Coffeo's Profile

How scientists change their minds.

evidentialist comments on Feb 4, 2018:

The speed of light in a vacuum is still being scrutinized, tested, and pondered. If something as basic as that is not thought of as an absolute after all this time, what can be?

Coffeo replies on Mar 5, 2018:

@NDEer There are, I think, some reasons for thinking it might have changed. https://www.livescience.com/29111-speed-of-light-not-constant.html

Lol

Coffeo comments on Mar 3, 2018:

I do not think atheists hate god. I mean, how could they? I think the hateful thing is the behavior of many religious people. (Not the people themselves, but their actions.) I also do not think there is a great deal of hate on this site (obviously, there is some).

Coffeo replies on Mar 4, 2018:

@RobertCleary What they hate is not god. You can't hate something you deny the existence of. But yes, they hate.

Do any specific noises cause you anxiety or fright (without reason)? READ THE FULL QUESTION

Sticks48 comments on Feb 28, 2018:

As a musician it would be the sound of a banjo or an accordion.

Coffeo replies on Mar 3, 2018:

I totally agree on the banjo. But accordion? How about this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDFFUIGoBUc

Do any specific noises cause you anxiety or fright (without reason)? READ THE FULL QUESTION

Eazyduzzit comments on Feb 28, 2018:

Donald Trump giving a speech.

Coffeo replies on Mar 3, 2018:

Except perhaps not without reason.

Are there any flat Earth believers among us?

Coffeo comments on Feb 28, 2018:

If I knew any flat-earthers, I'd want to ask them "Where is the edge? Why can't you show it to us?"

Coffeo replies on Feb 28, 2018:

@paul1967 Not part of Earth, then? Have any of them ever tried to go there? what has happened to them? None ever came back? Too scared to go and have a look?

Beliefs

AxeElf comments on Feb 23, 2018:

I would love to hear someone describe a situation in which the people around you are NOT full of beliefs. (Other than being alone, I guess.)

Coffeo replies on Feb 24, 2018:

I have no idea what the people around me believe or don't believe. It's not a topic of conversation.

Ok your funny former religious experiences.

ErichZannIII comments on Feb 22, 2018:

Okay, so I was in the hospital at the time, and I was having doubts about my Catholic faith. I wanted to talk to a nun (ill-advised, I know). So I asked her about converting to Methodism. She starts shouting at and berating me about how Catholicism is the only right religion. In retrospect, ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 24, 2018:

I think you got lucky with the priest!

Anti-matter on the Move..g:8 [livescience.com]

Coffeo comments on Feb 21, 2018:

Quote: Positrons (bizarro electrons) do occur in lightning bolts and occasionally show up in outer space, but they tend to annihilate one another long before they have a chance to accumulate. So physicists at the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) physics laboratory near Geneva ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 22, 2018:

@phxbillcee Sure. Just not properly edited.

Anti-matter on the Move..g:8 [livescience.com]

Coffeo comments on Feb 21, 2018:

Quote: Positrons (bizarro electrons) do occur in lightning bolts and occasionally show up in outer space, but they tend to annihilate one another long before they have a chance to accumulate. So physicists at the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) physics laboratory near Geneva ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 22, 2018:

@phxbillcee "Positrons ... do occur ... So physicists ... generate them." How is that talking about anti-protons?

How many republican atheists/agnostics are members of this website?

Redcupcoffee comments on Feb 17, 2018:

I'd put a gun in my mouth and blow my brains out before I EVER become a Republican. Fuck that.

Coffeo replies on Feb 18, 2018:

@David1955 The Australian Liberals have become more right wing with the passage of time. Menzies wouldn't recognise it. I think we can say the same abot the US Republicans: see my response to @Obnoxious in this thread.

How many republican atheists/agnostics are members of this website?

Obnoxious comments on Feb 17, 2018:

I would like to suggest that no self respecting Republican would ever admit to not having a religion. That would be analogous to a dog having no fur. The very definition of Republican is that you got a religion; not only do you have a religion, but you actually have a really creepy religion (since ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 17, 2018:

How things have changed! An earlier post today by @Lincoln16 spoke about the late 19th-century Robert G. Ingersoll — The Great Agnostic. I googled him and found that: Many of Ingersoll's speeches advocated freethought and humanism, and often ridiculed religious belief. He attacked the Christian doctrine of Hell: "All the meanness, all the revenge, all the selfishness, all the cruelty, all the hatred, all the infamy of which the heart of man is capable, grew blossomed, and bore fruit in this one word — Hell." He was strongly anti-slavery and commanded a Union regiment in the Civil War. He was also a staunch Republican.

The kids paradox

MrLizard comments on Feb 16, 2018:

I never wanted a houseful but I did want more than one... not a choice in your poll. I wanted no more than two and had two - once of each gender. No regerts!

Coffeo replies on Feb 17, 2018:

My response exactly.

Groups! Found by accident! I'm a physicist (retired): main fields were optics and spectroscopy.

astrochuck comments on Feb 14, 2018:

What types of study did you do in optics and spectroscopy? As a spectroscopist myself, we used to say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a spectra is worth a thousand pictures.

Coffeo replies on Feb 15, 2018:

@astrochuck I'm in the same position. I had to look up the paper to even find out what I'd done. I don't follow the literature anymore although I read popular science articles and am especially interested in astronomy and cosmology.

Groups! Found by accident! I'm a physicist (retired): main fields were optics and spectroscopy.

astrochuck comments on Feb 14, 2018:

What types of study did you do in optics and spectroscopy? As a spectroscopist myself, we used to say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a spectra is worth a thousand pictures.

Coffeo replies on Feb 14, 2018:

@astrochuck Yes, 285.296 nm was one of them. If you like, I can scan the paper and send you the PDF file in a message.

Why did god creat all the cosmos?

Or-Humanist comments on Feb 8, 2018:

He did? Guess I missed that. Thought he only took credit for earth.

Coffeo replies on Feb 14, 2018:

Seem to recall something about earth and heaven and all that therein is...

Hello all, glad to find some scientists in the community.

Coffeo comments on Feb 14, 2018:

I think many scientists love music. I don't know how many make a career out of it, but the astrophysicist Brian May of Queen comes to mind.

Coffeo replies on Feb 14, 2018:

@kensmile4u I forgot Brian Cox was a musician. I didn't know about the others.

Groups! Found by accident! I'm a physicist (retired): main fields were optics and spectroscopy.

astrochuck comments on Feb 14, 2018:

What types of study did you do in optics and spectroscopy? As a spectroscopist myself, we used to say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a spectra is worth a thousand pictures.

Coffeo replies on Feb 14, 2018:

@astrochuck Yes, oscillator strengths, or f-values. The spectroscopy was purely experimental. Unfortunately my work was restricted to ground-state measurements due to limited time and equipment problems, but I was pleased that a theoretical result published some months later (I forget by whom) was in very acceptable agreement with my results. The hook method goes back to 1912; it was invented by Roschdestvensky. I used a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. I have some papers but not in digital form.

Groups! Found by accident! I'm a physicist (retired): main fields were optics and spectroscopy.

astrochuck comments on Feb 14, 2018:

What types of study did you do in optics and spectroscopy? As a spectroscopist myself, we used to say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a spectra is worth a thousand pictures.

Coffeo replies on Feb 14, 2018:

In the 1970s I did post-doc research in the solar physics group at Harvard College Observatory on transition probabilities of magnesium using hook interferometry, When I came to Australia I worked on making holographic diffraction gratings, and then on the design of spectroscopic instruments (some of which used holographic gratings).

Proofreading Matters

Charlene comments on Feb 13, 2018:

Isn't that what a colonoscopy is?...lolol

Coffeo replies on Feb 13, 2018:

@LeighShelton Mine is Dr Tang.

Ben: (angrily) Stop yelling at me about my grades, muther… You're the one who told me not to get ...

Annaleda comments on Feb 13, 2018:

Don’t get it.

Coffeo replies on Feb 13, 2018:

As in: "Don't get smart with me, Ben!" (I think).

Whoa! Slow Down... [youtube.com]

Coffeo comments on Feb 12, 2018:

This is very entertaining, if not exactly of pressing importance! But she implied that Mercury is tidally locked with one side always facing the sun. It has been known since the 1960s that its tidal lock is in a 3:2 spin orbit resonance. It doesn't always have one side facing the sun.

Coffeo replies on Feb 12, 2018:

@phxbillcee It would actually be better if it _did_ keep one side facing the sun all the time, as there might then be a twilight zone in between super hot and super cold where you could survive.

I am a bit of a cosmology buff/theoretical astrophysicist and I am enthralled by our ever expanding ...

AndyWhittle1 comments on Feb 11, 2018:

I tend to look further away. It may be an oddity but randomness is always going to throw a few up. I'm more interested in fast ray bursts and why isn't quantum physics yet married up with newtonian

Coffeo replies on Feb 12, 2018:

It's actually quantum versus general relativity. Newtonian is a bit passé, but still has its uses.

I am a bit of a cosmology buff/theoretical astrophysicist and I am enthralled by our ever expanding ...

BanjoTango comments on Feb 11, 2018:

I think its a shame that "Oumuamua", the interstellar pencil shaped rock didn't get a radio transmitter put on it to share its travels out of our solar system.

Coffeo replies on Feb 12, 2018:

I don't think we have anything that could have caught up with it (even if it had been spotted on the way in).

A lot of people have mentioned reading in the posts, so let's get a discussion going.

jayneonacobb comments on Feb 11, 2018:

Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke, when I was a teen. Now I enjoy the Eddas quite a bit.

Coffeo replies on Feb 11, 2018:

Also one of my early favorites.

blocking a god believer?

Coffeo comments on Feb 8, 2018:

Someone would have to be very persistently annoying for me to block them. It hasn't happened yet. I'm normally quite capable of simply ignoring posts that I dislike.

Coffeo replies on Feb 8, 2018:

@walklightly Sure.

Should companies be required to include sales tax in their pricing per item?

evidentialist comments on Dec 18, 2017:

I agree with the idea of upfront pricing being a good thing in some ways, but it wouldn't work in a country like the US. We would have to establish a uniform national tax first. I can't see that being done any time soon. We are a union of independent states, after all. Each state has needs to be...

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

Good point. In Australia, sales tax (GST) is a federal tax, so we don't have to worry about differences between states. There are big arguments, though, about the distribution of the proceeds among the states!

Should companies be required to include sales tax in their pricing per item?

twshield comments on Dec 18, 2017:

It doesnt bother me either way as it is simple math to determine the sales tax of a purchase.

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

Not simple for everyone! (I'm a physicist, but I can't do simple arithmetic in my head.)

I have a question for both believers and unbelievers.

daniellaws comments on Feb 7, 2018:

First off there should not be any believers on this site. Secondly, to answer I need to think, have I taken any drugs? I love your oxymoron here dude

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

Let the believers come! They might learn something.

What kind of bad manners does your pet have?

HippieChick58 comments on Jan 31, 2018:

I have two cats, Xena is almost 2, Zelda is about 7 months. The I've had Xena almost a year and Zelda for about 3 weeks. They're still working things out between them. They both are on the counters and tables far more often than I'd like. The baby likes to carry pencils around and play with them. ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

Aren't they wonderful? And you must be glad they stopped that awful cuckoo clock (I would be).

I am excited about yesterday's tesla car sent to mars!

Duke comments on Feb 7, 2018:

Actually, it's not going to Mars. That's a common misconception. It's on it's way around the sun, past Mars and, on a continuing journey through space that will potentially last billions of years. But, I am equally excited about this launch!

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

Why do people think it's going to Mars? It may have overshot slightly, but it was never going to Mars anyway, and Musk never said it was.

Just a pet theory I have regarding black holes and the Big Bang.

Rudy1962 comments on Feb 6, 2018:

If you would humor me.....I like this stuff but readily admit I have very limited knowledge on it. So what you are saying is the black holes suck in all the matter around it and this leads to a "big bang" and creation of another universe? I have heard the theory of universes popping out from other...

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

The second question is fairly straightforward: there is a lot of matter that is nowhere near a black hole and therefore in no danger of getting sucked in. (Aren't we lucky!)

I think there is a lot of confusion with terms in this area.

Wafflestomp comments on Dec 29, 2017:

I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe anything unless I have to.

Coffeo replies on Feb 7, 2018:

What is your criterion for "having to" believe something?

How scientists change their minds.

splittingzero comments on Feb 4, 2018:

By the way, I can prove it. The post is going to be long. And first you have to tell me you give a shit. But, I can prove there is no dark energy and no dark matter.

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

@splittingzero Science doesn't prove things; that's not its function. And it most certainly isn't mine, either. The accelerated expansion was discovered in 1998 by two independent projects, the Supernova Cosmology Project and the High-Z Supernova Search Team. Look them up yourself and decide if they're talking rubbish. If you prefer not to, that's fine by me: you can believe what you like.

What are your thoughts on the multi-verse theory?

TylerB23 comments on Feb 6, 2018:

It's very interesting to think that there could be another Universe for every single possibility. Kind of mind-blowing.

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

Kind of?

Any classical music lovers here?

PeppermintDreads comments on Feb 6, 2018:

I can’t say that I’m an aficionado of classical music, but I do enjoy it. I definately have a weakness for certain instruments; violins, cellos, oboes. While I haven’t been there in a couple years, we have one of the best orchestras in the world.

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

When I think of the Cleveland Orchestra, I think of George Szell. A great conductor of the 20th century!

Any classical music lovers here?

RundioII comments on Feb 6, 2018:

And I LOVE choral music. This is one of my favorite pieces ever. I had the pleasure of singing it in high school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=w8jwk68RrQ0

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

Whitacre has written some great music for choirs.

Just curious about political affiliation.

Queenlyhippy comments on Feb 2, 2018:

After having spent some time as a liberal, I realized, after a lot of study and travel, that the world doesn't work the way I would like it to, and my bubble burst and I grew up. Now I am a race realist, conservative, Libertarian and staunch Trump supporter. I can see I don't belong in this ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

An hour? Come on, I have better ways to spend my time.

How scientists change their minds.

evidentialist comments on Feb 4, 2018:

The speed of light in a vacuum is still being scrutinized, tested, and pondered. If something as basic as that is not thought of as an absolute after all this time, what can be?

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

There is no special reason to suppose that the speed of light has always had the value that it has now.

How scientists change their minds.

splittingzero comments on Feb 4, 2018:

By the way, I can prove it. The post is going to be long. And first you have to tell me you give a shit. But, I can prove there is no dark energy and no dark matter.

Coffeo replies on Feb 6, 2018:

@splittingzero The expansion is _speeding up_!

Many years ago a wonderful health practitioner I frequented said something that I didn't understand ...

Coffeo comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Did he elaborate? Suggest anything that could be done about it?

Coffeo replies on Feb 5, 2018:

@Betty Sound advice, then. (I dislike peanut butter but I'm not allergic to it.)

Atheist.

Coffeo comments on Feb 5, 2018:

I think I'm likely to remain an atheist until I die. But you never know...

Coffeo replies on Feb 5, 2018:

@think-beyond There are atheists here. And why do you think I added "you never know"? That's agnostic, isn't it?

What was your favorite toy growing up?

Coffeo comments on Feb 5, 2018:

I had a terrific Meccano set: built lots of cranes and bridges and so on. But It wasn't a toy, really, and I never liked anyone referring to it as such. I think it is a great pity such things aren't available now.

Coffeo replies on Feb 5, 2018:

@Alliegirl Yes it was great for erections.

I'm a big fan of Jimmy Carr (a U.

VirginCotton comments on Feb 3, 2018:

UK humor is quite different than in the USA..., This could indeed be funny to a Brit...

Coffeo replies on Feb 4, 2018:

@VirginCotton But, see, you're American. You are excused.

Religiousity in Music

Coffeo comments on Feb 4, 2018:

There's is a lot of (mainly classical) sacred music that I enjoy listening to. The Fauré Requiem and others, lots of a capella choral music especially in the Anglican (think King's College) tradition. They don't inspire any religious feeling in me; it's just great music.

Coffeo replies on Feb 4, 2018:

@BrianPB Yes, and Brahms avoided any mention of Christ.

I'm a big fan of Jimmy Carr (a U.

VirginCotton comments on Feb 3, 2018:

UK humor is quite different than in the USA..., This could indeed be funny to a Brit...

Coffeo replies on Feb 4, 2018:

Trust me, it is.

Religious theologians actually teach a false narrative about Atheism and Agnosticism.

Dwight comments on Feb 2, 2018:

The only thing worse than a non-believer is someone who may believe but questions everything, in other words, does not accept things on faith alone. Most religionists can deal with an outright denial of a god's existance, but when their rhetoric is shaded they can't deal with it. This is an agnostic...

Coffeo replies on Feb 2, 2018:

When you say 'worse', you mean from the point of view of the religionist?

Scientist announces a laser so powerful it can tear empty space

gater comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Tear empty space? I don't think so - sounds like a physical impossibility

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

@gater I do not have a problem with that. But maybe you should save that unfortunate Chinese scientist time and money by pointing out that his experiment won't work.

Have you ever found yourself embarrassed after asking a question that didn’t quite come out the ...

Richard6876 comments on Feb 1, 2018:

Sure. Major Freudian slip I made one time. When I was young I was interacting with a beautiful young lady in a business environment, and I thought we'd been in some of the same classes at a college. I meant to ask, "What was your maiden name?" But what I asked was, "What was your virgin name?" ...

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

Means the same thing ... ;)

Silly Superstitions

Betty comments on Feb 1, 2018:

Walking under a ladder. Knocking on wood. Making a wish on a falling star. Gifting a knife set with a penny taped to it. I can't think of more.

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

If there is someone on a ladder holding an open can of paint, I won't walk under it.

I know there is some debate about the existence of climate change, however, here in little NZ the ...

kiramea comments on Feb 1, 2018:

I have never denied climate change; I'm just not sure how much of it is cyclic and how much is due to humans. Either way we need to stop rushing it on and do something to curb the change.

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

Excellent point! Man-made or not, we should try to slow it down.

I know there is some debate about the existence of climate change, however, here in little NZ the ...

SamMcGlone comments on Feb 1, 2018:

no debate on climate change..only the delusional and morons debate it..

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

And they're influential in policy-making, unfortunately.

Scientist announces a laser so powerful it can tear empty space

gater comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Tear empty space? I don't think so - sounds like a physical impossibility

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

@gater Flat Earth too?

Blue moon , what dIdnt happen?

Paul628 comments on Jan 31, 2018:

I believe you needed to look for it at a certain time depending on where you live.

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

@Jnei I am fairly sure both are uneclipsed supermoon shots. The redness of the Hull one is probably atmospheric. Here's a visibility chart — they don't usually get these wrong!

Scientist announces a laser so powerful it can tear empty space

gater comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Tear empty space? I don't think so - sounds like a physical impossibility

Coffeo replies on Feb 1, 2018:

@gater Yes. That is exactly the point. Except there is no such thing as empty space. You may think that by continually subdividing a volume smaller and smaller, you will eventually have a volume that contains no particles. Quantum theory says no. There are always virtual particles, It doesn't matter how good your pumps are or how leak-proof your container. These virtual particles can't last long because if they did they would violate energy conservation. But Heisenberg's uncertainty principle allows (indeed _requires_) them to exist very briefly. If you're fast enough (and that means really, really fast, like this laser) you might give them enough energy to go on existing, and _voilà!_ particles created from empty space! If you didn't find the article that I linked for you to be relevant (I thought it was), there's plenty more stuff on the web about it; I don't need to spoon-feed you. But it has been experimentally verified in a number of ways that these virtual particles do exist.

What is Love/God???

Becky723 comments on Jan 17, 2018:

There is no such thing as love, there is only a desire for sex. Since the powers that be decided to make sex shameful it was re branded as love.