Two astronomers fought for credit when Neptune’s presence was confirmed in 1846: John Couch Adams from Britain, and Urbain Le Verrier from France. Both had used math and physics to predict Neptune’s position, but Le Verrier’s prediction turned out to be more accurate. See references.
Death is a disease.
Diseases can and will be cured.
Do the math. wink
Continue reading “New genes associated with extreme longevity identified” »
“In her new book Mathematics and Art, historian Lyn Gamwell explores how artists have for thousands of years used mathematical concepts — such as infinity, number and form — in their work. Here she choses ten stunning images from her book that reveal connections between maths and art.”
An artificial intelligence program received such high scores on a standardized test that it’d have an 80% chance of getting into a Japanese university.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the program, developed by Japan’s National Institute of Informatics, took a multi-subject college entrance exam and passed with an above-average score of 511 points out of a possible 950. (The national average is 416.) With scores like that, it has an 8 out of 10 chance of being admitted to 441 private institutions in Japan, and 33 national ones.
Continue reading “An AI Program in Japan Just Passed a College Entrance Exam” »
To critics, it’s flat-out junk science, not even worth thinking about. But its inventor, Roger Shawyer, has doggedly continued his work. As Danger Room reported last year, Chinese scientists claimed to validate his math and were building their own version.
Shawyer gave a presentation earlier this week on the Emdrive’s progress at the CEAS 2009 European Air & Space Conference. It answered few questions, but hinted at how the Emdrive might transform spaceflight — and warfare. If the technology works, that is.
The heart of the Emdrive is a resonant, tapered cavity filled with microwaves. According to Shawyer, a relativistic effect generates a net thrust, an effect confirmed by various Emdrives he has built as demonstrations. Critics say that any thrust from the drive must come from another source. Shawyer is adamant that the measured thrust is not caused by other factors.
