Comment Train (Score 1) 265
I like flying for a holiday but I can skip it. Lets ban fossil fuel planes and use trains.
Submission + - Scientists At Fermilab Close In On Fifth Force of Nature (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists near Chicago say they may be getting closer to discovering the existence of a new force of nature. They have found more evidence that sub-atomic particles, called muons, are not behaving in the way predicted by the current theory of sub-atomic physics. Scientists believe that an unknown force could be acting on the muons. More data will be needed to confirm these results, but if they are verified, it could mark the beginning of a revolution in physics.
All of the forces we experience every day can be reduced to just four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. These four fundamental forces govern how all the objects and particles in the Universe interact with each other. The findings have been made at a US particle accelerator facility called Fermilab. They build on results announced in 2021 in which the Fermilab team first suggested the possibility of a fifth force of nature. Since then, the research team has gathered more data and reduced the uncertainty of their measurements by a factor of two, according to Dr Brendan Casey, a senior scientist at Fermilab. "We're really probing new territory. We're determining the (measurements) at a better precision than it has ever been seen before."
In an experiment with the catchy name 'g minus two (g-2)' the researchers accelerate the sub-atomic particles called muons around a 50-foot-diameter ring, where they are circulated about 1,000 times at nearly the speed of light. The researchers found that they might be behaving in a way that can't be explained by the current theory, which is called the Standard Model, because of the influence of a new force of nature. Although the evidence is strong, the Fermilab team hasn't yet got conclusive proof. They had hoped to have it by now, but uncertainties in what the standard model says the amount of wobbling in muons should be, has increased, because of developments in theoretical physics. In essence, the goal posts have been moved for the experimental physicists. The researchers believe that they will have the data they need, and that the theoretical uncertainty will have narrowed in two years' time sufficiently for them to get their goal. That said, a rival team at Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are hoping to get there first.
All of the forces we experience every day can be reduced to just four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. These four fundamental forces govern how all the objects and particles in the Universe interact with each other. The findings have been made at a US particle accelerator facility called Fermilab. They build on results announced in 2021 in which the Fermilab team first suggested the possibility of a fifth force of nature. Since then, the research team has gathered more data and reduced the uncertainty of their measurements by a factor of two, according to Dr Brendan Casey, a senior scientist at Fermilab. "We're really probing new territory. We're determining the (measurements) at a better precision than it has ever been seen before."
In an experiment with the catchy name 'g minus two (g-2)' the researchers accelerate the sub-atomic particles called muons around a 50-foot-diameter ring, where they are circulated about 1,000 times at nearly the speed of light. The researchers found that they might be behaving in a way that can't be explained by the current theory, which is called the Standard Model, because of the influence of a new force of nature. Although the evidence is strong, the Fermilab team hasn't yet got conclusive proof. They had hoped to have it by now, but uncertainties in what the standard model says the amount of wobbling in muons should be, has increased, because of developments in theoretical physics. In essence, the goal posts have been moved for the experimental physicists. The researchers believe that they will have the data they need, and that the theoretical uncertainty will have narrowed in two years' time sufficiently for them to get their goal. That said, a rival team at Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are hoping to get there first.
Submission + - How Teen Hackers Exploited Security Weaknesses In World's Biggest Companies (cnn.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A group of teenage hackers managed to breach some of the world’s biggest tech firms last year by exploiting systemic security weaknesses in US telecom carriers and the business supply chain, a US government review of the incidents has found, in what is a cautionary tale for America’s critical infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security-led review of the hacks, which was shared exclusively with CNN, determined US regulators should penalize telecom firms with lax security practices and Congress should consider funding programs to steer American youth away from cybercrime. The investigation of the hacks – which hit companies like Microsoft and Samsung – found that, in general, it was far too easy for the cybercriminals to intercept text messages that corporate employees use to log into systems. [...]
“It is highly concerning that a loose band of hackers, including a number of teenagers, was able to consistently break into the best-defended companies in the world,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN in an interview, adding: “We are seeing a rise in juvenile cybercrime.” After a series of high-profile cyberattacks marked his first four months in office, President Joe Biden established the DHS-led Cyber Safety Review Board in 2021 to study the root causes of major hacking incidents and inform policy on how to prevent the next big cyberattack. Staffed by senior US cybersecurity officials and executives at major technology firms like Google, the board does not have regulatory authority, but its recommendations could shape legislation in Congress and future directives from federal agencies. [...]
The board’s first review, released in July 2022, concluded that it could take a decade to eradicate a vulnerability in software used by thousands of corporations and government agencies worldwide. The second review, to be released Thursday, focused on a band of young criminal hackers based in the United Kingdom and Brazil that last year launched a series of attacks on Microsoft, Uber, Samsung and identity management firm Okta, among others. The audacious hacks were often followed by extortion demands and taunts by hackers who seemed to be out for publicity as much as they were for money. The hacking group, known as Lapsus$, alarmed US officials because they were able to embarrass major tech firms with robust security programs. “If richly resourced cybersecurity programs were so easily breached by a loosely organized threat actor group, which included several juveniles, how can organizations expect their programs to perform against well-resourced cybercrime syndicates and nation-state actors?” the Cyber Safety Review Board’s new report states.
“It is highly concerning that a loose band of hackers, including a number of teenagers, was able to consistently break into the best-defended companies in the world,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN in an interview, adding: “We are seeing a rise in juvenile cybercrime.” After a series of high-profile cyberattacks marked his first four months in office, President Joe Biden established the DHS-led Cyber Safety Review Board in 2021 to study the root causes of major hacking incidents and inform policy on how to prevent the next big cyberattack. Staffed by senior US cybersecurity officials and executives at major technology firms like Google, the board does not have regulatory authority, but its recommendations could shape legislation in Congress and future directives from federal agencies. [...]
The board’s first review, released in July 2022, concluded that it could take a decade to eradicate a vulnerability in software used by thousands of corporations and government agencies worldwide. The second review, to be released Thursday, focused on a band of young criminal hackers based in the United Kingdom and Brazil that last year launched a series of attacks on Microsoft, Uber, Samsung and identity management firm Okta, among others. The audacious hacks were often followed by extortion demands and taunts by hackers who seemed to be out for publicity as much as they were for money. The hacking group, known as Lapsus$, alarmed US officials because they were able to embarrass major tech firms with robust security programs. “If richly resourced cybersecurity programs were so easily breached by a loosely organized threat actor group, which included several juveniles, how can organizations expect their programs to perform against well-resourced cybercrime syndicates and nation-state actors?” the Cyber Safety Review Board’s new report states.
Comment Re:Uh, not really. (Score 1) 160
Ah, come on. It's mostly just silly. It's like talking with an Eliza program.
Well, yes, it's not going to produce high art. But then, when much of human-produced content is on the level of Sharknado 4...
Comment Re:Bitcoin was not dead, nor is it "back" (Score 2) 106
It could go sky high and still fail in its mission.
Indeed, it couldn't go sky high and not fail in its mission. With those kinds of rapid value changes and deflationary tendency, it would, under those circumstances, prove itself to be a valuable commodity, but it would be a very poor choice for a currency. Alas, goldbugs usually don't understand the difference...
Comment Re:How did they calculate? (Score 4, Informative) 36
In the physical literature about the n-body problem (n 3), sometimes reference is made to the impossibility of solving the n-body problem (via employing the above approach). However, care must be taken when discussing the 'impossibility' of a solution, as this refers only to the method of first integrals (compare the theorems by Abel and Galois about the impossibility of solving algebraic equations of degree five or higher by means of formulas only involving roots).
See here.
Comment Re:Well for one thing... (Score 1) 254
Yup! Things are much better under LMDE2 "Betsy". Not only is it updated regularly, it's updated more regularly than standard Mint!
Comment Re:We can only detect planets they pass their star (Score 1) 90
We can confirm the ecliptics for billions of star systems; no exoplanets are required, given that the majority of stars are part of multiple star systems. And there's no reason to think that some bizarre unknown force causes systems with only one luminous member to align their ecliptics in a way that systems with multiple luminous members don't.
Comment Re:True, but statement is too narrow. (Score 1) 90
Almost as disturbing as their failure to acknowledge that there may be dozens of species of jumping spider that are currently unknown! Indeed, these are just two of the many things that might be true that they fail to acknowledge in their paper on a particular study that wasn't studying those things....
Comment Re:MInnesota? (Score 1) 172
Anyway, it's one continuous metro area, so it doesn't really matter.
That's what the people from St. Paul (and the other suburbs of Minneapolis) say...
Comment Re:MInnesota? (Score 1) 172
It's just an example of some place you're unlikely to know the capital of. Common sense would have it in Minneapolis, so of course it's in some dinky nearby town instead...
Comment Re:poorly researched article, if at all (Score 1) 528
And it took only actually watching the video to note that it reads -45.9ft when it hits the ground, so if that is to be taken seriously (assuming it isn't damaged), the take-off point was about 45ft higher than the house, and true altitude above ground was over 300ft at the point it was shot.
Comment Re:Might want to reconsider paying the fine... (Score 1) 528
It is a toy and not an aircraft.
The categories are not mutually exclusive; whether something is or is not a toy has no relevance to the question of whether it is or is not an aircraft. You think the law doesn't apply, the FAA says it does, the courts will have to decide.
Comment Re:80 versus 200 with no points of reference (Score 2) 528
200 feet is still pretty close.
Yes, but if I shoot someone's car who parked is on the street 200 ft outside my property and assert it was my right because he was parked "too close" to my property, the law is not going to consider "pretty close" to be close enough.
Airspace in general is the public domain. At what point it above your property it becomes yours is a legal grey area.
Comment Re:Why does his telemetry show ground being -46ft? (Score 1) 528
So when it hits the ground, telemetry shows -45.9ft which means he was actually over the neighbor's house at 154ft and not the 200ft he claims.
You fail basic math; the difference between 200 and -45.9 is 245.9.
Also, it was well over 200ft at the start. I didn't go frame by frame, but I did manage to pause at very close to the right point and it appears to read 262ft when shot. That would suggest a fall of over 300ft if the -45ft at the end is taken seriously, but I suspect it might just be damaged at that point...
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