63 results found.
... Mar-Apr 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Chaos At The Amusement Park Readers of Science Frontiers are well aware that some denizens of our solar system exhibit chaotic motion, as do some pendulums and even dripping faucets. Chaosists seem to be able to find chaos everywhere they look. If you have ever ridden on that amusement park staple called the Tilt-A -Whirl, you will recall that the ride is fun because you never know exactly what the car you are riding in will do as the platforms move along the hilly circular track. Each car is free to rotate about its center and will also tilt in all possible directions as the cars go up and down the hills. Can one mathematically predict whether the car will spin clockwise, counterclockwise, or not at all? What a neat problem for a physicist! And two physicists, R.L . Kautz and B.M . Huggard, have developed a mathematical model of the Tilt-A -Whirl. By integrating the equation of motion, they find that the Tilt-A -Whirl is, indeed, a chaotic system. You really cannot tell what the car is going to do -- even if you take your laptop along with you! (Kautz, R.L ., and Huggard, Bret M.; "Chaos at the Amusement Park: Dynamics of the Tilt-A -Whirl," American Journal of Physics, 62:59, 1994.) From Science Frontiers #92, MAR-APR 1994 . 1994 ...
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... speak. According to W.G . Tifft, we may have to replace our concept of one-dimensional time with three-dimensional time if we are to explain some pressing cosmological anomalies. Redshift differences of double galaxies. The horizontal axis is the redshift difference in kilometers/second. The vertical axis is the number of pairs having a given redshift difference. It all began about 1970 OTL (Our Time Line!), when Tifft showed that the redshifts of galaxies are quantized. To illustrate, the diagram indicates that the redshifts of binary galaxies tend strongly to cluster at 72 and 72/3 kilometers/ second. One would certainly not expect ponderous galaxies to orbit one another in a quantized fashion. It is almost as if binary galaxies emulate those dumbbell-shaped molecules that can spin around only at specific frequencies! Can the mechanics of the very large (galaxies) be quantized like the very small (atoms and molecules)? Tifft obviously thinks so: "Quantization, it seems, is a basic cosmological phenomenon. It must reflect some master plan." The Finnish physicist, A. Lehto, has proposed such a plan. "The new cosmology pictures the uni-verse as a set of timelines splaying outwards from a common origin in three-dimensional time. The "time" that we measure is related to our own line. Time along distinct lines is quantized and can even run at different rates." If you feel as if you are walking on a conceptual quicksand, you are not alone. (Beware, the quicksand may be quantized, ...
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... and other appendages turn only so far before bones and muscles begin to snap. Well, it seems that inside ter-mite guts there resides a single-celled animal with a head that rotates constant-ly 30 times a minute. Since none of its membranes shear during rotation, we must infer that membranes are basically fluid structures rather than solids as supposed. The animal, called Rubberneckia, has a shaft running the full length of its body plus a motor of undetermined character. To make Rubberneckia even more bizarre, thousands of tiny, rod-like bacteria occupy long grooves on the cell's surface. Like galley slaves, the bacteria row with their flagella to keep Rubberneckia moving -- a curious symbiotic relationship. (Cooke, Robert; "A Tale to Make Your Head Spin,: Boston Globe, March 20, 1984, p. 1. Cr. P. Gunkel) From Science Frontiers #33, MAY-JUN 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . In this scenario, we would expect Mercury to be rich in iron and rocks. This seems to be the case, but it has too iron to fit the theory. Astronomers have tried to save the theory by supposing that a large asteroid sideswiped Mercury tearing off part of its outer layer of lighter rocks, leaving the heavier iron core untouched. The theory doesn't say what happened to the debris from this colossal collision. As for Mercury's magnetic field, it is small, only 1% that of the earth. But where does it originate? All of the other planets with magnetic fields (earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus) rotate rapidly and are believed to have molten interiors, allowing fluid dynamos to form. Mercury, in contrast, spins very slowly and seems solid throughout. Therefore, the magnetic dynamos that supposedly create the fields of other planets cannot exist inside Mercury. (Crosswell, Ken; "Mercury -- the Impossible Planet," New Scientist, p. 26, June 1, 1991.) Comment. Could Mercury be a permanent magnet? M. Stock suggests this in a letter in the July 13 issue of New Scientist.) Reference. Facts about Mercury's anomalous magnetic field may be found in AHZ1 and AHZ2 in our catalog: The Moon and the Planets . Details here . From Science Frontiers #77, SEP-OCT 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... steadily on the patches, nothing happened. When the lamp was flashed, the whole array of flashing patches disappeared, only to reappear in about 2 minutes. Each patch seemed to consist of worm-like segments 2 cm long, 2 cm apart. The worms were all aligned perpendicular to a vector from the ship. In contrast to the bands and wheels, the worms were located about 5 cm below the surface of the water. Water samples revealed no luminous organisms -- only a few animals a few millimeters long. The sea was calm, visibility excellent, although atmospheric electrical activity could be seen all around. (Kuzmanov, Zoran; "Phosphorescence in the China Sea," Marine Observer, 53:85, 1983.) Comment. The luminous "worms" resemble the spinning crescents sometimes associated with radar. For more, see Chapter GLW in Lightning, Auroras. To order this Catalog, visit: here . Flashing patches of worm-like shapes. A later phase of thed display. From Science Frontiers #32, MAR-APR 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Arabian Sea. Aboard the m.v . Strathelgin. "At 1200 GMT large patches of milkygrey bioluminescence were observed; the patches appeared to form circular patterns resembling cartwheels, some of the configurations, however, did not have the central hub, see sketch. The patches pulsated at regular intervals (3 or 4 times per second). They moved in an anticlockwise direction until about 3 points abaft the beam where the direction of movement was reversed. On the beam they appeared to be at eye level, at all other times they were just above the surface of the water. The average size of the 'wheels' was 35 metres." (Penman, B.; "Bioluminescence," Marine Observer, 50:114, 1980.) Comment. A similar case of spinning boomerangs was reported in Lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal Lights, where the display was stimulated by switching the ship's radar on and off. Here, one must also ask how a bioluminescent phenomenon can exist at "eye level" many feet above the sea surface. To order the above-mentioned book, go to: here . From Science Frontiers #14, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... their report. "The light phenomenon, which was strongly luminous, consisted of scintillating, rotating rings arranged as a system of plates (small rings in the centre and increasingly large ones towards the edges). The rings seemed to consist of sparks running around in a circular or slightly elliptical path with an impressive speed. Spontaneously I associated them with electrical discharges. The plate shape was felt as being in some way static as to location, and the sparks moved in a pattern without spreading out at the edges. It seemed that strong force was controlling the event. The sparks looked like having a core and a 'tail' behind. They looked like being able to crackle but no sound was heard, perhaps because of the distance. It was interesting to note that the rings were spinning in opposite directions. The effect clearly illuminated the surrounding air space. The whole light phenomenon took place with knifesharp edges in clear weather (temperature between -1 and -3 deg. C." (Witalis. Erik; "An Air Plasma Whirl, Seen in the Atmosphere, Sweden, January 1991," Journal of Meteorology, U.K ., 16:273, 1991.) Comment. Of course, the author is actually assuming that a plasma was observed. From Science Frontiers #80, MAR-APR 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 80: Mar-Apr 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Spider Swordplay Ventral view of D. raptor . The claws are on the tips of the bottom two pairs of legs. Greatly enlarged photos reveal them to be wicked-looking fang-like structures. D. raptor, a Hawaiian spider, has lost its ability to spin webs and therewith capture prey. This unusual spider, however, has evolved: ". .. one of the most remarkable morphological features ever found in spiders (immense elongations of the tarsal claws)." These claws, just visible on the two lowermost pairs of legs in the sketch, are employed to skewer passing insects in flight: "The spider is strictly nocturnal, spending most of the activity-period hanging upside down from silk threads. Small insects are snagged directly from the air using a single long claw. For larger insects the spider uses both long claws on legs I, or sometimes all the long claws." (Gillespie, Rosemary G.; "Impaled Prey," Nature, 355:212, 1992.) Comment. Nature has produced many remarkable creatures. They become anomalous only if they cannot be explained as the products of small, random, cumulative mutations. From Science Frontiers #80, MAR-APR 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . Mrs. P. Stafford was looking through her front window: ". .. when she saw what she first thought was a 'ball of white fire', larger than a football, about 20 to 30 feet from her, travelling horizontally at a constant height up her drive. There was very heavy rainfall, perhaps with some hail, but no lightning or thunder. The ball was seen against the background of other houses and her view of it was not interrupted. It was round, opaque and predominantly white with some yellow, and surrounded by a blue, irridescent halo. She said it was reminiscent of a meteor or comet and the light from it was like that from a fluorescent tube. It was bright enough to be clearly visible in daylight and appeared to be spinning or rotating. It hit the oak tree, perhaps 12 or 13 feet away, in Mrs. Wignall's front garden, with a terrific crack and explosion. "The ball was in sight for about 10 to 15 seconds, and its appearance did not change until it struck the tree, whereupon it became smaller. It hit the trunk about half way up and split the bark and trunk, showering splinters of wood over a distance of about 50 yards. As it did so, it rolled down the tree and dispersed in flashes -- she said that there seemed to be 'waves of lightning' passing from it into the ground and radial sparks streaming out of it in all directions. Her husband, however, thought he saw the ball, now smaller in size ...
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... California coast. To ward off the attack, nine sperm whales had formed a rosette, heads together, with their powerful tails splayed outwards towards the enemy. The killer whales circled the sperm whales ominously. Every so often, one would dash in and tear off a huge chunk of blubber. Eventually, all nine sperm whales floated dead or dying in an ocean of blood. The "gentle-giant" portrait of the killer whale is tarnished further in the Antarctic where they habitually dine on the lips and tongues of minke whales, then leave them to die. (Pitman, Robert L., and Chivers, Susan J.; "Terror in Black and White," Natural History, 107:26, December 1998/January 1999.) Comment. How will the media spin-doctor stories like these? Killer whales didn't get their name because they ate fish alone. From Science Frontiers #121, JAN-FEB 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... not the U.S archeological literature!) that seem to be swimming against the current. The Meadowcroft Rockshelter . J.M . Adovasio and R.C . Carlisle, in a letter to Science, argue that better dating techniques have consistently pushed the date at which humans arrived in the New World. Using their own work at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, in Pennsylvania, they cite many radiometric dates earlier than 12,000 years. At this Pennsylvania site, the six deepest dates definitely associated with cultural material indicate that humans were here 13,955 to 14,555 years ago. (Adovasio, J.M ., and Carlisle, Ronald C.; "The Meadowcroft Rockshelter," Science, 239:713, 1988.) Kansas River skeletal remains . Using electron-spin resonance to date a piece of a human skull, W. Dort and L.D . Martin affirm a date of 15,400 years before the present. (Bower, B.; "Skeletal Aging of New World Settlers," Science News, 133: 215, 1988.) A Review of the Paleoindian Debate . W. Bray recounts in Nature what happened at a meeting at the Smithsonian last September. Various controversial sites were discussed, such as Calico Hills (200,000 years claimed) and Toca de Esperanca, Brazil (3 ,000,000 years claimed). But, oddly enough, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Kansas River data were not mentioned. Chiefly, though, Bray was concerned with what did and what did not constitute generally acceptable proof in archeological ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 84: Nov-Dec 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Hunt For The Magnetoreceptor When magnetite particles were found in organisms from bacteria to bats, it was assumed that here was the long sought magnetoreceptor which animals used for magnetic navigation. But so far, biologists do not have the slightest notion how such magnetite particles can be turned into a "magnetic sense," which sends the brain information on the direction of the geomagnetic field or, perhaps, draws a magnetic map of sorts. A completely different sort of magnetreceptor is now under investigation, one that humans may also unknowingly possess. It utilizes special photoreceptors that employ an electron-spin resonance process which is modulated by the geomagnetic field. Some of our very sensitive magnetometers use similar phenomena. The biological version of such a receptor would be connected to the brain, as the eye is, and send signals as to the direction of the earth's magnetic field. Sounds interesting, but is there any basis for thinking such a sophisticated gadget could have evolved? It seems that some experiments with newts by J.B . Phillips and S.C . Borland support the idea. The newts were first trained to orient themselves in a certain direction with respect to the geomagnetic field. "When tested under one of four artificial field alignments (magnetic north at geographic north, east, south or west), the newts kept their training directions constant relative to the magnetic rather than the geographic system of reference, but they selected ...
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... between Lightning and Humans GLL32 Effects of Lightning on Vehicle Engines Sympathetic Lightning Gamma-Ray Emission by Lightning Mystery Mountain Deaths and Lightning Lightning and Anomalous Optical Events (AOEs) Lightning Kills Many More Males Than Females Impending Lightning Stalling Cars Post-Lightning Glows Layered Lightning Slow Lightning GLM LOW-LEVEL METEOR-LIKE PHENOMENA GLM1 Low-Level Meteor-Like Objects GLM2 Darting Gleams of Light People Hit by Meteorites Nuclearites Tunguska Event Meteoric Nightglow Spacecraft Glows GLN NOCTURNAL LIGHTS GLN1 Low-Level Nocturnal Lights: (Spook Lights, etc.) GLN2 High-Level Nocturnal Lights (Non-Meteoric) GLW MARINE PHOSPHORESCENT DISPLAYS GLW1 Long, Parallel, Stationary Phosphorescent Bands GLW2 Moving, Parallel Bands of Phosphorescence GLW3 Aerial Phosphorescent Displays GLW4 Marine Phosphorescent Wheels GLW5 Expanding Phosphorescent Rings GLW6 Phosphorescent Patches Moving in Circles GLW7 Phosphorescent Spinning Crescents GLW8 Zigzag Phosphorescent Flashes GLW9 White Water or Milky Sea GLW10 Radar-Stimulated Phosphorescent Displays GLW11 Te Lapa: Underwater Lightning GLW12 Moving, V-Shaped Phosphorescent Displays GLW13 Colored Rays Emanating from Ships GLW14 Radar Detection of Phosphorescence GLW15 Deep-Sea-Vent Glows Bioluminescence Correlated with Seismic Activity Sparks on the Beach Light at Deep-Sea Vents BIOS GO ODOR PHENOMENA GOO OBNOXIOUS ODORS Unexplained Stenches GQ STRANGE PHENOMNA OF EARTHQUAKES GQB ANIMAL RESPONSE TO EARTHQUAKE PRECURSORS GQB1 Anomalous Animal Activity before Earthquakes GQB2 Human Sensations Experienced before and during Earthquakes GQG EARTHQUAKE GEOGRAPHICAL ANOMALIES GQG1 Seismic Activity Occurring on Great Circles GQG2 Earthquake-Prone Areas Uncorrelated with Geology Earthquakes within Plates Earthquakes That Stimulate Distant Sympathetic Quakes GQH UNUSUAL DYNAMIC PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH EARTHQUAKES GQH1 Upward Propulsion of Objects GQH2 Violent Expulsion of Solids from the Earth GQH3 Supposed Appearance ...
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