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Absolute Zero -from Wikipedia
Absolute
zero is a temperature marked by a 0 entropy configuration. Temperature
is an entropically defined quantity that effectively defines the number
of thermodynamically accessible states of a system within an energy
range. Absolute zero is physically unrealizable as matter possess
quantum mechanical zero-point energy. Having a limited temperature has
several thermodynamic consequences; for example, at absolute zero all
molecular motion does not cease but does not have enough energy for
transference to other systems, it is therefore correct to say that at 0
kelvin molecular energy is minimal.
By
international agreement, absolute zero is defined as precisely 0 K on
the Kelvin scale, which is a thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale,
and −273.15° on the Celsius (centigrade) scale. Absolute zero is also
precisely equivalent to 0 °R on the Rankine scale (also a thermodynamic
temperature scale), and −459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. Though
it is not theoretically possible to cool any substance to 0 K,
scientists have made great advancements in achieving temperatures close
to absolute zero, where matter exhibits quantum effects such as
superconductivity and superfluidity. In 2000 the Helsinki University of
Technology reported reaching temperatures of 100 pK (1×10−10K).
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Schrödinger's Cat -from Wikipedia
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Schrödinger's
cat is a thought experiment, often described as a paradox, devised by
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw
as the problem of the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics
being applied to everyday objects. The thought experiment presents a cat
that might be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event. In
the course of developing this experiment, he coined the term
Verschränkung (entanglement).
He
proposed a scenario with a cat in a sealed box, where the cat's life or
death was dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. According to
Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains
both alive and dead until the box is opened.
Schrödinger
did not wish to promote the idea of dead-and-alive cats as a serious
possibility; quite the reverse: the thought experiment serves to
illustrate the bizarreness of quantum mechanics and the mathematics
necessary to describe quantum states. Intended as a critique of just the
Copenhagen interpretation—the prevailing orthodoxy in 1935—the
Schrödinger cat thought experiment remains a topical touchstone for all
interpretations of quantum mechanics; how each interpretation deals with
Schrödinger's cat is often used as a way of illustrating and comparing each interpretation's particular features, strengths and weaknesses.
On a personal note, we say "let the cat out of the box!"
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Antimatter -from Wikipedia
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In particle physics
and quantum chemistry, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the
antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles
in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles. For
example, an antielectron (a positron, an electron with a positive
charge) and an antiproton (a proton with a negative charge) could form
an antihydrogen atom in the same way that an electron and a proton form a
normal matter hydrogen atom. Furthermore, mixing matter and antimatter
would lead to the annihilation of both in the same way that mixing
antiparticles and particles does, thus giving rise to high-energy
photons (gamma rays) or other particle–antiparticle pairs.
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Dark Matter -from Wikipedia
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In physics and cosmology, dark matter
is hypothetical matter that does not interact with the electromagnetic
force, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on
visible matter. According to present observations of structures larger
than galaxies, as well as Big Bang cosmology, dark matter and dark
energy account for the vast majority of the mass in the observable
universe. The observed phenomena which imply the presence of dark matter
include the rotational speeds of galaxies, orbital velocities of
galaxies in clusters, gravitational lensing of background objects by
galaxy clusters such as the Bullet cluster, and the temperature
distribution of hot gas in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Dark
matter also plays a central role in structure formation and galaxy,
and has measurable effects on the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave
background. All these lines of evidence suggest that galaxies, clusters
of galaxies, and the universe as a whole contain far more matter than
that which interacts with electromagnetic radiation: the remainder is
called the "dark matter component."
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Non-Euclidean Geometry -from Wikipedia
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A non-Euclidean
geometry is the study of shapes and constructions that do not map
directly to any n-dimensional Euclidean system, characterized by a
non-vanishing Riemann curvature tensor. Examples of non-Euclidean
geometries include the hyperbolic and elliptic geometry, which are
contrasted with a Euclidean geometry.
The essential difference between Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry
is the nature of parallel lines. Euclid's fifth postulate (axiom), the
parallel postulate (axiom), is equivalent to Playfair's postulate, which
states that, within a two-dimensional plane, for any given line ℓ and a
point A, which is not on ℓ, there is exactly one line through A that
does not intersect ℓ. In hyperbolic geometry, by contrast, there are
infinitely many lines through A not intersecting ℓ, while in elliptic
geometry, any line through A intersects ℓ.
Another way to
describe the differences between these geometries is to consider two
straight lines indefinitely extended in a two-dimensional plane that are
both perpendicular to a third line: In Euclidean geometry the lines
remain at a constant distance from each other even if extended to
infinity, and are known as parallels. In hyperbolic geometry they "curve
away" from each other, increasing in distance as one moves further from
the points of intersection with the common perpendicular; these lines
are often called ultraparallels. In elliptic geometry the lines "curve
toward" each other and eventually intersect.
Non-euclidean
geometry can be understood by picturing the drawing of geometric figures
on curved surfaces, for example, the surface of a sphere or the inside
surface of a bowl.
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Pi -from Wikipedia
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| Pi or π
is a mathematical constant which represents the ratio of any circle's
circumference to it's diameter in Euclidean geometry, which is the same
as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of it's radius. It
is approximately equal to 3.14159.
Pi is one of the most important mathematical constants: many formulae from mathematics, science and engineering involve π. Pi is an irrational number, which means that it cannot be expressed as a fraction m/n, where m and n
are integers. Consequently, it's decimal representation never ends or
repeats. It is a trancendental number, which means that no finite
sequence of algebraic operations on integers (powers, roots, sums, etc.)
could ever produce it. Throughout the history of mathematics, much
effort has been made to determine π more accurately and understand it's nature; fascination with the number has even carried over into culture at large.
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| Theory of Relativity E=mc2 -from Wikipedia
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General
relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory
of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the
state-of-the art description of gravity in modern physics. It unifies
special relativity and Newton's law of universal gravitation, and
describes gravity as a property of the geometry of space and time, or
spacetime. In particular, the curvature of spacetime is directly related
to the four-momentum (mass-energy and linear momentum) of whatever
matter and radiation are present. The relation is specified by the
Einstein field equations, a system of partial differential equations.
The
predictions of general relativity differ significantly from those of
classical physics, especially concerning the passage of time, the
geometry of space, the motion of bodies in free fall, and the
propagation of light. Examples of such differences include gravitational
time dilation, the gravitational redshift of light, and the
gravitational time delay. General relativity's predictions have been
confirmed in all observations and experiments to date. Although general
relativity is not the only relativistic theory of gravity, it is the
simplest theory that is consistent with experimental data. However,
unanswered questions remain, the most fundamental being how general
relativity can be reconciled with the laws of quantum physics to produce
a complete and self-consistent theory of quantum gravity.
Einstein's
theory has important astrophysical applications. It points towards the
existence of black holes—regions of space in which space and time are
distorted in such a way that nothing, not even light, can escape—as an
end-state for massive stars. There is evidence that such stellar black
holes as well as more massive varieties of black hole are responsible
for the intense radiation emitted by certain types of astronomical
objects such as active galactic nuclei or microquasars. The bending of
light by gravity can lead to the phenomenon of gravitational lensing,
where multiple images of the same distant astronomical object are
visible in the sky. General relativity also predicts the existence of
gravitational waves, which have since been measured indirectly; a direct
measurement is the aim of projects such as LIGO. In addition, general
relativity is the basis of current cosmological models of an expanding
universe.
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| Neutrino -from Wikipedia
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A neutrino is an
elementary particle that usually travels close to the speed of light, is
electrically neutral, and is able to pass through ordinary matter
almost unaffected. This makes neutrinos extremely difficult to detect.
Neutrinos have a very small, but nonzero mass. They are denoted by the
Greek letter ν (nu). Neutrinos are similar to the more familiar
electron, with one crucial difference: neutrinos do not carry electric
charge. Because neutrinos are electrically neutral, they are not
affected by the electromagnetic forces which act on electrons. Neutrinos
are affected only by a "weak" sub-atomic force of much shorter range
than electromagnetism, and are therefore able to pass through great
distances within matter without being affected by it. Neutrinos also
interact gravitationally with other particles.
Neutrinos are created as a result of certain types of radioactive
decay or nuclear reactions such as those that take place in the Sun, in
nuclear reactors, or when cosmic rays hit atoms. There are three types,
or "flavors", of neutrinos: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau
neutrinos. Each type also has a corresponding antiparticle, called an
antineutrino. Electron neutrinos (or antineutrinos) are generated
whenever protons change into neutrons, or vice versa—the two forms of
beta decay. Interactions involving neutrinos are mediated by the weak
interaction.
Most neutrinos passing through the Earth emanate from the Sun. Every
second, in the region of the Earth, about 65 billion (6.5×1010) solar
neutrinos pass through every square centimeter perpendicular to the
direction of the sun.
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Tectonics -from Wikipedia
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Plate tectonics is a
scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's
lithosphere. The theory builds on the older concepts of continental
drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century (one of
the most famous advocates was Alfred Wegener), and was accepted by the
majority of the geoscientific community when the concepts of seafloor
spreading were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The
lithosphere is broken up into what are called "tectonic plates". In the
case of the Earth, there are currently seven to eight major (depending
on how they are defined) and many minor plates. The lithospheric plates
ride on the asthenosphere. These plates move in relation to one another
at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent, or collisional
boundaries; divergent boundaries, also called spreading centers; and
conservative transform boundaries. Earthquakes, volcanic activity,
mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate
boundaries. The lateral relative movement of the plates varies, though
it is typically 0–100 mm annually.
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| Nucleotides -from Wikipedia
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Nucleotides
are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units
of RNA and DNA. A nucleotide is composed of a nucleobase (nitrogenous
base), a five-carbon sugar (either ribose or 2'-deoxyribose), and one to
three phosphate groups. Together, the nucleobase and sugar comprise a
nucleoside. The phosphate groups form bonds with either the 2, 3, or
5-carbon of the sugar, with the 5-carbon site most common. Cyclic
nucleotides form when the phosphate group is bound to two of the sugar's
hydroxyl groups. Ribonucleotides are nucleotides where the sugar is
ribose, and deoxyribonucleotides contain the sugar deoxyribose.
Nucleotides can contain either a purine or a pyrimidine base.
Nucleic acids are
polymeric macromolecules made from nucleotide monomers. In DNA, the
purine bases are adenine and guanine, while the pyrimidines are thymine
and cytosine. RNA uses uracil in place of thymine. Adenine always pairs
with thymine by 2 hydrogen bonds, while guanine pairs with cytosine
through 3 hydrogen bonds, each due to their unique structures.In
addition, nucleotides play central roles in metabolism. In that
capacity, they serve as sources of chemical energy (adenosine
triphosphate and guanosine triphosphate), participate in cellular
signaling (cyclic guanosine monophosphate and cyclic adenosine
monophosphate), and are incorporated into important cofactors of
enzymatic reactions (coenzyme A, flavin adenine dinucleotide, flavin
mononucleotide, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate).
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| Nikola Tesla -from Wikipedia |
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Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. He was an important contributor to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, building on the theories of electromagnetic technology discovered by Michael Faraday and used in direct current (DC) applications. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor.
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