Notes from a panel at Chicon 7. 12 noon, Friday, August 31, 2012. Weblinks and various comments and expansions added.
Dyson Sphere Update
What is a Dyson sphere? When can we make one, or at least part of one, and how? As a society, would we want to? What could one do with a Dyson sphere? Can we detect one now, or in the near future? What would be the environmental ethics of a Dyson sphere maker?
Jordin Kare, Allen M. Steele, James L. Cambias, David L Clements, G. David Nordley
Chicon Overview
mia_mcdavid and I spent the holiday weekend at Chicon 7 with our son James and carpe_noctum_93. We had a great time. I have some pictures up on Google.
… is a former physicist.
Some current thought on the “Baghdad Battery”.
From Paleobabble.
The Mythbusters should have done some more background research. It might have spared Adam Savage some pain.
There is a filk song by this title that has been around for at least a couple decades, and several SF stories as well, all about the issues that the time dilation of near lightspeed travel will pose for human interactions. These are a long way in our future, but our money is “pushing the speed of light” today:
How Wall Street Got Addicted to Light-Speed Trading
From Slashdot,
Nice set of tutorial articles:
Schrödinger’s equation — what is it?
Schrödinger’s equation — in action
Schrödinger’s equation — what does it mean?
From Steven Strogatz.
From Jennifer Ouellette
Note: Quantum Electrodynamics works. The predictions it makes have been experimentally confirmed to many decimal places.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 