Trivia Thread!

[Ent]

Interesting. Thanks for the clarification and link.
So in all of you's most educated understandings, is it possible to have a 'surface' temperature of the sun at 9,932F, but a corona (atmospheric) temperature at an average 1.8 MILLION degrees F?

Have you probed into the "modeling" used to arrive at these conclusions to see if it holds water (rhetorically)?

 

[Deimos]

Interesting. Thanks for the clarification and link.
So in all of you's most educated understandings, is it possible to have a 'surface' temperature of the sun at 9,932F, but a corona (atmospheric) temperature at an average 1.8 MILLION degrees F?

Have you probed into the "modeling" used to arrive at these conclusions to see if it holds water (rhetorically)?

Uhhh... to what "conclusions" of which discussions/postings are you referring?

 

[Ent]

The temperatures mentioned in my post just above, and in the original post, and which Olorgando was able to locate, from Science Magazine.
The article itself mentions the temperatures are arrived at through 'modeling' using telescopes able to 'see' various wavelengths or something, and estimates used in the 'modeling' apparently, to come to the conclusions.

Obviously nobody can go and actually measure such temperatures.... so we need to contrive other means of doing our 'best analysis' of the situation.

(they actually state the corona has temperatures of 900,000 degrees F through 4.5 Million degrees F, which I averaged at 1.8 Million for simplicity's sake.)

I just can't imagine a million degrees F, much less up to 4.5 million degrees.

The whole first article the extracts were taken from was their beginning theories about HOW the Sun manages to get from 9,932 F to the massive Coronal temperatures, though they admit it's all very new since a finding of 95 events in 2020 they're extrapolating from.

 

[Ent]

But this is really derailing this thread, so perhaps it should go to PM or something.

 

[Deimos]

But this is really derailing this thread, so perhaps it should go to PM or something.

Oh, so you are referring to the temperature data... some hard data come via spectroscopy from solar telescopes but some data are theoretical.
So yep, sun is still a big mystery.

 

[Ent]

Back to Trivia:

The world’s oldest wooden wheel has been around for more than 5,000 years​

It was found in 2002, approximately 12 miles south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and is now housed in the city’s museum. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the wheel’s age, which is somewhere between 5,100 and 5,350 years old.

Next time you're on Jeopardy this may be very useful.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Even though there are different types and sizes of stars, they all begin with the same components. Stars form from Interstellar gas, mostly hydrogen molecules. When these clouds are pushed into a spinning motion, a small mass begins to form centrally and continues growing. The more mass it gains, the hotter it becomes. When it reaches a temperature of 100 million degrees, nuclear fusion occurs, and a star is born.

Just over 90% of the elements that form our human bodies were formed in stars over the course of billions of years and the lifetimes of many different stars. However, it’s possible that hydrogen, which is found in all the body’s fluids, and lithium, which our body contains tiny trace amounts of, originated from the “Big Bang,” the birth of the universe, which scientists estimate occurred 13.8 billion years ago.

 

[Ent]

the “Big Bang,”

the 'multiple big bangs' according to Hawking's final theory, as he came to conclude a single big bang could not account for what we see, and what we have. (So the partner working with him on his final theory at the time before his demise has written.)

Unless someone has debunked the book he's written on the matter and I don't know about that yet, that is.

(p.s. - I'm currently breezing through that book again, to be sure whether I've mis-spoke. He definitely excluded the concept of 'parallel universes' - and I recall reading of his determination one big bang wasn't sufficient - but I want to validate that again.)

AHA. I had mis-read. Initially in years past, Hawking postulated multiple universes would require multiple big bangs, many of which would be incompatible with production of life.

His final work, accomplished with his fellow-author, revisits and revises the whole theory.
So... he actually abandoned both multiple universes and multiple big-bangs, remaining a proponent of just one.
Originally for him, the mathematics didn't support just one big bang. Later, the mathematics didn't support multiple big bangs and multiple universes.

Should be a fun read, as I go through his stuff from his early works in order to his last work.
I may even learn something along the way. (but I wouldn't hold your breaths.) 😄

 

[Olorgando]

From a Wikipedia article about Japan's Jomon culture, hunter-gatherers who had pottery as far back as 14,000 BC:

"The manufacture of pottery typically implies some form of sedentary life because pottery is heavy, bulky, and fragile and thus generally unsuitable for hunter-gatherers. However, this does not seem to have been the case with the first Jōmon people, who perhaps numbered 20,000 individuals over the whole archipelago. It seems that food sources were so abundant in the natural environment of the Japanese islands that they could support fairly large, semi-sedentary populations. The Jōmon people used chipped stone tools, ground stone tools, traps, and bows, and were evidently skillful coastal and deep-water fishers."

 

[Deimos]

the 'multiple big bangs' according to Hawking's final theory, as he came to conclude a single big bang could not account for what we see, and what we have. (So the partner working with him on his final theory at the time before his demise has written.)

......

His final work, accomplished with his fellow-author, revisits and revise the whole theory.
So... he actually abandoned boty multiple universes and multiple big-bangs, remaining a proponent of just one.

...

ROFL !!!
Since becoming enamoured of astronomy (and by extension, cosmology) at age 10, I have read the age of the universe to be 7 billion years, 10 billion years, 20 billion years, and now the latest guesstimate is 13.7 billion years.
Note that we have now advanced to one decimal place of resolution. Progress!
Steady-State model vs Big Bang with Oscillating Universe thrown in for good measure.

That's just one example. All theories, all guesses, some well reasoned, some not.
A theory only stands until challenged with a proven contradiction, and it only requires one, and then the theory falls, to be supplanted with the next theory du jour.
Yet, fun stuff to think about, but there are inherent limitations as man is not omniscient, nor his computers, nor his vaunted new toy AI.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

 

[Ent]

From KQED Science News:
The house centipede's legs get progressively longer toward the rear, which creates its characteristic outline and keeps them from getting tangled when they are running fast. And they can run fast — about 16 inches a second, which is pound for pound about the same as a human running 42 mph.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Ever wonder which character appeared in the most different TV series?
Richard Belzer is the King of the Crossovers. The former stand-up comic originated the Detective John Munch role in 1993 on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, which was set in Baltimore. In 1999, Homicide had a crossover with Law & Order, paying the way for Belzer to join the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims when it premiered in the fall of that year. Eventually, Belzer portrayed Munch on 10 different shows across five networks: Homicide (NBC), Law & Order (NBC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Law & Order: Trial by Jury (NBC), Arrested Development (Fox), The X-Files (Fox), The Beat (UPN), The Wire (HBO), 30 Rock (NBC) and Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC).

He also made a cartoon appearance on American Dad, and Sesame Street made a Muppet version.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

White holes emerge from the solutions of Einstein's theory of general relativity devised by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916, just a year after the theory was first published.

Schwarzschild was the guy who wrote down the mathematics that describes black holes in the universe as completely collapsed objects. He had to make a choice, there is nothing in general relativity that dictates which direction time flows in.

You could point the clock in this particular direction, and that's what gives you this picture where things fall into a black hole. That's where gravity is attractive, but you could also choose the opposite direction in which time flows and get the opposite effect. So as well as a black hole, the mathematics of Schwarzschild also gives us a white hole by just flipping the way that time works.

 

[Ent]

Having mentioned the dandelion in a separate post elsewhere for different purposes, here's a note from the Icahn School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai.

"The dandelion is chock full of vitamins A, B, C, and D, as well as minerals, like iron, potassium, and zinc.

Dandelion leaves are used to add flavor to salads, sandwiches, and teas. The roots are used in some coffee substitutes, and the flowers are used to make wines.

In the past, dandelion roots and leaves were used to treat liver problems.
Native Americans also boiled dandelion in water and took it to treat kidney disease, swelling, skin problems, heartburn, and upset stomach.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), dandelion has been used to treat stomach problems, appendicitis, and breast problems, such as inflammation or lack of milk flow. In Europe, dandelion was used in remedies for fever, boils, eye problems, diabetes, and diarrhea.

Dandelion leaves act as a diuretic, increasing the amount of urine the body makes, eliminating excess fluid. The leaves are used to stimulate the appetite and help digestion.

The roots are mainly used to stimulate the appetite, and by herbalists as a detoxifier, for liver and gallbladder problems, to help kidney function..

Dandelion flower has antioxidant properties.

Dandelion may also help improve the immune system.

So far, there have not been any quality scientific studies on dandelion."

(However, a lack of scientific studies does not seem to prevent us from hanging on to its apparent/stated/believed/hallucinated values. Not sure if that's a win ,or a loss personally.)

 

[Deimos]

Really. (Not that this is exactly a "cocktail party" topic of conversation...😆)
Manatee Buoyancy

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

With two layers of fur – for insulation and waterproofing, platypuses use their fur to trap a layer of air next to their skin so they can remain buoyant and dry when they’re underwater, which they are a lot. The platypus spends about 12 hours every day underwater looking for food.

No one knows why, but when these small brown creatures are put under UV lights, they give off a biofluorescent blue-green glow.

 

[Vorondil]

No one knows why, but when these small brown creatures are put under UV lights, they give off a biofluorescent blue-green glow.

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

With two layers of fur – for insulation and waterproofing, platypuses use their fur to trap a layer of air next to their skin so they can remain buoyant and dry when they’re underwater, which they are a lot. The platypus spends about 12 hours every day underwater looking for food.

No one knows why, but when these small brown creatures are put under UV lights, they give off a biofluorescent blue-green glow.

View attachment 32692

They also hatch from an egg, drink milk from their mother, and the males have venomous spurs on their hind feet. The pain from the venom can last for days or weeks.

 

[Deimos]

With two layers of fur – for insulation and waterproofing, platypuses use their fur to trap a layer of air next to their skin so they can remain buoyant and dry when they’re underwater, which they are a lot. The platypus spends about 12 hours every day underwater looking for food.

No one knows why, but when these small brown creatures are put under UV lights, they give off a biofluorescent blue-green glow.

View attachment 32692

The platypus has to be one of nature's most intriguing (and perplexing?) creatures.
There a few others that are real head scratchers too.... i.e., why do they have such-and-such trait, or ability.
The most bizarre creatures seem to be aquatic or, like friend platypus, semi-aquatic.
I think I did a report/presentation on the platypus when I was in third or fourth grade.

 

[Deimos]

Back to Trivia:

The world’s oldest wooden wheel has been around for more than 5,000 years​

It was found in 2002, approximately 12 miles south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and is now housed in the city’s museum. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the wheel’s age, which is somewhere between 5,100 and 5,350 years old.

Next time you're on Jeopardy this may be very useful.