Thursday, February 14, 2013

Force and Black Holes.

Exercise is the most important tool in the tool box of writers and thinkers. The increased blood flow benefits a properly exercised mind. I've asked in the past, but how do you stimulate your creativity? Besides puzzles and problems, I like meditation to help with focus.It comes in all shapes and sizes, from sitting quietly and breathing, to reading the same passage over and reflecting on it. Even taking a quiet couple of hours to sit and focus on writing helps with focus.
My meditative writing state will help my transport back into the world of science. I want to take the opportunity to explore the lands of time travel, a world explored by many minds; some talented, some imaginative, and others that make little sense.
I know by looking at my traffic for this site, that these post aren't all that popular. It's what I think about though, and this gives me a chance to talk to myself. Let's get started, shall we?
I want to talk about time dilatation, first. Black holes were my introduction to the deeper world of astronomy and astrophysics, so it would be some what fitting to start with black holes and the massive gravity they create.
Gravity is a force. An object falls to the earth due to this force. It not only falls, but it accelerates. People who took a high school physics class can usually recite at least one of the three laws of gravity. But how many can recite the equation "The force of gravity is equal to the gravitational constant multiplied by the ratio of the product of two masses over their distance squared." And that, my imaginary friends, is how calculate the force of gravity. If you wanted to know the force between, say, the sun and the earth, then all you would need to know is the mass of both objects (1.9891 × 1030 kg for the sun and 5.972E24 kg for the earth) and the distance (1 AU or 149,597,871 km)  between their centers of gravity and plug it into that calculation. A funny thing happens with an equation like this. If the gravitational constant is just that, a constant, then the way you would increase the force of gravity is by increasing the product of the mass of two objects (which is easy to do with a mathematical error) or to decrease the distance between them. The other thing is, when the distance of the objects has reached 0, then you have reached the limit for the equation.
A black hole shrinks in size, but the mass stays the same, allowing you to draw closer to its center of gravity. So the force of gravity is greater. This was the way black holes were explained to me.
So how does time travel work with black holes? 
Well, I guess that's a topic I can save for next time. Until then, I need to post this otherwise it will sit in my drafts folder with the hope that "Someday I'll edit it and publish it!", and I can't have that. So hopefully I'll keep you in suspense until then.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

February's Post for Insecure People.

And now, for your reading pleasure, this month's Insecure Writers Support Group! Not many read my little blog, but the ones who do usually come from the support group. I also get a chance once a month to read other people's blogs. To all the automated bots and confused Croatians that stumble across my page, you should check out Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. He leads a ninja army will rule the internet someday soon.
Ah, February. A short month of cold days, and home to the holidays I don't like. March was know for it's blizzards where I grew up, so Groundhog Day and it's weather predictions never made sense. President's Week meant the invasion of rich out-of-staters with too much money and not enough patience. It was good if you worked at the ski resorts they frequented, or any of the other winter jobs that depended on their business, but you would think that people on vacation would be friendly and more relaxed. Meh. So it goes.
It seems almost worthless to complain about that other holiday that February is know for. Really, wait a week. The internet will remind you of all the single people and the couples that exist in the world. It is the best time of the year to read the "Seeking" ads. Subtlety disappears this time of year and those ads get hilarious.
Insecurities, right. I'm feeling great right now, thanks to an increase in Vitamin D. The sun is staying out longer these days, and it fills my brain with plans. I start thinking about what I want to do over the coming months, and all the good days spent outside. They tell me an increase in exercise, activity, and brain games helps increase the neurological functions and creativity. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of posting, I could use all the help I can get when it comes to being creative. On top of my usual math and science habits, I'm working on a new language. How about you? What do you do to keep your brain active and young?
Laziness causes the brain and the body to become squishy. Man, when was the last time I read a good book? How a bad one? As always, I feel like I hit a wall, and can't write anything worthwhile. The best way to get over that is to write something down and force yourself thourgh it. Something will come along that works.
Do you want some advice about how to keep it together when the world is falling apart? If you just keeping joking, just keep laughing, and do all the puzzles you can while you sit in your bathrobe, then you'll do fine. The key to writing your short stories, scientific papers, or the grocery list is to just turn off your brain for just one moment and let your fingers talk for you. Let them talk about heat, pressure, and fried chicken. Let them explain the formulas that hide behind the graphics of the world. Listen to the typing noise as they write songs, poetry, and prose. Your brain only stops you by over-analyzing the world around you. It stops you from going forward. In that 2 seconds you stopped to think, the world just moved. To all of my readers, imaginary, real, or just simply complex, the only secret I can tell you today, the first Wednesday in a short month, is to turn your mind off and to just write the words at your fingertips.