JMJones0424

Geodes start out hollow, but given enough time in the right circumstances, the mineral crystals can grow to fill the entire void. These are very common in areas with limestone bedrock. I fondly remember hunting geodes in the creek beds outside of Austin when I was young.

Arbitrarily assigning meaning... rotating a figure 180o has nothing at all to do with astrology. Again, arbitrarily assigning meaning. Had you asked, I'd have told you why I have used that art as an avatar for a number of years. Sadly, I have lost the original source, I will try to find it. Here is the source for the original artwork. It's hard to make out when it's that small, but the figure behind the meditating man is a representation of the E8 Lie group, which besides being far beyond my ability to understand and remarkably beautiful in its own way, happens to be the basis of the somewhat controversial theory of everything proposed by Garret Lisi. Ultimately, I find the picture visually pleasing, and feel no need to justify my selection of it as an avatar to you for any reason whatsoever. Again, you've lost me. None of this has bugger all to do with a 4 x 4 grid of numbers that are arranged in a way so that every column and row and the two diagonals have the same sum. I like playing with numbers. It keeps my fragile, old mind sharp. I especially like doing sudoku puzzles. I would find it absurd if anyone proposed sudoku puzzles are capable of explaining anything meaningful in physics. I see no difference between that absurdity and what you are attempting to do. No, if anything I attempted to use number theory to show you that there is nothing divine, mystical, magical, meaningful, or otherwise important about a magic square. It is a number puzzle, nothing more. EDIT: Found the source for my avatar, or at least the place I first saw it.

It's called a geode

No, what I did was show that zero has no particular significance in a magic square, and in fact, there is no magic at all involved. It's the same as the shortcut for adding 0+1+2+3...+13+14+15 arranged in a 4 by 4 grid. The lines were just to show the order that the table is filled, and that as long as the order of ascending numbers is a 180o rotation of the descending numbers, you end up with a magic square. Because you are arbitrarily assigning meaning to the meaningless.

One is a number. It represents nothing in and of itself. I don't understand what you mean. Your x and y values are not compatible with the formula you are trying to use. As I have shown, given your x, your y is invalid. What are the units on the two numbers you are using? I do not understand what you mean by precession in an exponential way. Perhaps you are using the wrong word. That's just silly. We've already shown how either x or y in [math] x^{2}- 92 \: y^{2}=1[/math] can equal zero. My understanding of what you are trying to prove is equal to zero. The number of Lamborghinis I own is equal to zero. Congratulations, you assembled a string of alphanumeric symbols. What meaning are you trying to convey?

What? Given your value for x, your value for y is incorrect. That the exact, correct value has a denominator of 2 is neither relevant nor proof of anything. You've provided no proof of your constant of 2 word salad, and you've yet to explain what [math] x^{2}- 92 \: y^{2}=1[/math] has to do with Brahmagupta's formula. As the link you provided explains, it is a method of determining the area of a quadrilateral inscribed in a circle. EDIT: fixed link

It's numerology, plain and simple. Take totally unrelated things, do arbitrary mathematics on them until you get an answer that is close enough to your desired outcome and voila! Proof!!!!1!!11

if [math]x = 0[/math] [math]y = i\sqrt{\frac{1}{92}}[/math] x isn't in the denominator, so I don't understand why it matters, unless you don't want y to be an imaginary number.

Given your value for x, your value for y is incorrect. [math] x^{2}- 92 \: y^{2}=1[/math] [math]y = \sqrt{\frac{x^{2}-1}{92}}[/math] [math]y = \sqrt{\frac{17403623434808744 ^{2}-1}{92}}[/math] [math]y \approx \pm 1814453171489560[/math] Wolfram Alpha calculation EDIT: corrected LaTeX notation

Architekt- I don't understand the connection between some of the links you posted and the magic square. Would you care to elaborate? Also, a lot of the links are to downloadable pdfs. Is there any way you could host them on a free image hosting service like photobucket and then include the image in your post rather than requiring readers to download a file? I cannot comment on Bell's theorem as I don't feel like I understand it or how you feel it is connected to magic squares. I don't think in this case that 1 represents anything, it could just as easily have been 2, 497, or any other integer. The lines are just the order in which the table is filled. The inverse square law is a physical law describing certain phenomenon, such as gravity, where the measured property is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. It is not applicable to a table of numbers. EDIT: You edited your post as I was responding. I honestly don't see what significance you are placing in this arrangement of numbers, but I'm not one for numerology either, so perhaps it's best if I bow out now.

Nothing special here. If you want to get rid of the zero, add 1 to every value and the "magic" remains. In fact, there's nothing magical at all about this arrangements of numbers. I don't know the proper terminology to explain this correctly, but perhaps I can get my point across this way. The arrangement is meant to have 180o symmetry. 00 + 15 = 01 + 14 = 02 + 13 = 03 + 12= 04 + 11 = 05 + 10 = 06 + 09 = 07 + 08 The red arrows represent the first of each pair above, and the blue arrows represent the second. I think, and someone should be able to prove mathematically, but it is beyond my ability to do so, that as long as the red and blue arrows are 1800 rotations, any particular arrow patterns will work to make a "magic square". Note that I made two groups of arrows where one would have sufficed in order to make my point more clear.

Numerous non-profit and for profit organizations maintain seed banks and "heritage" varietals. The one I use most is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. These groups serve two purposes, they maintain older varieties that are not currently commercially viable but still have appeal or may prove useful for breeding projects in the future, and they also serve as a reserve of genetics should the homogenization of commercial lines lead to a catastrophic problem in the industry such as a particular disease or pest susceptibility. On another note, this is the second time I've seen you interject into this thread that we need to "stop trying to prove each other wrong." I am not, nor do I believe anyone else in this thread is dogmatically trying to assert my position. I am trying to clear up a specific confusion that I have noticed. Asking us to do otherwise is unproductive.

No. First of all, you've yet to give an example of sterile potato line. I'm not convinced that you understand what a true breeding line is. A true breeding line is a cultivar of a plant that when it is crossed with another of the same cultivar produces seed that contains the same characteristics as the parents. A hybrid is a cross between two different cultivars. Hybrids marketed by seed companies typically contain desirable traits from both parent lines, but hybrids will not produce seed that are true to type. In order to maintain a hybrid cultivar, you must purchase seed that is the cross of the original parents from a seed company, make the seed yourself, or vegetatively propagate the plant. Because potatoes propagate so readily from last year's seed potatoes, it is more common to use vegetative propagation to grow a particular hybrid cultivar. This does not mean the seeds from that hybrid are sterile. They just don't reliably produce plants with the desired traits. This also does not mean that no one grows potato from seed. In order to breed potatoes and come up with new lines, you have to maintain breeding stock to cross. I think you are confusing different topics in this thread. Please, continue asking questions, but I can't read your mind. If I don't immediately address your concerns, it isn't because I'm trying to pull the wool over your eyes, it's because I don't know what you know.

Perhaps I wasn't clear last time, potatoes are typically grown from tubers rather than seed as a matter of convenience. Potatoes can and do p[roduce viable seed, that ends up being new potatoes. Volunteer potatoes are an issue, specifically because most commercial potato varieties are hybrids that don't breed true, and when they do self-seed a field, they end up contaminating next year's harvest with potatoes that have unwanted characteristics if the volunteers are not dealt with. Nothing. It has already been explained succinctly. Many agricultural crops are simply cultivars of species found in the wild. Besides the political concerns, even if there is no concern about some kind of run-away contamination of modified genes in the wild, you don't necessarily want some genes, like those that enable pest or disease resistance, to spread to wild populations. If they do, then pests and diseases resistant to that gene are more likely to arise, and your IPM strategies are now defeated. This is the same reason that pesticides are best used when they are targeted for a particular problem rather than used broadly. Your observation is ludicrous. Try and make a list of commercial varieties that are not hybrids and you'll find how far off the mark you are. That's great. So few of the population has any connection to the origin of their food that debates like this seem to devolve into people shouting past each other. Let's see if we can correct more of your unfounded assumptions.

LEDs are more efficient, in that they produce more lumens per watt, however they emit almost no infrared radiation. An HID metal halide will radiate away a tremendous amount of waste heat through infrared, but a comparable LED can only shed that heat through conduction into massive heat sinks. Poorly designed heat sinks are notorious for reducing the lifespan of LED assemblies.

I have not grown this particular cultivar, Maris Piper, but I couldn't find any reference to its inability to produce viable seed after a quick google search. Commercial potato varieties, like many other agricultural crops, do not typically breed true, so in order to maintain a particular cultivar, you plant seed potatoes rather than true potato seed. This does not mean that the seeds produced by the plant are not viable. If your vines aren't producing seed, then they may not be well suited to your conditions. I've dabbled in saving seed from potatoes, but I don't regularly do it because I don't regularly plant very many potato vines, but if you have a particular question I may be able to help, or you may find a search for "true potato seed" to be helpful.

Wave length with LEDs shouldn't be much of an issue anymore if you dig around for what you want, but there has not, and I suspect there may never be, a solution to the lack of intensity in LEDs for applications such as greenhouses and aquariums where you need to penetrate through water and/or canopy. They're great for low-intensity accent lighting for the human eye. High intensity lighting with LEDs must overcome both heat issues and fundamentally poor intensity. Sadly, looks like MH lamps may be the only option for high intensity aquarium lighting for some time. Have you tried high wattage CFLs with good hoods? I don't have a huge aquarium, only 75 gallons, and it's a Walstad natural-style, freshwater planted tank, so it's backed against a south facing window for most of its light. I supplement with high wattage CFLs as I can more easily direct the light to the plants that need it most when compared to a single or couple 250w MH.

You asked for an easy way to determine the center of mass, and that was given. Center of mass is a basic concept. You can think of it as the intersection of the balance point of an object on three axes. You ask for a way to determine the location of "the electron" for a rock, and we ask for clarification and tried to explain why that particular question is meaningless. You are conversing with at least two other people, as I am not responding in other names. I do not understand what you are trying to do. I do not understand how you are tying shape, color, size, and "point of origin of time" in with center of mass. I have tried to explain why I do understand your question. Please, restate the question. What are you trying to determine, if it isn't the center of mass. If you are looking for the center of mass, the question has already been answered.

If there isn't a language barrier issue involved, I think you need to take a breath and start over from the beginning. The center of mass of an object is not, in any way, where "the electron" is located. Every atom, of which there are numerous in any given rock, will have numerous electrons. The location of those electrons has absolutely nothing to do with the center of mass. If the rock were hollow, the center of mass of the rock could in fact contain no "rock electrons" at all. I do not believe that anyone in this thread has been intentionally condescending or dogmatic. Instead, we're trying to figure out what the heck you are talking about. A mole* of silicon, a common element in rocks, is 6.02x1023 atoms, weighing about 28 grams. That 28 grams of silicon would contain about 8.43x1024 electrons. That huge number of electrons is not located at the center of mass, but rather is distributed amongst the constituent atoms. *A mole is a number that describes a group of something, similar to a dozen. EDIT:atomic weight of Si is about 28, not 14

Those haplogroup tests come in two flavors. One tests for identifiers in the y chromosome, and the other for changes in the mitochondrial DNA. Because your grandmother doesn't have a y chromosome, you'd only be tracking her ancestry through her mother. You would need to test the closest living male descendant of your great-grandfather.

For a modest price, you may find that a DNA test to find which haplogroup you belong to may be a more precise approach rather than trying to subjectively identify characteristics from a photo. A google search should lead you to some companies offering this service.

This pretty well sums up my thoughts on the matter, and why I voted for "other".

First, and most importantly, I'd recommend following your teacher's advice in this instance for no other reason than that your teacher is the one that assigns grades. However, my incomplete understanding of grammar leads me to make a few observations. Steaming is not really a verb, it is a present participle. It is an adjective modifying tea. Furthermore, a comma is used before certain conjunctions when joining two sentences. "Because" is not one of those conjunctions. This is English, the grammar isn't supposed to be logical, it just is. The only time I think it is appropriate to use a comma when using because is when the sentence order is rearranged. For example: "Because you have already burnt your tongue once today, don't drink the steaming tea."

This is the case. Local taxes were being used to secure lifeguards for the beach and public swimming pools, presumably in the manner deemed most appropriate by the local officials. I can easily envision a situation where a local government has a need for a few lifeguards, but does not already have the expertise required to identify, train, and manage those lifeguards at a level of quality expected by the public. This is precisely why any agency, public or private, may choose to contract out particular services. I am not convinced that government control would have necessarily prevented this situation. At a basic level, this appears to me to be a failure of management, from which government agencies are certainly not immune. At a larger level, I would claim that the original fault lies with the local government in failing to ensure that the public's desire was correctly executed. The company providing the lifeguard service claimed that liability issues prevented on-duty lifeguards from leaving their area of responsibility. Assuming this is accurate, had a government agency been under the same restrictions, I wouldn't expect a different outcome. The Netherlands and the US are two vastly different countries, with vastly different situations. Your solution, that local lifeguards work closely with the coastguard, is neither practical nor possible for the US. Contracting out of house for particular services should be done by any agency, public or private, when that agency believes it can more efficiently reach its goals using external resources. Obvious exceptions to this would include special situations like defense, police, prisons (which are frequently, incorrectly in my opinion, privatized in my area), and other areas where a private entity should not be entrusted with the authority necessary to carry out these duties, particularly in fields where the use of force or enforcement of the law is concerned. You may claim lifeguards belong in this special group as well, and if so, we will have to agree to disagree. But I do not accept the argument that the failure here was specifically dut to the fact that lifeguarding services were contracted to a private entity.

Why is your belief based on your unsupported and subjective experience a statement of fact, yet someone else's subjective experience and beliefs are nonsense? Is your criteria for determining if a statement is factual whether or not the statement agrees with your preconceived notions? You appear to me to be arguing that fairy tale A must be false because it does not agree with fairy tale B, which you know to be true.