Owner: The Activated Complex URL:http://activatedcomplex.com/ Join Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 08:06:48 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: The Activated Complex provides the latest news in the fields of science and technology along with insightful product reviews and commentaries. Our bloggers are knowledgeable and experienced in their fields, making The Activated Complex the ultimate scienc Site statistics:Click here
Should I add a forum to The Activated Complex? 2006-08-30 03:43:58
I’ve created a poll in the sidebar to the left, as I was wondering how many people would like to have a forum added to this blog in order to discuss various topics in science and technology as well as to have general conversations. If enough people want the forum, I’ll add it; otherwise, I’ll leave this blog the way it is.
UPDATE: I have removed the poll and am now considering the results.
Read more:Complex
UPDATE: 3 New Planets? or Goodbye, Pluto 2006-08-24 17:15:10
I previously wrote about the IAU’s draft update to the definition of the term “planet” which, if passed, would solidify Pluto
’s long-debated status as a planet and would instroduce three other bodies as planets, Ceres, Charon and 2003 UB313. This draft has not gone through; instead, a different, more restricting definition of “planet” has been passed:
A “planet” is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0603/index.html)
This new definition completely disqualifies Pluto from “planethood”, as its orbit intersects with that of Neptune, violating part (c) of the definition. However, Pluto does fall under the newly created class of “dwarf planets”; smaller bodies w Read more:Goodbye
, Planets
UPDATE: Can You Break the Code? 2006-08-18 18:05:22 A week has passed and nobody has solved the code. Following the contest rules, I am now posting a hint:
The numbers are decimal equivalents to ASCII letters. Once the numbers are converted to ASCII text, you will end up with the following:
DM L ZAUU MLGGV LKH KPIPHS YULAV DZ, HPUV DZ ELOU L VPJKH? VPEU NUPNGU VLS SUV LKH PZYUAV VLS KP.
This text is a substitution cipher, and must be further decrypted. This means that each letter of the alphabet in the original message has been replaced with a different letter. In other words, the alphabet has been scrambled. To make this message easier to decrypt, I will decrypt four words for you:
KPIPHS = NOBODY
VPJKH = SOUND
NUPNGU = PEOPLE
PZYUAV = OTHERS
For example, since you know KPIPHS = NOBODY, you can replace all K’s in the cipher with N’s, all P’s with O’s, et cetera.
Once you have substituted all the letters I have provided, you must look at remaining letters and try to figure out which letter would make the most sen Read more:Break
3 New Planets? 2006-08-18 00:48:03
(click to enlarge)
There is a possibility that the number of planets in our solar system will increase from 9 (or 8, depending on your position) to 12 next week. Will these 3 extra planets materialize from an extraordinary cosmic event, causing trillions of particles of space dust to rush together, pulling each other in towards three separate points of increasing gravitational force? Has a nearby supernova caused these planets to be released from their former star’s gravitational pull, only to be sent into orbit around our sun? No. These 3 planets will be created by a force far simpler than we can imagine, yet so powerful that it is virtually impossible for any one of us to escape its grasp. This force is none other than the media.
Next week, the International Astronomical Union will gather to vote on a proposed change in the definition of the term “planet”. The current definition states that a planet is a large accelerated mass, which is not a star or a moon, in or Read more:Planets
Dairy Dilemma: The Hype behind Probiotic Yogurt 2007-04-20 03:06:04
In this day and age, people are more health-conscious than ever before and marketers are reaping the benefits. Everywhere we look, in supermarkets and on TV, we are bombarded with products that claim to offer multitudes of health benefits. The latest crowd to jump on the bandwagon is the dairy industry with their “probiotic” yogurt, which claims to have “live probiotic cultures” that promote a healthy lifestyle. For decades, doctors and nutritionists have been telling us about the many potential benefits of the L. acidophilus and L. bifidus bacteria cultures found in regular yogurt, so what makes this new “probiotic” yogurt so much better? Well, aside from the fancy word, nada. All yogurt, unless it has been pasteurised after the manufacturing process, contains live bacteria cultures; usually one of the two mentioned before. By labeling otherwise ordinary yogurt as “probiotic”, marketers are able to fool consumers into paying more Read more:behind
, Dairy
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