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New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 4,457 posts.
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They knew it was round, damn it
Last week saw various reports about a rare stolen copy of a Columbus letter that had turned up in the Library of Congress and has now been restored to its Italian owners; a comparatively happy end …
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The Busy Beaver Game
This month, a bunch of ‘logic hackers’ have been seeking to determine the precise boundary between the knowable and the unknowable. The challenge has been around for a long time. But on…
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A Practical Guide to Lasers for Experimenters and Hobbyists
However, many others have contributed in one form or another (newsgroup postings, email, laser parts, etc.). They are cited in the Acknowledgments and/or in the individual sections which contain their material. And, by the way, the name: "Sam's Laser FAQ" was more or less created by those who have read and commented…
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Shuffleboard at McMurdo
Somewhere below the Antarctic circle, I catch Tatiana, the waitress from the port side dining room, in a moment of leisure.
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Folding Paper with a Hydraulic Press
What happens when you ignore the math
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HARC
We’re excited to announce YC Research’s newest project: the Human Advancement Research Community (HARC). This came out of a conversation that started between Alan Kay and me more than a year ago about how to invent future computing technologies; I’m delighted to finally be officially working with him and his group. He…
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The Relativistic Rocket
Thanks to Alan R. Wilson for correcting a two-word typo involving GPS satellites. Thanks to Aron Yoffe for suggesting the newtonian comparison. Thanks to Tom Fuchs for suggesting the analogy to the stone thrown upwards. Fuel numbers added by Don Koks, 2004. Updated by Phil Gibbs, 1998. Thanks to Bill Woods for…
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The Independent Discovery of TCP/IP, by Ants
What does the Internet have in common with an ant colony? More than you might think.
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Scientists discover potentially habitable planets
Scientists have discovered three Earth-sized exoplanets, just 40 light years away, that could be potentially habitable for life. The extrasolar planets were found with the TRAPPIST telescope orbiting a dim dwarf star.
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On the (Small) Number of Atoms in the Universe
A Go board has 19 × 19 points, each of which can be empty or occupied by black or white, so there are 3 (19 × 19) ≅ 10 172 possible board positions, but "only" about 10 170 of those positions are legal. Here are some of them:
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“American Scientist” Understands Nothing about the Traveling Salesman Problem
I like to think there are some solid foundations to my life. I will be able to do the Monday New York Times crossword and I will not be able to do the Thursday version. My dental hygienist will not be satisfied with the amount of flossing I do. I will get my favorite spaghetti meal served on my birthday.
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Inuit Cartography: Wooden Coastline Maps That Fit in a Mitten
In Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), the Inuit people are known for carving portable maps out of driftwood to be used while navigating coastal waters. These pieces, which are small enough to be carried…
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Grading Trudeau on quantum computing
Update (4/19): Inspired by Trudeau’s performance (which they clocked at 35 seconds), Maclean’s magazine asked seven quantum computing researchers—me, Krysta Svore, Aephraim Steinb…
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Reconfigured Tesla coil aligns, electrifies materials from a distance
Rice University researchers use a modified Tesla coil to assemble nanoparticles into a wire from a distance. Their process, “Teslaphoresis,” may be used for the self-assembly of nano- and macro-scale materials.
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The Man Who Knew Infinity
Last night I went to see a showing at the Tribeca Film Festival of the new movie about Ramanujan, The Man Who Knew Infinity. It was extremely good, infinitely better than the most recent high profi…
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How old were the inventors of major inventions?
I came across this fun column the other day listing a number of Famous Inventions , like the airplane, the camera, electricity, the car, e...
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Guns and suicide: A fatal link
In the United States, suicides outnumber homicides almost two to one. Perhaps the real tragedy behind suicide deaths—about 30,000 a year, one for every 45