Jennie&Tim on 21/3/2008 at 15:02
(
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150027.htm)
These clever people have figured out how to increase the thermoelectric efficiency of a common cheap material. This is good, because various objects can now be made more energy efficient. I'm not enough of a physics nerd to completely understand it, I'd never heard of phonons before, but it's still fun.
frozenman on 21/3/2008 at 16:09
Like all things thermodynamical, phonons are extremely cool, and infuriating to no end.
I dunno- I worked in a semi-conductor/ meso-scale physics laboratory for a while and every week those motherfuckers were all excited about some new crystal lattice configuration anisotropic effect that offers a 5% increase in some goddamned parameter that would take me another 5 years to understand. In this field discoveries are being made so fast its really hard to tell which ones are actually going to change the world and which are just going to give a foreign national a boner and a PHD.
Hewer on 21/3/2008 at 16:21
I love science and stuff, but I don't understand any of it really. I may read Playboy for the articles, but I read National Geographic, Discovery and Popular Mechanics for the pictures.
catbarf on 21/3/2008 at 16:36
Ah, I thought this thread was going to be about that concept of making objects vibrate at the same resonant frequency, so electricity passes between them without cords.
But still, very interesting development.
Jennie&Tim on 22/3/2008 at 03:26
Oh, that sounds interesting too, do you have a link?
Thief13x on 22/3/2008 at 19:05
Science might be cool but the Scientific Method sucks ass
Spaztick on 22/3/2008 at 19:58
"Hey guys, we can't measure the force of gravity, only it's effects. I guess that means it doesn't exist!"
"What, something traveling faster than light? I call BS because I said so!"
"Hey guys I found the missing link between ape and man! Wait, you found out it was a fake used to boost my ego and gain me temporary fame among my peers in the scientific community? Well drat."
What are you talking about, the scientific method is awesome.
Koki on 22/3/2008 at 21:16
Quote Posted by Spaztick
"Hey guys, we can't measure the force of gravity, only it's effects. I guess that means it doesn't exist!"
"What, something traveling faster than light? I call BS because I said so!"
"Hey guys I found the missing link between ape and man! Wait, you found out it was a fake used to boost my ego and gain me temporary fame among my peers in the scientific community? Well drat."
What are you talking about, the scientific method is awesome.
Turn your PC off now, I heard hackers can modify it into a bomb.
