Scientific World

Looking back on history, there are a few scientific breakthroughs that tend to catch our immediate attention. Perhaps it's the publishing of Newton's Principa or Euclid's Elements or Einstein's miracle year, 1905, in which he changed our understanding of space, time, and the quantum world. Although these examples are certainly worthy of our attention, it's important to remember that science is an ongoing process…and I mean it's happening right now! Even this year, we've had quite a few advances in various fields of science that may just have planted the seeds to future revolutions. Here's a look at some of the most significant discoveries or advances of 2014:  January  Successful Production of Artificial Cells   Right at the dawn of the new year, for the first time in history, chemists were able to successfully produce the first artificial cell, containing organelles. Mimicking our very own biological cells that we are familiar with, th

Instellar turned out to be okay. I'm not going to go to any further extremes with my choice of adjective here because I honestly felt like I didn't completely waste my money watching it in theatres…so that's nice. At the same time, as a huge 2001: A Space Odyssey fan, I must admit that I carry a heavy bias against the film for being, in my mind, a poor rehash of the greatest sic-fi classic of all time.  But regardless of my opinions on the movie or on the overrated Christopher Nolan, one thing I can discuss objectively is the science presented in Interstellar. Just how accurate are the different elements of physics in the movie? We'll analyze each one:  Drought/Crop Blight The entire plot of the movie relies on a premise that is a bit shaky in my opinion: all of earth is in the midst of a crop blight that apparently will only deteriorate. (Note: A crop blight is basically the sudden, widespread "death" of crops). Now, the problem with this is that

Just a quick reminder to primordial wave enthusiasts: the Planck satellite team will make the instrument's data publicly available on December 22nd 2014! If you don't know, way back in March of this year, the BICEP2 team, situated in Antarctica, made an experimental discovery that seemed to confirm the theory of inflation. In other words, we had ostensibly understood the evolution of the universe up to a fraction of a second after it came into existence (I'm talking a really small fraction; something close to 10 to the minus 30 seconds!). Everything seemed great, especially since the experimental results yielded a very strong r value of 0.2. However, the Planck satellite, which was simultaneously conducting similar experiments and attempting to tackle the exact same question as BICEP2 initially put forth contradicting results, with an r value of just 0.11. Of course, at that time, only half of the Planck satellite's data was in, so it was difficult to compare

In the work of finance, there exist in every company a group of workers who are commonly referred to as "quants". Formally, they're known as quantitative analysts and there job is essentially to crunch numbers; using the tools of mathematics, they analyze statistics and numbers and create and evaluate financial models.  The value of math cannot be overstated; from physics to science to engineering to politics to business and finance, the tools of math often form the bedrock of these disciplines. However, its adamant use by financial analysts on Wall Street has always been scrutinized and that has especially been the case since the financial collapse that struck much of the Western World 5 years ago.  Warren Buffet, the famous billionaire and investor, even crudely asked people to "Beware of geeks…bearing formulas".  This wasn't just the ramblings of a disgruntled old man; there was a general sentiment that quants had gone too far with their models. Th

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commutative_property Scroll down for relevant discussion on the uncertainty principle. Understanding the mathematics behind the physics involved is imperative to really understanding Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. We've already discussed the logic behind it and the physical consequences, but now it's time to really get down to the fundamentals. We're going to look at something we tend to take for granted in our daily interactions with math: the commutative property of mathematics. The commutative property in math applies to addition and multiplication. It basically states that, when combining two "elements" (i.e. numbers), the order does NOT matter. This is demonstrated in the following diagram: It doesn't matter whether the blue or orange dots are counted first - same result But we've always known this stuff, right? I mean, everybody knows that 2+3 is the same as 3+2 (at least I hope)! The same rules fly

Here's a question that may have come to your mind in the past: why don't electrons just crash into the nucleus?  Of course, we've been taught (since middle school science!) that electrons orbit the nucleus just because. However, they also teach us that opposite charges attract. Seeing that electrons are negatively charged and protons are positively charged, we have to question how the electron is able to maintain its orbit. Why doesn't it get slowly drawn towards the positive nucleus?  A common (and incorrect!) explanation is that it is the speed of the electrons that keep them from flying toward the nucleus. In other words, the electrons are zooming around so fast, that they are able to overcome the attractive force. This idea is similar to spinning keys on a string; even though the string is pulling the keys towards your hand, the speed of the keys keep it moving in a circle.  This explanation would be just dandy if not for the fact that, if you were

It has been 223 years to the day that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart passed away (please take a moment to appreciate how badass a name like Wolfgang is). At the age of just 35, arguably the greatest composer of all time succumbed to illness on December 5th, 1791. Even in the brief 3 decades that he was active, Mozart - a child prodigy in every sense of the title - was ridiculously productive. The man was literally making sophisticated adults look foolish from the comfort of his diaper. Starting at the age of just 7, he was able to pen masterpieces that have lived on in their influence and sheer beauty even to this day. Here's a look at some of my favourite pieces from Mozart:  Requiem  A lovely piece by Mozart, the screech of the violin at 0:52 is one of the most heavenly yet bone chilling sounds I've ever heard produced.  Marriage of Figaro  This one holds the upbeat pace that I always loved in Mozart's work.  Symphony No. 40 - 1st Movement  Symp

Though the USSR certainly had its problems over the Cold War era, if there's one thing there government was very effective at, it is making memorable monuments. Recently, I've come across some very impressive (some, even touching) monuments that have been erected in Russia over the years. 3. Monument to the Conquerors of Space  Created in 1964, this monument calls Moscow its home. Made of pure titanium and standing at a whopping 360 feet in height (!), this monument's propose is to commemorate the achievements of Russian exploration. Though they may have been outshone by the United States in the space race of the 1960s, the Russians have plenty to be proud. Hopefully, Russia can once again return to a nation focused on science and discovery in the near future.  2. The Lab Mouse Monument  This is perhaps my favourite monument. It currently stands outside the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, in Russia and was made to pay respects to the many mice who h

The distinctions between discovery ad invention is often clear in the sciences. In physics for instance, it is well understood that experimental observations, measurements and laws are "discovered" and the theories that help model the phenomena at hand are "invented". But what it was one to say about math? The field of mathematics is not inherently empirical in nature - are mathematical breakthroughs discovered or invented? The Implications of Each Side  Before we delve into both sides of the argument, we should probably clear something out: the consensus seems to be that when one refers to the phrase "discovered", they are implying that the universe is, at a fundamental level, mathematical in nature…which sounds like nonsense, right? Well, it's really a well defined idea; the implication is that mathematical structures and logic is an aspect of the universe and NOT just a human construction. In other words, math wold exist even if humans wer

Let me start by qualifying what I'm about to say: I am not in any way opposed to the idea of Remembrance Day. In fact, I believe in the value of acknowledging our history and paying respect to the brave women and men, along with their loved ones, who lost their livelihood in past wars. With this being said however, I am not always (and to be frank, feel no obligation to be) a fan of the presentation of Remembrance Day. While the notion of the event is noble in principle, the messages sent to people ( especially the thousands of teenagers who witness these presentations on an annual basis) can be counterproductive and, as I saw just over a week ago, dangerous. Along with the thousands of high school spectators, I saw a presentation for Remembrance Day that troubled me deeply. It was littered with inconsistency and, on the whole, espoused a rather contradictory message.   It started off with the old montage. Because of course, let's introduce an important and sensitive

Before I begin, I'd like to point your attention towards a lecture (of sorts) dictated by Noam Chomsky. It's a nice little intro to the topic but be warned that he does go off on several tangents (if you're fairly liberal with your definition of the word) regarding politics and history. It's also sprinkled with a healthy dose of criticisms of the U.S. and the modern political landscape (classic Chomsky…) so if that's your cup of tea, give it a listen! On to the topic at hand: the corpratization of the university in this century. In discussing the matter, I'll be focusing specifically on the transitions universities have made into presenting themselves as products and the parallels between the modern student and consumer. It's a bit of a bleak outlook though, so I give you fair warning in advance :) …. Unless of course, you're one of the many fine people profiting off of such a system! In that case, I send a stern, disapproving look in your direction,

NOTE: There are no spoilers ahead, so no need to fear! You may just be a tad bit discouraged though…. Not only is this novel the latest of YouTube sensation John Green’s works, it also happened to be one of his most acclaimed. Touted as a must read for any teenager, you can imagine my surprise when, upon turning the last page, I was left thoroughly disappointed. “The Fault In Our Stars”, commonly abbreviated as TFIOS, is a novel that chronicles the life of a teenage girl, named Hazel Grace, facing a terminal illness. With not much to look forward to, hope is injected into her life through the introduction of Augustus Waters, another teenager who also happens to have cancer. Revolving around a budding love, the novel follows the exploits of Hazel and Augustus as they cope with their illnesses. One of the first problems I see with this book is its premise. In my view, wrapping a story around two cancer patients, who happen to be much more insightful, intellig