h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey Neutrino
You seem to know more of these critters than any ordinary person should. You work with them? Also, isn't it an electron transition due to a near impact that gives off a flash of light that allows us to detect them? Thought I read that once. Whatever. Swerve.

Yeah, when the chemical composition of the cleaning fluid changes, it produces a flash of light, and that's how they detect their presence. No, I don't work with them, I am merely a physics major. I actually plan to become an astronomer in the long run. Do you work with them? That would be dang cool.

I don't have anything to do with neutrinos, sadly. I do run a nuclear reactor onboard a fast attack submarine, but we make neutrons...whatever. Before I joined the Navy, I was also going to go into astronomy. How far along are you? Where would you like to work? Last weekend I drove out to Green Bank, WV and saw the radio telescope they have there. That was great. Bigger than I had imagined... Anyway, fight the good fight. Later.


"See this part down here away from the curve; that's him."
Hertzsprung, concerning Russell

I'm going to be a sophmore in the fall. Just 46 more days till I move back in. I think I would like to work at a University when I get my degree, maybe Princeton, MIT or U of Chicago, I haven't thought that far ahead, I know for sure I'll be going into graduate school. It would be cool to go to Hawaii or Chile to work with the telescopes there, too. I'm interested in galaxies and AGN's, but theoretical physics has its attractions. That's cool that you run the reactor, you probably know how it works (meaning you don't just USE it). What kind of astronomy are you into? Didja hear about the new planet they found? Neat stuff. Anyway, I can't find a way to finish this, so I'll just end abruptly.

Grad school, yowza. I only went through 2 years at U of Washington. When I get out of the Navy, I want to go back. I'm into (I guess) Radio interferometry. I have always been a fan of M.C Escher, ...hang on, there is a point... and have always felt that he was painting reality, but just saw along a different set of rules. Enter the radio wave. Still gives a picture of any object you fling it against, but is completely separate from the biases of the visible light spectrum. I like the idea of seeing what others don't.
On one of my many roadtrips away from whatever I SHOULD have been doing, I wound up sleeping in the middle of the V L A out in the southwest. Yeah, yeah, fences, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, waking up surrounded by 27 huge dishes all separate but working together to see things that I could not is what got me into astronomy. That, and with a blood-alcohol content of .21, they looked WICKED! good times.

As for the nuke thing, yeah. Could build you one if you wanted. I went through a year and a half of nuke power school to learn all about big terms like average logarithmic energy decrement per collision. Some of it was really cool, but most of the time you just push the "I Believe" button. Anyway, getting on towards food time, so talk to you soon. ...well, talk in the sense of read. Er. !?? Later.


"Whaddya mean I can't come over? I'm the half-life of the party!"
Madame Curie

I'm a big fan of MC Escher, too! I also like Dali a lot...For me, I think the beauty of astronomy comes from the images we receive from space. I think looking at pictures of nebulae, supernovae, and the like and realizing the vastness of space is what attracted me to astronomy. Looking at those images gives me a feeling of exhilaration. That's sweet that you've seen the VLA. The closest I've come to a telescope is looking at the one attached to my campus. Mostly I'm into theory--I want to explain why things are the way they are. Somehow I think that adds to the beauty of the world. That, and I love the look people give me when I try to explain string theory to them . They get this glassy, look about them. Cracks me up. Well, I should rest, recovering from illness . Later.