Blog Migration Complete

Okay, I think my two formal blogs have finally settled down with their new titles and URLs. They're at:

The Bosonic State: http://thebosonicstate.blogspot.com/
The Fermionic State: http://thefermionicstate.blogspot.com/

Which means, this blog will cease to operate, though I will probably leave it open indefinitely. But do switch over to the new URLs.

In any case, I've noticed that the old URLs have been taken up by some unknown entities. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but it appears that they're trying to capitalise on my previous site URLs' hits. Ah well... I don't think they'll last long anyway.

Oh My God! It Came from a Black Hole!

According to this Physics World article, astronomers have finally found the source of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR), particles from outer space that have stunningly high energies. It turns out that these particles, also known as Oh-My-God particle, came from black holes.

The article goes,

a team of researchers has used the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory in Argentina to find the first compelling evidence that UHECRs do indeed come from nearby AGNs [active galactic nuclei]

Apparently it was done by looking at directions from which these particles came from, and the researchers found that all of them arrived from known AGNs. However, the processes which these particles turn from normal particles to, erm, Oh-My-Gods, are still unknown. It also doesn't explain why these particles have energies that exceed the limits predicted by theory.

But at least, astronomers now know where to look.

Slide Rule in the Exams

The following image is a snapshot of a screen from the examination timetable website at ANU. It is not a course I'm taking, but what's interesting is the permitted materials:



Slide rule? Erm... who uses slide rules nowadays? For that matter, who knows how to use a slide rule nowadays?

Going Mad in Madness and Civilization

I've been trying to finish writing my philosophy essay on Michel Foucault and his analysis of madness, civilisation, power and surveillance in society, but I'm somehow stuck at individual pieces that seem impossible to thread together. The more I attempt at bridging them, the more ludicrous my essay sounds. To be honest, I think the lecturer is gonna get a rude shock when he reads my contorted arguments.

But I cannot afford to delay anymore. The deadline was supposed to be yesterday, but I couldn't complete it before then, as I had an exam yesterday morning and had to spent the weekend revising for it. I tried to intermittently write stuff up, but that wasn't really productive and I'm left with what I have right now. I would've crapped something up by today so I could submit it, but I just found out this afternoon that today is a public holiday, so no point rushing it today when I can only give it in tomorrow.

Speaking of which, there is a penalty for late submissions, but they're only 1% a day, which is pretty mild when put into perspective: if I can take one more day to come up with a better essay, I think it's all worth it. So I hope the 2% penalty I'm incurring can be exchanged for a much better essay. Hopefully.

Oh, and my essay is somewhat like this: rambling on and on like a vacuum cleaner.

Daylight Saving Time Robs One Hour of Sleep

Today was the day that, due to the start of the daylight saving time, the clocks are moved forward for an hour. And since the change of the day takes place at midnight, my sleep was cut short by an hour: sleeping at 0200 non-DST clock, waking at 0800 non-DST clock (0900 DST clock).

It's quite a dangerous day for them to change the clocks today, considering that the exam period starts tomorrow.

...

Ah well... I think I need more sleep. Or more tea. Gotta mop up my atomic physics lab report.

Rain Rain Canberra

Perhaps due to the evolution of the season from spring to summer, Canberra has suddenly turned extremely wet over the past couple of days. For that matter, it has been raining intermittently for the whole of yesterday, and after a brief period of sun in the morning and early afternoon, there was quite some rain today.

This is quite a change, to be honest. While the rain is not heavy - definitely not the drenching kind - it certainly reminds me of those days-long shower back in Singapore (though probably not as heavy as that). The wet air and chilly wind, with the smell of wet vegetation... that's something quite refreshing.

And one thing for sure, the land here certainly needs the rain. In fact, the sprinklers in the campus has been turned on at night to ensure that the plants and grass do not dry up. In any case, it looks like the rain will be here for a few more days, since it is still so cloudy outside.

Which means I may have to delay my laundry. I've discovered not too long ago that Canberra's dry air and strong sun makes drying clothes on a laundry line very efficient (even thick fabric like jeans and socks need only three to four hours). The dryer is of course an option if this weather persists, but I'll avoid that as much as I can because it is a major consumer of electricity!

Bean Splitter

Created for the draft of my lab report.



Red beans will go on to the caesium cell; green beans will go on to the interferometer. Talking about the superposition of beans!