• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

New toy for Australian Scientists

S

sunsplash1

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
Joined
Jan 9, 2004
Messages
1,303
Last Update: Thursday, July 1, 2004. 11:52am (AEST)

Australia edges towards first synchrotron
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has provided million for Australia's first synchrotron in Victoria.
The synchrotron will produce intense beams of light to look at things too small for a microscope.
The Victorian Government will provide 7 million for the project and another million has come from the Melbourne and Monash Universities and the CSIRO.
Victorian Treasurer John Brumby says about million is still needed.

"You'll see more announcements in the next few days, you'll see more universities, more scientific organisations, you will see other governments as well contributing towards this and you'll see more private sector contributions," he said

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1144513.htm
Click to expand...

Not that I'll ever get a chance to play with it...:(
 
They're building one of those across the road from where I work.

And ours is bigger.;)
 
Physick said:
They're building one of those across the road from where I work.

And ours is bigger.;)
Click to expand...
It's not the size, it's what you do with it...

You know, whether you perform worthwhile research with the equipment.

Wish I'd stayed in Physics, now.
 
You could probably get back in if you wanted...

Synchrotron science is not exactly a 'broad church'

They always say they want experience in the job ads but there's such a shortage worldwide, especially at the moment that they'll be willing at some stage to take just about anyone who's still warm and can count past ten without taking their shoes and socks off.

Plus they'll also need IT people and programmers.
 
I don't want to move to Victoria.

I think I'll stick to my plan to do a degree in Philosophy of Science instead, and talk about the ethics of Synchrotron operation.
 
Interesting...
Anome Please feel free to discuss the ethical considerations of looking at things at the quantum level. Just by looking we -in effect- change things... Should there not be some form of informed consent at the sub-atomic level?
:laughing:
 
Well, precisely. Throw in chaos theory, and how are you to know that observing that quark over there doesn't destabilise the quantum state of another, causing a butterfly to flutter its wings in the Amazon and cause a hailstorm in Wagga Wagga?
 
Yes! Chaos theory and Quanta. Bloody dangerous really! Maybe we should be asking the Leptons if they want to be studied. Querying Quarks before we start smashing perfectly normal antineutrons into them. Crikey! Anything could happen, Some subtle change at the subatomic level and then the second law of thermodynamics could disappear... Then were would we be?

Who'd be responasible for cleaning up the mess? Besides, then there's something else John Howard would have to say sorry for!
:eek!!!!:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top