Lifeboat Foundation

To see what happens, let your Noether wheel rotate about a horizontal axis (that is, rotate vertically). Then the doubled radius will still be optically masked in the horizontal direction, but not so in the vertical direction. Hence you get a 2:1 vertical ellipse.

The optical contraction in the horizontal directions, found to be valid downstairs using the Noether wheel, implies that light will be seen to “creep” downstairs at halved speed when watched from above. This is what Einstein already found in 1907. So everything is fine.

But: does light really creep down there? The answer is no. For the distance travelled is doubled compared to above.

The conserved angular momentum L obeys a simple formula for a constant vertical (or else horizontal) rotation axis of the wheel:

L = ω m r^2

Since this expression is hard to remember by heart, the word “L’hombre” can help even though it is not high-Spanish. ω is the rotation rate, m the mass and r the radius of Noether’s frictionlessly rotating bicycle wheel.

If ω is halved (as on the surface of a neutron star), what about m and r , the other two components of the conserved L ?

Continue reading “Noether’s Theorem + Equivalence Principle = c-global (part II)” »

This simple insight amounts to a revolution in physics. It resolves an inconsistency accepted by Einstein in the absence of Noether’s theorem in 1907: that c were reduced downstairs in a constantly accelerating long rocketship in outer space.

Noether allows you to see what happens. She discovered “global conservation of angular momentum in nature” as is well known in 1916.

Take a frictionless bicycle wheel that is suspended from its hub, and lower it and then pull it back up again. What happens if angular momentum is constant all the time as she showed?

Answer: The rotation rate of this “clock” must go down reversibly like that of any other clock. But since angular momentum is conserved (Noether), the other two components in angular momentum besides rotation rate (i.e. mass and radius) cannot both remain unchanged.

This is a wonderful new result enabled by Emmy Noether.

Lewis Dartnell | AEON
“Given the dwindling reserves of crude oil left in the world, it could be argued that the most wasteful use for this limited resource is to simply burn it. We should be carefully preserving what’s left for the vital repertoire of valuable organic compounds it offers.” Read more

Vicki Turk & Brian Anderson | Motherboard
“That’s another basic thing that the doom-and-gloom, death-is-preferable-to-the-future crowd seem to misunderstand. The world won’t just stay the same, with everyone trudging along in a state of boredom; it’ll keep changing. There’ll be new stuff to do because we’ll keep making new stuff. We’ll get those jetpacks we were promised, and that’s just the start.” Read more

Robert Szczerba | The Next Web
“The advancement of technology generally evokes a range of emotions in people from all walks of life. Some view technology as a great evil that slowly diminishes our humanity, while others view it as a way to bring the world closer together and to help solve some of our greatest challenges.” Read more

Steve Lohr | The New York Times

“The company and its partners say that technology, economics and policy changes are coming together to improve the odds of making the IBM venture a workable reality. They point to improvements in artificial intelligence, low-cost cloud computing and health policy that will reward keeping patients healthy instead of the fee-for-service model in which more treatments and procedures mean more revenue.” Read more

Angela Watercutter - Wired

As expected, writer/director J.J. Abrams didn’t show up empty-handed to Star Wars Celebration—and not just because he sent pizza to everyone waiting in line in Anaheim. He also came with a new teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Read more

Game-changing technologies can be a waste of money or a competitive advantage. It depends on the technology and the organization.

It seems like the term “game-changing” gets tossed around a lot lately. This is particularly true with respect to new technologies. But what does the term mean, what are the implications, and how can you measure it?

With regarding to what it means, I like the MacMillan dictionary definition for game-changing. It is defined as “Completely changing the way that something is done, thought about, or made.” The reason I like this definition is it captures the transformational nature of what springs to mind when I hear the term game-changing. This should be just what it says. Not just a whole new ball game, but a whole new type of game entirely.

Every industry is unique. What is a game-changer for one, might only be a minor disruption or improvement for another. For example, the internal combustion engine was a game-changer for the transportation industry. It was important, though less of a game-changer for the asphalt industry due to secondary effect of increased demand for paved roads.

Continue reading “Game-Changing Technologies” »