Physics Stuff

Just gonna list some physics facts:

1. Atoms are 99.9999999999999 per cent empty space, so all the matter that makes up the entire human race could fit in a sugar cube if compacted. 

2. There are probably more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, each with 100’s of millions of stars in each. 

3. Light in a vacuum travels at 186,000 miles per second. 

4. Particles can exist in two different places at once. 

5. Light from the Earth takes just 1.255 seconds to reach the Moon, a distance of about 200,000 miles. 

6. The closer you move towards light speed, the more time slows down, so riding in the car for a couple hours will cause you have aged slower than if you just sat at home, although the difference is nearly immeasurable. 

7. Light can be bent around objects by gravity, distorting views. 

8. Uranus is the only planet in our solar system that rolls on its side like a barrel, while Venus is the only planet that spins in the opposite direction to Earth.

9. Visible matter accounts only for about 2% of the Universe’s mass.

10. E = mc^2 only applies for a particle that is at rest. 

11. Gravity is so strong at the event horizon of a black hole that not even light can escape it. 

12. The heat of a flash of lightning can reach temperatures of up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hotter than the surface of the sun, which is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. 

13. According to the double slit experiment, if you observe which of the two slits the light passes through, you force it to behave like a particle. If you don’t, and observe where it lands on a screen behind the slits, it behaves like a wave.

14. Light speed is the speed limit of the universe. So, if something is traveling close to the speed of light, and you give it a push, it can’t go very much faster. But you’ve given it extra energy, and that energy has to go somewhere. It is turned into mass (E=mc^2). This means that the object becomes heavier.

15. Despite all the advances made in astrophysics in recent years, we don’t know what makes up the majority of the universe.

Winter War

To anyone who reads this, I’m willing to bet that you most likely have not heard of a conflict called the “Winter War”. The Winter War was a separate war between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II. Since it happened during WWII, many people, if not most, don’t even know about it. It also only lasted about 3 months (November 1939 to March 1940) which is probably another reason not many people know about it. It is noted as being a massive and humiliating “successful failure” for the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union decided that they want to annex Finland to take their territory and supplies, since, at this time, they were still part of the Axis Powers. They had completed outnumber the Fins. Some numbers include 500,000 men to 250,000, 2500 tanks compared to 32, and 4000 aircraft to 115. Not to mention the Soviet Union is absolutely massive compared to Finland. But the Soviets and Stalin had not expected the Fins to fight back so hardly. When it comes to sheer statistics, the Soviets got slaughtered by the Fins: 100,000 missing or dead compared to 26,000, 200,000 wounded to 40,000, 5000 captured to 1000, 300 tanks destroyed to 30, and 1000 aircraft destroyed to 60. Now, while the Soviet Union did eventually win the war, it was considered a “pyrrhic victory” meaning that the toll was so much that it wasn’t even worth winning. By the end, they compromised with the Moscow Peace Treaty, which resulted in Finland handing over about 10 % of their land to the USSR, but they still kept their freedom. 

Now, there was actually a Finnish soldier on this battlefield by the name of Simo Hayha, and this man actually holds the record for most confirmed sniper kills in any war or conflict in history. His confirmed kill count was 505, and it is highly believed that he killed way more. His earned the nickname “White Death” by the Soviet soldiers, as he used to cloak himself with white and a mask that both hid himself and protected his eyes from the reflection of the sun. He did not use a scope on his rifle because the glare would give away his position, and also because it would frost up. He would put snow in his mouth to prevent his breathe from showing, to further hide himself from enemy fire. He was eventually shot by a Soviet solider, a bullet to the jaw that disfigured but did not kill him. He amazingly lived to be 96. 

Kidnapped

For this one, I think I’m going to talk about the time that I was kidnapped for several hours. Well, I wasn’t truly kidnapped by a stranger or anything, but I was taken somewhere unwillfully by one of my friends. This was back during my senior year of high school and if I remember correctly it was a friday night. Me and my two friends Alex and Tyler all wanted to go do something around 9 or 10 I believe. I think we decided to go eat after a while, probably at a fast food restaurant. I had noticed that it was starting to get late, so I wanted my friend Alex to take me home since he was driving that night. I had to go to work the next morning so I wanted to actually get a decent amount of sleep. My friend, who’s also named Tyler, wanted to go home as well. So, we all finish eating, get in the car, and start heading back. We were on the highway, we take the exit to go back towards town. There are 2 ways after the exit, a right turn that goes back towards town, and a left turn that goes past an 84 Lumber factory and then God know’s where after that. And, of course, instead of turning right to take us back home, Alex turns left on the back woods road to nowhere. And to this day I still don’t know why he did that. We would have gotten back in 5 minutes had we gone the other way, but none of us knew the road he was driving on. So for 3 hours or so, we drive on this road through 3 or 4 different little towns I had never heard of. I was scared that we were going to run out of gas and break down because the meter on his dash didn’t work, so it was impossible to tell how much gas we had. I kept asking Alex to just turn around but every time he refused. Since we were going through the country my phone had no service, so I couldn’t even tell where we were. I was ready to strangle my friend, but I looked up and saw a billboard that I recognized. We had actually made it to the town I worked in after 3 hours, a trip that would usually take 15-20 minutes. So, I told him the way to go and got us back home in 15 minutes. We made back around 3 in the morning, and I was so pissed, but relieved at the same time. I’ve never quite forgiven him for that, but I can’t help but laugh every time I think about it. 

How to solve a Rubik's cube

Okay, so I did a speech on how to solve a Rubik’s cube, so I figured that it would be something good to blog about. So, if you don’t know how to solve one, you should be able to learn from this description or at least be able to get an understanding of how to solve one.

In order to solve a standard 3 x 3 x 3 cube, you have to first denote the sides of the cube so you know which sides to turn. If you have the standard cube, which has colors white, blue, red, green, orange, and yellow, you can look at the blue side as the front side F and red as the top side U. (Note: you will be able to tell which side is which by the color of the centers). On the right R will be white, left L will be yellow, bottom D orange, and back B will be green. So, first pick a color you want to start with. A letter means turn that side clockwise once, a letter with a ‘ symbol after it just means turn that same side counterclockwise. 

You have to solve the Rubik’s cube in layers, so 1st layer, 2nd, then 3rd. So, line up the edge pieces on the side you want to start with, making sure the edge matches both centers (for example, the red and white edge piece should be touching both the red and white centers). After all four edge pieces are lined in the correct spots, you can now work on the corners. The first algorithm you will use is  R’, D, R, D’. Repeat this for the 4 corners. If done correctly, the entire first layer should be solved with the edges lined up with the centers of the 2nd layer.

The next step is to put the 2nd layer edge pieces in the right spots. You will use the 2nd algorithm  U, R, U’, R’, U’, F’, U, F or the inverse  U’, L’, U, L, U, F, U’, F’. Repeat this for all four edges. If done right, 2 layers of the cube will be solved.

The last layer involves first making an + much like the first layer. You’ll want to use  F, R, U, R’, U’, F’. This will make a + sign on the unsolved side, but the edges might not be lined up properly, so use  R, U, R’, U, R, U2, R’ to line those up. Last part is to put the final 4 corner pieces into the correct positions. Use this algorithm:  U, R, U’ L’, U, R’, U’ L. Then you’ll want to orientate those corners to finally solve the cube, just repeat the first algorithm: R’, D, R, D’. If done correctly, this will solve a Rubik’s cube. I know this isn’t terribly enlightening without diagrams or pictures, but it’s difficult to explain in written words. The best way is to watch a tutorial, where a person can explain something and can show you at the same time.  

Guitar(ist)s

Well, I’m sitting here listening to the guitar solo in Freebird, so I guess I’ll talk about some guitars and guitarists, being one myself. I started playing when I was about 12 years old I think. I was really into the band AC DC at the time and Angus Young was my favorite guitarist. He played lead guitar on a Gibson SG guitar, so of course I wanted to get one, being the impressionable 12 year old that I was. I had a starter acoustic guitar before that, but eventually I got an Epiphone SG guitar as my first electric guitar, which is kind of like a cheaper knock-off of the SG brand. And I played a whole of AC DC on that until that musical interest started to fade. Then as a young teenager, I went through my angsty stage where I listened to some punk and grunge rock. I wanted a Fender Telecaster because that’s the guitar that a lot of those bands played with. Then I started to reach my hard rock and heavy metal phase, where I started listening to bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, etc. I wanted to get either an ESP Explorer guitar like the one that James Hetfield from Metallica played or a Flying V like many heavy metal guitarists played. I never got either, just kept playing on the now-old Epiphone guitar that was falling apart because I never took care of it. My last musical stage, the one I’ve mostly stayed at was classic rock, bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bad Company, etc. I wanted to get a Gibson Les Paul, because that’s what Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin played. I also think Slash from Guns N’ Roses played one, and many other famous guitarists. To me, it just seemed to have that classic rock feel, look, and sound. But I never did get one. The guitar I had finally chosen to buy was a Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster because I really liked Pink Floyd. They’re actually my favorite rock band, and David Gilmour plays a Fender Strat, so I had to get one. I had heard so many great guitar solos from him alone. I just love the sound and look of a Strat, and so many great guitarists play with that guitar including Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Frusciante, Mark Knopfler, and many, many more. 

Marvel's Daredevil

If you’ve seen my Batman v Superman post, then you’ll know that I’m a nerd when it comes to superheroes and comic book movies. But, instead of complaining, this time I want to talk about Marvel’s Daredevil show on Netflix, and how much I like it. Season 2 was just released a few weeks ago, I watched the entire thing in 2 days over Easter break, so I thought it would be something to talk about. I don’t usually watch superhero tv shows because they tend to not be very good (like Flash and Arrow), but Gotham is pretty good. I haven’t watched any Marvel tv shows or animated shows (because Marvel severely lacks in the animated department), but Daredevil is such a good show, that it’s pretty much the only reason I ever use Netflix. I think what makes it such a good show is that it’s a step away from the normal light-heartedness of Marvel’s usual A.O.. It’s dark and realistic. The fight scenes seem very practical and believable, not to mention that they just kick serious butt. The choreography is amazing and entertaining. The funny thing is that I didn’t even like the character Daredevil before I started watching the show, but now he’s one of my favorite heroes. Season 1 is very good and focuses on Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin, played by Vincent D’onofrio (who I’ve always thought of as Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket). I like Season 2 a little more because a lot of it is focused on Frank Castle or the Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal. I think Bernthal did an amazing job as the Punisher and I think they finally got the character down exactly as he’s supposed to be. As a matter of fact, fans enjoyed his performance so much that there are rumors that he might be getting his own show now, which I would like to see. A lot of Season 2 is also focused on the relationship between Daredevil and Elektra, which I could’ve done without because to be honest, I found it boring, but others might enjoy it. To be fair, the conclusion of Season 2, while it is pretty cheesy, is very entertaining, and it involves those two together. I really excited for Season 3 to come out, and I’m wondering who the main villain is going to be, hopefully Bullseye. 

Batman v Superman (Spoiler Alert)

Well, I’m somewhat of a comic book nerd, so I’m gonna talk about the movie Batman vs. Superman, and I why I think it was a huge disappointment. Obviously, spoiler alert for what’s ahead. First off, I am a huge Batman and Superman fan, so I was already holding this movie up to a high standard before I even saw it. I think Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill played their roles very well, but it’s hard to make a movie great as an actor if the script and the story are just stupid. I think the first problem this movie suffers from is that it’s just too long and too damn boring for the most part. It’s about 2 and a half hours long, and only about 30 minutes to an hour at most is enjoyable to watch (most of which are the Batman scenes (no surprise)). The movie is called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the title and subtitle should be reversed. This is definitely not a Batman v Superman movie, it’s a prequel to the Justice League. When it comes to the actual fight, it lasts at most 8 minutes. Most of which is Batman being completely useless until he uses kryptonite on Superman, then beating on someone who doesn’t even want to fight. The fight is such a fan service to Batman lovers and ends exactly how any fan would predict: with Batman on top even though Superman could completely obliterate him in less than a second. But, who wants to watch a super powered alien win? Another problem this movie has is that it has too much concentrated in it for just 1 movie. They tried to combine parts of the Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman, along with variations of other comic book stories, changing things up to their own liking. They should have just stuck with good source material fans want to see on the big screen, because they obviously can’t write to save their lives (or DC’s). Also, they didn’t really need to throw Wonder Woman, bits of Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman into the movie, like their trying to play catch-up with Marvel and the Avengers. Save that stuff for another movie. And although I think Ben Affleck killed it as Batman, his Batman just straight up murders people throughout this movie. I’m okay with Batman being darker and more ruthless, but shooting people and blowing them up isn’t really his style. Batman doesn’t need to kill. Doomsday also looks like Abomination from the old Hulk movie, he doesn’t even look like Doomsday. Why even have him in the movie and call him Doomsday if he doesn’t even look like him. The worst part of this movie is how Batman is literally about to kill Superman, but hears that Clark’s mother’s name is Martha, just like his own mother’s. And because of this, he decides to spare his life and they literally become best friends right after that. So, there it is, I’ve summed up basically the entire movie and all of its flaws. Had they changed some of these things, I feel like it could’ve been a much better movie, possibly even better than the Avengers.