MigL

Seems to me, that, of the now several people involved in this discussion , only one has displayed the behavior mentioned in the OP. So the behavior doesn't seem to be as widespread as the OP assumes. Or maybe he's trying to prove his assertion by acting it out...

Just to be technical, photons are called 'quantum' particles, which conveys a whole different meaning than 'classical' particles.

OK I'll play too... Why are attached dwellings called APARTments ? Why are the places where you sit at a sports game called the STANDs ?

Just because a certain model can be applied to a physical situation does not mean that model is applicable in ALL circumstances. A Fourier expansion models the square wave of a switch or diode as a combination of odd harmonics, and that is useful for analyzing certain behavior ( as does the wave behavior in the partial differential Telegraph equation for current AND voltage ), yet what is physically happening is that charge carriers are started and stopped from moving by a potential barrier or a gap. And since current is simply the rate of flow of charge carriers past a point ( or into and out of a region ), I don't see how applying a wave model clarifies the situation. And does not give justification for saying that starting stopping DC current is equivalent to AC current

That is true; there were similar stories in 2009 when it shrank/dimmed by 15 %. Possibly all due to its variability. However it is estimated that it has been in the red giant phase for about 40,000 yrs, and I wouldn't mind seeing a supernova in my lifetime.

Betelgeuse has been acting strange lately. Over the past two months it has dimmed considerably. Its luminosity is usually variable, but the amount of dimming is considerable since October, and it being a red giant, could be nearing the end of its life and about to go supernova. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/12/27/is-betelgeuse-one-skys-brightest-stars-brink-supernova/ https://www.sciencealert.com/betelgeuse-looks-fainter-than-usual-and-we-re-all-hoping-this-star-is-about-to-pop https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/betelgeuse-is-acting-strange-astronomers-are-buzzing-about-supernova/ It is a huge star that, if located in our solar system, would extend out to nearly the orbit of Jupiter. The sad part is that, if it DID go supernova, we wouldn't know about it for approx. 640 years; so it may have already happened several centuries ago !

Shame on you , Zap.

Hope everyone is sharing the Christmas holydays with family and loved ones. May the season bring all the best to you and yours.

Sorry Mordred. Edited my post after you replied. I stand corrected.

Could be I have it backwards... Just going by gas laws, cooler would indicate denser. Edit: Going by your link, there are various possible explanations. If there was a correlation between the "cold' spot and the supervoid, the other possibilities would be easily eliminated. Instead, it seems, since the discovery evidence has mounted against a correlation ( also from your link ). And this is a single anomaly in the gaussian temp distribution. Where are the other correlation indicators ?

Those variances you see ( as color ) evolved after 300000 years. It has been approximately 13500000000 years since then. Do you think not much has changed ??? From the latest measurements, once you subtract the dipole anisotropy ( due to the sun/galaxy motion against the relatively fixed CMBR background ), you are left with a variance of 0.0002 deg K. Just because they seem so much different when they are colored red and blue, does not mean there is more than a couple of parts in 10000 difference. https://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/bb_cosmo_fluct.html The variances have value in the study of structure formation, but I really don't think you can point to a particular area and say " this cooler/denser area has become this particular galactic cluster" or "This hotter area has become this particular void".

More importantly... I can't believe you couldn't get a good sandwich in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1947.

Maybe, for that particular beach, and those particular rocks, you have your wave action wrong. Maybe the waves are strong enough, coming in, to push those size rocks onto shore, but after losing strength on the rocks/sand, are not strong enough to pull the larger ones back out. The point of the quote is not whether the rocks are sorted large to small, or small to large, but that they are sorted in a particular order. IOW the process generates order.

I think that is a strictly American attribute, Zap. In Canada, and I believe in Europe also, every party from Conservatives to Socialists ( and all the people ) put our trust in universal medical care. The parties are still working out the details/feasibility, but in a few years we might even have dental care and prescription drugs included.

That is a temperature 'map' from over 13.5 billion years ago. Features on that map would have been 'seeds' for present features. But you won't see a correlation between features ( like maybe galaxies/clusters but certainly not stars ) and differently colored ( temperature ) areas.

So now R Gervais is under fire for allegedly transphobic tweets. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/celebrity/ricky-gervais-under-fire-for-transphobic-tweets-he-claims-are-jokes/ar-BBYeR7O?ocid=spartandhp When did it become a thing, that people can be offended for OTHERS ?

Sooo... Creationism vs. Evolution defines your political ideology ? I always thought that defined ignorance ( and possibly a little stupidity )

No way. You're about a hundred years older than me.

Instead I ran across this foreboding comic in the news...

1st NIAGARA Scout Troop, JC ? Were you living in the Niagara region in 1970 ? I would have been in Gr.7 and attending St Alfred's Catholic School in St Catharines. Ahh, the 70s !

This is a science forum. NOT a numerology forum.

I fully understand that complying with someone's wishes may improve the quality of their lives. And in some extreme cases, may keep them from ending that life. I'm not going to callously suggest that we don't show common curtesy/compassion for our fellow humans. As I said, if a little thing on my part can make someone else's life more bearable, I don't have a problem with it at all. I don't say that all cases are due to 'mental conditions', but I would venture that at least some are, and sometimes a person's mental condition can lead them to believe things that are not good for them. I have similar issues with 'homelessness'. Shelter is provided for them by society, but some refuse to use them as they believe it takes away their independence. On a night like last night, when it got down to -15 deg, I'm torn on whether they have a right to independence, or if we, as a society should violate that right, and bring them indoors. Sometimes it is eye-opening to consider the 'other side'. ( and makes for a lively discussion )

Just to consider the opposing view, because being blindered is never a good thing. ( and also, then there is no discussion ) When does the 'spectrum' stop being a real thing and become someone's mental creation. Or to use Swansont's analogy, if we can say that the spectrum of concepts for gravity is not only Newtonian, but encompasses GR, does that mean SString theory is also part of the actual spectrum ? Or is it simply a mental creation, waiting for experimental/observational confirmation ( if it ever comes ) ? Edit: Not that it makes any difference to me what others do to feel fulfilled in life, but as a 'scientist', I abhor the idea that if something subjectively 'feels' right, it must be right. IE if I feel like a he/she/it/whatever then that IS what I am.

Very well, back on topic. It seems the wheels are starting to come off the cart for D Trump. Some of his most ardent supporters, that fringe sect of Christianity, the Evangelicals, are now calling for his removal from office. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html I haven't the stomach to read the whole thing, mostly going by the title, so I may be jumping to wrong conclusions. But if Republican supporters are starting to distance themselves from D Trump, how soon before Republican Senators ( worried about re-election ) do the same ?

Just to be a thorn in your side, John ... Personal Income tax was introduced in Canada in the year 1917. IIRC our Prime Minister from 1911 to 1920 was Sir R Borden, who was a Conservative until the election of 1917, and subsequently a Unionist ( I seem to remember from High School history class ). He not only introduced your criteria for liberalism, but also suffrage for women, in 1918.