics as possible. It makes everything else so much easier.

No, I didn't. Thank God that's all that was, I was getting worried because I generally have faith in you knowing what you're talking about. Just a miscommunication.

E=hv. I can't really say anything more than that. I was trying to illustrate to the author of this thread that once a photon is absorbed that's not necessarily the end of it, but if that energy isn't doing anything it is lost as heat. I was trying to show that while it does not have mass it is still energy. I don't understand the issue here. Light has a very real effect on many chemical processes. Need a list?

I do a pretty decent amount of analytical chemistry. We use spectroscopy to stretch, bend, and make molecules and atoms vibrate by exposing them to sets of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. You can heat up molecules and make them vibrate, and you can also make the molecules vibrate, stretch, bend by exposing them to certain wavelengths and that energy eventually leaves.

When the photon is absorbed the vibration it causes either causes friction and is lost as heat, or it can do useful work overcomming an activation barrier or decomposing a molecule. It sort of depends on the situation. And no, that says nothing about the universe filling with light. I don't know what you're saying here. If you're saying why can't you hold a photon in a box? Well, you can. Just not for very long. And it's more of a mirrored pocket than a box. If you're asking why can't you stuff photons in a box, and fill it up until it bursts, well, you can do that too, if you have material inside that decomposes to a gas when exposed to a particular area of the electromagentic spectrum. You can take Planck's equation E=hv and say that E/h = v, which says verbally Energy over Planck's constant = frequency. Wavelength, frequency, and energy are all intertwined.

I was agreeing with you that we are far from having people standing shoulder to shoulder on the face of the earth, but I was also making the point that we need land to provide resources for these people. So, reaching our population limit for earth will arrive far before we reach the point of standing shoulder to shoulder.

They actually put on their coins in... Bangladesh?.... a picture that tries to tell people to only have 2 kids. It's true, we could all stand shoulder to shoulder on the face of the earth, and we're far from that, but we need the land to provide resources for everyone. And it's hard to get resources out of land people are standing shoulder to shoulder on. I enjoyed your response, thank you for reading my post. I very much see your point. But the fact is that if we have somebody who is ignorant of the fact that we call the sun a star is useless to the earth and should be one of the first to go if cuts need to be made. I mean, we're only talking about the study of reality here. It's not like I'm asking them what actor with Parkinson's disease played Alex P. Keaton on TV's Family Ties? Of course they'd all know that the answer is Michael J. Fox. But by knowing that it doesn't show that they have any usefull purpose at all.

Watch the Science Channel too. It's a Discovery Channel. The History Channel also has some good science on it sometimes, as does History International.

Well, if you really need to speak to an African I can get you a few dozen in less than a minute. It appears as though all of the africans, indians, sri lankans, pakistanis, iranians, vietnamese, and fillipinos in the world who go to university in america go to my university and live in my dorm.

Phew. I was like, Chuck Norris doesn't have a soul, he's going to rip somebody off. Thankfully, all is well.

Yeah, way to limit your audience BBC. We don't mind the probably ever present anti-American messages in it, we get those all the time.

If a photon disappears it's because it's absorbed by a material. A photon is a discrete packet of energy and makes whatever material it's being absorbed by vibrate, the magnitude of the vibration dependent on it's wavelength, aka color (in the visible spectrum). It's energy, and when it's spent, it's spent (meaning the energy is transfered to the material it's being absorbed by and no more photon). Now absorbing photons can make a material emit photons, but I think that may be outside of the realm of your question as it has nothing to do with the general "death" of a photon. I hope that answers your question.

Let's not get crazy. How much of that land supports vegetation?

I'm talking really basic stuff. I mean really basic. Like: "The sun is A) God B) The largest lightbulb known to man C) A blimp that caught fire D) A star." I'm more interested in weeding out the agressively ignorant than I am simply perserving the "smart." Of course, those with mental disabilities will be exused, but the fundies will not be. This is an effort for a perfect world.

Jesus Christ. I give up.

Screw that. What they should do is make everyone take a test with really basic math, physics, chemistry, biology, and geology, and if you don't score above a certain level your reproductive organs are destroyed. We just need less of the belligerently ignorant.

Okay, here.

Don't worry. The sooner oil runs out the better. We can readily produce natural gas (or as I like to call, termite honey), but I'd rather use nongreenhouse gas emitting sources. We can use ethanol to run our cars until we get a clue. High gas prices are good too (as a result of overpopulation) if it makes people drive less, and if that's driving less to the fast food joint. I hope the oil companies make gas $10 a gallon. It may save us some stress. The only bad thing about that is it (gas prices) is the effect on the working poor, of which I am one, except for the working part. Food, we're still okay. But probably the effect I'm most concerned about is that we'll simply have more ignorant people tearing up the ecosytem, with no thought, remorse, or chance for prevention.

Kurt Friggin Cobain!!!!!!!!!!!! Kurt Cobain!!!!! Hello! You're thinking of James Dean. Anyway, bascule, Kurt Cobain is very much alive. I saw him in an Applebee's in Kansas about 8 years ago. When he saw me his eyes got big because I was wearing cargo pants and I think he was worried I'd freak out and give him away, but I gave him a look that let him know he's safe. He's fine. I don't know who the body is.