The lonely science post thread

[8ball]

Is there any scientific evidence for dowsing?

There is evidence that dowsing can work but this is neither spooky nor supernatural. It comes down to the dowser, not their tools.

www.sciencefocus.com

A sceptical site

dowsing (a.k.a. water witching) - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com

www.skepdic.com

Been discussed here a couple of years back

Dowsing

Carried over from another thread. It’s bullshit, obviously. Tested more than almost any other woo, it always fails. Cue “Oh but my uncles mate did it for the council” stories in 3... 2... 1...

www.urban75.net

You should do a diploma with the people below and tell us if it works.

Dowsing Diploma Course - Centre of Excellence

Learn how dowsing works, the tools used in its practice, and receive guidance on how to use divining techniques, with the Dowsing Diploma Course.

www.centreofexcellence.com

We've had a few of those threads.

Some time after the most recent one my Dad used his rods to work out what was up with the drainage pipes at the back of my house.
No reverence for science, some people.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Why Scientists Waited 50 Years to Study This Moon Dust

This Christmas season, researchers will finally get to unseal the contents of a soil sample from the Apollo 17 mission

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[8ball]

beesonthewhatnow

Merry Christmas.

 

[NoXion]

Not sure if this article deserves its own thread, but I thought it was interesting. I didn't realise how subtle the connection between horse and rider was.

Horse-human cooperation is a neurobiological miracle | Aeon Essays

The horse is a prey animal, the human a predator. Our shared trust and athleticism is a neurobiological miracle

aeon.co

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Not sure if this article deserves its own thread, but I thought it was interesting. I didn't realise how subtle the connection between horse and rider was.

Horse-human cooperation is a neurobiological miracle | Aeon Essays

The horse is a prey animal, the human a predator. Our shared trust and athleticism is a neurobiological miracle

aeon.co

This is really impressive

They accomplish this with exquisite sensitivity: the average horse can detect less pressure against her skin than even a human fingertip can.

 

[8ball]

Not sure if this article deserves its own thread, but I thought it was interesting. I didn't realise how subtle the connection between horse and rider was.

Horse-human cooperation is a neurobiological miracle | Aeon Essays

The horse is a prey animal, the human a predator. Our shared trust and athleticism is a neurobiological miracle

aeon.co

We’ve had some unnuanced discussions on here about whether horse riding is cruel, and whether horses suffer when being ridden.

Would be kind of interesting to see what people taking that line think of this article.

 

[NoXion]

We’ve had some unnuanced discussions on here about whether horse riding is cruel, and whether horses suffer when being ridden.

I think this article on horse psychology is relevant:

Every time people use horses, they exercise psychology, because their strength is no match to that of horses. If we don't use superior psychology, we may find horses using us to achieve objectives that are not consistent with the intended goal. Such a situation results in owner dissatisfaction and a spoiled horse whose value may dangerously approach those packed in cans for dog and cat food.

Modern horse psychology attempts to anticipate probable behavior of horses under different conditions and establish those conditions that encourage responses consistent with goals of the horse handler.

The idea that people who train horses use pure force to get them to suppress their instinctive reactions, give themselves thinking time, and perform complex unnatural manoeuvers, is at best a gross over-simplification and at worst a mendacious misrepresentation in service of an agenda. I mean even with smaller animals like dogs, kicking the shit out of them doesn't produce a Lassie, you just get a broken and abused creature.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Astronomers discover mysterious pulsing object that may be new class of star

Experts say object is a match for predicted class of neutron star with ultra-powerful magnetic field

www.theguardian.com

 

[SpookyFrank]

We’ve had some unnuanced discussions on here about whether horse riding is cruel, and whether horses suffer when being ridden.

Would be kind of interesting to see what people taking that line think of this article.

I think if a horse can sense and respond to less than a fingertip touch then anyone claiming it's necessary to whack them on the arse with a whip is clearly just making excuses for being a fucking deviant.

 

[Epona]

Where do I join the queue to punch Elon Musk?

 

[8ball]

I think if a horse can sense and respond to less than a fingertip touch then anyone claiming it's necessary to whack them on the arse with a whip is clearly just making excuses for being a fucking deviant.

Yeah, that’s a reasonable point. I was thinking more of the discussion about whether riding a horse at all was an act of cruelty.

 

[Storm Fox]

Where do I join the queue to punch Elon Musk?

Is that a general need to punch Musk or has he done something new and awful?

 

[Epona]

Is that a general need to punch Musk or has he done something new and awful?

Elon Musk SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon

Astronomers say that a rocket in space since 2015 is hurtling towards the Moon where it will explode.

www.bbc.co.uk

I suppose that's one way to get a crater named after you.

 

[HAL9000]

Short film showing the launch of a uncrewed freighter to the international space station, the docking stage is not shown.



What I thought was good is that you can see colours at the edge of the atmosphere, this article explains what the different colours represent.

How to See Airglow, the Green Sheen of Night

Emerald green, fainter than the zodiacal light and visible on dark nights everywhere on Earth, airglow pervades the night sky from equator to pole. Airglow turns up in our time exposure photographs of the night sky as ghostly ripples of aurora-like light about 10-15 degrees above the horizon...

www.universetoday.com

 

[farmerbarleymow]

The oldest star that we might see in our lifetimes - its light has travelled 12.9 billion light years.

Distant star found by Hubble telescope may be earliest we will ever see

Light from Earendel has travelled for an estimated 12.9bn years to reach Earth

www.theguardian.com

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Rare glimpse of giant planet still ‘in the womb’ yet nine times the mass of Jupiter

Observers believe AB Aurigae b is at the earliest stage of formation ever observed for a gas giant, and isn’t forming the way planets usually do

www.theguardian.com

 

[farmerbarleymow]

What could possibly go wrong?

Scientists hope to broadcast DNA and Earth’s location for curious aliens

Beacon of Galaxy message could be sent into heart of Milky Way, where life is deemed most likely to exist

www.theguardian.com

 

[farmerbarleymow]

This is interesting - the time it takes for a ball to drop on various solar system bodies under gravity.

 

[petee]

This is interesting - the time it takes for a ball to drop on various solar system bodies under gravity.

the old Hayden planetarium had scales which told your weight on other planets

handy chart

creeps I loved that place

Memories of the Hayden Planetarium

I grew up in New York City in the 50s. My mother was a Utah girl who had dreams of going to the Big City to become an actress, and by dint of sheer determination she did just that; but while her ro…

www.google.com

(not me, btw)

 

[two sheds]

Really interesting video on 'how electricity actually works' as follow up from they guy's first video, which asked how long a light bulb would light up after a switch was closed in a circuit with light-second long wires (explained right at the beginning).

A lot of scientists/engineers apparently disagreed so he's actually taken measurements from a circuit with wires tens of metres long.

 

[8ball]

Yeah, you can do an incredible amount of complex engineering with no idea of how electricity actually works.

I had a smart meter installed on Friday, and apparently I have used minus £99999 pounds this year so far.

Still haven’t found any generators in the house..

 

[8ball]

.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I had a smart meter installed on Friday, and apparently I have used minus £99999 pounds this year so far.

Still haven’t found any generators in the house..

Might be your electric personality?

runs

 

[two sheds]

magnetic

ducks

 

[gentlegreen]

In the few years I've owned it, my cheapo Wansview WIFI camera has become electrically noisy, but I suspect these are insects attracted by the IR illumination in night time mode ...


View attachment Wansview-2022-05-01-21-57-43.mp4

 

[WouldBe]

the old Hayden planetarium had scales which told your weight on other planets

handy chart

creeps I loved that place

Memories of the Hayden Planetarium

I grew up in New York City in the 50s. My mother was a Utah girl who had dreams of going to the Big City to become an actress, and by dint of sheer determination she did just that; but while her ro…

www.google.com

(not me, btw)

One way to lose weight, use the wrong column.

 

[WouldBe]

Yeah, you can do an incredible amount of complex engineering with no idea of how electricity actually works.

I had a smart meter installed on Friday, and apparently I have used minus £99999 pounds this year so far.

Still haven’t found any generators in the house..

At 30p per kWh that would be around 3kW since Friday. Even if you had a generator in the house it wouldn't record on the meter as they only record in one direction.

 

[8ball]

At 30p per kWh that would be around 3kW since Friday. Even if you had a generator in the house it wouldn't record on the meter as they only record in one direction.

Yeah, I think the account just isn’t set up right yet.

 

[8ball]

.

 

[petee]

lunar eclipse, for me anyway

Total Lunar Eclipse on 15–16 May 2022 – Where and When to See

Total lunar eclipse on 15–16 May 2022: Where and when is the Blood Moon visible and what will it look like? Visibility map, animation, and local times.

www.timeanddate.com