"Angels and Demons" - Reality Check!

Yes, you have guessed it, I am reading the second first book by Mr Boring Author Name Award 2005 - Dan Brown.

"Angels and Demons" is the precursor to "The Da Vinci Code" (See my post).

It is a story that starts where I have just given up a job - CERN (Centre European pour la Recherche Nucleaire), and central to the plot is an understanding of what antimatter is. Everything he says about CERN is correct, but he needs to brush up on his Physics a little!

Of course I know what poetic license is, but all the same, allow me to enlighten you a little as to the difference between Dan Brown and physics.

Anti-Matter? Physics. Recent production? No, CERN have been doing it for 20 years.

LHC? Yes, it exists, I have been there. Diameter 8 km? Yes.

Making a miniature Big Bang in the LHC? No. Making matter from nothing? No. Mr Brown conveniently forgets about all the energy needed to send the particles around the ring.

Matter-antimatter energy conversion 100% efficient? Oh yes!

Here's the rub - Bottles of antimatter? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Many reasons:

1) Antiprotons need a true vacuum to be stable. Even intergalactic space is not even a true vacuum (see my space Sickness Pills post), and certainly a true vacuum on earth is impossible, and certainly if one is created, minute leaks will soon cause annihilation.

2) Stable magnetic bottle? Well, we are still working on that one, and it is not quite perfected yet.

3) The Bottle in the story has a quarter gram of antiprotons. Antiprotons have a negative charge. All of them. To overcome the negative electrostatic repulsion, one would have to have GI-normous magnetic fields involving magnets the size of rooms.

The REAL stuff that CERN does with antiprotons is exactly as Mr Brown explains - we throw protons round the LHC and using the same magnets, hurl antiprotons the other way. It works because they have the same mass.

At certain points in the ring we collide them, and collect the debris using huge detectors the size of office buildings.

What happens when a proton (travelling at 99% the speed of light) collides with an antiproton (travelling with the same speed in the opposite direction)? Annihilation, of course! But in this case, not only is the energy from the particles' mass available (939 MeV x 2 via e=mc2), but also the relativistic kinetic energy x 2.

Result; Two gamma rays, travelling in opposite directions (2 because both energy AND momentum need to be conserved). These gamma rays have so much energy that the reverse now happens.

Using E=mc2 many other particles are simply created (yes, created out of thin air, one particle, one antiparticle)

Why does this happen? It is exactly like a spark of electricity or lightning. In either, there is so much charge, that despite being an insulator, the air breaks down and carries a current.

Same with these two gamma rays, and they both become two "jets" of particles. These are called two-jet events, and were used to discover the intermediate vector boson, predicted in 1974, the carrier of the weak force, the Z-0. This was detected in the early eighties.

Sometimes, though, but not very often, we see a "3-jet event". That is, the two gamma rays become three jets instead of two. This is a purely gluon event........

For more, just watch this space.....

Classify this One, then!

The "Darwin Awards" usually go to that individual who kills him/herself in such a stupid way, that Charles Darwin would have been happy that that said individual had been removed from the Global Gene Pool.

For example, a few years back, I forget the exact details, but a Chinese fighter pilot decided to "escort" a formation of US fighters through Chinese air space, so that they could safely land in China, I think, about a grounded US Hercules (correct me if I wrong). Anyway, his wing touched a US fighter's wing, and he went out of control, and crashed, killing him. He made it to the Darwin Awards Website.

How about this one: In Hilusig, where I was a guest again for the last 2 weeks or so, this happened only yesterday:

Two guys had been drinking. Heavily.

These two decided it would be a good idea to go for a ride, in the dark, on a motorcycle, after the said alcohol-consuming activity.
(and of course, in the Philippines, motorcycle helmets do NOT exist)

There is only one road in Hilusig, and it is unlit at night - you only have headlights to guide you. There are no city lights, only the Stars and pitch blackness to see by.

Not surprising, then, that they apparently crashed at speed.

The lead rider was killed. Also not surprising since Hilusig sits on the side of a mountain.

The pillion rider lived.

The question begs itself: Who deserves the Darwin Award most, even though you have to be dead to get it?!?!?!

Obviously, the guy who was killed got the award, but what about the passenger? Did he not deserve it more for agreeing to be ridden into the night by another drunk guy?

Maybe the second guy is a victim of the "Final Destination" scenario...?

..or is that...."will be.....?"

"Exciting is Hardly the Word I would Choose"

As said by R2D2 (George's abbreviation for "Roll 2 Dialogue 2" in the original Episode IV screenplay), but translated to us by C3PO.

The quote illustrates to me how travel is ~ exciting ~ but, to pessimist C3PO, quite the opposite.

I refer to the recent loss of my passport. I droppped it, somewhere in the departure lounge at Manila Domestic airport. As usual, this one lounge was packed with people (maybe up to 1000). However, panic I did not. I just retraced my steps, inch by inch, until I reached the point where Ilast knew I had it, near to the newsstand. So I approached the clerk, and he said to ne there was a guy who had found it, and was currently looking for me using my photo. Soon after, I found him, and expressed my profound gratitude with a kiss on the cheek.

Travel can be dangerous at times, and I had simply left it on the floor whilst i checked my baggage, assuming I had already pocketed it into my jeans back pocket.

I thank the Maker that I have a cool head.

"I have a really bad feeling about this"

It has been reported that the Space Shuttle Discovery is missing some tiles from the heat shield.

This is the worst possible news the astronauts up there can receive. Bearing in mind that I have intermittent Internet access, and I only learned this from CNN on tv, I may be mistaken into thinking they are in grave danger.

But in the last post but one I expressed my fear that they may be in real trouble.

Seems I was right.

I wonder what NASA will do now? Effect repairs? Order them to stay at the Space Station until further notice?

These last series of postings after "Hold That Thought" were written over a period of about 10 days, but will all have similar posting dates, as I have had to write and then save to FD.

I Have a Bad Feeling About This....

February 1st, 2003....Columbia Space Shuttle destroyed upon re-entry (Yes, Q, we know you said that!) due to debris from an SRB removing a heat-shield tile from the wing.

July 27th, 2005... Discovery Space Shuttle filmed having the same problem of debris falling off the SRB.

July 28th, 2005... All Space Shuttle flights grounded indefinitely, whilst the crew of Discovery are still in orbit attached to the International Space Station.

NASA say that is all ok as all aspects of the Shuttle in question have been "digitally photographed" and have been found to be "acceptable".

They have been given the go-ahead to try re-entry (Q-squared).

NASA have played it down, but I think these guys (Captained by a GIRL!) are in real trouble.

Just my opinion.

The Sixth Sith Sitch Itch - Part Two

(Whoops! As I write this on the 7th Floor of one of Tacloban's better hotels, we get a mild earthquake. At least, that is what the floor thought, along with the celebrating curtains, who danced merrily! (1930 on 28th July))

Finally viewed "Star Wars - Episode III". Got a VCD from the streets of Tacloban for a dollar. Stereo, too. This guy must have had a Dolby surround sound system and a stereo video camera. He recorded it straight from the TV, unlike the usual crap we get here, viz, someone with a mono cam sneaking into a cinema.

And did I enjoy it! Did I? DID I! Stooges beware!

At last, the reason Anakin fell from Grace is clear. He was under fire from the Dark Side.

The Emperor had TWO minds, not just a new one.

Still in Science-Fiction mode, I also today caught Star Trek - Nemesis, the 10th ST movie. Two quotes:

Picard: "That is what it is to be human. To make yourself more than you are"

And, this one:

"Fire at Will!"

I fail to see what Riker could possibly have done to merit this dishonor (sorry, Worf!)

Decisions, Decisions....!

The main question I have to face is: Do I love Physics enough to give up my well-paid job to go back to the fundamental research?

An idea occurred to me is that I may be able to delegate the main responsibilities of my job, whilst getting paid for it, AND to return to my PhD.

I am currently discussing this with my parents here in Hilusig and Tacloban. (Sounds a bit like the conference in Iceland in "You Only Live Twice" - the parties go to a neutral territory to discuss a highly emotive issue)

High Numbers.....Who?

What is the highest number?

Stupid question, really, as there is no "highest" number.

Alright then, let us qualify it a bit.

What is the highest number that has ever been used, and can easily be understood? (I put in that last caveat "easily be understood", as Graham's number is much, much larger, but requires far more algebra to understand)

To answer that, a little background is necessary. (For you guys out there who know I am at least modestly adept in algebra, you can skip this, but I know you will read it anyway. Hey! I have said this before!)

The background needed is about the prime numbers. Prime numbers are numbers that cannot be divided by anything exactly, other than themselves and 1. For example, 12 is not a prime number because it is divisible by 1,2,3,4,6 and 12. However, 13 is a prime number, because it can only be divided by 1 and 13.

So far so good.

Many math guys have tried to find formulas (formulae, atch) to generate prime numbers, the two simplest being "4n+1" and "4n-1" where "n" is an integer (whole number). These two yield prime numbers sometimes, but not always, and the race is ON! Which will bring in the most prime numbers?

Well, up to n = 125,000, there is a clear winner, but after that, the winner oscillates back and forth, much like a rather close horse race.

Background over. Serious stuff now. It has been proved that the "lead" will always oscillate until a certain number has been reached, then one will dominate and probably win. This is the number I am talking about.

The answer to the question:

What is the highest number that has ever been used, and can easily be understood?

It is up to now, this number. Let's call it "F". It is not less than 10 to the power 10 to the power 10 to the power 34.

Fairly big number.

Allow me to illustrate how big it actually is.

To conceptualise high numbers (who?) there needs to be some sort of measuring stick. The measuring stick I choose is the
"average number of distinct prime factors". Now, what is a prime factor?

A prime factor is a prime number which exactly divides the number in question. For instance, 6 has factors which divide it exactly to be 1, 2, 3 and 6. Since 2 is by definition a prime number, and we don't count 1, the number of prime factors of 6 is two (6 is not a prime number). How about 28? Well, the numbers that divide 28 exactly are 28, 14, 7, 2, and 1. Only 2 and 7 are prime numbers. That makes two prime factors.

How about 37, a prime number?

Only 1 and 37 exactly divide this prime number, so the number of distinct prime factors is one only (37).

So, in the run up from 1 to 100, what is the "average" number of distinct prime factors for this range? Turns out, it is only about 1.9.

How about the range 1 - 1000? The "average" number of distinct prime factors, (lets call it AP(n)) jumps to about 1.95. The occurrence of the prime numbers brings this average down.

How about 1 - 1,000,000? AP(n) climbs to about 2.3.

Let's get really bold = 1 - googol (a googol is 1 followed by 100 zeroes). Yes, a significant jump.....to AP(n) = 19.

Now here is the measure that I was talking about. What if we average out the number of distinct prime factors for the numbers between 1 and F (10 to the 10 to the 10 to the 34, the number earlier outlined).

What is AP(n) for n = F? It is truly a measure of the magnificence of F when we discover that AP(F) is a number in excess of 10 to the 24! 1 followed by 24 zeroes! That is, there are , on average, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 distinct prime factors in the numbers preceding F.

Remember, this is only the "average"!

Isn't math wonderful, especially with The High Numbers (Who?)?

Taking a Break

I have left the climes of CERN and the whole Nuclear Physics shebang for a while, to go visit my old (yet still young) roommate Raquel here in the Philippines. The reason is two-fold:

a) to see old friends again, and

b) to discuss with my parents where I should go from here.

Suffice it to say, I want to continue with my PhD, no matter how hard it is.

Ideas? Of Course! Delegation!

It is very rainy here right now, Tacloban City must be getting a storm a day at precisely 3 o'clock. Doc Brown would be so proud.

My thoughts go out to a certain passenger whom I met on my flight here, with his lovely girlfriend. Both seemed a little uneasy at coming here, but they soon wised up. I have even read on a certain blog that they thought travel in Manila was without rules! Shah! This was the one thing I neglected to advise them about as they disembarked into the oven that is called "the air" here!