thatscottishkid

2012-01-08T07:45:00.002Z

The first line is always the hardest.

2011-12-22T08:35:00.004Z

How long had it been now?

The new gods had been overthrown. Or moreso, unsubsumed. Seemingly against the inviolable second—but who really put stock in steadfast laws these days, natural or not? Just another story to be sold to children; yesteryear's a priori.

Yet he had been caught unawares. Again. Perhaps it had been the elderberry wine. Perhaps the Norse poetry. What had distracted him so long as to miss it?

He knew the answer. It wasn't his environment, his activities. It was him; ____-delusional would be the proper label. But he didn't believe in such an object. A ____. No referent, he would say. Just an environment and a stimulated reaction to it. So he couldn't admit it to him____. Couldn't even say the word.

So he remained baffled by his discovery. Why had, yet again, his beloved turned her face away?

He returned to his studies, more easier borne than another crack. All problems are easier dealt with on the continent. That is, until such a muse followes the gods themselves.

And how long would that be?

2011-07-17T22:11:00.003+01:00

When nothing but simulations remain,

the cherished simulacrum following its referent to the abyss

—what then remains outside the jester's discourse?

Chocolate Milk and Tennis

2009-11-02T23:45:00.001Z

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but I'll keep it short and sweet.

I've finally settled into daily life here; as much as I'd like it to feel like a year-long vacation, reality has to set in at some point (mostly in the form of essays). I did manage to get out to Falkland Palace a couple of weeks ago, which is where Mary, Queen of Scots and some of her predecessors lived. My visit included getting seeing a real tennis court and some phenomenally old decor inside the palace. Seeing the crest of St. Andrew in the chapel also led me to look up what miracles, if any, he performed to deserve the title of saint. Sadly, my search came up dry.

A few days after this visit I came down with something that had a swine-flu quality to it. My normal remedy for battling illness, running such ailments off, failed me miserably, so I resorted to my backup strategy: chocolate milk excess. Six liters in six days, and by the end I was feeling great. (Actually, I was feeling normal by day two of this treatment–I just really like chocolate milk. And it was on sale.)

Nothing much else has happened. I've been writing a couple of articles for local magazines; I posted one below just for fun (I was mostly just excited that I could post to my blog directly from Google Docs). For those of you in school this is probably one to be avoided, but for everyone else it's a pretty good summary of what I did during my internship this summer. Click on the image to see the whole thing.

Hope life finds you all well. I have next week off, so if all goes I'll be able to report something exciting and dangerous–like endorsing the Copenhagen Interpretation.

Simulating the Gamma-Ray Sky

2009-11-02T20:16:00.009Z

The gamma-ray sky as measured by the FGST during its first year (Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration)

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (FGST), launched into orbit in June of 2008, represents an exciting endeavor in high-energy astrophysics due to the unprecedented sensitivity and precision with which it is measuring the gamma-ray sky. Able to detect photons of energies up to 300 GeV (a full order of magnitude higher than its predecessor), the telescope's angular resolution exceeds that of previous gamma-ray telescopes by a factor of 2 and surpasses their field of view by a factor of 4, enabling the telescope to survey the entire sky every 2 orbits. Due to these exceptional advances, Fermi's first year of data is already more precise and comprehensive than any previous survey.

One compelling aspect of this new data is that it imposes new constraints on the parameters that govern gamma-ray producing processes within our galaxy. These processes include Bremsstrahlung, Inverse-Compton Scattering, and neutral pion decay, which depend on the galaxy-wide spectrum and distribution of cosmic-rays as well as the interstellar gas and radiation fields. Because of the resolution with which Fermi can measure the spatial and spectral features of the gamma-ray sky, the contribution from each of these processes can be isolated and studied individually, yielding detailed information about the production and propagation of cosmic-rays in the Milky Way.

This analysis is carried out by modeling our galaxy with differing physical parameters and comparing the simulated predictions to Fermi's observations. The effects of individual model parameters can be determined by varying each seperately; however, current simulations involve over 40 parameters, most of which are only weakly constrained by the local cosmic-ray spectrum. Moreover, many of these parameters depend on each in nonlinear and not well understood ways, necessitating the use of high-dimensional parameter spaces in optimization. Despite this difficulty, significant improvements have been made to galactic models through an in-depth study of eleven parameters including those relating to interstellar gas density, the distribution of cosmic-ray sources throughout the galaxy, and the diffusion equation governing cosmic-ray propagation within our galaxy.

Such an optimized model provides the best estimate of the parameters governing the Milky Way, which is especially useful in the case of parameters that cannot be measured directly such as the diffusion coefficient governing cosmic-ray propagation. Yet optimization has further applications; for instance, the study of extragalactic gamma-rays is limited by the precision with which the galactic component can be modeled and subtracted from the overall gamma-ray sky. Galactic models also serve as a gamma-ray background from which astrophysical gamma-ray sources can be identified. This is important because the angular resolution of the FGST is not precise enough to confidently exclude gamma-ray point sources, making background measurements unreliable. The anisotropy of the gamma-ray sky also complicates this problem, since a measurement at high galactic latitudes cannot be used to study sources near the galactic center. Thus, our ability to detect sources such as supernova remnants, spinning neutron stars, and supermassive black holes in the center of distant galaxies depends on the sophistication with which we can simulate the diffuse gamma-ray sky.

The FGST has already improved our knowledge of high-energy processes within the galaxy and it will continue to do so as more data accumulates and is studied. These advances will surely benefit other facets of astrophysics as our models become more sophisticated and incorporate an increasing amount of specialized knowledge. In the meantime, it's never to early to start designing the next-generation gamma-ray telescope.

References

Atwood, W. B. et al., Astrophys. J. 697, 1071 (2009).

Gehrels, N. and P. Michelson, Astropart. Phys. 11, 277 (1999).

St. Andrews

2009-10-03T15:49:00.004+01:00

I've now been in class for a week in St. Andrews. I'm taking Physics, Astronomy, and a history class on the British Isles from the 9th to the 13th century (the reading list for which has 419 entries). The weather's been amazing–a little windier than I'm used to, but it really hasn't gotten cold yet. I've gained my weight back after my Italy trip, courtesy of the British cooking we're fed in our hall; it isn't the best tasting fare (referring to this hall in particular, not British cooking), but it'll keep me kicking.

I've joined a number of societies and clubs here already, including the Cross Country team (more of a running club that a team), the Philosophy Society, and the Golf Society. Technically, I've never played an entire round of golf in my life, but I'm hoping that will change in these next few weeks. I'm actually going to pick up a set of clubs from a friend of a friend tonight, so maybe I'll manage to get out there before it starts really raining. Speaking of golf, the Dunhill Links Championship is being played about 400 meters from my front door this weekend. They've had some complications, however, in that they had to postpone play today because of high-speed winds (I talked to someone who has lived here for over 30 years, and she said this is the first time she's ever heard of this happening). To be honest, I thought it sounded like quite a lame reason until I stepped outside myself–the waves are literally traversing in the wrong direction (out to sea) and I could barely keep a straight trajectory walking down the sidewalk. To be honest, it makes me want to golf even more–there's no telling how far I could hit a ball, if aimed in the proper direction...

I've met some pretty cool people here (even some doing both physics and philosophy!). There are definitely more people here than at UCSD who are willing to be openly eccentric and who exude genuinely interesting personalities (this is, of course, not true of the first years, who still roam in herds). I even met someone in my hall who went to Sonoma Academy (and whose family still lives in Santa Rosa). Suffice to say, I'm enjoying the people here and have found myself content in activities ranging from pub crawls to team chess (although, as Bonnie pointed out to me, I've yet to do these simultaneously).

Anyways, I best be off to dinner with my academic father and siblings (a tradition here which I'll probably elaborate on in a later post). Best to you all

Tuscany, Italy

2009-09-16T11:06:00.001+01:00

Just got back from Italy, where I spent five days in Florence, Siena, and Pisa. It was great! Nothing but my passport, a netbook, an English-Italian Dictionary, and 6 cliff bars. Lost about 5 pounds and took 400 photos. Hopefully I'll be able to post some of those for you all later.

It was a learning experience, having not traveled alone or in hostels before. However, nothing of a horrible nature befell me (besides for a little price extortion, which I expected). I flew into Pisa late, about 21:00, and had to catch a train directly to Florence (because the hostels there were significantly cheaper). I was able to navigate the train system and roads well enough and ended up getting in at half past midnight (Thursday night).

My first day in Florence I got to see all sorts of art—some highlights included Michelangelo's David and Cellini's Perseus. I already knew I was impartial to greco-roman statues, but in reflection, I find that four of my five favorite art pieces were statues (and big ones at that—size does matter!). My absolute favorite was a cathedral dome, but I'll get to that in due time. The Uffizi and Academic museums were both phenomenal, but I quickly got burned out on Russian Madonna and Child paintings, encrusted with gold. (you must forgive me, my artistic terminology is more than lacking—ask me about philosophy, physics, or math and you'll incite a much more sophisticated discussion) The cuisine was great, and cheap. Lots of panini and pizza, and lots of gelato. But with my (self-imposed) budget, eating was more a cultural experience than a physiological one (hence the weight loss).

That night, I took the train to Siena and met a friend from UCSD who also happens to be studying abroad this semester. I had a much more relaxing time here, for the stress that came along with passports and shared rooms wasn't affecting my demeanor. Here the main attraction was the cathedral (I saw so many its hard to remember their different names); there was also a great museum where one could get onto an old walkway, from which the red rooftops of the city could be taken in. Me and Alex (my friend) got some great pictures (upon sharing these with my grandparents we discovered that they had been to the same site). Later that night I also got to go out with my friend and his roommates to experience the nightlife; pretty much what I expected, although I surely saw an Americanized version as a non-native.

My second day in Siena was even more relaxing; there weren't any more monuments to see on a budget (many required traveling miles into the countryside). It was great to sit and observe the Italian lifestyle, however, and I enjoyed the climate and people immensely. I stayed one more night with Alex (free! although technically illegal...) and took back the train into Florence Monday morning.

Having had superb weather so far, I was due for some rain. And sure enough, short downpours divided my second day in Florence into a couple of clearly defined segments, to some perhaps definable by an hour or two, to me merely comprehensible as a closed (yet incredibly complex) set of fleeting impressions, soon to become memories. I was actually quite lucky, for one of my primary goals was to climb the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the main cathedral of Florence. I entered the cathedral in a drizzle, and somehow (463 steps later, with all 5 days worth of my luggage on my back) found myself coming out on an observation deck in in dazzling sunlight. The view wasn't my favorite part, however. The artwork on the inside dome of the cathedral was absolutely phenomenal. The path up to the platform led us along the bottom edge of the dome... and maybe it was just sheer size, or the fact that I could reach out and touch the six-foot screaming faces (it was a scene juxtaposing some sort of hellish existence with successively higher, and more pleasant, levels which culminated at the top, near the heavens), but it was by far my favorite part of my whole visit. I stood and stared for nearly 45 minutes. I was sorely disappointed that I couldn't find a poster or even large picture of it online, but my hopes were never high due to the complications involved in projecting a positively curved figure on a euclidean surface.

That night I also went out and observed the much more vacant streets, scattered with musicians and artists (I saw an amazing double-bass solo...). Many of my favorite statures were outside in one of the central piazzas in town, so I enjoyed observing the interplay of the artificial light on the complex musculature and veins of each. In my mind, the experience was much preferable to the hot daytime bustle.

My last day I got up to get a not-so-early train back to Pisa, where I spent the day before flying back at 21:25. Pisa was also rather relaxing, because all the main monuments are within throwing distance of each other—the leaning tower of course, and the cathedral and baptistry it was constructed to accompany. You can even buy one ticket to get into everything (6 attractions in all). The truly great part about this area, however, was that all the money taken in by tourism was spent on conservation and the surrounding area—and it showed. The buildings were interspersed with wide swaths of grass, quite an ideal location for one who finds himself with all his possessions on his back to rest. And as with all other locations I find myself in for more than 10 minutes, it quickly became my intellectual retreat from the world; my Nietzsche volume (who in their right mind carries a volume consisting of not one, but five books around Europe?) finally got some extended use. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that the man was a great philologist before ever turning to Philosophy; I'm already inspired to buy Euripides (although those who know me know how little motivation it takes for me to buy a book).

Back to the monuments. The leaning tower of Pisa does, in fact, lean. Less, however, than it did at one point (perhaps even than when my dad went up it, forever ago). Still, it hangs out over the ground 4 meters. I did climb the tower, and it had a great view; however, I feel I got much more out of obsering at it than anything else. The other monuments were all great too—a fun day, overall.

Despite the excitement of seeing Italy and learning to speak select few phrases in Italian (all of which I butchered), it was good to get back the English speaking world last night. I have orientation in two days, and all of tomorrow to enjoy with my youngest cousins in the meantime.

Hello from Britain!

2009-09-08T11:04:00.001+01:00

For those of you who don't know, I'll be spending the next 9 to 10 months in Europe (mostly Scotland). As such, I've decided to follow the current trend and maintain a blog to relate my ensuing experiences to those of you who choose to follow them. In the end, however, it's really just me talking about whatever happens to be on my mind.

First, the details. I'll be participating in a year-long course at St. Andrew's University, my namesake and my mother's alma mater. I'll mostly be taking my normal physics and math classes, although I hope to take some scottish history and philosophy as well. My classes, however, don't start for three weeks; I'll be relaxing with my mom's family in Dumfries (Scotland) and going to Italy in the meantime. My aunt and uncle have be more than generous with their time, picking me up from and taking me to airports and making sure I have everything I need for the year. On Thursday I depart for Tuscany; more to come when I've arrived there.