tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post8721231479339798504..comments2023-11-14T20:44:36.587-06:00Comments on Cosmic Yarns: Puzzling Expressions from ScienceRobert Scherrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17341214577362261827noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-69759515729259535562016-01-05T11:19:11.656-06:002016-01-05T11:19:11.656-06:00Thanks!
The, yes, the expression is completely me...Thanks!<br /><br />The, yes, the expression is completely meaningless.<br /><br />BTW The first time I even heard of quantum mechanics was in high school chemistry (really), where the textbook stated the energy of subatomic particles comes in packets called "quanta." (or words to that effect). I also recall thinking "That seems simple enough."Kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-81194555370633505072016-01-05T10:38:57.981-06:002016-01-05T10:38:57.981-06:00These things are usually expressed in terms of cha...These things are usually expressed in terms of changes in energy. Each possible state of an electron in an atom has a particular energy, and when the electron hops from one state to a different state, its energy changes. The size of the change is typically a few electron-volts. This is a tiny unit of energy. For comparison, the "human-sized" energy unit we use most often is the joule. An electron volt is about 0.0000000000000000001 of a joule.Robert Scherrerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17341214577362261827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-89156902650965074252016-01-05T09:57:25.461-06:002016-01-05T09:57:25.461-06:00I probably shouldn't even ask, as I do know en...I probably shouldn't even ask, as I do know enough about quantum mechanics to realize things like size, distance, etc. don't translate well in the subatomic realm, but:<br /><br />How large is a "quantum leap" on the scale of an electron?Kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-72587883914077636232016-01-03T13:28:16.507-06:002016-01-03T13:28:16.507-06:00I totally agree with the comment on quantum mechan...I totally agree with the comment on quantum mechanics - I am adding it to the main post. Regarding guinea pigs, I believe that they are actually raised for food in some parts of South American.Robert Scherrerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17341214577362261827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-73916979968749525912016-01-03T06:43:16.335-06:002016-01-03T06:43:16.335-06:00In Spanish, the term for Guinea pig is "conej...In Spanish, the term for Guinea pig is "conejillo de Indias," which literally means something like "small rabbit from the Indies."<br /><br />I think Guinea pigs are actually native to the Americas. If so, then the Spanish expression is at least a bit more accurate.Kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627288822362203855.post-31910036755538264982015-12-31T16:11:07.573-06:002015-12-31T16:11:07.573-06:00Guinea pigs were extensively used in testing; I be...Guinea pigs were extensively used in testing; I believe that Lavoisier and Pasteur used them, for example. Hence the term. Probably they're too big and expensive today?<br /><br />My pet peeve is quantum, as in "quantum leap in technology", which seems to be quite common.Bobby Bnoreply@blogger.com