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Akano

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Blog Entries posted by Akano

  1. Akano
    I hope everyone had an enjoyable, reflective Memorial Day today. Since I couldn't come up with a comic, I decided to work on another retro set review. This time, we switch gears back to the Time Cruisers with the 6493 Flying Time Vessel!
     
    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
     



     
    I just love the backgrounds for Time Cruisers and Time Twisters. They're so trippy and cartoony yet so dark and spooky. The castle and pirate ship in the background add a nice touch to the scenery and really help reinforce the idea that this theme was about visiting various periods in history. We also see Dr. Cyber and Timmy showing off various helmets and artifacts they've received throughout their travels, and the monkey, Ingo, is sporting a flintlock pistol. Isn't it dangerous to give firearms to a monkey?
     
    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
     



     
    This set contains 234 pieces, and while there are large pieces like the bow and the stern, it still took me at least an hour to build, but the inner workings of the gears and axles for the functionality in this set were fun to construct. Because of this, the construction isn't straightforward, but it isn't incredibly difficult either; it just takes some time.
     
    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
     

     



     
    The vessel is, obviously, built on the bow and stern pieces that come in the set. Interestingly, these pieces seem to be unique to this set! The Pirate sets from the late 80s/early 90s had bow and stern pieces, yes, but they were not of the same dimensions as those that appear here. I find that kind of odd, but cool. Also, this set is quite large and takes up a lot of space, partially because of the mast and partially because of the wings. The rudder/propeller system doesn't help either, since there's a large peg on which the small propeller sits.
     
    This set comes with three figures: Dr. Cyber, Timmy, and Ingo the monkey, which is one short of the entire Time Cruisers cast.
     

    I, the hard working Ingo, do not approve of my new simian form!


     
    It also comes with several accessories, including a pirate hat and bandana, various helmets from other LEGO themes, a flintlock pistol, two crossbows, a magic wand, and a chainsaw. Because those things always go together.
     

    Cower before my miscellany!


     
    Needless to say, this set has a lot of good parts to plunder.
     
    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
     

    There's a Titanic reference here somewhere…


     
    Like the other Time Cruisers/Twisters sets, this set does not disappoint on functionality. The wheels are connected by bars to the underside of the wings to make them flap up and down and are also connected internally to the axle that drives the rear propeller. The cockpit also opens up via hinge revealing a treasure chest and the control panel to the ship (which, interestingly enough, no one is operating in any photos of the set. Perhaps it's on autopilot?).
     
    However, it's the look of the ship that really hooks me in. It's a pirate ship with wings and a periscope that is fueled by the spinning of a propeller hooked onto the stern. And also has wheels. That's just awesome! It's a vehicle that can practically go anywhere — swamp, mountain, ocean, canyon, and other locales that aren't in Majora's Mask. Bottom line: this set tickles the imagination and gives a lot of good opportunity to create your own Time Cruisers adventure, and that's why it's probably my favorite set of from the line.
     
    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
     

    Hold onto your helmets; time travel can be rough.


     
    I love this set. It's a creative concept for a creative theme, and I wish they had done more sets like this. Not that the other Time Cruisers sets were bad, but they didn't quite stand out to me as much as this one. This vehicle can go on any journey anywhere, anywhen, giving the player nearly infinite possibilities as to where to send these characters, and that's pretty cool. Also, it has a plethora of cool pieces.
     
    On BrickLink, you can find lots with this set at around $20 in Europe and around $30 in the US, which is not bad at all considering the original MSRP was $44 in 1996. If you have the cash, definitely consider this one, as it's a classic.
     
    Pros
    What's to like?

    Functionality (again)!
    Great pieces
    Looks awesome
    Not terribly expensive

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    There aren't more like it in this theme.

    If you were to get only one Time Cruisers set, I'd say get this one. It's a very imaginative set for an imaginative theme.
     
    Now, I only have two more sets to do from the Time Cruisers/Twisters themes, so soon I will be moving on to some other LEGO theme from the 90s. Does anyone have any suggestions/a particular theme they would like to see? I could do Fright Knights, UFO, Adventurers (hecks yes), Insectoids, and others that I have with me but can't think of off the top of my head. Suggest away!
     

  2. Akano
    Welcome to another installment of 90s LEGO set reviews! This entry's review is of the 6496 Whirling Time Warper of the Time Twisters theme!
     
    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
     

    Image courtesy of Peeron


     
    The box features a shot of the titular Time Warper flying through a dark backdrop with what looks like a portal to a city in the sky and a dark forest near the bottom. Behind some mountains, a moon or other celestial object appears to be setting. There's a flying ghost and bat along with other objects flying around the vehicle. I have to say, I really like the backdrops for the Time Twisters sets. The give a good dark edge to the appearance.
     
    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
     



     
    This set contains 147 pieces, of which 142 are shown here. This set is missing two TrRed magic wands, one black airplane rudder piece, and two chrome daggers (this is what happens when you own a set for a long time and leave it apart for a while). You'll notice that this has significantly more pieces than the Time Tunnelator, and for an originally $22 set, it better have more pieces. The build time for this set was around twenty minutes or so, which isn't too bad.
     



     
    There are two figs to obtain in this set: Professor Millennium, Tony Twister's brother and fellow Time Twister, and the Ghost. Note that this ghost, which has a smiling face, is different than the one coming with the upcoming Monster Hunters sets, which features a more spooky moaning face. Also, you may notice that the ghost's arms are not quite as white as they should be. Being an old piece, it got a little too much sun over the years, and the body is faded.
     

    The legs were replaced, so you can see the difference.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
     



     
    The set foundation is a white bathtub piece which premiered in Belville theme. This piece has only ever been released in three sets: this set (1997), 5895 Family House (1996), and 5837 Flora's Bubbling Bath (2002). I'm guessing that the rarity of this piece is why BrickLink has this set at relatively higher prices compared to its original MSRP than those of other Time Twisters sets.
     

    Curse your exclusiveness!


     
    You also get some cool minifig accessories, such as the bugles, coins, magic wands (not shown), a chrome crystal, and a bunch of 1 × 1 clear round pieces.
     

    Note: these bugles are not edible, nor are the coins chocolate.


     
    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
     



     
    Again, pretty cool functionality. In this set, like the Time Tunnelator, the rear wheels drive the moving parts of the set. The propeller is connected by a rubber band to the wheel axle to make it spin, and the propeller is connected to the "power drum" on top to spin the container and swirly disk around.
     



     
    The skulls on the side also bob up and down exactly out of phase with one another due to the wheels having a peg that moves the side "arms" (for lack of a better word) up and down. Thus, you get a spinning propeller, rotating container of stuff, and bobbing skulls that make this vehicle come to life. I would rate the functionality of this set higher than that of the Time Tunnelator, since it simply does more stuff.
     
    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
     

    Note: The dome piece is old/scratched up, hence the not-so-clearness.


     
    Again, fans of functionality will like this set. It comes with two minifigures, both of which are different from the Time Tunnelator, and it comes with that unique bathtub piece, so anyone wanting to do a vignette of a bathroom would love that. This model is also more filled-in than the Tunnelator, so this set may be preferred simply from an aesthetic point of view.
     
    What about Price? Well, as stated earlier, the MSRP was $22 in 1997. Sets available on BrickLink that are in the US are all above that price, with the lowest at $25, while most of the lots in Europe are < $20. So, if you're willing to spend a little extra on shipping, you can get a good deal.
     
    Pros
    What's to like?

    Functionality! (again)
    Cool looking vehicle
    Has good pieces to plunder

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    Price may be high.

    If you can find a good deal on this one, pick it up. It's a good set with quite a bit to offer.
     

  3. Akano

    Hobbits...

    By Akano,

    Tomorrow my roommate (of three years), a fellow physics graduate student, and I are going to watch the three extended Lord of the Rings movies. In a row. In one day.
     
    My roommate has tried this once on another occasion, but we couldn't help but bleed into the next day. Here's hoping that we can manage it this time.
     
    Also, three day weekend! 8D
     

  4. Akano

    Summer: Week 1

    By Akano,

    Already I'm nearly through my first week of summer research. That's kinda weird.
     
    What I've gained from this experience thus far: aligning a laser beam so that it hits a fiber optic cord that's ~1-2 microns in diameter is tedious, painful, and annoying. However, magneto-optical traps and ultracold plasmas are awesome. I am learning a lot about optics and atomic physics despite it only being week one, and I'm sure this lab will be fun.
     
    This weekend I hope to work on my Whirling Time Warper review (I have the pics, I just have to type and format everything) and maybe even make a new comic! Hurray for no homework and more free time!
     

  5. Akano

    Oh Hey, Guys...

    By Akano,

    So, I've kinda been gone recently. The reasons for that are the school year was wrapping up and I went home for a week to visit my family. In that time, I didn't go online much and thus did not visit BZP much.
     
    However, I did get pictures of the Whirling Time Warper, which I will be reviewing next in my overarching review of the Time Cruisers/Twisters theme from LEGO, so keep your eyes peeled for that review entry.
     
    Also, now that it's summer I hope to get some comic making done (seeing as there will be no homework to stop me).
     

  8. Akano
    Greetings, all! It's time for another retro set review. This time, the villainous Time Twisters and their smallest set, the Time Tunnelator!
     
    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
     



     
    We see here one of the sibling antagonists, Tony Twister (whose face bears a striking resemblance to Black Bart of the Wild West theme), flying through a stormy backdrop with a jagged mountain to the left, a forest or something of the like near the bottom of the picture, and what looks like a portal to a city in the back-right.
     
    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
     



     
    There are 80 pieces in this set, and all are pictured above. This build is pretty straightforward and doesn't take more than ten minutes. Still, there are more pieces than the Rocket Racer, so it's slightly more involved, but not by much.
     
    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
     



     
    The set foundation is a blue wing piece, and everything kinda sprouts from there. It's interesting that, despite the fact that the set isn't really "filled in," it doesn't look very skeletal or lacking, and I think the plastic wings help that. As far as interesting pieces go, there are two trumpet pieces, two bats, and a few trans-neon orange pieces. I like the use of the black dragon wing as a rudder; it adds to the bat/evil look that this theme has going for it.
     
    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
     



     
    Oh, the functionality. In this set, when the wheels move, not only does the propeller spin, but the wings also flap up and down. The mechanism for the propeller is a rubber band belt that goes from the wheel axle to the propeller, while the flapping wings occur due to the cranks connected to the outside of the wheels; as they spin, the wings flap.
     
    This kind of functionality will be seen again in future reviews of Time Cruisers and Twisters, and this is one of the reasons why I find this theme so cool; they have cool looking vehicles that do more than just roll on the table.
     
    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
     

    Oblivion is at hand!


     
    While this is a small set, the functionality is a reason I would recommend getting this set over the Rocket Racer; the friction-driven propellers in that set aren't as reliable as the cranks and gears of this set, so this set will satisfy you more if you're a fan of functionality (like me).
     
    This set also looks cooler than the Rocket Racer and has a more diverse range of pieces in its inventory, like the bats, barrels, and bugles. Tony Twister is also a good minifigure in that he gives you a set of epaulettes in yellow and a police hat (which is odd seeing as he's a bad guy, but I digress). Given the choice between the two, I'd buy this set. It was originally listed as $10.00, but can be found now for about half of that, making this set a pretty good deal.
     
    Pros
    What's to like?

    Functionality!!!
    Cheap (~$5.00 on BrickLink)
    Looks cool despite being small
    Has good pieces to plunder

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    Small

    If you're thinking of collecting the Time Twisters sets, this isn't a bad one to start with, so I highly recommend it.
     

  9. Akano
    Longest Talkin' Toons podcast yet, and every second is worth listening too.
     
    I love voice actors. 8D
     
    For those who don't know Rob Paulsen, his roles include:

    Yakko Warner
    Dr. Otto Scratchansniff
    Pinky
    Raphael
    Mark Chang

    and many more.
     

  10. Akano

    Take That, Quantum

    By Akano,

    Finished 4/5 problems on my quantum final today AND almost half of the fifth one. I'd say I thoroughly owned that test to the best of my ability. 8D
     
    Also, kudos to BZP's staff for keeping their cool and being able to bring the forums back. You guys are awesome.
     

  11. Akano

    Khan!

    By Akano,

    So, I saw Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the first time last night and Space Seed, Khan's debut episode in the original series. I love Khan's character. I can't tell if it's because he's written well or if Ricardo Montalbán's mannerisms make him so unique. Or both.
     
    This also makes his role as Gutierrez in Freakazoid much more enjoyable (even though he was quite enjoyable to begin with).
     

  13. Akano

    This Day

    By Akano,

    I've decided that This Day Aria is my favorite song from A Canterlot Wedding. Its juxtaposition of Cadance singing about her love for Shining Armor with Chrysalis singing about her callous indifference and plot to use him is amazing.
     
    Also, it's (at least partially) a villain song, and those tend to be awesome.
     

  14. Akano
    As promised, I'm going to kick off my set reviews of LEGO System circa mid-late 1990s with a review of the Time Cruisers Rocket Racer (no, not the LEGO Racers Rocket Racer). Credit to BZP for the review format.
     
    (My apologies if you notice the yellow tint to the shadows; my digital camera decided to be rather yellow when taking these pictures, and using GIMP to re-balance the white left those yellow shadows as an artifact.)
     
    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
     



     
    We see our protagonist, Timmy, riding in the eponymous racer through a rather dark, stormy backdrop. Pretty awesome. We can tell right off the bat that this isn't a very large set (seeing as the price was only $4.50 when it came out).
     
    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
     



     
    Not very challenging at all. The build took only a couple of minutes and was fairly straightforward, seeing as there were only 15 steps. All 55 pieces are included in the above photo, and it's not surprising that they don't take very long to assemble.
     
    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
     



     
    Nothing too sophisticated here. The body is based on a bracket piece that saw use in the Xtreme Team windsurfer/buggy set. The propellers are pretty cool in their functionality (yes, they do spin). A simple buggy/car set with a few modifications.
     
    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
     

    All aircraft report!


     
    The propellers are the coolest part of this set. They are connected by an axle to a smooth base that sits on the back tires, as seen in the above photo. The tires, made of rubber, grip the smooth base of the propellers on one side, and as the tires spin, the propellers spin. Now, on my set, this works well for the (Timmy's) right-hand propeller, but not the left. I think this may be because the bricks on top are not completely aligned over the hole for the left propeller, and thus the axle grips the pieces. I'm not sure though. It's still a cool bit of functionality that I'm impressed they thought to incorporate on such a small set. You really don't see that much on newer small sets.
     
    Beyond this, though, the set is mainly for you to roll on the table and go "Vroom! Vroom!"
     
    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
     
    Since the original price was $4.50, it's not a bad set for that price. I got mine for $4.00 with the other Time Cruisers sets, so it wasn't a heavy additional monetary burden for my wallet. If you see this set floating around for a low price, pick it up; you get a Timmy minifigure and a few cool MOC pieces/a cool race buggy.
     
    Pros
    What's to like?

    Timmy minifigure
    Cheap set (BrickLink has one for $1.00)
    Neat functionality despite being small
    Decent variety of pieces

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    Not incredibly exciting, but it is a small set

    I honestly think that this set isn't bad at all for what it is. Back in the day, this would've made any 90's kid happy if he/she found it in their stocking on Christmas day. If you want to get some Time Cruisers sets, add this one to your cart. It's cheap, cute, and fun in its own way.
     
    Thanks for sticking around for my review. Next time we'll head into the realm of the villainous Time Twisters.
     

  15. Akano

    Royal Wedding

    By Akano,

    Royal Wedding finale is best finale. Seriously, I was wowed throughout the episode. The songs were okay, but the plot was very interesting. Celestia actually fought someone! And Cadance is adorable.
     
    Also, Jaller is best Captain of the Guard, be he pony or Matoran.
     

  16. Akano
    So, I bought all the remaining Time Cruisers/Twisters sets (minus 1) that KK and I need to complete the entire theme for under $80 (Mystical Mountain Time Lab, Flying Time Vessel, Rocket Racer, and the Time Tunnelator; all that remains is the Hypno Cruiser).
     
    Also, I think that during the summer I'm going to start reviewing LEGO sets of the 90s (more from the mid to late 90s), since this is the era of my childhood when I was first introduced to and subsequently obsessed with our favorite ABS bricks, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
     
    I'll also make some more comics over the summer. Right now is the home stretch of the semester, which means more work in a shorter amount of time, leading to more stress and less free time.
     

  17. Akano

    Dear Chairman...

    By Akano,

    I love watching series over and over again to see if there are any subtleties the writers threw in that I never noticed during my first viewing. However, I rarely find a series that, when I watch it, I get the same feeling of suspense, the same feeling of revelation, as I do when I watch Red vs. Blue Season 6: Reconstruction.
     
    If you haven't seen Reconstruction yet, be warned that there will be spoilers in this entry.
     
    What is it that's so great about this particular season of a very comedic and ridiculous take on the Halo universe? Well, let's start with the premise of Red vs. Blue. We have two teams of ridiculously inept soldiers who are "at war" with each other for what they believe is the fate of the universe. Being the ineffective soldiers that they are, their battles usually end in whacky hijinks and the exchange of insults, and they very much keep those personalities in Season 6. A brief summary of the characters and their personalities:
     
    Red Team
     
    Sarge - Gruff and regimented leader of the Red Team, older, comes up with convoluted plans and ridiculous tactics. His hate for the Blues is only surmounted by his hatred of Grif.
     
    Grif - Lazy comic relief who is smarter than he looks, just unmotivated. Has a sort of love/hate relationship with Simmons.
     
    Simmons - The nerd of the Red Team, enjoys math, sucks up to Sarge every chance he gets.
     
    Lopez - The Red team's robot who can only speak (poorly translated) Spanish. Deadpan snarker.
     
    Donut - (absent from Reconstruction) Guy who wears pink armor and is rather effeminate.
    Blue Team
     
    Church - Self-appointed leader of the Blue Team
     
    Tucker - Lazy member of Blue Team who only thinks about picking up chicks.
     
    Caboose - The token cool dude of Blue Team. Probably the most popular character on the show for his ridiculous lines.
     
    Tex - A special ops soldier and Church's ex-girlfriend. The only soldier who can actually do something.
    Now, mix these characters with Agent Washington, a completely serious special ops soldier (like Tex) with no tolerance for humor. Surprisingly, this works extremely well (considering the number of ways they could have screwed this relationship up). Together, they are all trying to find a new threat known as the Meta who is killing off Freelancer agents (like Tex and Wash) to obtain their armor abilities and AI, which help them in battle.
     
    Then there is the overarching banter between the Director of Project Freelancer and the Oversight Sub-Committee Chairman. These conversations open every episode in the form of audio letter and alternate between the two, and they illustrate one of the most awesome passive-agressive power struggles I've ever witnessed in any series (and they are never on screen throughout the entire season!). While brief at the beginning of each episode, the subject of the dialogue, while at first seems unrelated, is actually intertwined with the entire motivation of the events of the season.
     
    And if that didn't seem to make things come full circle, the big reveal in the season further seals the deal. When I watch this one moment when Washington fully reveals why the Reds and the Blues were stuck in the middle of a boxed-in canyon in the middle of nowhere, why these Freelancer AI have plagued them and caused all their problems from the get go, and why he needs to put a stop to what Project Freelancer has done and bring them to justice, I am stunned. I always watch the scene and marvel at how perfectly everything is drawn together. I get the same goosebumps during each subsequent viewing of that scene that I got the first time I watched it. The reveal is always fresh; it always keeps me on the edge of my seat; it never gets stale, and that is why I consider this the crowning moment of the entire Red vs. Blue series.
     
    And I can't think of any other series that does that to me.
     

  18. Akano

    The Harmonic Oscillator

    By Akano,

    My Classical Mechanics professor quoted someone in class the other day: "The maturation of a physics student involves solving the harmonic oscillator over and over again throughout his/her career." (or something to that effect)
     
    So, what is the harmonic oscillator? Otherwise known as the simple harmonic oscillator, it is the physical situation in which a particle is subject to a force whose strength is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium of said particle, known as Hooke's Law, or, in math terms,
     

    F = -kx


     
    where F is our force, x is our displacement, and k is some proportionality constant (often called the "spring constant"). That sounds swell and all, but to what situations does this apply? Well, for a simple example, consider a mass suspended on a spring. If you just let it sit in equilibrium, it doesn't really move since the spring is cancelling out the force of gravity. However, if you pull the mass slightly off of its equilibrium point and release it, the spring pulls the mass up, compresses, pushes the mass down, and repeats the process over and over. So long as there is no outside force or friction (a physicist's dream) this will continue oscillating into eternity, and the position of the mass can be mapped as a sine or cosine function.
     
    What is the period of the oscillation? Well, it turns out that the square of the period is related to the mass and the spring constant, k in this fashion:
     

    T2 = 4π2m/k


     
    This is usually written in terms of angular frequency, which is 2π/T. This gives us the equation
     

    (2π/T)2 = ω2 = k/m


     
    This problem is also a great example of a system where total energy, call it E, is conserved. At the peak of the oscillation (when the mass is instantaneously at rest), all energy is potential energy, since the particle is at rest and there is no energy of motion. At the middle of the oscillation (when the mass is at equilibrium and moving at its fastest) the potential energy is at a minimum (zero) and the all energy in the system is kinetic energy. Kinetic energy, denoted by T (and not to be confused with period) is equal to mv2/2, and the kinetic energy of the simple harmonic oscillator is kx2/2. Thus, the total energy can be written as
     

    E = mv2/2 + kx2/2 = p2/2m + kx2/2


     
    Where I've made the substitution p = mv. Advanced physics students will note that this is the Hamiltonian for the simple harmonic oscillator.
     
    Well, this is great for masses on springs, but what about more natural phenomena? What does this apply to? Well, if you like music, simple harmonic oscillation is what air undergoes when you play a wind instrument. Or a string instrument. Or anything that makes some sort of vibration. What you're doing when you play an instrument (or sing) is forcing air, string(s), or electric charge (for electronic instruments) out of equilibrium. This causes the air, string(s), and current to oscillate, which creates a tone. Patch a bunch of these tones together in the form of chords, melodies, and harmonies, and you've created music. A simpler situation is blowing over a soda/pop bottle. When you blow air over the mouth of the bottle, you create an equilibrium pressure for the air above the mouth of the bottle. Air that is slightly off of this equilibrium will oscillate in and out of the bottle, producing a pure tone. Also, if you have two atoms that can bond, the bonds that are made can act as Hooke's Law potentials. This means that, if you vibrate these atoms at a specific frequency, they will start to oscillate. This can tell physicists and chemists about the bond-lengths of molecules and what those bonds are made up of. In fact, the quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator is a major topic of interest because the potential energy between particles can often be approximated as a Hooke's Law potential near minima, even if it's much more complex elsewhere.
     
    Also, for small angles of oscillation, pendula act as simple harmonic oscillators, and these can be used to keep track of time since the period of a pendulum can be determined by the length of its support. Nowadays, currents sent through quartz crystals provide the oscillations for timekeeping more often than pendula, but when you see an old grandfather clock from the olden days, you'll know that the pendulum inside the body is what keeps its time.
     
    Hopefully you can now see why we physicists solve this problem so many times on our journey to physics maturity.
     

  20. Akano

    It's All Relative

    By Akano,

    Being a physics grad student has seen me be in quite the scientific mood lately, hasn't it? Well, unfortunately, I still don't have a new comic made (I'm sorry, everyone! ><), but I do have another idea for a blog entry. Last week, Pi day (March 14) marked Einstein's 133rd birthday, and since my Classical Mechanics course is covering the Special Theory of Relativity, I thought I'd try to cover the basic ideas in blog form.
     
    According to the laws of physics laid down by Sir Isaac Newton, all non-accelerating observers witness the same laws of physics. This included an idea of spontaneity, the idea that someone traveling on the highway at 60 mph would witness an event occur at the exact same time as someone who was just sitting on the side of the highway at rest. The transformation from a reference frame in motion to one at rest for Newtonian physics is known as a Galilean transformation, where x is shifted by -vt, or minus the velocity times time. Under such transformations, laws of physics (like Newton's second law, F = ma, remain invariant (don't change).
     
    However, during the 19th century, a man by the name James Clerk Maxwell formulated a handful of equations, known now as Maxwell's equations, that outline a theory known as electromagnetic theory. Of the many new insights this theory gleaned (among these the ability to generate electricity for power which every BZP member uses) one was that light is composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields; light is an electromagnetic wave. By using his newly invented equations, Maxwell discovered what the speed of light was by formulating a wave equation. When his equations are used to describe electromagnetism, the speed of light is shown to be the same regardless of reference frame; in other words, someone traveling near the speed of light (as long as they weren't accelerating) would see light travel at the same speed as someone who was at rest. According to Newton's laws, this didn't make sense! If you're in your car on the highway and traveling at 60 mph while another car in the lane next to you is traveling at 65 mph, you don't see the other car moving at 65 mph; relative to you, the other car moves at 5 mph. The reason that light is different is because a different theory governs its physics.
     
    This brought about a dilemma: is Maxwell's new electromagnetic theory wrong? Or does Newtonian mechanics need some slight revision? This is where Einstein comes in. He noticed the work of another physicist, Lorentz, who had worked on some new transformations that not only caused space to shift based on reference frames moving relative to each other, but also shifted time. Einstein realized that if light had the same speed in all non-accelerating reference frames, then objects moving faster experienced time differently than those that moved slower. This would come to be known as the Special Theory of Relativity.
     
    How does this make sense? Well, if you have some speed that must remain constant no matter how fast one is traveling, you need time to shift in addition to shifting space to convert between both reference frames, since speed is the change in distance over the amount of time that displacement took place. If you have two reference frames with some relative speed between them, the only way to shift your coordinates from one to another and preserve the speed of light is if both frames experience their positions and times differently. This means that, if something moves fast enough, a journey will take less time in one frame than the other. Special relativity says that moving clocks progress more slowly than clocks at rest, so someone traveling in a rocket at a speed comparable to the speed of light will find that the journey took less time than someone who had been anticipating his arrival at rest. This also means that if someone left Earth in a rocket traveling near the speed of light and came back ten years later would not have aged ten years, but would be younger than someone who was his/her age before his journey took place. Weird, huh?
     
    If you think this is crazy or impossible, there have been experiments done (and are still going) to try to confirm/reject the ideas of special relativity, and they all seem to support it. There's another relativity at play as well known as general relativity, which states that gravitational fields affect spacetime (the combination of space and time into one geometry). General relativity says that the higher up you are in a gravitational field, the faster clocks run (time speeds up). A proof of this theory is GPS; the satellites that help find your position by GPS are all higher up in Earth's gravitational field than we are, and thus their clocks run faster than those on Earth's surface. If general relativity weren't considered in the calculations to figure out where you are on Earth, your GPS would be off by miles.
     

  22. Akano

    Complex Numbers

    By Akano,

    Math is a truly wonderful topic, and since I'm procrastinating a little on my physics homework, I'm going to spend some time talking about the complex numbers.
     
    Most of us are used to the real numbers. Real numbers consist of the whole numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...), the negative numbers (-1, -2, -3, ...), the rational numbers (1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 22/7, ...), and the irrational numbers (numbers that cannot be represented by fractions of integers, such as the golden ratio, the square root of 2, or π). All of these can be written in decimal format, even though they may have infinite decimal places. But, when we use this number system, there are some numbers we can't write. For instance, what is the square root of -1? In math class, you may have been told that you can't take the square root of a negative number. That's only half true, as you can't take the square root of a negative number and write it as a real number. This is because the square root is not part of the set of real numbers.
     
    This is where the complex numbers come in. Suppose I define a new number, let's call it i, where i2 = -1. We've now "invented" a value for the square root of -1. Now, what are its properties? If I take i3, I get -i, since i3 = i*i2. If I take i4, then I get i2*i2 = +1. If I multiply this by i again, I get i. So the powers of i are cyclic through i, -1, -i, and 1.
     
    This is interesting, but what is the magnitude of i, i.e. how far is i from zero? Well, the way we take the absolute value in the real number system is by squaring the number and taking the positive square root. This won't work for i, though, because we just get back i. Let's redefine the absolute value by taking what's called the complex conjugate of i and multiplying the two together, then taking the positive square root. The complex conjugate of i is obtained by taking the imaginary part of i and throwing a negative sign in front. Since i is purely imaginary (there are no real numbers that make up i), the complex conjugate is -i. Multiply them together, and you get that -i*i = -1*i2 = 1, and the positive square root of 1 is simply 1. Therefore, the number i has a magnitude of 1. It is for this reason that i is known as the imaginary unit!
     
    Now that we have defined this new unit, i, we can now create a new set of numbers called the complex numbers, which take the form z = a + bi, where a and b are real numbers. We can now take the square root of any real number, e.g. the square root of -4 can be written as ±2i, and we can make complex numbers with real and imaginary parts, like 3 + 4i.
     
    How do we plot complex numbers? Well, complex numbers have a real part and an imaginary part, so the best way to do this is to create a graph where the abscissa (x-value) is the real part of the number and the ordinate (y-axis) is the imaginary part. This is known as the complex plane. For instance, 3 + 4i would have its coordinate be (3,4) in this coordinate system.
     
    What is the magnitude of this complex number? Well, it would be the square root of itself multiplied by its complex conjugate, or the square root of (3 + 4i)(3 - 4i) = 9 + 12i - 12i +16 = 25. The positive square root of 25 is 5, so the magnitude of 3 + 4i is 5.
     
    We can think of points on the complex plane being represented by a vector which points from the origin to the point in question. The magnitude of this vector is given by the absolute value of the point, which we can denote as r. The x-value of this vector is given by the magnitude multiplied by the cosine of the angle made by the vector with the positive part of the real axis. This angle we can denote as ϕ. The y-value of the vector is going to be the imaginary unit, i, multiplied by the magnitude of the vector times the sine of the angle ϕ. So, we get that our complex number, z, can be written as z = r*(cosϕ + isinϕ). The Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler discovered a special identity relating to this equation, known now as Euler's Formula, that reads as follows:
     

    eiϕ = cosϕ + isinϕ


     
     
     
    Where e is the base of the natural logarithm. So, we can then write our complex number as z = reiϕ. What is the significance of this? Well, for one, you can derive one of the most beautiful equations in mathematics, known as Euler's Identity:
     

    eiπ + 1 = 0


     
    This equation contains the most important constants in mathematics: e, Euler's number, the base of the natural logarithm; i, the imaginary unit which I've spent this whole time blabbing about; π, the irrational ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter which appears all over the place in trigonometry; 1, the real unit and multiplicative identity; and 0, the additive identity.
     
    So, what bearing does this have in real life? A lot. Imaginary and complex numbers are used in solving many differential equations that model real physical situations, such as waves propagating through a medium, wave functions in quantum mechanics, and fractals, which in and of themselves have a wide range of real life application, along with others that I haven't thought of.
     
    Long and short of it: math is awesome.
     

  23. Akano

    Brickshelf's Down?

    By Akano,

    So, brickshelf and majhost's servers are down. Too bad I can't upload the comic I've totally finished and not at all procrastinated on.
     
    Seriously though, my apologies for the lack of updating of my comics. I have not had as much time this semester to do things I enjoy as I would like (we kinda hit the ground running). I do hope to inspired soon and start working on a comic.
     
    Another thing sort of slowing me down is that I'm getting used to using GIMP, which is quite different from Photoshop, which my new computer does not have. Thus, I have to make do.
     
    In other news, this semester I'm taking quantum mechanics version 2.0 and classical mechanics. In both classes (ironically) we're working with Lagrangian mechanics, as the classical Lagrangian (the difference of kinetic and potential energy of a system) is useful in deriving equations to describe systems in both the classical and quantum mechanical regimes. In fact, when one uses the Lagrangian as a way to formulate wavefunctions of quantum mechanics, Hamilton-Jacobi equation (a classical physics equation) pops out of the Schrödinger equation! It's as though physics is self-consistent or something...
     

  24. Akano

    Video Games...in 3D!

    By Akano,

    So, I purchased a lovely Zelda-edition 3DS with some money I got for Christmas and some out of my own pocket after the festive holiday. I have to say, it is awesome. Playing the classic game that got me into the Zelda series in 3D is fun, and due to the fact that I am used to 3D stereogram images the 3D bothers my eyes minimally. Actually, I think OoT is a great game to do in 3D, because there are many scenes that the 3D adds to well (such as Navi's flight at the beginning, establishing shots of dungeons, and basically any scene in the Chamber of Sages). Another great thing about the 3DS is its two external cameras, enabling you to take stereogram pictures. This was one of the biggest appeals to me buying one (the deciding factor was the Zelda-edition-ness). To demonstrate, I have put some 3D LEGO pictures here. Note that the images are crossview stereograms. Enjoy!
     

     

  25. Akano

    Welcome To The Herd!

    By Akano,

    I am now officially a brony thanks to KK and Tekulo. Lauren Faust can really make a cartoon series that multiple groups can enjoy while still being targeted at girls.
     
    The fact that Timmy Turner's voice is in the series doesn't hurt either.
     
    My favorite is Fluttershy.
     

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