[Upd-discuss] The Challenge of Law in the Wave of Ideas

[dr who]

how are ya ?

just a few twinges huh -- good good

i've got some stuff to do -- i could do with boning up  but i'll be back
and forth

here i've got another picture for you:

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:57:34 -0500 (EST) Andy Oram wrote:

> I just wrote up the following--is it a useful metaphor? A
> cliche? Helpful or unhelpful?

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 9:06 PM
Subject: [blackantiwar] Tarantula Nebula; Black Holes Merge;Gravity Waves

The Tarantula nebula. Image credit: ESO Click to enlarge

Inside the Tarantula Nebula
Thu, 20 Apr 2006 - In the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud lurks a
wonderful, creepy looking nebula: Tarantula nebula (aka 30 Doradus or
NGC 2070). Although this nebula looks like a ghostly spider, it's really
the largest emission nebula in the sky, and home to hundreds of
extremely massive stars. Some truly massive stars, well above 50 times
the mass of the Sun, have already exploded as supernova, seeding the
nebula with heavy elements.
Full article
Hanging above the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - one of our closest
galaxies - in what some describe as a frightening sight, the Tarantula
nebula is worth looking at in detail. Also designated 30 Doradus or NGC
2070, the nebula owes its name to the arrangement of its brightest
patches of nebulosity that somewhat resemble the legs of a spider. This
name, of the biggest spiders on Earth, is also very fitting in view of
the gigantic proportions of the celestial nebula - it measures nearly
1,000 light years across!

The Tarantula nebula is the largest emission nebula in the sky and also
one of the largest known star-forming regions in all the Milky Way's
neighbouring galaxies. Located about 170,000 light-years away, in the
southern constellation Dorado (The Swordfish), it can be seen with the
unaided eye.

As shown in this image obtained with the FORS1 multi-mode instrument on
Eso's Very Large Telescope, its structure is fascinatingly complex, with
a large number of bright arcs and apparently dark areas in between.
Inside the giant emission nebula lies a cluster of young, massive and
hot stars, denoted R 136, whose intense radiation and strong winds make
the nebula glow, shaping it into the form of a giant arachnid. The
cluster is about 2 to 3 million years old, that is, almost from
'yesterday' in the 13.7 billion year history of the Universe.

Several of the brighter members in the immediate surroundings of the
dense cluster are among the most massive stars known, with masses well
above 50 times the mass of our Sun. The cluster itself contains more
than 200 massive stars.

In the upper right of the image, another cluster of bright, massive
stars is seen. Known to astronomers as Hodge 301, it is about 20 million
years old, or about 10 times older than R136. The more massive stars of
Hodge 301 have therefore already exploded as supernovae, blasting
material away at tremendous speed and creating a web of entangled
filaments. More explosions will come soon - in astronomical terms - as
three red supergiants are indeed present in Hodge 301 that will end
their life in the gigantic firework of a supernova within the next
million years.

While some stars are dying in this spidery cosmic inferno, others are
yet to be born. Some structures, seen in the lower part of the image,
have the appearance of elephant trunks, not unlike the famous and
fertile "Pillars of Creation" at the top of which stars are forming. In
fact, it seems that stars form all over the place in this gigantic
stellar nursery and in all possible masses, at least down to the mass of
our Sun. In some places, in a marvellous recycling process, it is the
extreme radiation from the hot and massive stars and the shocks created
by the supernova explosions that has compressed the gas to such extent
to allow stars to form.

To the right and slightly below the central cluster, a red bubble is
visible. The star that blows the material making this bubble is thought
to be 20 times more massive, 130 000 times more luminous, 10 times
larger and 6 times hotter than our Sun. A possible fainter example of
such a bubble is also visible just above the large red bubble in the image.

Earlier colour composite images of the Tarantula nebula have been made
with other instruments and/or filters at Eso's telescopes.

Original Source: ESO News Release
  ===========================================

When Black Holes Merge
Wed, 19 Apr 2006 - NASA scientists have created a new computer
simulation that shows what happens when two black holes come together.
Einstein predicted that this cataclysmic event should send out a torrent
of gravitational waves, rippling the space around them. The simulation
was done on the the Columbia supercomputer, which is the 4th fastest
computer in the world. The mathematics involved in these simulations are
so complex, and so bizarre, that previous attempts have ended with
little more than crashed computers.
Full article

Two supermassive black holes spiral towards each other at galaxy cluster
Abell 400. Image credit: NASA. Click to enlarge

NASA scientists have reached a breakthrough in computer modeling that
allows them to simulate what gravitational waves from merging black
holes look like. The three-dimensional simulations, the largest
astrophysical calculations ever performed on a NASA supercomputer,
provide the foundation to explore the universe in an entirely new way.

According to Einstein's math, when two massive black holes merge, all of
space jiggles like a bowl of Jell-O as gravitational waves race out from
the collision at light speed.

Previous simulations had been plagued by computer crashes. The necessary
equations, based on Einstein's theory of general relativity, were far
too complex. But scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., have found a method to translate Einstein's math in a
way that computers can understand.

"These mergers are by far the most powerful events occurring in the
universe, with each one generating more energy than all of the stars in
the universe combined. Now we have realistic simulations to guide
gravitational wave detectors coming online," said Joan Centrella, head
of the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory at Goddard.

The simulations were performed on the Columbia supercomputer at NASA's
Ames Research Center near Mountain View, Calif. This work appears in the
March 26 issue of Physical Review Letters and will appear in an upcoming
issue of Physical Review D. The lead author is John Baker of Goddard.

Similar to ripples on a pond, gravitational waves are ripples in space
and time, a four-dimensional concept that Einstein called spacetime.
They haven't yet been directly detected.

Gravitational waves hardly interact with matter and thus can penetrate
the dust and gas that blocks our view of black holes and other objects.
They offer a new window to explore the universe and provide a precise
test for Einstein's theory of general relativity. The National Science
Foundation's ground-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory and the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a joint
NASA - European Space Agency project, hope to detect these subtle waves,
which would alter the shape of a human from head to toe by far less than
the width of an atom.

Black hole mergers produce copious gravitational waves, sometimes for
years, as the black holes approach each other and collide. Black holes
are regions where gravity is so extreme that nothing, not even light,
can escape their pull. They alter spacetime. Therein lies the difficulty
in creating black hole models: space and time shift, density becomes
infinite and time can come to a standstill. Such variables cause
computer simulations to crash.

These massive, colliding objects produce gravitational waves of
differing wavelengths and strengths, depending on the masses involved.
The Goddard team has perfected the simulation of merging, equal-mass,
non-spinning black holes starting at various positions corresponding to
the last two to five orbits before their merger.

With each simulation run, regardless of the starting point, the black
holes orbited stably and produced identical waveforms during the
collision and its aftermath. This unprecedented combination of stability
and reproducibility assured the scientists that the simulations were
true to Einstein's equations. The team has since moved on to simulating
mergers of non-equal-mass black holes.

Einstein's theory of general relativity employs a type of mathematics
called tensor calculus, which cannot easily be turned into computer
instructions. The equations need to be translated, which greatly expands
them. The simplest tensor calculus equations require thousands of lines
of computer code. The expansions, called formulations, can be written in
many ways. Through mathematical intuition, the Goddard team found the
appropriate formulations that led to suitable simulations.

Progress also has been made independently by several groups, including
researchers at the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the
University of Texas, Brownsville, which is supported by the NASA
Minority University Research and Education Program.

To see two black holes collide, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/universe/gwave.htm

Original Source: NASA News Release
   ==============================

The Hunt for Gravity Waves
Wed, 19 Apr 2006 - As part of his general theory of relativity, Einstein
predicted that mass should emit gravity waves. They'll be weak, though,
so it would take very massive objects to produce waves detectable here
on Earth. One experiment working towards their detection is the Laser
Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (or LIGO). It should be
able to detect the most powerful gravity waves as they pass through the
Earth. And a space-based observatory planned for launch in 2015 called
LISA should be stronger still.
Full article

Scientists are close to actually see gravitational waves. Image credit: NASA
Gravity is a familiar force. It's the reason for fear of heights. It
holds the moon to the Earth, the Earth to the sun. It keeps beer from
floating out of our glasses.

But how? Is the Earth sending secret messages to the moon?

Well, yes -- sort of.

Eanna Flanagan, Cornell associate professor of physics and astronomy,
has devoted his life to understanding gravity since he was a student at
University College Dublin in his native Ireland. Now, nearly two decades
after leaving Ireland to study for his doctorate under the famous
relativist Kip Thorne at the California Institute of Technology, his
work focuses on predicting the size and shape of gravitational waves --
an elusive phenomenon forecast by Einstein's 1916 Theory of General
Relativity but which have never been directly detected.

In 1974, Princeton University astronomers Russell Hulse and Joseph H.
Taylor Jr. indirectly measured the influence of gravity waves on
co-orbiting neutron stars, a discovery that earned them the 1993 Nobel
Prize in physics. Thanks to the recent work of Flanagan and his
colleagues, scientists are now on the verge of seeing the first gravity
waves directly.

Sound cannot exist in a vacuum. It requires a medium, such as air or
water, through which to deliver its message. Similarly, gravity cannot
exist in nothingness. It, too, needs a medium through which to deliver
its message. Einstein theorized that that medium is space and time, or
the "spacetime fabric."

Changes in pressure -- a thump on a drum, a vibrating vocal cord --
produce sound waves, ripples in air. According to Einstein's theory,
changes in mass -- the collision of two stars, dust landing on a
bookshelf -- produce gravity waves, ripples in spacetime.

Because most everyday objects have mass, gravity waves should be all
around us. So why can't we find any?

"The strongest gravity waves will cause measurable disturbances on Earth
1,000 times smaller than an atomic nucleus," explained Flanagan.
"Detecting them is a huge technical challenge."

The response to that challenge is LIGO, the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory, a colossal experiment involving a
collaboration of more than 300 scientists.

LIGO consists of two installations nearly 2,000 miles apart -- one in
Hanford, Wash., and one in Livingston, La. Each facility is shaped like
a giant "L," with two 2.5-mile-long arms made of 4-foot-diameter vacuum
pipes encased in concrete. Ultra-stable laser beams traverse the pipes,
bouncing between mirrors at the end of each arm. Scientists expect a
passing gravity wave to stretch one arm and squeeze the other, causing
the two lasers to travel slightly different distances.

The difference can then be measured by "interfering" the lasers where
the arms intersect. It is comparable to two cars speeding
perpendicularly toward a crossroads. If they travel the same speed and
distance, they will always crash. But if the distances are different,
they might miss. Flanagan and his colleagues are hoping for a miss.

Furthermore, exactly how much the lasers hit or miss will provide
information about the characteristics and origin of the gravitational
wave. Flanagan's role is to predict these characteristics so that his
colleagues at LIGO know what to look for.

Due to technological limits, LIGO is only capable of sensing
gravitational waves of certain frequencies from powerful sources,
including supernova explosions in the Milky Way and rapidly spinning or
co-orbiting neutron stars in either the Milky Way or distant galaxies.

To expand potential sources, NASA and the European Space Agency are
already planning LIGO's successor, LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space
Antenna. LISA is similar in concept to LIGO, except the lasers will
bounce among three satellites 3 million miles apart trailing the Earth
in orbit around the sun. As a result, LISA will be able to detect waves
at lower frequencies than LIGO, such as those produced by the collision
of a neutron star with a black hole or the collision of two black holes.
LISA is scheduled for launch in 2015.

Flanagan and collaborators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
recently deciphered the gravitational wave signature that results when a
supermassive black hole swallows a sun-sized neutron star. It is a
signature that will be important for LISA to recognize.

"When LISA flies we should see hundreds of these things," noted
Flanagan. "We will be able to measure how space and time are warped, and
how space is supposed to be twisted around by a black hole. We see
electromagnetic radiation, and we think it's probably a black hole --
but that's about as far as we've got. It will be very exciting to
finally see that relativity actually works."

But, he warned, "It may not work. Astronomers observe that the expansion
of the universe is accelerating. One explanation is that general
relativity needs to be modified: Einstein was mostly right, but in some
regimes things could work differently."

Thomas Oberst is a science writer intern at the Cornell News Service.

Original Source: Cornell University


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Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:57:34 -0500 (EST) Andy Oram wrote:

> While society is loosening over time in many ways--borders, mores, and
> more--in one area there seems to be increasing exertion of control: in
> laws regarding ideas. Because ideas clearly add more and more value to
> society in a technological and data-driven age, a formal approach to
> ideas may be desirable. But the type of formality is important, and
> here a analogy to difference between particles and waves in physics
> may be helpful.
> 
> Since the discovery of atoms, physicists have tended to approach
> physical laws through the notion of particles. Particles are tiny,
> indivisible pellets that hurtle through space, interacting with other
> particles but staying intact and independent. But the attraction of
> humans to particles is weakened as physicists realize that particles
> can be broken into smaller particles, when placed under suitable
> stress. And by now they've gotten down to the point where they can't
> find more particles, but instead have to treat reality as an
> interaction of properties such as mass, charge, spin, and other even
> more bizarre constructs.
> 
> Sometimes the model works only by assuming that some construct has
> traveled backward through time. When I see this, I begin to feel that
> particle physics is not a representation of reality, but a way of
> understanding phenomena that emerge from a reality that in itself
> can't be understood.
> 
> Meanwhile, wave theory also provides a useful way to look at the
> world. Instead of particles, trends just happen. And waves can be
> described quite formally and give useful information, as in "This is
> an E-flat sixth chord, resolving to a G major six-four chord."
> 
> Both particle physics and wave physics are valuable, so long as one
> recognizes their limitations. Laws, however, tend to regard ideas as
> particles, and fail to recognize the limitations of the model.
> 
> A particle approach to art assumes a fixed work of art, and offers
> copyright for that work. (Some things qualify as these sorts of
> particles, and some don't. Reportedly, Duke Ellington couldn't
> copyright one of his major compositions because it consisted only of a
> chord progression, and the copyright office wouldn't recognize a chord
> progression without a melody as a musical work.) This particle then
> travels around the cultural sphere, each use attributed to the
> original creator.
> 
> But lots of works of art tend to be more like waves than particles.
> Just about every space epic has roots in the Iliad, and just about
> every modern romantic film has roots in Much Ado About Nothing. All
> these works are part of great waves of ideas that have traveled
> through oral and written history. Many an art professor and literary
> critic have built careers on finding additional influences and
> precedents for famous works.
> 
> Patent law also treats ideas as particles. This is useful for complex
> techniques such as turning iron into steel, where we can recognize the
> work that went into researching a new process, and where it can be
> encapsulated in a journal article and applied directly by other
> companies. It is not useful for wave innovation, created on an ad hoc
> basis in idea-rich fields with low barriers to entry, such as
> software.
> 
> Treating waves as particles leads to bad decisions. It would be better
> not to regulate waves than to treat them as particles. But regulators
> from the World Intellectual Property Organization on down make a
> presumption that anything of value should have a law attached.
> Whenever they see something new of value, they try to erect laws
> around it. And under current regimes, these laws focus on the behavior
> of particles. This is particularly ironic when the very delivery of
> the ideas uses waves, as in broadcasting.
> 
> The intellectual challenge of the century may therefore be how to
> develop laws of ideas that accept waves.
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