#it's that perfect axis of being in a position of power and

[thirst2]

There’s a larger, more personal post I want to do that’s more just ruminating on open-source, in general, but this crap right here absolutely infuriates me.

Not just because it conflates brand with a product or because it penalizes the user for something the recruiter will never have to experience (all features of GMail are entirely user-facing; it’s not like it has an iChat-like feature that only fellow GMail users will be able to see) or because it furthers the monopolization of Google or because it further pushes what was supposed to be a service anyone could setup not just even further into corporate consolidation but into a single company’s further consolidation.

It’s because they want to punish the job applicants for, essentially, not being tech.-savvy enough when having even remotely a knowledgable grasp on what E-mail is would mean you’d know that all of E-mail uses the same open protocol (that’s why anyone (in theory) can run their own E-mail server or run their own client to handle their E-mail (even for corporation-run E-mails like Yahoo or AOL or Hotmail); they handle the E-mail server but you don’t have to use their interface: you can use Outlook or Thunderbird or any E-mail client because the protocol is all the same – and openly public!).

You can’t have “modern, up-to-date technology” because – when it comes to sending and storing and deleting and creating E-mails (the thing these poor applicants think they’re fucking doing when they reach out to you – you know, using E-mail to communicate) – they all do the same damn thing. It’s sending a message to someone else.

Fuck you.

[dorianbrightmusic]

i'm seeing a lot of Pokémon SV DLC analyses where people say 'Oh, Kieran's fixation on Ogrepon is because he sees it as a path to strength; Carmine's bullied him long enough that his shield against admitting his weakness to himself is adoring a legendary creature'. And don't get me wrong – these interpretations certainly hold water – but I've actually been working from basically the opposite angle for all this time.

By all means, Kieran idolises strength, but he inhabits Carmine's shadow – he's the weak sibling, and probably has been for a long time. Yet, rather than fixate on the fantastical power of the Loyal Three, he identifies himself with Ogrepon – the downtrodden, ostracised creature cast out to eke out a subsistence. A terrible demon that wasn't quite terrible enough to cause anyone any lasting harm. The creature defeated by heroes, rather than the perfect, heroic figureheads themselves. He's enamoured with the downtrodden; he sees himself in its grief, in its being cast out and excluded. He's been cast out and excluded all his life (and he can't be a bad person, right? It's not fair – he's hated senselessly, surely, rather than for some reason?) – he sees himself as harmless; so the ogre, too, must be harmless, mis-blamed. Strength is thus in resistance; in growing a shell to tolerate others' inexplicable cruelty. So Kieran looks to Ogerpon, and he thinks that the meek shall inherit the earth, and it gives him the strength to tolerate long nights with poor company. Others are villains – not him, not this creature – and he's safe in the knowledge that at the end of the day, at least an ogre can go down in mythology as the putative sole survivor of its trials.

In this sense, Kieran's like Penny – he finds himself in a position of weakness, of being victimised, and forms himself an armour of being an underdog, of being the thing that bites back. Yet while Penny's position is that the underdog might muster the strength to bite back and restore justice, Kieran's view is that at least the underdog was worth loving. He's inert and preoccupied with his inertia. He can't understand that maybe he could be a human, with the capacity to grow, the capacity to sin. And when Carmine is cruel to him, he reaffirms his own contrarian mindset more – she says I am worth little for my weakness, so my weakness is all I am worth; my weakness is my strength.

And yet he chases strength, because he has to to survive. So when the player comes by, and supports him, maybe he has the safety to walk away from his preoccupation with being an underdog, to enjoy strength for strength's sake. And then, he starts losing, but this time, there are stakes, since he can't just withdraw and be consoled by the fact that withdrawing is right, is right, is right. Thus, he must get stronger. And then, when Ogerpon turns out to favour Juliana, who's become Kieran's idol for all that strength means, rather than Kieran, who's Kieran's selfsame designated weaklingpatheticscumidiot——well, what can Kieran do but fracture, since his whole ideology, his whole premonition that he might have the right to inherit the earth, has been fractured? And, under stress, he pivots from one extreme to the other. All he knows is that weakness is now unbearable. He must get stronger. Must get stronger. Must get stronger—because otherwise he's doomed, he's nothing. He has no myth to dissolve his identity in any longer, so he reshapes himself around the only other standard he's ever known. And it twists him and it breaks him into tiny pieces, because suddenly, the last thing he can bear to be is Kieran: Kieran, the downtrodden and meek boy. He has to flip on his axis; he must become the designated villain of his story by popular imagination, or else be subsumed in the fact that he's going to die someday without any place in the world. He has to play a part, because he's been consigned to one so long, and he can't think of anything other than heroes and villains, enemies and martyrs. He can't be the bad guy. Strength is now goodness; weakness is now evil. And he can't reconcile who he thought he was with who he must become, and as a result, all he can do is try to destroy the person who's destroyed his ideology.

[horse-girl-anthy]

From Translation Project: Revolutionary Girl Utena Script Collection Part 1

Episode 22 Nemuro Memorial Hall Those one hundred boys buried (alt trans: immured) in the basement of the Nemuro Memorial Hall are revealed as the one hundred Duelists. They have neither names nor individuality (alt trans: personality), and were engaged in an unknown project. And as expected (alt trans: Sure enough), Akio is the “Ends of the World” who pulls the strings on them all. It seems that Ohtori Academy is governed (alt trans: influenced, controlled) by a special principle (alt trans: force, power, law, axiom) that is unbound by time and space. So, what is it? What is the principle (alt trans: force) that rules this school? The key (alt trans: important factor) is weakness. There are many things in common between imagination (alt trans: imaginary images) – such as dreams, memories, etc. - and visual works (alt trans: creations). They share the same grammar (alt trans; structural rules). (I believe that if we solve the equation (alt trans: formula) for it, we’d surprise ourselves by being able to dismantle reality.) Though once chosen by the “Ends of the World”, in the end, the unsuccessful Duelist was unable to reach the castle where eternity exists, and has yet to acquire the power of Dios. And that Duelist who faltered is Mikage Souji. A young man who prides himself on being perfect, yet cannot surpass Tenjou Utena. A Faust seduced by a Mephistopheles (original japanese Mephisto) named Ohtori Akio. Mikage Souji is not his real name. Woven into that false name is his lingering love for Tokiko*. He is unaware (alt trans: oblivious) of his weakness. * The character 時 is shared between Tokiko and Souji. Souji borrowed the character from Tokiko’s name to incorporate it into his false name. The stage called Ohtori Academy is an imaginary environment (alt trans: landscape, setting, backdrop) in which everything revolves around weakness. (notation 軸axis - An axis is an invisible line around which an object rotates, or spins. Centered around weakness) (That being said, there are symbols that often appear in the story that are unknown even to the scriptwriter. Just what on earth is this thing (alternatively replace ' this thing' with the finger icon)?! This “finger icon”? (laugh)) "My sister was called away by the Board. I imagine she probably won't be back until evening." Chida Mamiya must have known about the “relationship” between his sister Tokiko and Akio. "I'll be sure to tell my sister that you are worried about me." On top of that, Mamiya sees right through Professor Nemuro's feelings and weakness and gives a spiteful response. Or perhaps holding himself aloof from his much admired Professor Nemuro is the flip side of his feelings. Even here, the Rose Bride is a symbol for when the cruelty of reality is known. First, what does the flip side of affection mean? Women have a tendency to "want to know if someone is interested," while men have a tendency to "want to make some kind of approach" to someone they're interested in. Even when making an approach, some people are embarrassed to take straightforward, positive action, so they do the opposite to gauge the reaction. Some people take action by being "kind," while others are "deliberately mean," and the flip side of affection falls into the latter category. Not only do they have a hard time expressing their feelings of love, but they may also say or do things that alienate the other person. In other words, if you like someone but are unable to express your feelings honestly and end up bullying or being cold towards them, that is the "flip side of love."

[sirfrogsworth]

Does anyone else fantasy shop?

Where you go to the product pages of things you could never afford or justify?

And just kinda... drool?

This is called a parabolic reflector. The Broncolor Para 222.

Or the "Death Star" by many photographers.

A lot of companies will claim their light modifiers are a parabola, but the math won't add up. But the parabola shape is key to getting the desired effect.

Broncolor is basically the Rolls-Royce of lighting equipment. Swiss engineering at its finest. Built to withstand harsh conditions. Powerful. Versitile. And... very expensive. They continue to innovate new lighting techniques that usually get knocked off by other companies in short order. But never quite with their impeccable quality.

What makes this parabolic reflector cool is that you can basically dial in the amount of diffusion you want. Bigger lights are softer. Smaller lights are har... umm... less diffused. Normally you can only choose between a softbox or a normal reflector. Soft light or hard light.

No in-between.

With the Para lights you can adjust the light inside the modifier to telescope in and out. In one position, it will mostly reflect off the edges. Creating a smaller, harder light source.

Or in the other extreme, it will reflect off the entire surface, making the light bigger and softer.

And you can choose anything in that spectrum of hard to soft light—allowing you to dial in the perfect amount for your photo. But the parabolic shape must be mathematically correct in order to properly achieve this spectrum.

Another advantage is the light has a wrap around effect. It's like a ring light you can use at a distance. Very flattering on humans. So you can actually point the light directly at the subject, stand in front of the light with your camera, and the light will just sort of go around you and wrap around your subject.

Most lighting needs to be off axis or else your big photographer head will get in the way.

And by this reflector being so gigantic, you can get a wrap around ring light effect from far away and illuminate a person from head to toe. Great for blending studio quality lighting with natural lighting.

You can see the wrap around effect on her arm especially. It's brighter in the center and gradually gets darker toward the edges.

I took this photo with a giant non-parabolic $100 umbrella reflector.

I love this photo. I am very proud of this photo. But you can see how directional my light source looks. And it kinda makes her lighting look out of place from the environment's lighting. Doing it at sunset helped, but it still feels like she has studio lighting rather than cohesive environmental lighting.

A small nitpick.

And probably not worth the $8000 investment.

It just would have been neat to have access to a Death Star to see what results I could have achieved.

I can still dream though.

[luciaiscool7]

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. - Superhero Roundtable

How do structural mythology, cultural studies, and cultural history reflect the series’ world and world-building around superheroes? 

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K centers on the titular character, Saiki K, a highschool student with Superman-esque levels of psychic power. He has trademark pink hair and must wear green glasses and antennae in order to limit his powers. Saiki, as one of the only actual psychic characters in the anime, actually doesn’t want to solve problems, or help anyone with his powers, and most of the show he uses his powers to minimize attention and keep to himself. His only really widespread use of power was changing everyone in the world’s hair color to also be colorful so that he doesn’t stand out as much. In direct opposition to Saiki’s nonexistent need for attention and immense psychic power, his classmate Kaidou, has no power whatever but claims to be The Jet-Black Wings, the only person standing against The Dark Reunion, an evil organization running the world behind the scenes. This is played for satire as Kaidou loudly brags about being the Jet-Black Wings and blames every mishap on the Dark Reunion, wears red bandages on his arms to “control his power,” and a dramatic action song “Judgement Knights of Thunder” plays everytime he does anything. 

Saiki K is a comedy anime satirizing the idea of a “superhero” through Saiki K, who kind of sucks and doesn’t care that much about other people, but even in using his powers selfishly, ultimately helps the people around him. This show challenges the idea that superheroes would necessarily swing to complete good or complete evil, and makes fun of those ideas in the example of satirizing binary thinking through Kaidou’s fake enemy, The Dark Reunion. Although the show begins with Saiki K doing everything he can to avoid attention and making friends, he warms up to his classmates over the show and uses his powers for their benefit, even as he convinces himself he’s just trying to help himself. 

The origination of manga in Japan was influenced by the globalization of American comics, including superhero comics, brought during WWII. Interestingly, as members of the Axis Powers, Japan and Japanese characters were featured in American superhero comics as enemies to the nation, often depicted as racist stereotypes for wartime propaganda. On an international scale, superheroes are associated with the US, as a national export and national representation of American might and power. This can be seen in superhero anime like My Hero Academia, where All Might represents the All-American superhero figure. Shows like Saiki K and Mob Psycho 100 have superhero-like characters and themes but distance themselves from calling them that, positioning themselves as psychics rather than superheroes.

In what ways are the superheroes and their abilities informed by their racial, gender, sexual, and cultural identities? 

Saiki K definitely participates in the de-racialization of characters as Will Bridges spoke to in “The Past Tense and the Future Perfect,” which we read for Cowboy Bebop. All of the characters are assumed to be Japanese, and are very homogeneous in appearance, save Nendo, whose butt-chin and weird mohawk are played for laughs. In many ways, Saiki represents the ultimate hegemonic male character who is conventionally attractive, cishet, middle class, and extremely able bodied. The only way that Saiki represents “other” could be through his lack of romantic or sexual interest in the show, much to the chagrin of Kokomi, the self proclaimed queen of the school, who appears with a halo of light around her at all times and has caused multiple stampedes of men chasing after her. The character Kaidou, who isn’t very popular with his classmates (somewhat because he always talks about the Dark Reunion), could be acting out social rejection through his fixation on being a superhero fighting evil, above the social dynamics of highschool.

In what ways do costumes and concealing identities further separate the superheroes from normal society? How necessary is it for the superheroes to hide their true identities to successfully achieve their goals? 

For Saiki, hiding his identity is his goal. To this end, he has changed everyone’s hair in the entire world to be colorful so that he doesn’t stand out. When the school has a sports test in gym class, Saiki has to tone down his supernatural speed and strength to blend in, including teleporting a ball back when he throws it so far that it can’t be seen, and squeezing a grip strength monitor so hard that that needle goes all the way around and it looks like he has an average score. For many superheroes, putting on a costume/disguise is necessary to carry out their goals, but for Saiki, his physical appearance is connected to his supernatural abilities, and the antennae and glasses he wears serve not to express his powers or his superhero role, but rather to minimize and control them.

How do the economic, political, and social events that occurred during the series’ creation and broadcast cultivate and inform the superheroes’ decisions and actions? 

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K first appeared as one-shot manga chapters published from 2012-2011, then serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2012-2018. The anime based off of this manga was aired from 2016-2018. I think Saiki K intentionally builds off of the context of preexisting superhero media to satirize it, questioning the characterization of other characters with superpowers as good and selfless or evil and self-serving- Saiki is literally just some guy and he doesn’t feel any pressure to use his powers for anyone. The anime creates a depoliticized superhero- he isn’t connected to any hero organizations or governments, he doesn’t have any enemies. He is so depoliticized and inactive as a superhero figure that his morals swing all the way around into questionable because he is so powerful, and could solve so many problems, but only changed everyone’s hair.

How do the superheroes question themselves, each other, and their obligations and duties to the people around them? 

Saiki K as a show challenges the superhero trope of questioning their purpose, sense of self and obligation to others by making Saiki antisocial and feel pretty neutrally about everyone besides himself. He always ends up helping the people around him, even when he doesn’t mean to, often doing so because it’s the easiest way to avoid being exposed, or not taking action will negatively impact him in some way. In one episode, he watches a magician on TV being locked in a box, and when it seems like he won’t be able to escape in time, Saiki teleports onto the set to save him. He does this in order to save the magician from a deadly incident which could potentially delay the rest of the tv channel, including Saiki’s favorite mystery show that after the magic show. He does help people, but his obligation is (allegedly) to himself first.

@theuncannyprofessoro

[davekat-sucks]

Honestly the rhetoric of “Japan isn’t a perfect place” is so hollow at this point because of how obvious Japan’s societal problems are. Yes, Japan does have low birth rates, yes Japan has a harsh and unforgiving work culture, yes Japan does not have a society that reaches out to or discusses mental health of its population, creating a drive towards the growing hikikomori culture where you just stay inside your house all day and ROT. And finally, yeah many Japanese people do not like immigrants, immigration, or foreigners. This is a mix of European tourists being inconsiderate of their culture (it’s getting so bad tourists are getting banned from some districts of Japan for repeatedly taking pictures of geishas even though there are signs with visual clues of stick figures taking pictures of a geisha with a BIG CIRCLE WITH A SLASH THROUGH IT and this also applies to even simple stuff like ignoring the painted rows for getting on trains in a filed line, and a lot of little cultural divisions that you gotta learn before stepping into Asia’s biggest cultural exporter.

Of course, it’s not just the tourists, Japan also hates immigrants mostly because of the continuous cloud of Japanese nationalism that remains in the nation even after the war, which at best preserves landmarks and iconography of old imperial Japan (the naval flag hasn’t changed since 1868, even though the rising sun flag is now associated by Americans, many Chinese mainlanders, and Southeast Asians as a flag of oppression and war crimes since WWII, unless your Thailand, because Japan let Thailand keep their king and even join the Axis powers as an independent state) and at worst racism against Koreans and Chinese people that denies the terror at unit 731 and the massacre of Nanking.

Finally a lot of societal pros and cons of Japan come from 2 things:

1. America is Japan’e sugar daddy, it raised the country from rubble after WWII and created an economic miracle that modernized it so fast that by the 1980s it was developmentally ahead of countries like Italy and France.

2. Japan is dominated by one party since WWII and it only lost that majority for about 4 years after the economic crisis in 2008. It was Shinzo Abe that got the party’s grip on Japan, and economic state, back in the groove.

So Japan is a complex society with many people, a long history, complex politics (did you know Japan is one of the only countries in the global north to have a communist party represented in its parliament?) and it has problems, very human, and some of it does stem from the free-market Conservative politics of the country, and some of it was practices and cultural norms translated to the modern day.

The issue is the phrase “Japan ain’t a paradise ya know” does not address any of this, it more or less just attacks a superficial belief that people who like anime and complain about “wokeness” in western media like anime because anime generally does not explore or address social movements or political philosophy that deals with LGBTQ rights, racism, economic inequality, social justice, or political theory compared to modern american media which has integrated many more openly queer main characters and usually fights a villain who is a megalomaniac aristocrat who wants to get rid of some “other” to return society to “the good old days” and take power as this “great man” which must do what the unwashed masses could not stand up to. The assumption is since anime, and generally in genres like slice of life and shonen (and even beyond the scope of anime, tokusatsu) does not cover topic of modern political and social climate, it’s because Japan doesn’t have to deal with these issues, and is to the anime viewer, a harmonious, enriched, and bountiful society where there’s no crime, no poverty, and everyone is proud to be Japanese and accepts their place in society no matter how trivial their job or position in their community is.

The thing is: NO

Many popular anime and cartoons in Japan can cover modern social issues or political philosophy, it’s just that not all of it is going to get so popular that it gets dubbed or shipped to translation publishers like Crunchyroll or Viz media. The other thing is some Japanese media can cover older or more personal struggles in their works, it can get popular, and that’s alright! Not every piece of media that avoids talking about modern issues is anti-woke! Sometimes a fine story is a fun break from reality, a way to ease your stress from a day at work.

I think when people say “Japan isn’t a paradise you think it is” I think they’re saying that Japan has active movements that fight for more modern political causes like LGBTQ rights and economic reform, and that inevitably, they will win. Some courts in Japan are already considering same-sex marriage to be a right. That’s great.

The thing is, what the nu-fan is also saying is that the pressure of the American audience, and the growing progressive movement in Japan will reform the production and distribution of Japanese media that will introduce a new wave of authors, writers, and even animators who will be more woke than any previous generation of Japanese artists that preceded them.

And when Japan’s media landscape goes woke, where will you turn to to “escape the nu-fans” South Korea?

As if there’ll be 2 Koreas within the next decade.

🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵

Then there's Western companies that are trying to ask JP creators to change, edit, and censor their works in order to fit the standards for Western audiences. If they don't try to persuade them, they do it in more subtle ways through localization without their knowledge. And they will take that advantage that the creator will be fine with it because most don't understand English or Western culture. Sites like Pixiv that is limiting US and UK NSFW content because they don't wish to change the rules for other countries for a site that was exclusively made for Japan. It's why people are starting to accept AI translations as a new way to translate anime/manga/video games over localizers like Crunchyroll. I also think there is a difference in addressing Japanese's political and society issues over policing their media and having to alter it in order to make a quick buck. It's just as bad as Disney removing one gay reference since it isn't part of the big plot to get dem Chinese bux. At least stuff like Apex Legends is having some balls to not LGBT+ shit for Saudi Arabia release without fear of losing money or being killed.

[roughentumble]

i definitely dont have a problem with poolverine puppy play but i do think it walks a fine line that needs to be really carefully accounted for, and ive yet to find The Perfect Fic that fully gets it and fully character studies them about it. partially i think they need to be fully switches about it, but also they both have HUGE problems with authority and being used as weapons and mindless beasts by people who wanted to train them. so i think while there's a layer of dehumanization and degredation that'll always go hand in hand with puppy play, which is part of the eroticism, i think it needs layers of eroticizing the horrors and reclaiming them from those that used it to hurt, an emphasis on "only for you, only you get this power over me because i give it to you," and a lot of positive reinforcement instead of using it as an axis for play punishments. ownership as an expression of love and caring because they never got to own anything that mattered to them or be handled by someone who cared enough to be gentle. and "gentle" here doesnt mean just cooing and staring into each others eyes, there's still leash tugging and rough hip slapping, but "gentle" in a more emotional sense. "gentle" meaning every tug is filled with love and doesnt cross any boundaries.

i think if you make a direct parallel to stryker, well, for one expect that to make everything immediately way heavier and more difficult to handle, and also maybe acknowledge that it's possible for puppy play to just be off the table for a little while. like sometimes the real source of trauma comes barreling into town and says "you'll always be an animal" and maybe the sexified treating your partner like an animal play has to go away for a while! idk. personally i think stryker would make the wound too fresh to be played with, because even an eroticized fantasy where he sees logan in a collar and then gets killed in revenge still has him dying thinking "this man was an animal someone managed to control, its just that it wasnt me who did it," and not "logan is a fully conscious human who is making the choice to submit in specific contexts to a specific person, and im dying for my crimes"

though, i guess if you could somehow force him to recognize the second thing it could make for a fun murder fantasy. take that, villain, you just got your worldview dissected and your head decapitated

[sukimas]

What is Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy?

And How Does It Work?

(for primarily @phantasyhalation though everyone else who gets subjected to this post can enjoy it as well)

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an analytical method mostly used by chemists to observe the environments that the nuclei of atoms observe.

It is performed by using extremely powerful superconducting magnets and radio waves.

The magnets look something like this:

(Thanks, University of Minnesota)

The large black object in the center is a very tight coil of wire that superconducts at low temperatures. Superconduction is conduction of electricity with very little to no resistance; this requires a lot less power to run the instrument. The coil of wire acts as a solenoid, creating a STRONG (5+ Teslas; the most common magnetic field used is 9.4 teslas) linear magnetic field pointing upwards through the center of the instrument; it creates a magnetic field pointing downwards around the outside of the instrument (which is very strong if the instrument is not heavily shielded, and still noticeable if the instrument is.) The coil of wire is kept at low temperatures by a chamber outside it containing liquid helium; this liquid helium chamber in turn is cooled by a liquid nitrogen chamber.

Why do we want the magnetic field? Well, all nuclei have an inherent property called "spin." Spin is a property described by angular momentum, which will be important in a moment, but for now, think of the earth spinning on its axis; if the earth was a perfect sphere, you wouldn't be able to see it. A lot of nuclei have a net spin of zero, but they still have spin; in the same way that you can say you are "moving at 0 miles per hour" when you are standing still. (Relative to your frame of reference, of course; we'll be using frames of reference again in the future, so take note.)

Quantum physics dictates that normally there are 2 spins a nucleus can take: one positive, or "up", and one negative, or "down." Normally, there's a 50/50 chance that a nucleus has spin up or spin down; when a nucleus is near another nucleus that has the opposite spin, it's happy, and won't want to be affected by outside forces like light much.

The above picture shows half and half spin up and spin down nuclei in an abstract representation. (The ones on the top level are pointing up, the ones on the bottom level are pointing down.)

However, placing nuclei in a magnetic field that points up will cause them to be slightly more likely to point up than down, like this:

We call spins that are under the influence of a magnetic field and doing this "polarized". Now, remember what I said earlier about nuclei that are near other nuclei of the opposite spin being happy and unlikely to be affected by outside influences? We now have some nuclei (pointing upwards) that are unpaired, and can be affected by outside forces.

Now, we talked about the earth spinning on its axis earlier. But let's say I tilted the earth over on its side. It would still just rotate on its axis, right? This is NOT the case for nuclei. Nuclei will still try to spin around their original axis- while in actuality they're "pointing" away from it!

(Like this:)

To be clear, what is "pointing" away from the original axis is another property of the nucleus: its magnetic moment. Basically, every nucleus with a nonzero spin creates a tiny little magnetic field; the way that that magnetic field points is called the nuclear magnetic moment.

We call the attempt to spin around the original axis while tilted away from it "precession" rather than "spinning" because it doesn't describe nuclear spin.

But how is this useful to us? Well, I described the tiny little magnetic fields of the nuclei earlier, right? If they're all precessing in unison- or in resonance (moving at the same frequency and pointing in the same direction) their movement is enough to cause a tiny little change in voltage in wires that are nearby. We can measure that change in voltage and look at it; broadly speaking, every atom's nucleus precesses at a different frequency, dictated by the strength of the magnetic field the nucleus is in and the nuclear magnetic moment. This is known as the Larmor frequency.

Pretty useful, right? But how would we tilt the nuclei over? We just have them sitting in a strong magnetic field right now.

Well, our unpaired nuclear spins are back to help. If we hit them with a beam of radio waves at the exact right frequency, and at the exact right angle, for the exact right amount of time, we can knock our nuclei over and get them to start precessing. Normally, we knock them over to be exactly perpendicular to their original spin (90 degrees angled away) but we sometimes knock them over a different amount for various applications.

Now our nuclei are precessing, and creating a small voltage. Eventually, thanks to entropy, they'll get out of sync with each other and cancel the small voltage out (and eventually they'll become realigned with the magnetic field and start pointing upwards again), but this takes a very long time compared to the time it takes a nuclear magnetic moment to cycle once around its axis (on the order of thousands or tens of thousands of times as long). This means that we can look at the nucleus and find out what it is by seeing the frequency that it's precessing at- we take a Fourier transform (taking the change in voltage over time and changing it to the voltage intensity over frequency, so we see at which frequencies of precession the voltage is present at) and see the Larmor frequency; this lets us find out which nucleus we're looking at.

In practice, though, this voltage our nuclei are creating is really really small. So we want to make it bigger so our computer can look at it; we do this with a machine called a preamplifier, which is basically a radio or TV antenna; it's tuned to a range of frequencies, and increases the power of all voltage that it receives of frequencies within that range. In actuality, we know the Larmor frequencies of essentially all nuclei with nonzero spin, so we can simply set the preamplifier tuning around there.

Great! This tells us which nuclei we have. However, there's one small problem; the electronic environment a nucleus is in can alter its precession frequency very, very slightly. This change is measured in millionths of the original frequency- it's very small- but you'd think it would pose a problem for measurement, right?

Not quite. In fact, this is how we determine the structure of molecules. We measure a range of frequencies, not just one, remember? The electronic environment of nuclei is determined by the electrons that surround them; this changes based on where they are in a molecule. Therefore, we set a reference at the Larmor frequency, and see how far certain voltage spikes are from there; by comparing the distance of each peak from the reference frequency to a set of known environments that nuclei can be in as well as to how electron-dense/electron-poor areas within a molecule are, we can figure out molecular structures.

We can do a lot of other things, too (the speed at which our voltage disappears can be used for a lot of interesting things, for example!) but this is the basic way NMR is used by most people.

To finish up: here's the one-dimensional (measuring intensity of voltage over just the change in frequency) hydrogen NMR spectrum of menthol (thanks Wikipedia). Happy spinning!

[irithnova]

@hwsasiaweek

Mongolia: Music+Instruments/"These ghosts of old desire".

Also on AO3!

I attempted to mix the two prompts together lol idk how well it turned out though.

He fastened the final clasp of his ceremonial deel, stepping back slightly to get a better look of his full appearance. The fluttering chatter of the excited guests from outside fell flat against the door, leaving Mongolia in almost perfect solitude in the dimly lit, but homely dressing room.

Gingerly adjusting his fur hat, his vision was glittered with the brilliant colours of his garment. The light - though subtle, captured the delicate glimmer of the golden thread against the sheeny blue silk. It cast an intricate floral design, meticulously and expertly woven, reminiscent of the yellow poppies that would sprout upwards towards the blue sky during the height of his country's summer.

A black velvet trim - though a stark contrast, complemented the regal outfit, and Mongolia himself was in awe of the beauty of the fabric. He turned his body every so often to observe how the dainty patterns and colours seemingly glowed when they caught the light.

He finally shifted his gaze. The Mongol swiftly walked over to where he propped his morin khuur, lacquered and lustrous, and tenderly traced his finger against the curvature of the carved horse head, trailing it down to feel the angular outline of the carved ulzii symbol against his flesh.

It's been a while since he's given a performance like this. But he had no qualms about his ability.

This is an art that he's perfected.

There was one thing though. One thing - one song, that caused a twinge of apprehension to ache in the depths of his stomach when he thought about it. An old tune…

Ah.

He glanced at the clock. It was time.

Picking up his instrument, he made a tentative tread towards the door, as if not wanting to disturb the stillness of the room, and walked out.

________________________________________

The chatter dampened as Mongolia made his way on stage, the audience's eyes now planted on him in eager anticipation. 

He caught a glimpse of a few of the nations who were peppered throughout the crowd, all of them on a diplomatic visit. Upon seeing South Korea's wide grin, he fought the urge to smile back. Instead, he turned to face behind himself, giving a small nod and smile to the musicians who already took their places.

All of them were clothed in a sumptuous, silky white. The headpieces that were sat on top of the woman performers framed their faces prettily, strings of pearls hanging like decorative curtains past their cheekbones. They were all seated with their respective instruments, broad yatga with its silver strings beneath one, the slim, elongated flute of the tsuur in the hands of another. It was all coming together.

Mongolia perched himself upon the chair placed for him in front of the other performers. His morin khuur sat comfortably in his lap as he dragged his bow against the string, his cured fingers fluently finding their rightful positions against it as he began his first song, purely in the kargyraa register. For now.

The air was filled with the sound of his deep, guttural voice. It was almost as if he was growling. The Mongol could feel the deep vibrations oscillating intensely through his throat and chest, and noticed how the sheer volume of his voice caught some people off-guard.

Of course, throat singing is ideally performed amongst the wide open plains, with nothing acting as an obstacle to the sound for miles. It sounded a hell of a lot louder when performed indoors, even if it was in a hall.

Song after song came, diverse in their sounds and topics but all as equally as mesmerising as the other. However, he did not just sing in kargyraa. But khoomei and sygyt too, khoomei being slightly softer compared to kargyraa. He relaxed his abdomen as he sang, lessening the tension in his larynx, mouth contorting itself in every which way to manipulate the melodies that danced from his throat.

The way the sound whirled throughout the great hall was evocative of how the wind passes through cobbles of large stone on the steppe, the sounds not dissimilar. After all, the original intent of throat singing was to imitate nature.

His sygyt, though, was truly something to behold.

He manipulated the shape of his mouth once more, sealing his tongue around his gums, behind the teeth, leaving a small opening near the right side of his molars. His mouth positioned itself effortlessly to accommodate this style. The tension built and fell in his throat as he fluidly switched from khoomei to sygyt and back again, the vibrations even reaching his sinuses when he'd switch to sygyt.

The audience sat firmly in their seats, utterly enchanted by the alien whistling noise being emitted from the man's mouth. They watched intently at the way he'd hold a linear sygyt note with ease, eyes scrunched shut and brows knitted together. They listened in astonishment at how he could rapidly ripple his voice, matching the quickened speed of which he played his morin khuur, imitating the steady rhythm of a horse on a speedy trot.

Like the sound of a family of birds gliding freely across the blue sky, his harmonious voice, too, travelled freely throughout the hall. The shrill but soft sound fell gracefully against the ears of the audience.

After finishing the penultimate song, he turned his head to catch his breath, the audience's boisterous applause dimmed by the sick feeling in his stomach he felt before he came on stage.

He silently cursed himself for choosing this song to be his final - Ertnii Saikhan. A tune that - though cheerful, caused his heart to ache and swell with bitter, painful nostalgia.

At the time, it felt like a good idea. Surely he was over it by now, right? Plus it couldn't all just be throat singing, the Mongolian long song is also a beautiful art. Ertnii Saikhan seemed like a great choice at the time, but now, he wasn't so sure.

As he opened his mouth to give his final performance, his piercing voice ringing throughout the hall, he remembered a time, long ago. A time when this powerful song was just a gentle, muted hum, lulling a squirming child to sleep.

He remembered how small he used to be, how he was weightless in the cradle of his arms. The way his fragile fingers peaked curiously from beneath the layers of fur, instinctually finding something to grab on to. He remembered how the gentle, glowing light from the sun fell through the tonoo of his ger, casting its pleasant warmth across the child's face, his dark eyes shifting to a subtle, golden hue.

He was a glowfly amongst the vastness of the forest, a star amongst the boundless black sky.

His son.

He gave a final drag of his bow against his fiddle, executing the last note as his voice fizzled out, drowned by the loud praise of the crowd. He didn't realise it at first, but his eyes were glassy with warm wetness, gravity threatening it's fall.

Turning away from the crowd, he stood up and gave a meek bow before gesturing for the other musicians to stand and receive their praise.

He swiftly made his way off of the stage, eyes downcast, unable to deal with being haunted by the ghosts of old desire.

End notes:

Deel - (From UNESCO) Deel is traditional Mongol clothing consisting of a caftan-like long garment, sash, belt, hat and boots. Every ethnic group has created and developed its own unique style, design and decorations, embodying specific features of their culture, origins and historic background.

Morin Khuur - Mongolian horse head fiddle

Ulzii/Ulzii symbol - Buddhist endless knot symbol that's widely used in Mongolia

Yatga - (Wikipedia) traditional plucked zither of Mongolia

Tsuur - (Wikipedia) end-blown flute of varying lengths that is common among Inner Asian pastoralists

Kargyraa, Khoomei and sygyt are different registers of throat signing, kargyraa being the lowest and sygyt being the highest, khoomei being kind of a middle ground. Khoomei is also used as a generic word to describe throat singing amongst Mongolians. Honestly go and check it out for yourself, I can't describe in words how great it sounds (even though I tried to in this fic lmao).

Mongolian long song - (Wikipedia) The long song is one of the central elements of the traditional music of Mongolia. This genre is called "Long song" not only because the songs are long, but also because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words

Ertnii Saikhan - A Mongolian long song. Some researchers speculate that this was the first hymn of the Mongol empire, which is why I chose this song.

Ger - Traditional Mongolian home, a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt.

Tonoo - The upper ring/roof of the ger, which allows air to circulate through the tent, supported by two pillars (bagana). When cooking, the felt is taken off of the tonoo to allow the smoke out. When it's cold, the felt is put over the tonoo again to keep the heat in.

[i-am-why]

Day 12

Are any of you tumongrels actually readng this? like i've been doing for way more than 2 weeks outside of tumblr and I feel like i've been singing to rats for awhile (terrible analogy).

Anyway Equirate

Equirate is the secret third moon of Sburb, which most frequently appears in sessions with odd numbers of players- though, all things considered, is quite rare. Equirate rotates in an elliptical orbit, meaning it tends to show up later in an average session due to being outside the regular incipisphere for most of the session. (The “positioning” of the session relative to Equirates’ “current” position also plays a role in whether it will be encountered.) It is also a 4th dimensional object,- depending on the “rotation” of a given session, a different “slice” of Equirate will be made accessible. When appearing in a session, it will settle into an orbit at the same semi-axis as the player’s lands, but also “from the linking of prospitan and Dersite chains,” akin to “a lake that forms between 2 rivers.” Its architecture is akin House of Stairs ( to this painting )by MC Escher, and is implied to be infinitely large, or at the very least, incomprehensibly so.

Unlike Derse and Prospit, which are generated every time a new session is started, every instance of Equirate is the exact same moon. If a Carapacian manages to get a hold of either the Equiration ring or scepter from the “dead” version of the moon, said Carapacian would gain an incomprehensible amount of power- as upon entering a session, the orb towers on Derse and Prospit send out a copy of their “data” to the corresponding towers on Equirate. Should a Carapacian get the ring or scepter from the “live” version of the moon, the amount of power they gain will be functionally random- they may get lucky and get it from when Equirate has entered a large quantity of sessions, or may get unlucky and get it from when the moon has entered relatively few sessions- if any.

The Equitarians aim to bring the war between Derse and Prospit- as well as Paradox Space itself- into a complete standstill. In other words, a perfect stasis, where nothing changes whatsoever. On smaller timescales, this manifests as prolonging sessions and the war between the two moons for as long as possible. On larger timescales, the exact manifestation of this aim is variable. One such attempt was through aligning with Professor Mayonaka, as they believed The Tear which Mayonaka’s universe hopping device helped create could eliminate all of existence- which would bring about a form of stasis. Mayonaka had slightly different aims however, merely intended to use The Tear, as well as the Equitarian ring and scepter to destroy English- both through attempts in preventing his existence in the first place, and in destroying him at various points during his lifespan.

Professor Mayonaka had a hideout on the dead version of the moon.

Equirate was eventually made to implode as a result of the two universe hoppind devices exploding, collapsing the central support structure which was resisting the immense gravitational forces of the moon. The implosion of the 4th dimensional moon was powerful enough to create the Pink Sun, the Horrorterrors answer to English’s Green Sun. Unlike English, the Horrorterrors did not draw power from the sun, rather, they helped to strengthen and fuel it.  This implosion occurred within the Gamma Kid’s session. Some of the effects of the Tear echoed backwards in time- some of the trolls became aware of it and believed that the Kids were going to cause it to implode, putting them at odds with the kids.

The dangerously unstable and powerful energies of __sprite’s Kernel, wide open to outside influences due to the cracks on the spire orbs, collided with a shard of Equirate that temporarily “phased-in” to their medium before vanishing again. It emerged in an unknown location in Paradox Space, where the shard of the moon began to “grow” into living Equirate. As such, the entire moon is actually a JuJu that creates itself, one which belongs to Professor Mayonaka.

Before the events of the Masterpiece, Equirate appeared in Caliborn’s session. (Due to Calliope dying pre-entry, and thus playing no role in the session, she was not granted an Equirate dreamself.) Mayonaka had gathered the Midnight Crew (the beforan variant he was leading at the time) and went on an escapade to destroy English before he was created. This, obviously, failed, but Mayonaka managed to flee back to Equirate and made his way to post meteors Alternia, wherein he rebuilt the Midnight Crew.

[advancedsolartechnology]

Commercial Solar Power Systems for Businesses

A commercial solar power system is a great way to show customers that your company is committed to sustainable practices. This can help you attract environmentally conscious consumers and increase brand loyalty.

A solar energy system offers many benefits for businesses, including cost savings and tax incentives. It also reduces your dependency on expensive utility rates.

Cost Savings

Whether you have a facility that requires constant power or are exposed to unpredictable utility price increases, a commercial Solar system for commercial use can provide you with an energy alternative. This can decrease your dependence on the grid and create revenue streams from government incentives.

Commercial clients often find that the system cost is offset in year one by loan repayments or electricity bill savings. Moreover, these systems require very little maintenance.

Additionally, a commercial solar system can reduce the environmental impact of your business. Unlike fossil fuels, this technology produces power that is 100% renewable and environmentally friendly. This can increase the credibility of your brand.

Longevity

When deciding whether or not solar energy is an option, it is important to consider the longevity associated with the system. This includes the panels themselves as well as the inverter. Panels that are rated as tier one or above typically have a longer lifespan than those that are not.

As with any device, solar panels will eventually lose their ability to produce electricity due to degradation over time. It is essential to partner with a provider that offers real-time monitoring to help prevent problems before they occur. This will extend the life of the system and increase the return on investment and sustainability of solar power.

Sustainability

Commercial solar systems for businesses are an excellent way to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability. This is a major consideration for customers, investors, and potential partners who value corporate social responsibility.

In addition to reducing energy costs, Commercial solar panel systems reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a sustainable future. This can increase your brand value and attract customers with similar values.

Office buildings are a perfect fit for commercial solar power systems. They typically have large rooftop space and consistent electricity consumption. In addition, net metering allows companies to offset their entire electric bill.

Educational institutions can also benefit from commercial solar power systems. They offer an opportunity to reduce operational costs and provide a real-world learning environment for students.

Scalability

Many companies that install a Commercial solar panel system enjoy an array of benefits. They save money on electricity costs and earn a positive reputation for being environmentally conscious, which increases customer loyalty and brand recognition.

Solar systems are scalable, with the ability to grow in size and output as electricity demand grows. They can also be adapted to different roof types, including slanted ones that require penetrations.

A new technology called trackers can increase energy production by shifting the panels’ orientation to follow the sun. They are available with dual- and single-axis tracking technologies. They can also be paired with battery storage and MPCimproved load control systems to increase the value of solar+ systems for SMBs.

Tax Credits

Many states and cities offer tax incentives to encourage solar adoption. For example, New York City’s property tax abatement covers the cost of installing a solar system up to a certain value, for a maximum of four years.

The federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) covers 30% of the cost of a system. This incentive applies to companies that remit federal income taxes and expires in 2026.

The PTC offers a bonus for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Businesses can claim this incentive for their facilities, or through third-party ownership arrangements like leasing. Using domestic components—like panels and inverters���can boost your ITC by 10%.

Financing

Several financing options are available to help businesses make the switch to solar. For example, a tax equity financing option allows organizations without a large tax liability to utilize the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which dramatically decreased installation costs over the last decade.

A commercial solar loan is another option that offers a variety of repayment terms and competitive interest rates. Alternatively, customers can choose to purchase their system with cash if they have the financial appetite to absorb tax credits and accelerated depreciation.

Other financing options include PPAs and leases. However, organizations should be aware of the long-term contracts associated with these agreements and their impact on future energy and financial goals.

[risalei-nur]

The Words - The Thirty-third  Word - Part 30

TWENTY-FIRST WINDOW

And the sun runs its course to a place appointed, that is the determining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (36:38.)

The universe’s lamp, the sun, forms a window onto the existence and unity of the universe’s Maker that is as brilliant and luminous as the sun itself. Indeed, despite their great differences with regard to size, position, and speed, the twelve planets including our globe known as the solar system are in motion and revolve with perfect order and wisdom and perfect balance without a second’s confusion, and are bound to the sun through a Divine law known as gravity, that is, they follow their leader as though in prayer. This demonstrates on a vast scale the tremendousness of Divine power and the unity of their Sustainer. Those lifeless bodies, those vast unconscious masses, are rotated and employed within the utmost order and wise balance, in various forms and over varying distances and in varying motions, proving the degree of the power and the wisdom; you compare for yourself. If chance was to interfere the tiniest amount in this vast and complex matter, it would cause an explosion so great it would scatter the universe. If it was to arrest the motion of one of them for a minute, it would cause it to leave its orbit and would open the possibility of its colliding with another planet. You can understand how awesome would be the collision of bodies thousands of times larger than the earth.

Now we shall refer to the all-encompassing knowledge of God the wonders of the solar system, that is, the twelve planets which are the sun’s followers and fruits, and consider only our own planet, the earth, which is here before our eyes. We see that our planet is made to travel on a long journey around the sun by a dominical command as its most important duty –as is described in the Third Letter– in a way that demonstrates the grandeur of dominical majesty and the loftiness of the sovereignty of the Godhead and the perfection of His mercy and wisdom. It has been made a dominical ship filled with the wonders of Divine art, and a travelling dwelling like an exhibition, for God’s conscious servants to gaze on. And the moon has been attached to it with precise reckoning for mighty instances of wisdom, like being an hour-hand for telling the time. The moon too has been given various mansions through which to journey. Thus, these aspects of this blessed planet of ours prove the necessary existence and unity of a Possessor of Absolute Power with a testimony as powerful as the globe of the earth itself. You can make an analogy with the rest of the solar system from this.

Furthermore, the sun is made to turn on its own axis like a spinning-wheel, in order to wind into a ball the immaterial threads called gravity and tie the planets with them and set them in order. So too is it impelled together with its planets at a speed that cuts five hours’ distance a second towards, according to one estimate, the Constellation of Hercules, or towards the ‘Sun of Suns’. This most certainly occurs through the power and at the command of the All-Glorious One, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity. It is as though He makes the solar system perform these manoeuvres like a platoon of soldiers under orders, and so demonstrates the majesty of His dominicality.

O you astronomers! What chance can interfere in these matters? The hands of what causes can reach them? What force can draw close to this? Come on, you say! Would an All-Glorious Monarch such as this display impotence and permit others to have a role in his sovereignty? Would He give to other hands living creatures in particular, which are the fruit, result, aim, and essence of the universe? Would He permit another to interfere? Especially man, would He leave him to his own devices, the most comprehensive of those fruits, the most perfect of the results, vicegerent of the earth, and His mirror-like guest? Would He refer him to nature and chance and reduce the majesty of His sovereignty to nothing; reduce to nothing His perfect wisdom?

[jcmarchi]

Mysterious Object Attracts Attention: Boundary Between a Black Hole and a Neutron Star - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mysterious-object-attracts-attention-boundary-between-a-black-hole-and-a-neutron-star-technology-org/

Mysterious Object Attracts Attention: Boundary Between a Black Hole and a Neutron Star - Technology Org

Data from the MeerKAT radio telescope reveal an object at the boundary between a black hole and a neutron star.

When astronomers cannot explain something directly, it often becomes really exciting.

An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and with the participation of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics has now discovered a mysterious tandem that has never been observed before: a system consisting of a neutron star and an object that, at first glance, should not even exist. But there is a hot lead.

An artist’s impression of the newly discovered system, assuming that the massive companion of the radio pulsar (bright blue star in the background) is a black hole (foreground). Both objects are 8 million kilometres apart and orbit each other every 7 days. Image credit: MPIfR; Daniëlle Futselaar (artsource.nl)

Researchers from the international collaboration “Transients and Pulsars with MeerKAT” (Trapum) have discovered a new system of two orbiting objects located in the globular cluster NGC 1851 in the southern constellation Columba (Dove). Both objects most likely have one thing in common: both must have emerged, albeit indirectly, from the remnants of massive stars, i.e. from neutron stars or black holes.

Massive stars are frequently formed in multiple star systems. These stars die at the end of their lives in a spectacular supernova explosion. The remnants are black holes or neutron stars that orbit each other if the system has survived the explosion. So far, only tandems of black holes and neutron stars have been detected by the gravitational waves they emit during their close dance.

A pulsar sets the beat

At least the nature of one of both objects is known. The team used the sensitive MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa in combination with powerful detectors from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and registered weak pulses. It is a neutron star with a strong magnetic field that rotates very quickly, emitting radio waves along opposing light cones that sweep through the universe like a cosmic lighthouse.

The newly discovered pulsar called PSR J0514-4002E rotates around its own axis more than 170 times per second and hits the Earth with its radio light just as often. With each rotation, the radio telescope registers a pulse, similar to the ticking of a clock. The so-called radio pulsar ticks extremely regularly.

The researchers used small deviations or differences in the rate of this clock to draw conclusions about a companion orbiting a common centre of gravity together with the pulsar as part of a binary system. The Doppler effect causes the pulsar’s radio frequency to change as a result of its orbital motion, like the frequency of a fire engine siren travelling past an observer. This also made it possible to determine the pulsar’s orbit around the mysterious object.

“Think of it like being able to drop an almost perfect stopwatch into orbit around a star almost 40,000 light years away and then being able to time those orbits with microsecond precision”, says Ewan Barr, who led the study together with Arunima Dutta from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.

“When we looked at Hubble images, we saw nothing”

The situation is less clear when it comes to the companion object orbiting the pulsar. „When we looked at Hubble images of NGC 1851, we saw nothing at that position,” explains Prajwal Voraganti Padmanabh at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Hannover.

“Hence, the object in orbit with the pulsar is not a normal star, but an extremely dense remnant of a collapsed star.” If this were also a star, it would, like the sun, emit a stellar wind, which the pulsar’s radio light cone would have to pass through before the radio telescope receives a signal. In this case, the stellar wind would characteristically influence the frequencies of the radio signal.

However, there are no signs of such an effect in the radio data. Everything indicates that the mysterious object is an extremely dense remnant of a collapsed star: a black hole or another neutron star that does not emit radio light.

The search for clues continues: the astronomers not only deduced the orbit from the measurements of the pulsar clock’s rate differences, but also narrowed down the mass of the second object to between 2.09 and 2.71 solar masses.

This means that the companion could be heavier than the heaviest known neutron stars (around two solar masses) and at the same time lighter than the lightest known black holes (around five solar masses). The compact companion object that researchers detected with the help of the radio pulsar therefore falls precisely into the so-called mass gap of black holes. Why no other compact object between two and five solar masses has yet been found is not fully understood.

“Whatever this object is, it is exciting news”, says Paulo Freire of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. “If it is a black hole, it will be the first pulsar – black hole system known, which has been a Holy Grail of pulsar astronomy for decades! If it is a neutron star, this will have fundamental implications for our understanding of the unknown state of matter at these incredible densities!���

Born from Neutron Stars?

Neutron stars, the ultra-dense remains of a supernova explosion, can only be so heavy. Once they’ve acquired too much mass, perhaps by consuming another star or maybe by colliding with another of their kind, they will collapse.

What exactly they become once they collapse is the cause of much speculation, with various wild and wonderful flavours of exotic stars being proposed. The prevailing opinion, however, is that neutron stars collapse to become black holes, objects so gravitationally attractive that even light cannot escape them.

Theory, backed by observation, tells us that the lightest black holes that can be created by collapsing stars are about 5 times more massive than the Sun. This is considerably larger than the 2.2 times the mass of the sun required for neutron star collapse, giving rise to what is known as the black hole mass gap.

The nature of compact objects in this mass gap is unknown and detailed study has thus far proved challenging due to only fleeting glimpses of such objects being caught in observations of gravitational wave merger events in the distant universe.

While the team cannot conclusively say whether they have discovered the most massive neutron star known, the lightest black hole known or even some new exotic star variant, what is certain is that they have uncovered a unique laboratory for probing the properties of matter under the most extreme conditions in the Universe.

“We’re not done with this system yet,“ says Arunima Dutta. “Uncovering the true nature of the companion will a turning point in our understanding of neutron stars, black holes, and whatever else might be lurking in the black hole mass gap!”.

Additional Information

Fig. 3: Potential formation history of the radio pulsar NGC 1851E and its exotic companion star (see text for details). Image credit: Thomas Tauris (Aalborg University / MPIfR)

A possible explanation for the newly discovered compact object:

The team proposes that the detected system is the result of a rather exotic formation history, only possible due to its particular local environment. The system is found in the globular cluster NGC 1851, a dense collection of old stars that are much more tightly packed than the stars in the rest of the Galaxy.

Here, it is so crowded that the stars can interact with each other, disrupting orbits and in the most extreme cases colliding. It is one such collision between two neutron stars that is proposed to have created the massive object that now orbits the radio pulsar.

On the left side of the figure it is shown how the millisecond pulsar (MSP), PSR J0514-4002E, could have formed. Matter from a compansion star streams onto the surface of a neutron star. This also transfers angular momentum to the neutron star, which accelerates the neutron star’s rotation around its own axis. The result is a rapidly spinning pulsar and a white dwarf orbiting each other – a typical configuration observed throughout the galaxy.

The right-hand side of the image shows how the mysterious object orbiting the radio pulsar could have formed. Two neutron stars in orbit (NS + NS) emit gravitational waves, causing the system to lose energy and the orbit shrinks with time. This eventually leads to an explosive neutron star merger.

The outcome of the merger is an isolated low-mass black hole (BH) or possibly a supermassive neutron star. At some later time the black hole and the pulsar – white dwarf binary meet, resulting in an exchange encounter in which the lightest of the three stars (in this case the white dwarf) is kicked out of orbit. The result is a stable pulsar – black hole system.

MeerKAT: Operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), MeerKAT is the largest radio telescope in the Southern hemisphere and one of two precursor instruments of the SKA Project based in South Africa.

Located in the Karoo semi-desert, the radio telescope will soon be expanded with an additional number of dishes, in the context of the “MeerKAT+” project, jointly funded by SARAO and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG) in Germany. The telescope will later be gradually integrated into SKAO’s Mid telescope in South Africa.

TRAPUM: Transients and Pulsars with MeerKAT (TRAPUM) is an ongoing survey project using the MeerKAT radio telescope. The project’s members form an international collaboration representing universities and research institutes in 10 countries, led by Prof. Michael Kramer (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Germany) and Prof. Benjamin Stappers (University of Manchester, UK).

The goals of the TRAPUM survey and collaboration are to observe targets of special interest in search of radio pulsars. Observations focus on Fermi-LAT detected gamma-ray sources, globular clusters, supernova remnants and nearby galaxies. To date, TRAPUM and its sister projects have discovered more than 200 pulsars with MeerKAT.

Source: MPG

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[arunikanaya]

December List of Affirmation

I am an affirmation lover. Oh well, call me mediocre who gets through the day by affirmation to affirmation. But you know what? Though it may sound silly to you, it's important to some people (e.g. me) because some of them may not be born with unlimited stock of self-belief or may not be born in a positive or supportive environments so in order to fulfil that, they need daily source of it, just like you need to fulfil your daily needs of vitamins and minerals.

So, here are some beautiful affirmations I found throughout this month :

3 Cara Fokus Dengan Diri Sendiri

Figure out your value

Catat hal yang ditunda dan kerjain à ngaruh banget ke self-esteem

Bikin night routine à me-time

5 Evidence Way to Prevent Dementia

Physical activity

Diet à gut-brain axis

BP control

No smoking & alkohol

Berlatih Mengurang / Mencintai Diri Sendiri

Kurangi kritik diri habis-habisan

Kurangi mengungkit masa lalu!

Kurangi meletakkan dirimu di paling bawah dalam prioritas

Two signs of emotionally mature person

They don’t take things personally (‘…An emotionally mature person has also become more self encouraging, loving, and accepting of themselves and inside their minds there is line an encouraging best friend and they don’t let other people’s hurtful words get to them and also the don’t listen as much to their inner critics)

Let go of perfection

7 Stage of Existential Awareness

Blissful unawareness of own mortality and cosmic insignificance

Suddenly questioning all epistemic assumptions that assigned meaning to your life and place in the universe

Realizing with that there is no inherent or obvious meaning of life to be found (existential crisis begins in earnest)

Turning to pessimistic nihilsm (without recognizing the irony that you’re using nihilism as a reactionary and surrogate source of meaning)

Realizing that you must no longer abstract away your one opportunity to build a life that feels meaningful to your meaning is waiting for you bring it to life.

Taking responsibility for your life by anchoring yourself back to basic values like courage, love, and discipline

Reaching a sense of the transcendent beauty of life, affirming it in all its joys and sorrows and LIVING authentically.

You are her, start acting like it. It doesn’t matter who rejected you. It doesn’t matter who no longer wants you in their lives. It doesn’t matter what people have to say about you; you are HER. Show up like it. Show up in your power. Show up like the queen that you are. The moment you start to see yourself as HER, your confident, radiant loving self, your world will change. Nobody can be the way that you are. Nobody has the same type of energy that you do. Next time you step out of the house, I want you to come out as your authentic radiant self. It does not matter what other people have to say about you. It does not matter what sometimes goes up there in your head; you are her and start acting like it.

Well, it is what it is; and fuck what it was.

Reminder:  as long as your heart is still filled with life and energy, it is never too late to follow your passion and pursue whatever it is that makes you fall in love with being alive.

Life becomes more peaceful when you’re not interested in anyone anymore and vibe alone.

Self-improvement must go along with self-acceptance

You are a woman with a brain and reasonable ability.

Don’t take it to heart, not everyone’s gonna be there for you. You’re not gonna be for everyone. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll find something real.

Never be a prisoner of your life. It was just a life lesson, not a life sentence.

There is more to life than just a male attention.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t wait for you to me okay. Get up, pray, and keep going. You got this!

There’s no shame in taking longer. You aren’t behind, and your timing isn’t wrong. Your path is just different and that’s okay. (But, now, no longer postponing. Don’t act in hurry, but act urgently.)

Life goes on, it’s up to you whether you choose to move on and take a chance to the unknown or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could’ve been. Remember, there are things that we don’t want to, happen but we have to accept, and also things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t love without but have to let go. You may not be where you want to be but be thankful for not being where you used to be. Because strength grows in the moments when you think you can’t go on, but you keep going anyway.

[pujapujari]

Brihadeeshwara Temple of Thanjavur

Are you an avid traveler who is fascinated by the mysteries of ancient land?

Are you a theist looking to uncover the mystery of spirituality?

Are you looking to escape into realms of surreal architecture?

Or do you merely want to visit a temple with incredible positive vibrations?

We think we have one of the perfect places for you.

Just hop into your favorite mode of transport and land in the Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu, India. Located on the banks of the river Kaveri, the city standing amidst the lush greenery was the capital of the Chola emperors for a very long time.

The district is home to one of the most exquisite ancient architectural marvels – the Brihadisvara temple. Oldest among the group of Chola temples, the archaeologists estimate the temple is at least ten centuries old. The name Brihadeshwar is derived from the Sanskrit word Brihat and Ishwar, which translates to – a colossal supreme being, with reference to Lord Shiva.

Brihadeshwara temple beautifully illustrates the technological advancements achieved during the Chola period. Built according to the Chola architecture, the temple is home to one of the largest Shiva lingams in India. The temple mirrors the power held by Raja Raja Chola I, an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, who is credited with the construction of this magnificent temple.

The ancient Shaivite shrine has a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site tag, which signifies that this architectural marvel has immense value to humanity.

Read on to discover why UNESCO considers this exemplary architecture filled with immense knowledge, wisdom, spirituality, and divinity a heritage site.

Brihadisvara temple – From the Historical Pages

Standing in front of the magnificent architecture, one cannot stop but wonder why and how this temple was built. A glance into its past will give us valuable insights surrounding the efforts and the sheer brilliance that went into constructing this Periya Kovil.

Since time immemorial, the temples have been the storehouse of wisdom, culture, and architecture, and a window into the life of the people who lived in the past. The Rajarajeshwara temple or the Bhadeshwara temple is no exception.

Emperor Raja Raja Cholan was inspired to build such a monumental temple for lord Rudra after seeing the Pallava Raja Simha temples in Kanchipuram. To make his mark in the pages of history and see his inspirations come to life, the foundation stones for this huge Brihadeshvara temple were laid in 1002 CE. What followed during the next few years was the creation of a miracle. Epigraphical evidence shows that it took just eight years to complete this temple work in 1010 CE.

Commemorating his work, Raja Raja Chola 1 named the temple Rajarajeshwaram and the Lingam as Peruvudaiyar.

The Mesmerizing Architecture of Brihadisvara Temple

The Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur was the first of its kind. The pearless architecture that stands amidst great walls has inscriptions telling the tales of Thanjavur City and how it witnessed the rise and fall of great empires.

The first architectural detail of the temple is that only granite and bricks went into building this incredible temple. The new architectural style introduced by the Cholas is based heavily on symmetrical and axial geometry. A Nandi shrine, two extensive worship rooms, antechambers, the vimana, and the sole entrance to the temple precincts, the gopuram, lie on the east-west axis.

A colossal Lingam carved from a single granite stone lies in the sanctum sanctuary. The supreme deity is covered by a vimana that is 216 ft high. The surprising fact about this vimana is that it is bonded with no binding materials like mortar. The most astonishing fact is that the topmost stone of the Vimana gopuram weighs about 80 tons, making it an engineering marvel.

The temple premises have a wide prakara and a large reservoir. A huge Nandi that measures 16 ft long and 13 ft high, again carved out of a single stone, lies at the entrance. There are eight such Nandi statues surrounding the prakara. The cloisters have wall paintings dating back centuries, which are nothing short of a visual treat.

Though we might never know the exact reason why the temples were built, we can only speculate and form theories based on the evidence. But no matter what, we cannot rule out that the Brihadesvara temple is a testimony to the brilliant minds of people during the Chola era who excelled in creating intricate architecture, painting, bronze casting, and sculpture.

The architectural styles of the temples that followed the rule of the Chola dynasty changed drastically, making these structures a unique representation of orthodox South Indian temple architecture.

Mysteries Surrounding the Brihadisvara Temple

As we said in the introduction, the Brihadeesvara temple of Thanjavur has many mysteries surrounding it.

1. One of the most mysterious things is the technology used to place the capstone weighing 80 tonnes on top of the 216 ft vimana gopuram. Imagining the efforts and the technology used in the absence of modern construction materials is definitely baffling.

2. The vimana, which is built entirely of granite, is said to be a depiction of Mahameru. It is hollow inside and is built using interlocking granite slabs. The hollow form reverberates the mantra Om throughout the structure, enhancing the positive energy of the temple.

3. The Thanjavur temple has a series of intricate underground passages built to enable easy and safe passage for the kings and important people without being noticed by the enemies. What’s more interesting is these passages have ample air and water supply.

4. A whopping 130,000 tons of granite stone went into building this mammoth structure. These granite stones find their origin at least 50 miles from the temple making transportation a feat in itself. Adding to the fact is the efforts and technology used to carve out the most intricate details in one of the hardest rocks on earth.

5. The everlasting beauty of the Thanjavur paintings on the prakara is yet another mystery. The artworks have not lost their color even after ten centuries, which tells us a lot about the wealth of knowledge our ancestors had in preserving artifacts for future generations.

6. The only temple in the world that does not cast a shadow on the earth during noon is the Brihadeesvara temple. One theory says this because of the magnanimous basement that absorbs the shadow, and the other points out that the flora that flourishes in the temple absorbs the shadow of this mammoth structure. All we know is that there is no conclusive evidence backing these theories.

7. The temple has depictions of natya shastra, the first of its kind, where 81 of 108 karanas are carved into the temple walls.

8. Another marvel of the Chola dynasty is the Brihadesvara temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by Rajendra Chola. It not only imbibes the values of the temple built by his father but takes it a step forward, making it yet another architectural marvel. Let’s keep this equally amazing story for another blog, another day.

The temples of India are nothing short of a marvel. These temples are a phenomenon that inspires people in more ways than one and shows us nothing is impossible. Brihadeshwara temple by Raja Raja Chola 1 is an example of outstanding achievement and what one can achieve when he puts his heart and soul into realizing his visions.

Scholars point out the fact that he was a visionary. And this temple was his way of showing the entire world a way to remain forever in the people’s memories even after the mortal body ceases to exist. His work has stood the test of time, and we are sure it will continue to stand for centuries, majestically.

So come, visit this temple in the early mornings of July to February, and witness the greatness of a bygone era to see and uncover the mysteries for yourself and transport yourself back centuries.

Article Source: Brihadeeshwara Temple of Thanjavur

[dmcreativestudio]

In Free Fall - Hito Steyerl

[T]he horizon line was an extremely important element in navigation. It defined the limits of communication and understanding. [T]he use of the horizon to calculate position gave seafarers a sense of orientation, thus also enabling colonialism and the spread of a capitalist global market, but also became an important tool for the construction of the optical paradigms that came to define modernity, the most important paradigm being that of so-called linear perspective. [T]hus, linear perspective is based on an abstraction, and does not correspond to any subjective perception. Instead, it computes a mathematical, flattened, infinite, continuous, and homogenous space, and declares it to be reality. [A]s a consequence, linear perspective not only transforms space, but also introduces the notion of a linear time, which allows mathematical prediction and, with it, linear progress. [A]s Walter Benjamin argued, time can become just as homogenous and empty as space.And for all these calculations to operate, we must necessarily assume an observer standing on a stable ground looking out towards a vanishing point on a flat, and actually quite artificial, horizon. [A]s the whole paradigm converges in one of the viewer’s eyes, the viewer becomes central to the worldview established by it. While empowering the subject by placing it at the center of vision, linear perspective also undermines the viewer’s individuality by subjecting it to supposedly objective laws of representation. [N]eedless to say, this reinvention of the subject, time, and space was an additional toolkit for enabling Western dominance, and the dominance of its concepts—as well as for redefining standards of representation, time, and space. [B]ut at present, the distribution of power has increasingly come to occupy a vertical dimension. Vertical sovereignty splits space into stacked horizontal layers, separating not only airspace from ground, but also splitting ground from underground, and airspace into various layers. Different strata of community are divided from each other on a y-axis, multiplying sites of conflict and violence. [I]n it, the former distinction between object and subject is exacerbated and turned into the one-way gaze of superiors onto inferiors, a looking down from high to low. 

The view from above is a perfect metonymy for a more general verticalization of class relations in the context of an intensified class war from above—seen through the lenses and on the screens of military, entertainment, and information industries.12 It is a proxy perspective that projects delusions of stability, safety, and extreme mastery onto a backdrop of expanded 3D sovereignty.