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#Physics

187 posts140 participants24 posts today

A Pitcher Plant’s Rain-Triggered Trap

Pitcher plants all use slippery rims and sticky digestive juices to capture and trap their insect prey. But two species of pitcher plant independently evolved an extra trap: a rain-activated springboard lid. Both the Seychelles pitcher plant and the slender pitcher plant — separated geographically by 6000 kilometers — have a springy, near-horizontal “lid” that sticks out over their pitcher. The underside of the surface is slippery, though less so than the pitcher’s lip and walls. Unsuspecting ants crawl under the lid, confident that they can keep their footing, and then — bang — a rain drop hits the springboard. That impact catapults the insect directly into the drink. There’s no escaping now.

How did two widely separated, independently evolving plants both settle on this technique? Scientists think it was random chance. Pitcher plants are highly variable in their pitcher size, shape, and features. The scientists suggest that by trying lots of random combinations, these two species hit upon a particular arrangement that works really well for them. (Video and image credit: Science)

If I ask you "Which are you going to believe, peer reviewed papers or your own eyes viewing math and experiments?" and you answer "The peer reviewed papers, because they are the authorities on the subject", then what does that tell us about you?

It tells us you are an authoritarian follower who does not practice scientific method.

"[I]n their 1924 paper Bohr and his colleagues argued that the discovery of the “quantum of action” might require the abandonment of nothing less than the first law of thermodynamics: the conservation of energy. [...] Bohr’s 1924 paper offers a lens through which to look at how the quantum revolution unfolded."

physicsworld.com/a/when-bohr-g

Physics World · When Bohr got it wrong: the impact of a little-known paper on the development of quantum theory – Physics WorldPhilip Ball looks at how a little-known paper by Niels Bohr demonstrates the turmoil in physics on the brink of quantum mechanics

It’s #BlackHistoryMonth so it’s a good time to celebrate the extraordinary mathematician and NASA scientist Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020). One of the first Black women employed as a NASA scientist (and its predecessor NACA), she was known for her mastery of complex manual calculations of orbital mechanics and played a pivotal role in the success of 🧵

New header picture:

This month the volunteer distributed computing project @einsteinathome turns 20 years old.

The Einstein@Home volunteers have already discovered more than 90 new neutron stars, and we hope to discover many more in the future. Our long-term goal is the first direct detection of continuous gravitational waves.

More about Einstein@Home on our homepage: aei.mpg.de/43575/einstein-home

Project homepage: einsteinathome.org/