2010年11月30日火曜日

秋色 19 (Autumn Colors 19)


 堺市・鈴の宮公園のイロハモミジ。2010年11月26日撮影。

Japanese maple leaves in autumn colors. The photo was taken on November 26, 2010, at Suzunomiya Park, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

Doubts are raised from statistical part of the analysis: [Retweet of Peter Coles's words] "Doubts about the Evidence for Penrose's Cyclic Universe." Blog In the Dark (November 28, 2010) (via S. C. Kavassalis).

About Life Science

"Telomerase reverses ageing process." Nature News (November 28, 2010). —Dramatic rejuvenation of prematurely aged mice has been observed. [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza]

About Technology

Dealing with the present one would not be so easy: [Retweet of jonahlehrer's words] The long history of "information overload" anxiety: "Information overload, the early years." boston.com (November 28, 2010) (via Teobesta).

2010年11月29日月曜日

2010年10月分記事へのエム・ワイ君の感想 (M.Y.'s Comments on October-2010 Articles)

In Japanese only

 M.Y. 君から "Ted's Coffeehouse 2" 2010年10月分への感想を11月28日づけで貰った。同君の了承を得て、ここに紹介する。青色の文字をクリックすると、言及されている記事が別ウインドウに開く。




1. 水彩画「夏木立」(9月掲載分)、水都の一景

 堺市役所本館エントランスホールで開催された美交会展(11月15日から18日)に、筆者が出品したものです。画題の選定には作者の趣向が感じられます。ツイッター友達の Chaira Maieron さんもこのブログを見て共通の趣味をお楽しみの様子。私もブログでこの傑作を鑑賞しました。実物は色彩表現に作者の苦心が感じられるでしょうが、ブログではかなわないことです。

2. バス旅行「秋のかやぶき音楽堂コンサート」

 4回にわたって、概略次のように記されています。

 妻とバス旅行「秋のかやぶき音楽堂コンサート」に参加した。バスは午前9時に JR 大阪駅前を出発した。まず、兵庫県篠山市にある兵庫陶芸美術館へ寄り、特別展「型が生み出す、やきものの美—柿右衛門・三田—」を見学した。

 そのあと、篠山市の「お菓子の里丹波」の本館で昼食をして、コンサート会場の音楽堂(京都府南丹市日吉町胡麻)へ行く。音楽堂は福井県大飯郡の禅寺「善応寺」の旧本堂を移築したもので、迦陵頻窟(からびんくつ)と名づけられている。1階客席は、床に敷かれた座布団の上に座るようになっており、2階と3階にも客席がある。

 コンサートの演奏者ザイラーピアノデュオ(夫妻)は、日本各地はもとより、世界各地で4手のための連弾アンサンブルとして活躍しているほか、世界各地で未出版や廃版になったピアノデュオ曲の発掘にも精力的に取り組んでいる。演奏曲目は、ロベルト・シューマン「小さな子どもと大きな子どものための連弾曲集 」より9曲、ヨハネス・ブラームス「シューマンの主題による変奏曲」など。帰途のバスの中で、ゲーテが好んだという植物の、ザイラー夫妻が増やした苗が土産として配布された。

 途中の美しい旅の寛ぎの後、古い日本建築を活用した音楽堂の風雅な雰囲気でのコンサートを、たっぷり楽しまれたことでしょう。「長時間姿勢を保つのがやや苦痛だった」のは残念ですが。

3. 「浜辺の歌」、「故郷を離るる歌」

 前者は「歌声喫茶 in さかい」で、筆者が最近、「この歌の3番の歌詞を覚えたばかりだったので、リクェストしたのだ。リクェストの6割ほどは知らない歌だったが、楽しい時間を過ごした」とあります。私もこの歌は、小学生の時、町の小学校の合同発表会で女生徒が清らかな声で歌ったのを聴いて心に残りました。3番の歌詞はずっと後になって知りました。チェロ奏者のミッシャ・マイスキーが情感豊かに美しく弾いているCDをよく聴いています。後者については、10月26日づけ記事中、J. Tanaka さんとのツイート交換の項にあり、筆者のこの歌を好む理由が書かれています。Tanakaさんは、「上手な少女の合唱で聞くと不思議な感動を覚える」と述べています。私は中学3年の音楽の時間に習いました。歌詞、メロディーとも美しい歌で、中学卒業後、就職して故郷を去る友人には、「蛍の光」のように心に響く歌だろうな、と思って歌っていました。

4. ツイートなど

 先端の科学・技術、平和、友人との言葉の交換、引用、インタ-ネットの利用などについて、よくこれだけの情報が毎日提供できることかと、筆者の見識の広さと好奇心と処理効率のよさに感心しています。筆者のフォロワーの多くは外国の方だそうです。『iPad英語学習法』著者、湯川さんによると、「英語学習には英語ツイートが有効」とのこと。筆者もこれを肯定し、吉田兼好や泉谷閑示の文の各一節を自身で英訳した例(それぞれ、10月15日づけ10月1日づけツイッター記録 "Quotations" の項)を掲載しています。通じる英語能力があってこそ外国のフォロワーが増えるのでしょう。Tanaka さんの言葉「ただ今HPを拝見し、ツイッターも拝見しましたが、殆どが英文の高度な内容で、いったんたじろいでしまいました」の通り、難解な話もありますが、最新情勢や啓蒙的なものを楽しんでいます。

秋色 18 (Autumn Colors 18)


 堺市・鈴の宮公園のサクラの紅葉。2010年11月26日撮影。

Cherry leaves in autumn colors. The photo was taken on November 26, 2010, at Suzunomiya Park, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Books

About 15 years ago I read the novel Fermata written by Nicholson Baker and now unexpectedly find it referred to in Sean Carroll's book, From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time.

About Cognition Science

小特集-鏡映反転:「鏡の中では左右が反対に見える」のは何故か? 認知科学 Vol. 15, No. 3 (2008). 小亀、多幡、高野の各説、相互批判、批判への回答、の各論文がここから無料ダウンロードできます。

About Mathematics

About instrumental and relational understanding: [Retweet of Republic of Math's words] "The axis of symmetry of a quadratic function" (after James Tanton) Republic of Mathematics Blog (November 27, 2010).

About Particle Physics

[Retweet of Colliding Particles's words] "Colliding Particles Episode 7" is now online! —A video, 10 min 43 sec.

About Philosophy of Physics

"Boredom: symmetry, god and x-factor," by Lily Asquith, Guardian (November 27, 2010). —About Peter Kosso's paper "The epistemology of spontaneously broken symmetries." Synthese Vol. 122, p. 359 (2000).

2010年11月28日日曜日

秋色 17 (Autumn Colors 17)


 写真は堺市・鈴の宮団地で、2010年11月19日撮影。

The photo was taken on November 19, 2010, at Suzunomiya Estate, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Cosmic rebirth," Circular patterns in the universe's pervasive background radiation suggest the Big Bang was only the latest of many. Science News (November 26, 2010). —About Gurzadyan-Penrose paper.

About Books

[Retweet of Andréia Azevedo Soares's words] Last great book Oliver Sacks read: Dirac's biography by Graham Farmelo. "It's 600 pages long, not a word too long." A YouTube video (October 27, 2010).

About Particle Physics

"Firing a quark through the early universe," by Jon Butterworth. Latest results from the Large Hadron Collider use quarks and gluons to "X-ray" the nuclear soup we came from. Guardian (November 26, 2010).

[Retweet of madge's words] "Large Hadron Collider experiments bring new insight into primordial universe." After less than three weeks of heavy-ion running, the three experiments studying lead ion collisions at the LHC have already brought new insight into matter as it would have existed in the very first instants of the Universe’s life. Physorg (November 26, 2010).

2010年11月27日土曜日

秋色 16 (Autumn Colors 16)


 校庭を彩る秋の色。2010年11月19日、ウォーキング途中で撮影。

Autumn colors decorate the school playground. The photo was taken on November 19, 2010, during walking exercise.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

[Retweet of National Geographic's words] 'New satellite pictures: "Magnificent" views of Earth' (November 19, 2010).

About Astrophysics

Frontier: Dark Energy, or Worse: Was Einstein Wrong? by Sean Carroll, Science 360 Knowledge Network (National Science Foundation, several years ago?) (via @AddThis). —A video. [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza]

A Magnetized jet from a massive protostar, Science Vol. 330, No. 6008, p. 1209 (November 26, 2010). —Evidence of polarized synchrotron emission arising from the jet of a young stellar object has been observed.

"Oxygen detected on Saturn's moon Rhea," Nasa's Cassini probe has scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere of Rhea – the first time the gas has been detected directly on another world. Guardian (November 25, 2010).

About Books

"OK: How two letters made 'America's greatest word'." Allan Metcalf is so enthralled by those two letters that he's written an entire book about them: OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word. NPR (November 20, 2010) (via @nprnews).

About Computer Science

"Card trick leads to new bound on data compression." A magician's card trick has prompted a mathematical re-evaluation of the limits on data compression. Technology Review Physics arXiv blog (November 26, 2010).

About Fundamental Physics

[Retweet of Sean Carroll's words] This year we give thanks for . . . effective field theory!: Thanksgiving Discover Blog / Cosmic Variance (November 25, 2010).

About Mathematics

"What a difference a peg makes: 4 peg Tower of Hanoi," Republic of Mathematics Blog (November 19, 2010). —I want to read this when I have enough time. [Modified retweet made by Colin Peters]

2010年11月26日金曜日

秋色 15 (Autumn Colors 15)


 京都・東大路通のイチョウ並木。2010年11月23日撮影。

The row of ginkgo trees along Higashiōji-dōri, Kyoto. The photo was taken on November 23, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Anthropology

"Dark energy on firmer footing," Nature Online news (November 24, 2010). Reference: "A geometric measure of dark energy with pairs of galaxies." C. Marinoni & A. Buzzi, Nature Vol. 468, p. 539 (Letter) (November 25, 2010).

About Condensed Matter Physics

"Bosons bossed into Bose–Einstein condensate." Physicists create the first ever BEC from light. physicsworld (November 24, 2010). Reference: Jan Klaers et al., "Bose–Einstein condensation of photons in an optical microcavity." Nature Vol. 468, p. 545 (November 25, 2010).

About Fundamental Physics

"Black hole may offer clues to extra dimensions." Controversial idea relies on string theory and warping of space-time. Science Now (November 24, 2010).

About Mathematics

"Lessons in Sumerian math on display." Sumerian math was a sexagesimal system, meaning it was based on the number 60. New York Times (November 22, 2010). [Retweeted by skullsinthestars and Fermin Aceves]

About Peace and Politics

「沖縄県知事選挙の終盤、普天間基地撤去と辺野古移設を巡る問題が最大争点。沖縄の民意無視で強行された日米合意を許すかは、沖縄だけでなく日米安保体制下にある日本全体の問題。九条が生きる選択の実現を切に願う。」—九条の会メルマガ 107号, 編集後記 (November 25, 2010).

About Psychology

"Attractiveness is all in tilt of the head," Telegraph (November 23, 2010). —With a photo of Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe testing the theory in "The Prince and the Showgirl." Interesting! [Retweeted by leia in la la land]

2010年11月25日木曜日

アマリリス (Belladonna Lily)


 アマリリス(ヒガンバナ科)。2010年11月14日、わが家で撮影。

Belladonna lily; botanical name, Amaryllis belladonna; family, Amaryllidaceae. The photo was taken on November 11, 2010, at our house.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Condensed Matter Physics

"Negative temperature, infinitely hot," Physicists propose creating thermodynamics puzzle routinely in the lab. Science News (November 23, 2010). —Reference: A. Rapp et al. "Equilibration rates and negative absolute temperatures for ultracold atoms in optical lattices." Physical Review Letters Vol. 105, p. 220405 (2010); also available from arXiv:1008.0468v1 [cond-mat.quant-gas].

About Mathematicians

[Retweet of Republic of Math's words] "Galois and symmetry: Marcus du Sautoy." Evariste Galois, original, brilliant mathematician 1811–1832. His profound spirit still soars over. Republic of Mathematics Blog (November 23, 2010). —With two videos.

Quotations

"I recommend discussing everything with the young people of the same generation as you, even all through a night. Then, you get much more things than are taught by your teachers or seniors." —Toshihide Maskawa, "N-Free" Vol. 4, p. 1 (Execution Committee of November Festival, Kyoto University, 2010) (translated from Japanese by T.T.).

2010年11月24日水曜日

京大11月祭 (The November Festival of Kyoto University)


 昨日、私は妻と第52回京都大学11月祭を見に行った。会場で長女の家族と落ち合う。今年同大学へ入った孫の一人が、吉田グラウンドでソフトボール部の仲間たちと豚汁の模擬店を出していたので、一杯食する。食べ物を中心に多数の模擬店が並び、大音声でスピーカーから音楽が流れている様子は、私の学生時代と比べて、大いに趣きを異にする。

11月祭実行委員会発行の "N-Free" 誌 Vol. 4(無料配布)全24ページには、「特集:益川敏英インタビュー」が5ページにわたって掲載されている。ノーベル賞物理学者の益川氏から学生たちへの一言、「同世代の若者と、ありとあらゆることを夜を徹してでもいいから、議論すること。そうすると先生や先輩から教えられるよりも、もっと多くのものが返ってくる。」(写真は吉田グラウンド北西角に立つ11月祭の看板。)

Yesterday, I went to see the November Festival of Kyoto University with my wife. We met our first daughter's family at the festival site. One of our grandson, who had entered the university this year, was selling cups of pork soup at one of the booths on Yoshida Ground with fellow members of the softball club, so that we each had a cup. There were many booths selling food etc., and the music was loudly played from the speakers. Such liveliness was quite different from the festival in my student days.

Copies of Vol. 4 of the magazine N-Free, published by the Execution Committee of the November Festival, were distributed free of charge. It consists of a total of 24 pages and carries a feature article of 5 pages, "Interview with Toshihide Maskawa." The Nobel-winning physicist Maskawa gives the following words to students: "I recommend discussing everything with the young people of the same generation as you, even all through a night. Then, you get much more things than are taught by your teachers or seniors." (The photo shows the sign of the November Festival at the north-east corner of Yoshida Ground, Kyoto University.)

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astronomer

"Allan R. Sandage’s true love was the stars," by Dennis Overbye, New York Times (November 22, 2010).

About Medical Technology

"Radiation worries for children in dentists’ chairs." Not only do most dentists continue to use outmoded X-ray film requiring higher amounts of radiation, but orthodontists and other specialists are embracing a new scanning device that emits significantly more radiation than conventional methods, an examination by The New York Times has found. New York Times (November 22, 2010).

About Nuclear Technology

"How to spot secret nuclear reactors from afar," French scientists unveil a plan to site antineutrino detectors off the coast of rogue nations suspected of operating clandestine nuclear reactors. Technology Review Physics arXiv blog (November 23, 2010).

About Particle Physics

"Meet a superpartner at the LHC," Physics Vol. 3, p. 98 (2010). —About the paper "How to Look for Supersymmetry under the LHC Lamppost." (Free download) P. Konar et al, Physical Review Letters Vol. 105, p. 221801 (2010).

About Physics

"Using information to extract energy," by Sean Carroll, Discover, Cosmic Variance (November 22, 2010). —'There was some excitement last week about a Maxwell’s-Demon-type experiment conducted by Shoichi Toyabe and collaborators in Japan. [. . .] some commentators spun it as "converting information into energy." That’s not quite right.' [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza]

2010年11月23日火曜日

秋色 14 (Autumn Colors 14)


 隣家のハゼノキの紅葉。2010年11月19日撮影。

Leaves of the neighbor's Rhus succedanea in autumn color. The photo was taken on November 19, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Dark energy detector built before your eyes." It took months to build a camera capable of detecting dark energy at Fermilab in Illinois. But now you can watch the construction and testing in minutes, thanks to a new timelapse video. New Scientist (November 22, 2010).

About Biology

"Why life is physics, not chemistry." The idea that life boils down to chemistry is being usurped by a much more ambitious idea, says two of the world's leading biophysicists. Technology Review, Physics arXiv blog (November 22, 2010). [Modified tweet made by Colin Peters; retweeted by Fermin Aceves]

2010年11月22日月曜日

秋色 13 (Autumn Colors 13)


 藤棚の間から見たサクラの紅葉。2010年11月16日、堺市西区・笠池公園で撮影。

Leaves of cherry in autumn color, seen through a wisteria trellis. The photo was taken at Kasaike Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 16, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"How the universe evolved from a liquid," The universe was a super-hot liquid in the moments immediately after its birth, according to the first results from an experiment to recreate the conditions of Big Bang [at the Large Hadron Collider].Telegraph (November 20, 2010). [Retweeted by U @F414, Fermin Aceves and Rosa Amarilla; modified tweet made by Colin Peters]

About Life

Yesterday, I attended the reunion of the former Radiation Center of Osaka Prefecture. There were 18 participants. We hear that my former boss S. Okabe and his wife live in a nursing home.

About Physics

[Retweet of elias saman's words] "What is Physics? Richard Feynman," Emergent Hive (November 13, 2010). —Videos "Rules of chess" and "Fun to imagine (4): Magnets." [Retweeted by Technoterati and Rosa Amarilla]

About Technology

"Steven Johnson: The collision of hunches makes us more original thinkers," Observer (My bright idea) (November 21, 2010).

Humor

"Schroedinger's Cat?" Guardian, Blog (November 20, 2010). —With an excerpt of a poem and a video. [Retweeted by Rosa Amarilla]

2010年11月21日日曜日

秋色 12 (Autumn Colors 12)


 サルスベリの紅葉。2010年11月16日、堺市西区・鳳公園で撮影。

Leaves of crape-myrtle in autumn color. The photo was taken at Ōtori Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 16, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Penrose claims to have glimpsed universe before Big Bang," physicsworld (November 19, 2010). —This claim is bound to be controversial. See also: "Have we found the universe that existed before the Big Bang?" io9 (November 19, 2010). Reference: V. G. Gurzadyan and R. Penrose"Concentric circles in WMAP data may provide evidence of violent pre-Big-Bang activity," arXiv:1011.3706v1 [astro-ph.CO] (November 16, 2010). [Retweeted by Tim Jones, gregorylent, Archetyper and John Loughlin]

About Quantum Physics

Oppenheim-Wehner paper preprint: "If QM were more non-local it would violate the uncertainty principle" arXiv:1004.2507v1 [quant-ph] (April 14, 2010). Thanks to Matt Leifer. See also: "Heisenberg uncertainty principle sets limits on Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance'," Physorg (November 18, 2010). [The latter part retreated by Rosa Amarilla and Fermin Aceves]

2010年11月20日土曜日

秋色 11 (Autumn Colors 11)


 サトザクラの紅葉。2010年11月16日、堺市西区・鳳公園で撮影。

Leaves of satozakura (botanical name, Cerasus lannesiana Carriere) in autumn color. The photo was taken at Ōtori Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 16, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

"Japanese pianist Mami Hagiwara wins 1st place in Geneva music competition," Mainichi Daily News (November 19, 2010).

About Astrophysics

"Alien planet may have come from another galaxy." Science (Now) (November 18, 2010). —The "planetary immigrant" is at least of the size of Jupiter. [Retweeted by Karin Fornazier, Aleléx and Lorenzo Alvarez]

About Fundamental Physics

Be patient for about four minutes at the beginning until Weinberg learns to use a microphone. [Retweet of Graham Farmelo's words] Accessible and authoritative introduction to the physics by the Large Hadron Collider, by Steven Weinberg: "Higgs, dark matter and supersymmetry: What the Large Hadron Collider will tell us." YouTube video (November 6, 2010).

About Physicists

"Roy Glauber – from the Bronx to the Nobel." Glauber talks about working alongside the likes of Fermi and Bethe, and his mixed feelings about being involved in the war effort at a young age.physicsworld (In depth) (November 18, 2010).

"Einstein makes Obama's top 13." Until his death in 1955, it seems Einstein had a love-hate relationship with American society, which became particularly strained during the McCarthy era. physicsworld (Blog) (November 17, 2010).

About Quantum Physics

"The uncertainty principle determines the nonlocality of quantum mechanics," Science Vol. 330, p. 1072 (November 19, 2010). Two central elements of quantum theory has been linked. [Retweeted by U, Jana Steingass and Fermin Aceves]

[S. C. Kavassalis] Wait, is this new knowledge? I must be missing something. [RT of tttabata] http://bit.ly/daLETP Two central elements of QT linked.

[From S. C. Kavassalis to dabacon, mattleifer, orzelc, cgranade and michael_nielsen] What's the quantum world's take on http://bit.ly/daLETP in Science this week?

[From Matt Leifer to S. C. Kavassalis] It's a nice result, more general than what was known previously, because it doesn't assume quantum mechanics is true. I'm surprised it is in Science though.

[From me in reply to S. C. Kavassalis] I'm unable to access the full paper and trusted the abstract. I liked your tweets of inquiry leading to Matt Leifer's words.

About Solid-State Physics

"Evidence of supersolidity in rotating solid helium." Science Online (November 18, 2010). —Work by a team from South Korea and Japan.

2010年11月19日金曜日

秋色 10 (Autumn Colors 10)


 コバノズイナの紅葉。2010年11月14日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Leaves of yellow iris in autumn color. The photo was taken at our yard on November 14, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Fundamental Physics

"The moment of truth for WIMP dark matter." With the advent of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and a new generation of astroparticle experiments, the moment of truth has come for WIMPs: either we will discover them in the next five to ten years, or we will witness their inevitable decline. Nature (Review) Vol. 468, p. 389 (2010).

"Antimatter held for questioning." Magnetically trapped atoms could test fundamental physics. Nature, (News) Vol. 468, p. 355 (2010). See also: "Antihydrogen trapped at CERN." physicsworld (November 17, 2010). —Physicists hold 38 antimatter atoms for almost a fifth of a second.

2010年11月18日木曜日

秋色 9 (Autumn Colors 9)


 ハナミズキの紅葉。2010年11月14日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Leaves of flowering dogwood in autumn color. The photo was taken at our yard on November 14, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astronomer

"Allan Sandage, astronomer, dies at 84; Charted Cosmos’s age and expansion, New York Times (November 17, 2010).

About Astrophysics

"Space probe brings asteroid dust back to Earth." Japan's Hayabusa mission collects 1500 grains from Itokawa. physicsworld (November 16, 2010).

About Atomic Physics

[Retweet of AIP_Publishing's words] "Positronium in confinement." Physics Today, Physics Update (November 15, 2010).

About Earth Science Interaction

RT @wiredscience: "Earth from space makes for beautiful art (and desktop backgrounds)" Wired Science (November 16, 2010).

About Environment

"Video: PC users to link up in global climate change project." PC users to link up in global climate change projectPC users worldwide are invited to run powerful software analysing climate change and its effects on local weather systems with the weatherathome.net project. Guardian (November 17, 2010).

About Fundamental Physics

"A costly quest for the dark heart of the Cosmos." After 16 years and $1.5 billion of other people’s money, it is almost showtime for NASA and Sam Ting. New York Times (November 16, 2010).

About Interplay between Mathematics and Physics

[Retweet of PhysOrg Science News's words] "Linking geometric problems to physics could open door to new solutions." A Princeton scientist with an interdisciplinary bent has taken two well-known problems in mathematics and reformulated them as a physics question, offering new tools to solve challenges relevant to a host of subjects ranging from improving data compression to detecting gravitational waves. Physorg (November 16, 2010).

About Life Science

[Retweet of Science News's words] "Jet lag makes hamsters dumb." A new study highlights the perils of shifting time zones." Science News (November 16, 2010).

About Society

[Retweet of Satomi Ichimura's words] 英語で読む今年の流行語 (by @Pinktentacle) が素晴らし過ぎる。RT @serkantoto: "Top 60 of Japan's most popular words in 2010 explained in English."

Humor

A moral: A hard step is always different from an easy slope. [Retweet of Graham Farmelo's words] Proof that, contrary to rumour, pi = 4. [Retweeted by J. M. Peterson]

About my previous tweet: This isn't a good moral, because, in combination with pi = 4, it looks like to say going easy way is a right thing.

2010年11月17日水曜日

第24回美交会展 (Bikōkai Exhibition–24)


 第24回美交会展が堺市役所本館1階エントランスで開催中。2010年11月18日まで。2枚目のイメージは、私が出品している水彩画「水都の一景」と「夏木立」。

Bikōkai Exhibition–24 is now being held at the entrance area, the first floor of Sakai City Hall (till November 18, 2010). The lower image show my work exhibited there, "A landscape of the City of Water" and "The grove in summer."

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts–Science Interaction

"Large Hadron Collider scientists release music record." Physicists at the LHC have their own music label, Neutralino Records – named after a hypothetical sub-atomic particle. Guardian (November 15, 2010).

About Astrophysics

[Retweet of PhysOrg Science News's words] "Youngest nearby black hole found (with video)." Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood. PhysOrg (November 15, 2010).

About Materials Science

[Retweet of NatureNews's words] "Space–time cloak could hide events." Optical physicists have created blueprints for a cloak that generates a pocket in reality in which actions can be concealed. NatureNews (November 16, 2010).

2010年11月16日火曜日

秋色 8 (Autumn Colors 8)


 サクラの紅葉。逆光線の中で見ると、黄金色に輝いている。2010年11月12日、堺市西区・笠池公園で撮影。

Cherry leaves in autumn color. Being looked in the backlight, some of these leaves are brightly golden. The photo was taken at Kasaike Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 12, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Starwatch: Comets Hartley 2 and Ikeya-Murakami," Guardian (November 15, 2010).

About Environment

"The Danger of Cosmic Genius." How could Freeman Dyson be so dumb about ...? Atlantic (via @grahamfermelo on Facebook).

[Republic of Math's words related to the above] "The question is: why is everyone else so stupid?” @tttabata How could Freeman Dyson be so dumb? http://bit.ly/9HET8p

[From Eman to Republic of Math and me] I don't like calling him dumb; he is a great scientist!

[To Eman] My shortening of the words by "The Atlantic" magazine and further shortening of them in Republic of Math's retweet seem to have made you misunderstand. I highly respect Freeman Dyson as you do. The word "dumb" has been used in the lead of the article of "The Atlantic" not to mean "stupid" but to intend to say "not speaking (about global warming)."

[From Eman] I understand that you were just reporting. I was just expressing my objection to the use of "dumb" with a good scientist like him!

About Life Science

"Genes that mutate in prostate cancer identified." The discovery could pave the way for new treatments. Telegraph (November 15, 2010). [Retweeted by Republic of Math]

2010年11月15日月曜日

秋色 7 (Autumn Colors 7)


 サクラの紅葉。2010年11月12日、堺市西区・笠池公園で撮影。

Cherry leaves in autumn color. The photo was taken at Kasaike Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 12, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

"Into Eternity digs deep into our own mortality as conspiracies are cast aside." Michael Madsen's film about a nuclear waste bunker in Finland is a beautiful meditation on the legacy of our civilization. Guardian (November 9, 2010).

About Arts–Science Interaction

"John Maeda: Innovation is born when art meets science." The technology and design guru argues that for invention to occur, scientists must embrace the art world. Observer, My bright idea (November 14, 2010).

About Peace and Politics

[Retweet of Yoko Ono's words] Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi is finally free! Video message and news on IMAGINEPEACE.com.

Humor

[Retweet of Jennifer Ouellette's words] So you want to get a PhD in physics? "Let me guess: You've read Brian Greene's books . . ." —YouTube animation video: Bitter graduate student discusses grad school with prospective student.

2010年11月14日日曜日

秋色 6 (Autumn Colors 6)


 サクラの紅葉。2010年11月12日、堺市西区・笠池公園で撮影。(ここで撮った写真をもう2枚掲載する予定。)

Cherry leaves in autumn color. The photo was taken at Kasaike Park, Nishi-ku, Sakai, on November 12, 2010. (Two more photos taken here will be shown on coming days.)

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Internet

Mendeley: A research management tool for the desktop and the web (via Scout Report). [Retweeted by J. M. Peterson and S. C. Kavassalis]

About Life Science

"Dyslexia 'the secret of Da Vinci and Picasso's success'," scientists have claimed. Telegraph (November 13, 2010). [Retweeted by Karin Fornazier and moreirão]

About Quantum Physics

[Retweet of Science Friday's words] This month marks the 75th birthday of Schrödinger's cat. Should we open the presents, or not?

2010年11月13日土曜日

秋色 5 (Autumn Colors 5)


 よく紅葉したカエデ。2010年10月22日、ウォーキング途中で撮影。

The maple in full-autumn color. The photo was taken in the course of walking exercise on October 22, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Galaxy Zoo paper goes supernova," physicsworld, Blog (November 11, 2010). —Nearly 14,000 supernova candidates were classified by more than 2500 individuals within a few hours of data collection.

About Biology

"Crows can tell the difference between men and women," according to new research carried out in Japan. Telegraph (November 12, 2010).

About Biophysics

"Cats' tongues employ tricky physics." Researchers have discovered that felines have their own style of lapping. Science, Now (November 11, 2010).

About Particle Physics

"LHC sees its first ZZ event," physicsworld (November 11, 2010). —Data released by CMS collaboration. [Retweeted by Colin Peters]

About Physicists

[To Arjen Dijksman] Wonderful! I like the English version of the Wiki page of Seishi Kikuchi you made more than the Japanese version.

パリ在住の Arjen Dijksman 氏 (@materion) が、ウィキペディア英語版に日本の物理学者・菊池正士のページを作られました。菊池正士についてよく知る日本の方がおられましたら、そのページのさらなる充実に協力して上げて下さい。[Retweeted by U (@F414)]

[From Arjen Dijksman] Thanks a lot! Wiki page of S. Kikuchi needs some references to his papers or books. Will come later . . .

2010年11月12日金曜日

秋色 4 (Autumn Colors 4)


 半ば紅葉したカエデ。2010年10月22日、ウォーキング途中で撮影。

The maple in mid-autumn color. The photo was taken in the course of walking exercise on October 22, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Wave patterns in Saturn's big ring," Nature Vol. 468, p. 137 (November 10, 2010). —The patterns arise spontaneously owing partly to the high density in the ring.

"Strange matter flow suggests inflation was incomplete," New Scientist (November 9, 2010). —Ref: Y.-Z. Ma et al., "The peculiar velocity field: constraining the tilt of the Universe," arXiv:1010.4276v1 (October 20, 2010).

About Physicists

[From Arjen Dijksman] I'm reading about Kikuchi lines (electron diffraction) and looking for bio about S. Kikuchi but don't find. Is there any in Japanese?

[To Arjen] The bio of S. Kikuchi in Japanese: . It's regrettable that there's no English version. I should be able to help you translate part of the bio on the above page into English, if you would like it.

[From Arjen] Great! Thank you. The bio of Kikuchi should also be available in English indeed. I will see if I can work on en.wiki.

[From Arjen] I created the wiki stub from what I understood with Google translate. Thanks again.

About Physics

"Neutral molecules whirl around." Peter Zieger of the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin and his colleagues have built a prototype molecular synchrotron for neutral molecules, a key step towards studying low-energy collisions. Nature Vol. 468, p. 136 (November 10, 2010).

"Fundamental constants: Big G revisited." Measuring Newton's constant of gravitation is a difficult task, because gravity is the weakest of all the fundamental forces. An experiment involving two simple pendulums provides a seemingly accurate but surprising value. Nature Vol. 468, p. 181 (November 10, 2010).

2010年11月11日木曜日

秋色 3 (Autumn Colors 3)


 3月に桜に似た花を咲かせるベニスモモは、秋には、深紅色の紅葉を見せる。2010年10月20日、堺市西区・鳳公園で撮影。

The purple cherry plum, which blooms blossoms like those of cherry in March, shows its leaves turned into crimson in autumn. The photo was taken at Ōtori Park, NIshi-ku, Sakai, on October 20, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Bubbles of energy are found in galaxy," From end to end, the newly discovered gamma-ray bubbles extend 50,000 light-years, or about half of the Milky Way’s diameter. New York Times (November 9, 2010).

About Peace and Politics

[このところ]中国を仮想敵視した動きが急です。尖閣諸島をめぐる問題があるとはいえ、これが第九条を持つ国がやることでしょうか。九条のもとでは、仮想敵を持つ国であってはならないはずです。--「九条の会」メルマガ 106号、編集後記 (November 10, 2010).

About Physics

"The one-way speed of light conundrum." There's no dispute over the constancy of the speed of light when measured over a round trip. But what of its speed over a one-way trip? Technology Review (November 11, 2010).

"LHC runs on lead." Nature, The Great Beyond (November 09, 2010). —With heuristic pics showing difference in signals of proton–proton and lead ion–lead ion collisions.

[Retweet of Graham Farmelo's words] If you've ever wanted to know what a gauge theory really is, here's a very clear explanation from Terence Tau: "What is a gauge?" Blog "What' New" (September 27, 2008).

2010年11月10日水曜日

秋色 2 (Autumn Colors 2)


 ハナミズキの紅葉。2010年10月19日、堺市中区・鈴の宮公園で撮影。

The autumn color of flowering dogwood leaves. The photo was taken at Suzunomiya Park, Naka-ku, Sakai, on October 19, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts–Science Interaction

"Size Matters: Turning Physics Into Art," by Jennifer Ouellette, Discovery News (October 27, 2010) (via About Physics).

About Mathematics

"Large cardinals: maths shaken by the 'unprovable'." A shocking discovery has unsettled the world of numbers, says Richard Elwes. Telegraph (November 9, 2010).

About Physics

"New horizons for Hawking radiation." Evidence for radiation analogous to that predicted near black holes by Hawking has been found in the emission of optical filaments propagating through glass. Physics Viewpoint (November 8, 2010).

[Retweet of pickover's words] "Why Richard Feynman can't tell you how magnets work (video)," Boingboing (November 8, 2010; from Atlantic).

2010年11月9日火曜日

秋色 1 (Autumn Colors 1)


 ハナミズキの紅葉。2010年10月16日、堺市西区鳳南町で撮影。

The autumn color of flowering dogwood leaves. The photo was taken at Ōtoriminami-machi, Nishi-ku, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

Colored X-rays; how did he get it? [Retweet of madge's words] To help celebrate 115 years of X-rays: "X-rays of flowers by Hugh Turvey." Hugh Turvey's X-rays show that beauty is more than skin deep. Telegraph, Picture Galleries (August 2, 2010).

About Astrophysics

"Star's song captured by scientists." Scientists have captured the 'song' of a distant star as part of new research that is providing insights into what lies beneath its surface. Telegraph (November 7, 2010).

About Philosophy

The message of Philipp Blom's book "A Wicked Company" is introduced: [Retweet of 3 Quarks Daily's words via U (@F414)] "Atheism and the Enlightenment: The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment." An 18th-century Paris salon where philosophers met to eat and drink and deny the existence of God and the soul. Economist (October 28, 2010).

About Physics

"The skinny on the LHC’s heavy ions," Less than 24 hours after the end of the Large Hadron Collider’s first high-energy run of proton collisions, beams of lead ions are already circulating in the LHC. . . . What are lead ions? Is accelerating them any different than protons? And why dedicate one of the LHC’s precious months of operation to lead-ion collisions? [—These are explained.] Symmetry Breaking (November 5, 2010).

Words to Friends

[In response to 多幡歯科's words: きょうは、いい歯の日です。CMもやってましたね。歯を大切に。 …] いい歯の日に、ツイッター上でお目にかかれました。私も大阪・梅田にある、かかりつけの歯医者さんへ、先延ばししていた定期検診にそろそろ行かなければ、と思っています。

2010年11月8日月曜日

ギンモクセイ (Sweet Osmanthus)


 ギンモクセイ(銀木犀、モクセイ科)。2010年11月4日、ウォーキング途中で撮影。

Sweet osmanthus; botanical name, Osmanthus fragrans Lour. var. fragrans; family, Oleaceae. The photo was taken on November 4, 2010, in the course of walking exercise.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Mathematician and Physicist

Blog post: "Did Wiener say these words?" Femto-Essays (November 7, 2010).

[From Neil Gunther to Karin Fornazier and me, about the original quote by William Bragg] "Light is waves on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; particles on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and on Sunday, we think about it." See http://j.mp/amlQ1j [a page linked to "Quantum Information Technologies" by Neil Gunther].

[To Neil Gunther; also to Karin Fornazier for information] Thanks, Neil, about the William Bragg quote. Thanks are also due to Sarah Kavassalis and Arjen Dijksman about the same quote.

About Particle Physics

[Retweet of Science Mag News's words] "More Evidence for Hidden Particles?" Science Now (November 5, 2010) (via astroparticle).

About Peace and Politics

朝日紙連載「核なき世界へ:被爆国からのメッセージ」に学ぶべき言葉が多い。11月6日付け、月下美紀氏「地上戦を経験した沖縄の人々は広島、長崎に関心を示さない。…中略…『戦争反対』を根底に据えることで、…中略…一緒に考えることができるのではないでしょうか。」11月7日付け、アーサー・ビナード氏「核抑止論はナンセンス。…中略…オバマ氏も見かけ倒しの『チェンジ!』ではなく、命がけでやれば方向転換出来るはずです。そもそも人間が作ったモノをなくすのだから、やる気があれば可能でしょう。」

Exchange of Words with Friends

[From tomyi] Ted's Coffeehouse、こちらに引っ越しなさったのですね! 九段会館は、映画の試写会で何度か行ってます。[Retweet of Tatsuo Tabata's words] 東京・九段会館 (A photo).

[To tomyi] いや、こちらは Ted's Coffeehouse 3 で、Ted's Coffeehouse 2 は、元のままです。消失した「ゆびとま」のものが番号なしの Ted's Coffeehouse です。

2010年11月7日日曜日

クロガネモチの実 (Fruits of Round Leaf Holly)


 クロガネモチの実(黒鉄黐、モチノキ科)。2010年11月3日、堺市・鳳公園で撮影。

Round leaf holly; botanical name, Ilex rotunda; family, Aquifoliaceae. The photo was taken on November 3, 2010, at Ōtori Park, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Life

It is our golden wedding today. We do not have a big ceremony but went to have a course lunch at a hotel restaurant next to Nankai Sakai Station not far from here. Please look at one of photos of our honeymoon. [Got words of congratulations from nine friends of mine on Twitter and from four on Facebook (including one from both the two sites)]

About Quantum Physics

"75 years of entanglement," Science News Vol. 178, No. 11, p. 25 (2010) (via sciencenewsorg). —Entanglement, Hideki Yukawa's meson theory and I are same years old! [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza @gtsouza]

About Space Science

"Airline frequent fliers 'radiation poisoning risks' from space 'solar flare' storm activity." Airline frequent fliers are at greater risk of developing long term radiation poisoning from "solar space storms" or flare activity from the Sun, a new study warns. Telegraph (November 5, 2010).

"Dark worlds: A journey to a universe of unseen matter [Interactive]." Does a universe of dark matter exist alongside ours, but hidden from view? This digital feature is a rich-media presentation of the article, "Dark Worlds," which appears in the November 2010 issue. Scientific American (November 4, 2010).

2010年11月6日土曜日

ツワブキ (Leopard Plant)


 ツワブキ(石蕗、艶蕗。イシブキ、ツワともいう。キク科)。2010年11月3日、堺市・鳳公園で撮影。

Leopard plant, green leopard plant, or ligularia; botanical name, Farfugium japonicum; family, Asteraceae. The photo was taken on November 3, 2010, at Ōtori Park, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Space telescope [Herschel] spots 'invisible' galaxies," New Scientist (November 4, 2010). Reference: "The Detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies." Science Vol. 330, p. 8005 (November 2010). [Retweeted by @gtsouza Glaucio Souza]

"Comet Hartley 2 fly-by sets NASA astir," New York Times (November 4, 2010). —A close approach image of the comet is attached.

About Books

"Weighty matters." Andy Parker reviews Ian Sample's book, Massive: The Hunt for the God Particle. physicsworld (November 2, 2010).

"Between the lines." Reviews of books on the physics of music, the dwarf planet Pluto and the history of noble gases. physicsworld (November 2, 2010).

About History of Physics

"Bronx physics." Robert P. Crease on why one New York school has produced seven Nobel-prize winners. physicsworld (November 2, 2010).

About Particle Physics

"When muons collide." A new type of particle collider known as a muon collider considered a wild idea a decade ago is winning over skeptics as scientists find solutions to the machine's many technological challenges. Symmetry Vol. 7, issue 5, (October 2010) [Retweeted by @gtsouza Glaucio Souza]

"LHC gears up to create mini big bangs," The ALICE experiment should have its lead collisions by the weekend. physicsworld (November 4, 2010).

2010年11月5日金曜日

コルチカム (Autumn Crocus)


 コルチカム(コルヒカム、コルキカムとも、イヌサフラン科)。2010年10月22日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked lady; botanical name, Colchicum autumnale; family, Colchicaceae. The photo was taken on October 22, 2010, at our yard.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Anthropology

[Retweet of Guardian Science's words] "Language and toolmaking evolved together, say researchers." Evolutionary advance saw stone-age humans master the art of hand-toolmaking and paved the way for language to develop. Guardian (November 3, 2010).

About Astrophysics

"Cosmic blasts hint at inner magnetars." A twist in the plot for the Universe's most powerful explosions suggests a detour en route to forming a black hole. Nature Vol. 468, p. 15 (2010).

"Galactic GPS put through its paces." For the first time, astronomers have reconstructed Earth's trajectory through the cosmos using pulsar signals. Tech Rev (November 3, 2010). Reference: "Pulsars as celestial beacons to detect the motion of the earth," arxiv.org/abs/1011.0065.

About Fundamental Physics

"Gravity's weight on unification." Much research in theoretical physics is inspired at least in part by the idea of unifying all of the fundamental forces of nature. An analysis of how gravity affects other forces at subnuclear scales has major implications for that idea. Nature (November 3, 2010). —Reference: David J. Toms, "Quantum gravitational contributions to quantum electrodynamics," Nature Vol. 468, p. 56 (November 2010). See also "Quantum gravity corrects QED," physicsworld (November 3, 2010).

About Materials Science

[Retweet of Nature News's words] "Star Wars-style holograms: a new hope?" Novel plastic could enable real-time 3D holographic projections. Nature, News (November 3, 2010).

About Scenery

今年、桜の季節に訪れた場所で、懐かしい。 [Retweet of asahi's words] YouTube Video: 朝霧に浮かぶ「天空の城」、近畿でこの秋一番の冷え込み

2010年11月4日木曜日

ハギ (Bush Clover)


 ハギ(萩、マメ科ハギ属約30種の総称)。2010年10月20日、堺市・鳳公園で撮影。

Bush clover or Japanese clover; botanical name, Lespedeza; a genus of about 30 species; family, Fabaceae. The photo was taken on October 20, 2010, at Ōtori Park, Sakai.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Google Sky gains galaxy cluster data." A new way to study the depths of the universe could herald a revolution in astronomy. Technology Review, Blogs (November 2, 2010). [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza]

About Cognition and Brain Sciences

"Take the ultimate intelligence test," New Scientist (October 27, 2010). —I tried the test and got the average score of top 61% (worse than medium)!

About Medical Technology

"Eye implant allows the blind to see again." An eye implant which has returned partial sight to three blind patients has been developed by scientists. Telegraph (November 3, 2010).

About Peace and Politics

ニュースレター九条科学者 No. 5 (2010.10.30). —「新たな時代の安全保障と防衛力に関する懇談会」の提言に断固反対する(事務局長談話)、第3回九条カフェのご案内、憲法問題研究会主催「九条カフェ」報告、など。

About Psychology

"Study of Facebook users connects narcissism and low self-esteem." If your status update was "I'm so glamorous," you might not really think much of yourself. Scientific American (November 2, 2010). [Retweeted by Fermin Aceves]

2010年11月3日水曜日

軽井沢で4 (In Karuizawa 4)


 「菫台時報会」同窓会の2日目の昼、離山通りに面してウッドデッキのテラスを持つ軽井沢・川上庵(写真)で、豊かなソバのコース料理を食した(当日は雨天のため、テラスでなく屋内で)。ホテルへ荷物を取りに戻ったあと、明年は郷里・金沢で再会することを期して、午後2時頃、軽井沢駅で解散した。

Around noon on the second day of the reunion, we had a sumptuous meal of buckwheat course at Karuizawa-Kawakamian (the above photo), which had a terrace of wooden deck and facing Hanareyama Street (we ate not on the terrace but inside the building because of rainfall). After picking up luggage at the hotel, we departed at Karuizawa Station around 2:00 p. m. by hoping that all of us should be able to attend the next year's reunion to be held in our home town, Kanazawa.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

『図書』11月号、80歳の方々の文が味わい深い。「無茶苦茶濫読の文学作品の記憶が、一人暮らしの楽しさを支えている。」——岩佐美代子「晴天に有明月の朝ぼらけ」。「[『坊つちゃん』末尾の]文章から受ける深い哀切感だけは動かしがたいのではないか…」——平岡敏夫「『坊つちゃん』のことなど」。

[English translation of the above] The November issue of "Tosho" includes 80-year old persons' appealing essays: "The memories of quite desultory reading of literature support the joys of my living alone." —Miyoko Iwasa, "Seiten ni ariakezuki no asaborake."* "I firmly believe that the last sentence [of Soseki's "Bocchan"] gives one the feeling of deep sorrow . . ."** - Toshio Hiraoka, "About 'Bocchan,' etc."
* In the clear sky, I see a wan morning moon, this dawn. (Taken from Kyorai's poem)
** "Bocchan" is generally considered to be a comical novel.

武満徹が『フィネガンズ・ウェイク』に触発されて作った曲『リヴァラン』について記した言葉、「曲は、一つの源流から派生する音楽的支流が、夜の風景を辿って、調性の海を目指して進んで行く。…」——大江健三郎が「ジョイスと武満」(『図書』2010年11月号 p. 35)に引用している。

About Life Science

[Retweet of BBC News's words] "Brain imaging pinpoints deception," BBC News (November 1, 2010).

About Mathematics

[Retweet of Republic of Math's words] James (@jamestanton), I added your video "Point Nine Forever" to my blog post "The moving pointer and 0.999…. A useful cognitive root."

About Physicists

"Obituary: Aage Niels Bohr," Physics Today November 2010, page 59. —'[. . .] Aage grew up amid the remarkable circle of scientists—"Uncle Kramers," "Uncle Klein," "Uncle Nishina," "Uncle Heisenberg," "Uncle Pauli," and so forth—who came to work with his father.'

About Physics

"Antarctic balloon sees particles with a million times more energy than the LHC," Guardian (October 29, 2010). —"The ANITA experiment is designed to look for neutrinos, but saw 16 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays by mistake." [Retweeted by skullsinthestars, P. F. Anderson and Gregory A. Good]

November-2010 issue of Physics Today includes articles "A time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics" and "String theory and the real world."

"At CERN, trillions of reasons to be excited about Large Hadron Collider," New York Times (November 1, 2010). —Dennis Overbye reports . . .

About Technology

[Retweet of P. F. Anderson's words] Very mixed feelings >> "Japanese nurse robot (Actroid-F) 2010" (Video).—A robot created by Kokoro Co. Ltd. and ATR.

2010年11月2日火曜日

軽井沢で3 (In Karuizawa 3)


 2日目午前の美術館訪問としては、メルシャン軽井沢美術館で開催していた「小さなルーヴル美術館」展が好評で会期が延長になった、と幹事が話すので、てっきりそこへ行くのかと思った。しかし、展示替えのため、10月25日から29日までは、残念ながら休館中との報告だった。それならば、セゾン現代美術館がよいと考えたとの幹事の話に、それはよさそうだと思うと、木曜日は休館日で、これもだめだという。実際に赴いたのは田崎美術館だった。開館時刻の少し前にホテルのマイクロバスで到着したが、時刻を過ぎてもなぜか閉まったままである。休館日は前日の水曜日だったはずだが。仕方なく、一同は「軽井沢絵本の森美術館」を訪れ、そこを見学した。

 絵本の森美術館は、もう一つの施設「エルツおもちゃ博物館・軽井沢」とともに、「ムーゼの森」と呼ばれる広い公園の中にあり、第1展示館ベルク(ドイツ語で「山」を表す)、第2展示館トゥルム(「塔」)、絵本図書館ヒューゲル(「丘」;上掲の写真)などの棟から成る。第1展示館では、特別展「動物えほん展:擬人化された動物ファンタジー」が行なわれていた。大人も子どもも楽しめるすてきな美術館で、私の住む大阪府下にもこういう所があればよいと思った。われわれが買った入館券は、おもちゃ博物館とセットになったものだったが、そちらを見る時間はなく、昼食の場所へ向った。

On the first day of the reunion, the organizer said, "For the museum visit of tomorrow, I chose 'Petit Louvre' Exhibition at Musee d'art Mercian Karuizawa. The exhibition has been well received, and the period in which it is held has been extended." So we thought that we would certainly go there. However, he added, "It's a pity that the museum is closed from October 25 to 29 in order to change the works for exhibition." He continued, "In Karuizawa, there is another excellent museum, the Sezon Museum of Modern Art." Hearing this, we thought it was also a smart plan to visit there. However, he said, "The museum is closed on Thursdays." Thus, we actually went to the Tasaki Museum of Art by the small bus of the hotel, arriving there shortly before the opening time. But alas! The museum remained closed after the opening time in spite of the information that it was closed on Wednesdays. Reluctantly, we took the bus again to go to the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Books.

The Museum of Picture Books is located in a large park, Muze Forest, together with another facility, the Erzgebirge Toy Museum of Karuizawa, and consists of separate buildings of the First Exhibition Hall "Berg," the second Exhibition Hall "Turm," Picture Book Library "Hügel" (the photo above), and so on. At the First Exhibition Hall, a special exhibition, "Animal picture books: The fantasy of anthropomorphic animals" was being held. It was such a lovely museum for both children and adults to appreciate that I wished to have a similar one in Osaka Prefecture where I live. The tickets we bought were also valid for the Toy Museum. However, we did not have time to see that museum and went to the place for lunch.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Neutron star is most massive yet," physicsworld (October 30, 2010). —Find rules out many exotic theories of neutron-star composition.

About Physics

" 'Best evidence yet' for dark matter comes from Milky Way centre," physicsworld (October 29, 2010). —Questions remain whether the signal has other origins.

Exchange of Words with Friends

[From J. Tanaka to tajihi, thoton and me] 前回のブログご覧くださり有難うございました。縦書き横書きと鏡像問題の2回目を掲載しました。今回は視差の問題を提起しています。

[To J. Tanaka]「縦書き及び横書きの機能性の差異と鏡像問題 その2」と、そこに引用されていた「鏡像問題と『虚像問題』」を拝読しました。さらなる展開を期待しています。

[From J. Tanaka] お言葉に勇気づけられます。

2010年11月1日月曜日

軽井沢で2 (In Karuizawa 2)


 菫台時報会の集まりの2日目は、各人の好みに応じて、サイクリングと美術館見学の2組に分かれて行動する予定だった。しかし、低気温・雨天のため、サイクリングは取りやめとなった。朝食前にはまだ雨が降り始めていなくて、私はホテルの庭園で風景写真を撮り、何とか軽井沢らしい写真を持ち帰ることが出来た(上掲の写真はホテルの裏の庭園)。

The original schedule for the second day of the reunion of Kindaijihō-kai was that we would enjoy cycling or visiting museums in two separate groups by preference of each person. Because of a low temperature and rainfall, however, cycling was canceled. Before breakfast, it did not yet begin to rain, so that I could manage to take some pictures of the typical scenery of Karuizawa in the hotel garden (the photos above show the back garden of the hotel).

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

Exchange of Words with Friends

[From tomyi, about my water color "水都の一景 (A Landscape of the City of Water)" to be presented at Bikōten] 観に行けないのが残念です。川面に空の青さが映って、とても素敵ですね!

[To tomyi]「水都の一景」の水彩画のイメージをご覧になり、ご感想もいただき、ありがとうございます。