In the Testing Center
By Andy Harris
(sung to the tune of Family Night in the LDS Children's Songbook)
"This is the test I've studied for.
Going to class was such a bore.
I wish I'd withdrawn even more
With every passing hour.
***
I'd heard that learning can be fun.
There's an exam for everyone.
Roommate and cousin, *strangers, too
Together on Friday night."
Based on a true story. Class attendance may have been modified.
*Alternate wording: girlfriend/boyfriend
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Published
7:14 PM
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CERN's Large Hadron Collider is firing up again later this month after a relaxing Christmas break. This vacation is well-deserved after the LHC collided protons at energies of 2.36 trillion electron volts--the first time proton collisions have occured at over one TeV. This is only a fraction of the energies physicists hope to achieve in the future. When the LHC's winter get-away in the French and Swiss Alps comes to an end, it will shatter it's own world record while running at only half-power (3.5 TeV) until 2011, when it will undergo repairs intended to bring it into full working capacity of 7 TeV per proton in 2012.
How does this all work? Very carefully. The facility was paid for and built by over 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries. Proton beams are shot around a 17-mile-long loop to gain speed until the time comes for them to collide with another beam traveling from the opposite direction. Each beam has the energy of a WWII anti-tank shell in each direction. It's important that nothing goes wrong while they travel around their loop 11,000 times a second. More than 3,000 magnets of various types keep the beams in line. 96 tons of liquid helium keep the magnets and wires nice and cool to avoid resistance. These are kept at a temperature of 1.9 Kelvins (-456.25 degrees Fahrenheit). 0 Kelvins is called "absolute zero" and is theoretically impossible to achieve.
In other words, the Large Hadron Collider is really cool. Let's just hope it won't use up the earth's energy supply to quickly.
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Published
5:48 PM
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With midterms rapidly approaching, and in the true spirit of college-studentship, I have procrastinated studying and uploaded a ton of pictures to my blog. So have fun and try not to get lost in the Czech Republic! Below is a 30-second recap of my mission for those too lazy to click on the link or watch the imbedded slide show :)
My Trip to the Czech Republic
I was so excited to be in the Missionary Training Center learning Czech!
Wow, Charles Bridge in Prague! Mission Impossible was filmed here!
It's gorgeous...
(not me)
What's that in the distance?
Some sort of communications tower with
What the...?!?
Babies!
Ahh...my new apartment...
Time to learn how to cook.
I learned quickly how to deal with strange companions...
And we had many memorable adventures together.
We worked hard and our unity grew.
Until we saw many baptisms.
And human bone cathedrals.
Then it was time to leave.
I said goodbye to the land in which I had made my home and forgotten the English.
The flight wasn't bad for 23 hours.
My family was sure glad to see me! Or good at pretending.
I was glad to see them, too.
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Published
7:35 PM
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Welcome to the new and improved Medium Harris blog! The fact that this blog is up and running again is evidence that there may be further updates. These updates cannot be disclosed, but may include pictures from the Czech Republic, blogs submitted by email (woo-hoo!), and general rambling.
Today's complaint is not about Blogger, but rather about a glaring bias in the Blogger community. After scouring the known internet in its entirety, I found 5 templates remotely related to the sciences. It appears the market is inordinately skewed towards images of swirls, handicrafts, and adorable cartoon children. In other words: The Arts. Unless we take a stand, we are doomed to a cyberspace full of culture rather than lasers and nebulæ.
Case in point: What can we learn from doilies and stamps? On the other hand, scientists recently used slime mold growth to model the Tokyo rail system. Researchers also confirmed my hypothesis that the benefits of making my bed do not outweigh the risks.
We must take a stand!
Step 1: Find me scientific templates
Step 2: Snorkel the animals...
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Published
1:35 AM
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