Walk with Venus on a Starry Night?

-  1729  -  Walk with Venus on a Starry Night?  Compare the differences with Earth.
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----------------- -  1729  -  Walk with Venus on a Starry Night?
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-  A late walk under a starry sky.  I like to observe the setting stars.  Like Venus setting on the western horizon last night.  It gives you  a sense of the Earth’s rotation.  Of course the best way to see the Earth’s rotation is to put a camera on the sky and take an all night time exposure.
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-   The rotation is obvious with the axis pointing to the North Star, Polaris.  The Earth is rotating 1,038 miles per hour, standing at the equator traveling east.
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-  If you were on Venus you could walk west and keep the same stars overhead, because the rotation is so slow, 243 days.  Walking west on the equator on Venus at 4 miles per hour would do the trick.  Of course, you would have to walk for 243 days to complete one “day”
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-  The other problem is you could not walk on the equator because it is too hot, 864F.  And, it is not just the equator the whole planet is that hot.
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-  And, you could not see the stars anyway because the light does not penetrate the 60 mile thick atmosphere.  The atmosphere is so thick the pressure is 90 time greater than on Earth.
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-  And, you could not breathe because the air is 96% carbon dioxide and 3% nitrogen.  Earth is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, thanks to the plants and the vegetable gardens.
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-  January 2015 the spacecraft “ Venus Express” is burning up as it descends into the atmosphere.  It started “aeorbraking” in the upper atmosphere using its polar cell panels in June 2014.  Its communications and fuel ran out in November.  The 2,800 pound spacecraft has been orbiting and collecting data on Venus for the last 8 years .
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-  The Venus Express was launched November 9, 2005 at a cost of $110 million.  It arrived Venus April 11, 2006 after a 250 million  mile journey.
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-  Venus has an iron core like Earth but has no magnetic field because it rotates so slowly.
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-  The atmosphere is so thick light can not penetrate so the spacecraft must use ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths to study the surface.  It also used a plasma analyzer, a magnetometer, and a radar sounder.
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-  The Magellan spacecraft orbited Venus 1990 to 1994 and used radar to map 98% of its surface.
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-  Venus Express mapped the surface temperature using infrared.  Because Venus is too hot to have rain there is very little erosion to its surface.  And, there is almost o wind due to its slow rotation.
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-  The Venus surface is 750 million years old and pretty much undisturbed  There are not many craters, like on Mercury, because most meteors burn up in the thick atmosphere and never reach the surface.
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-  Venus is 81.5% the mass of Earth.  Its diameter is 94.9% that of Earth’s.  Its density is about the same 5,240 kilograms/meter^3 versus Earth’s 5,510 kilograms/meter^3.  Its atmosphere contains clouds of sulfuric acid, sulfur dioxide and water.
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-  (1)  There are several other Reviews available upon request:
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-  #1706  The atmospheric pressure would crush a submarine, equivalent to being 3,000 feet under the ocean.
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-  #1480  Venus crossed the Sun June5,2012 and the observation was used to calculate the distance to Venus , 27.6 million miles.
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- #1368  The reflectivity of Venus is 75% compared to Earth’s 29%.
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-  #1176
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-  #945  Venus greenhouse effect
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-  #817  Some 20 probes / spacecraft have visited Venus from 1962 to 2013.
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-  #  587  Venus is tilted 177 degrees, just 3 degrees from the perpendicular
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-  (2)  Mass of Earth 5.9742*10^24 kilograms.  4.87*10^24 kilograms, 81% Earth’s
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-  Radius Earth  =  3,962  Times 2*pi the circumference  =  24,900 miles
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-  Radius Venus  =  3,760 miles Times 2*pi the circumference = 23,625 miles
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-  Speed of equator, Earth in 24 hours  =  1,038 miles per hour
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-  Speed of equator in 243 days, Venus  =  4 miles per hour
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Gravity Waves to measure the Universe?

-  1728  -  Measuring the Universe  Using gravity waves and not just electromagnetic waves to study back to the beginning of time.  How to explain the universe is flat and the same in every direction astronomers can look.  Gravity waves could be a measuring stick.
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----------------- -  1728  -  Measuring the Universe.
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-  Looking at the big picture.  As big as it gets.  The Universe has a diameter of 2 * 10^58 meters, that is 2*10^44 lightyears.  But, the Observable Universe is only 27*10^9 lightyears in diameter and light has been traveling 13.4 *10^9 years.  These dimensions assume that the Universe is geometrically flat, on average, light travels in a straight line.  Of course, we know it bends around cosmic gravity wells, but on average it‘s straight.
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-  If astronomers look in opposite directions they see 13.4 billion light years each way.  The light from one side has not had enough time to reach the other side that is 27 billion lightyears away.
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-  We can say the Universe appears flat.  But, mathematically a perfectly flat universe is very unlikely, in fact, practically impossible.  It would be like balancing a pencil on its point.  The slightest disturbance and it falls in one direction or another.  So, a geometry for the Universe must be slightly curved like a saddle, ( an open geometry ), or, curved like the surface of a sphere, ( a closed geometry ).
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-   A mathematical explanation developed by Alan Guth is that the Universe experienced a spontaneous symmetry breaking” in the first seconds after the Big Bang and expanded for a short period of time, an enormous expansion faster than the speed of light.  He called the event “ Cosmic Inflation.”
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-  The cosmic inflation event is thought to have occurred when a unified Universal Force separated into two fundamental forces, the electromagnetic force and the nuclear weak force.
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-  If this event occurred the math says the size of the Universe expanded 25 orders of magnitude in 10^-36 seconds.  This extreme expansion could explain why the Observable Universe appears flat and the same in all directions.
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-  Cosmic Inflation is a theory that needs more evidence.  The Theory of Relativity in 1915 implied the existence of a gravitational field that was a distortion of the cosmic fabric of space and time.  A time varying source of energy would appear as a time varying distortion, or wave, propagating at the speed of light.  We call these distortions gravitational waves.
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-  Gravity is so weak compared to electromagnetism these waves become very difficult to detect.  The theory developed to do the job is “Quantum Field Theory” which attempts to unify ( combine) Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity.  At very small scales all ’Fields” are fluctuating, vibrating, including the gravitational field.  At the quantum level all particles are waves and all waves are defined by a spectrum of probabilities that are in constant flux.
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-  Due to Cosmic Inflation any small fluctuations in fields would expand to large wavelengths.  Just as Gamma Ray light at 380,000 years after the Big Bang is stretched to microwave wavelengths today in the Cosmic Microwave Background, CMB.  This event was when the Universe was first made transparent to light.  Prior to that the charges of particles in the hot plasma contained all the photons of light preventing them from escaping
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-  That makes the CMB the oldest visible light in the Universe.  At the time, the light might have been “polarized “ by the electric charges in the plasma.  A special distortion produced by gravitational waves could cause the CMB to have a greater amplitude along one axis than along the perpendicular axis.  That’s called “ polarization”.
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-  A difficulty comes in play in measuring polarization of caused by gravity waves because other conditions could cause the same thing, like underlying temperature fluctuations , or polarized dust, for example.  Besides the difficulty research continues because gravitational waves interact so weakly with matter they have traveled unimpeded from the beginning of time.  All the way back to 10^-36 seconds old.  If we could study these early times using gravity waves that would be a great scientific achievement.
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-  The Cosmos is a field that stores and releases tremendous amounts of energy during a phase transition.  A phase transition is like water suddenly turning in to ice at 32 F.  The Multiverse Theory is that the phase transition events could have occurred countless times.  Then our Universe is one of an infinite number of separate, physically different universes.
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-  In our case, life is here simply by accident having an infinite number of possibilities and ours just right  with “ finely tuned” parameters allowing us to be here.  If the universe were any different I could not be writing this and you could not be reading it.  God only know how this all happened.
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-  (1)  9.4605 * 10^15 meters in one lightyear.
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Pluto and Charon - Do the Math?

-  1727  -  Pluto and Charon  -  Do the Math?  Spacecraft begins its visit to Pluto this month, January, 2015, for a fly-by.  Here is how the measurements become math that calculate the mass of the planets and moons.
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----------------- -  1727  -  Pluto and Charon  -  Do the Math?
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-  The New Horizon space craft arrives Pluto July 2015.  Its 7 instruments are already taking data starting this month.  Pluto has 5 moons, Charon, which is half its size, Nix and Hydra and 2 other moons without names that are only 60 to 100 miles diameter.
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--------------------  Pluto’s diameter is 1,485 miles  ----------  18.7% Earths
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--------------------  Pluto’s mass is  0.2% that of Earth’s.  This Review teaches how the mass of Pluto and its moon Charon can be calculated.
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-  ----------------- Pluto density  =  1,750 kilograms / meter^3  This is 31.7% the average density of Earth.  Pure water is 1,000 kilograms / meter^3
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---------------------  Pluto and Charon orbit the Sun in 248 days.
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--------------------  The orbit radius is 3,670,000,000 miles.  Earth is 93,000,000 miles or one AU, astronomical unit.  Therefore, Pluto is 39 AU or 39 times the Earth-Sun distance.  It has an elliptical orbit that varies from 29.5 AU to 49.5 AU.
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---------------------  One day on Pluto takes 153.3 hours.  6 times that of Earth’s.
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-  Pluto is a Dwarf Planet part of the Kuiper Belt Objects that orbit the Sun at 30 AU to 50 AU.  To date astronomers have discovered more than 1,000 Kuiper Belt Objects.  Pluto was just the first one because it is highly reflective.  There are many more KBO’s yet to be discovered, estimated to be over 100,000 of them that are over 60 miles diameter.  Pluto is 1,485 miles in diameter.
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-  Pluto has a large moon, Charon, that is half its size and 4 smaller moons.  Pluto reflects 55% of its sunlight because its surface is ice, nitrogen ice, with small amounts of methane ice and carbon monoxide ice.  There is a small nitrogen atmosphere surrounding the planet.
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-  Charon’s orbit is 12,160 miles from Pluto.  Our Moon is 238,855 miles from Earth.  Charon’s diameter is 756 miles and its mass is 10% that of Pluto  Charon reflects 45% of its sunlight.  Charon’s surface is water ice with small amounts of ammonia.
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-  Pluto’s density is 1,750 kilograms/meter^3 which would indicate that it is 70% rock.  Charon’s density indicates it is 50% rock and 50% water ice.
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-  At least 20% of the KBO’s have their own moons  If a KBO has a moon , their orbits allow astronomers to calculate their mass, volume, density and some estimate of their composition.  Here is how it is done.  I do not have the data on Pluto and Charon so I will substitute an eclipsing binary pair of stars that I do have data on.
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-  First observation is a compete orbit of the pair takes 2.63 years.  p  = 2.36 years.
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-  Using the Doppler shift of spectrum light the orbital velocities are measured.  One star has a velocity of +6.8 kilometers per second and - 6.8 kilometers per second.  These are symmetrical so the orbits must be circular rather than too elliptical.  The other star has orbital velocity of +20.4 km/sec and -20.4 km/sec.  The “+” velocity is coming towards us and is blue shifted in its spectrum.  The “- “ velocity is going away from is and is redshift, longer wavelengths, in its spectrum.
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-  Since we know the orbital velocity and the period of one orbit we can calculate the orbital circumference.
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-------------------  distance  =  velocity  *  time
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------------------  d  =  20.4 km/sec  *  2.63 years  *  3.156*10^7 sec / year.
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-------------------  d  =  1.69 * 10^9 kilometers.
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------------------  v  =  orbital velocity of 45,634 miles per hour.
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-  The “d” is the circumference of orbit, the radius is found by dividing by 2*pi.
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----------------- r  =  d  /  2*pi
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-----------------  r  =  2.7*10^8 kilometers.
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-----------------  r  =   167,770,000  miles
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-  There are 1.5*10^8 kilometers in 1 AU, astronomical unit, the distance from Earth to Sun, 93,000,000  miles.
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----------------- r  =  2.7 *10^8  /  1.5 * 10^8  =  1.8 AU
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-  The radius for the second of the pair is calculated:
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------------------  d  =  6.8 km/sec  *  2.63 years  *  3.156*10^7 sec / year.
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------------------  d  =  56.44 *10^7 km
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------------------  r  =  56.44*10^7  /  2 * pi  =  8.98*10^7  km  *  1 AU / 1.5 * 10^8 km
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-----------------------  r  =  0.6 AU
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-  Johannes Kepler ( 1571 - 1630)  discovered 3 laws of planetary motion:  (1)  Most orbits are an ellipse with the larger planet at one focus.  Circular is a special type of ellipse for some unique orbits.  (2)  As a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times.  (3)  More distance the orbit has the slower the average orbital speed.  The relationship is the square of the period of orbit equals the cube of the radius.
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-----------------------  p^2  =  r^3
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-  This equations works with no constants of unit conversion when the period is in years, the radius is  in AU’s and the mass is in Solar Mass.  When other units become involved Isaac Newton’s version for this equation becomes:
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-----------------  p^2  =  4*pi^2 / G  *  1 / ( M+m)  *  r^2
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----------------  (M+m)  =  4*pi^2 *  r^3 /  p^2
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-  For an ellipse the “r” becomes the semi- major axis, radius of a circle is a special case.  Since the pair are always on opposite sides of the center of mass their separation is:
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-----------------  a  =  1.8 AU  + 0.6  AU  =  2.4 AU
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-----------------  p  =  2.63 years
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------------------(M+m)  =  a^3  / p^2  =  2.4^3 / 2.63 ^2  =  2 Solar Mass
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---------------  To find the mass of each body we realize that the orbital velocities are inversely proportional to mass:
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----------------  M  / m  =  vm  /  vM  =  20.4 km/sec  /  6.8  km / sec  =  3
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---------------  M  =  3m
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--------------  M  + m  =  2
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---------------  m  =  0.5 Solar Mass
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---------------  M  =  1.5  Solar Mass
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-  Therefore, we have calculated the masses of the binary pair by observing their period of orbit and measuring their orbital velocities.  Next we could measure their diameters, calculate their volumes, calculate their densities and estimate their composition by knowing the densities of  various materials, water  =  1,000 kilograms / meter^3
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-  Request other Reviews about Pluto and Kuiper Belt Objects:
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- #1724  Visiting Pluto, New Horizon spacecraft
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-  #1632  Kuiper Belt Objects
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-  #1364  Pluto and Charon
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-  #1129, #1279  Pluto demoted to a Dwarf Planet.
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-  #1660  Kuiper Belt Dwarf Planets
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-  # 33 Kepler’s laws, Issac Newton biography
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-  #543, #685  KBOs discovered 8-14,-2005  we have learned a lot since then.
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 ---   707-536-3272    ----------------------   Monday, January 19, 2015  ---
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Supersymmetry in Particle Physics.?

-  1726  -  Supersymmetry in Particle Physics.  The Large Hadron Collider may find the super partners in particles to unify the 4 forces to include Gravity and add to our understanding of why the Universe is finely tuned as it is.
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----------------- -  1726  -  Supersymmetry in Particle Physics
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-  May 21, 2013, Dr. Beale Heinemann, Lawrence Berkeley Lab lecture explaining particle physics research being done using the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.  One of the goals of the experiment is to discover evidence of the existence of Supersymmetry.
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-  Supersymmetry is a theory in particle physics about the existence of undiscovered particles in symmetry with ordinary Fermions and Bosons.  These super partners to ordinary particles would unify the relationships of the four forces, Electromagnetism, Strong and Weak Nuclear , and Gravity.
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-  Physicists hope to learn why particles have the masses they do ( the force of gravity ).  All mass quantities and ratios have been discovered using experimental data, no theories have been invented to derive their numbers.  There is no mathematical linkage that explains why they are what they are.  Example:   A proton is 1.167252 * 10^-27 kilograms.  An electron is 9 *10^-31 kilograms.  A proton /electron ratio is 1,297  Why?
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-  Supersymmetry predicts that the Universe is filled with super-partner particles.  These massive particles ( high energy ) might explain the existence of Dark Matter.  Dark Matter represents 80% of all the matter in the Universe.
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-  But, none of these super-partner particles have yet been discovered.  The hope is the LHC will do that.  In 2015 the LHC is planning to run at the highest energies it was designed for, 13 trillion electron volts.
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-  What physicists have developed so far  a “ Standard Model of Particle Physics” with 12 particles and 4 force particles.  The model remains incomplete.  Quantum Mechanics and Relativity theory explain a lot, but, not everything.
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--------------------  Matter is made of particles called Fermions.
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--------------------  Matter is held together by force particles called Bosons.
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--------------------  Fermions are made up of Leptons and Quarks.
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-------------------  Leptons include Electrons, Muons and Taus
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- But why are there only 3 energy levels for these Leptons.  Why do they have the masses that they do?
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---------------------  Electron  ---------------0.000511  Giga-electron volts /c^2
----------------------  Muon  -----------------0.106  Giga-electron volts /c^2
----------------------  Tau  --------------------1.777  Giga-electron volts /c^2
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-  New theories, such as String Theory, require new particles in order for the theory to work.  These hypothetical particles have very high mass, energies.  Quantum Mechanics requires “ virtual particles” to allow the ordinary particles to interact.  Two electrons, negative charges, repel each other.  The force of their repulsion is carried by “ virtual photons”.
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-  Supersymmetry is actually a framework of theories developed over 40 years, since 1970.  The laws are symmetrical because they apply equally regardless of direction, speed, or location of particles.  They imply the other laws of Conservation of Energy, Momentum, Angular Momentum and E = mc^2, the relationship between energy and mass.
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-  Symmetry exists because every particle has an anti-particle of equal mass but opposite charge.  Therefore, the list of particles is really 24 not 12 ,as stated above.
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-  Super symmetric theories require that every “ Boson” particle has a “ Fermion “ partner particle.  To do this the number has to double again, to 48, instead of 24.
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-  Will the LHC discover these massive super-partner particles?  Or, will it not, and will other theories come to the forefront to replace Supersymmetry.  Here are some other theories waiting in wings:
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-  The Multiverse?  The Universe must be finely tuned for life to exist at all.  Multiverse suggest that fine tuning is not impossible as it is a random accident among an infinite number of universes out there.  We are just an accident in Cosmic history.  Our Universe has parameters to all0w life to develop  like me to write reviews and like you to read them,  Why is that?  This all smacks to me as appealing to the unknowable.
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-  Extra Dimensions?  Extra dimensions can explain Gravity’s weakness compared to the other forces.  Somehow the force of gravity is leaking out of our universe of 3 spatial dimensions and one time dimension.  In this case mass might be explained by the energy of motion the extra dimensions.
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-  Dimensional Transmutation?  A proton is not a fundamental particle, it is an assembly of 3 Quarks held together by Gluons.  But, the protons are heavier than the sum of the masses of the Quarks and Gluons   The extra mass comes in the from of an “energy field” called the Strong Nuclear Force.  Are there other energy fields to be discovered?
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-  Today there remains no way to predict the masses of all these particles.  We have to experiment and try to measure them.  This was the problem that delayed the discovery of the Higgs Boson.  This recent discovery implies the existence of a Higgs Energy Field that gives mass to all the fundamental particles.   A Noble Prize is in it for anyone who can figure this stuff out.
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-  In conclusion, we are dealing with empty space that is not empty at all.  Space is packed full of virtual particles and Higgs Energy Fields,  And the mass of the Higgs Boson is right on the edge of a state of an unstable vacuum of space.  Higgs Boson Mass =  126.8 Giga-electron volts.  An unstable vacuum could trigger a catastrophic transition in the Universe.  This happened with Cosmic Inflation seconds after the Big Bang when the Universe expanded faster than the speed of light.
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- Are we on the “ Edge of Doom”?  Could the Universe suddenly bounce into a lower energy state?  Supersymmetry is a framework for making models of how the Universe really works.  Let’s hope we find it soon before something pulls the trigger.  Stay tuned there is more to learn.
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-  Request other Reviews:
-
-  # 955 , #811,  - Large Hadron Collider
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-  #1693,  #1512 the Standard Model, #1573, #1511 Sterile Neutrino, #1136 Six ordinary particles, #1097 Nature’s constants, #977  Fermions and Bosons, #973  Physics in a Nutshell, #632  Gluons, Bosons And Photons, Muons and Taus
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Europa, icy moon of Jupiter

-  1725  -  Europa , Icy Moon of Jupiter.  At -300F temperatures how can liquid water exist?  Why have the water geysers stopped spewing?  How do tides create heat?
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----------------- -  1725  -  Europa , Icy Moon of Jupiter
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-  January 15, 2015, the huge geysers on Europa have gone silent, underground.  Last year Hubble Space Telescope detected plumes of water vapor spewing 120 miles into space from geysers at the south pole.
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-  The Galileo spacecraft has studied the Jupiter system 1995 to 2003 and didn’t uncover evidence of water geysers.
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-  Saturn’s ice moon Enceladus, on the other hand, has continuing evidence of spewing liquid water up from beneath its icy shell.  Plumes of gas and ammonia water are frequently still occurring.
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-  The Cassini Spacecraft uses ultraviolet imaging spectrographs that suggest most of the hot gases surrounding Europa originated from the neighboring volcanic moon, Io.
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-  If there are water plumes on Europa they are infrequent and smaller than those on Enceladus.  Hubble Space Telescope did not detect any plumes between October , 1999 and November 2012.  December, 2012 and January, 2013 was the only events recorded, so far.
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-  Galileo spacecraft’s magnetometer data suggest that Europa’s magnetic field is variable indicating an internal electrically conducting fluid, that is a salty ocean.  At temperatures of -300 F how can liquid water exist?  Heat energy must be generated either by radioactive decay or by tidal forces created by the gravity pull of Jupiter?
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-  How can tidal forces generate heat?  Tidal forces can cause tugs and twists which can cause friction. How can friction create heat?  Friction is mechanical.  Is there a mechanical equivalent to heat?
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-  “Heat” is energy that flows form a higher temperature to a lower temperature.  Heat is a form of energy.  It is measured in the same units as kinetic energy or potential energy --
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-----------------  E  =  joules  =  kilogram * meter^2 / seconds^2
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----------------  E = m * v^2  =  mass * velocity^2
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----------------  E = F * d  =  Force * distance   =  kilogram * meter^2 / seconds^2
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-----------------  F  =  newtons  =  kilogram * meter / seconds^2
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------------------F  =  m * a  =  mass * acceleration.
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-  The internal heat energy is the sum of the molecular kinetic energy due to the random motion of the molecules.  Rapidly moving molecules transfer their energy to more slowly moving molecules by many, many microscopic collisions.
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-  Jupiter’s immense gravity places tidal forces on Europa just as Earth’s Moon places tidal forces on our oceans.  The friction of moving, colliding , molecules create the heat energy in Europa’s oceans.  Believe it or not you can actually heat up water by stirring it.
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-  James Joules discovered the nature of heat by observing how canons were drilled out causing the canon body to heat up.  He created the experiment where a falling weight
 ( mechanical energy), worked through rope and pulleys to a sealed jar of water.  The rope would pull and spin paddles inside the jar of water.  The water would heat up ( heat energy).  Precisely measuring, Joules discovered the relationship between work done, dQ and temperature rise, dT.
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--------------------------  dQ   =  C * dT
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------------------------  C is heat capacity,  heat capacity for water  =  1 cal/gram * degree C
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-----------------------  dQ is heat flow  =  equivalent to work done.
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------------------------  dT  is temperature change.
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-  Life on Earth exists in our deep oceans near geothermal vents, maybe, a similar environment exists Europa’s and Enceladus’ subsurface oceans.  Where this same tidal friction is keeping them warm.  Whatever “ them” is?
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-Other Reviews available:
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-  #1702  Jupiter’s moon Europa has plate tectonics just like Earth, only its ice.  the icy surface is less than 90 million years old.  That means it has been recycled through geological activity.
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-  Europa is 90% the size of our Moon.  Diameter 1,944 miles.  Our Moon is 2,160 miles.  Its surface temperature is -300 F.
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-  #1361  Jupiter has 4 moons easily seen with binoculars on a clear night.
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-  #1152  Europa , best chance to find life existing elsewhere in our solar System.
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-  #812  the icy moon of Jupiter, August 1, 2007, we have learned a lot since then.
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RSVP, Pass it on to whomever is interested.
---   Some reviews are at:  --------------     http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
--  email comments, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews
to:   -------    jamesdetrick@comcast.net  ------  “Jim Detrick”  -------------- https://plus.google.com/u/0/  --- www.facebook.com  --- www.twitter.com
 ---   707-536-3272    ----------------------   Thursday, January 15, 2015  ---
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Visiting Pluto, My 9th Planet.

-  1724  -  Visiting Pluto, My 9th Planet.  New Horizon spacecraft does a fly-by these next few months. 7 instruments collect years worth of data.  Then on to the Kuiper Belt.
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----------------- -  1724  -  Visiting Pluto, My 9th Planet
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-  Pluto, my 9th planet.  I refuse to accept his “planet” demotion.  A spacecraft, New Horizons, is visiting Pluto and its moon, Charon, this month, January, 2015.  The flyby continues to its closest on July 14, it will skim the surface of Pluto by 7,770 miles.  At that point the spacecraft will be 3,000,000,000 miles away.  Charon is a  moon half the size of Pluto.  They are in tidal lock orbiting each other.
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-  The flight has taken 9 years, launched January 19, 2006, leaving Earth at 35,800 miles per hour.  The spacecraft is going to fly-by taking several months of instrument data.  It will be going too fast to slow down, there is not enough fuel left on board for that.  After Pluto it flies into the Kuiper Belt to encounter  other KBO’s in its mission of exploration.
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-  New Horizon weighs 943 pounds, almost ½ ton.  A generator on board produces 200 watts of power for seven measurement instruments.  A camera on an 8.2 inch telescope, a spectrometer, the camera operating in both the visible and the infrared, a plasma spectrometer to measure charged particles, a temperature radio sensor, and a dust collector.
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-  These seven instruments consume less power than a 30 watt light bulb.  The camera has 65,000 pixels with two resolutions 650 meters per pixel, and up to 70 meters per pixel for high resolution.
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-  Data is transmitted using a 12 watt transmitter at 2,000 pits per second.  The entire down link will take over a year ending in 2016.  New Horizon will have entered the Kuiper Belt by then.  It intends to pass by two more  KBO’s one in December, 2018 and another in March ,2019
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Other reviews on Pluto:
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-  #1632  Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Dwarf Planets.  There are over 1,000 KBO’s, including Pluto and its moon, Charon.  Names like:  Sedna, Eris, Haumea, Quaoar, Orcus, Salacia, Makemake
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-   # 1364  Pluto and Charon.  Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the Sun.  Its orbit is elliptical, event bringing it inside Neptune’s orbit form 1979 to 1999.  Pluto rotates in 6.4 days.  Pluto  is a rocky core surrounded by an icy mantle.
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-  #  1129  Why Pluto is a KBO not a Planet?
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-  #685 written  8-27-2006, soon very outdated.
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RSVP, Pass it on to whomever is interested.
---   Some reviews are at:  --------------     http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
--  email comments, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews
to:   -------    jamesdetrick@comcast.net  ------  “Jim Detrick”  -------------- https://plus.google.com/u/0/  --- www.facebook.com  --- www.twitter.com
 ---   707-536-3272    ----------------------   Wednesday, January 14, 2015  ---
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Water, water everywhere, even in space?

-  1723  -  Water, Water, everywhere.  Astronomers have discovered water on Mars, Europa, Ceres, maybe outer space.  Follow H2O fingerprints they are trying to learn where all this water came from.
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----------------- -  1723  -  Water, Water, everywhere?
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-  Astronomers are discovering water nearly everywhere they look.  Water can exist as water vapor, liquid water, frozen ice, or water molecules.  In fact ,water can exist in all three states, gas, liquid, solid at the same time, if pressure and temperature are just right.
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-  Called the triple point on the pressure versus temperature x-y plot.  Temperature / Pressure ratio  =  273.16 Kelvin  /  4.38 mm of mercury
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--------------------  T  /  P  =  273.16  /  4.38
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-  In Indiana where I was growing up our science was using a divining rod to find water. Farmers would walk around the farm with the rod pointing up.  Then, when they were over water underground the rod would point down towards the ground.  The “Y” shaped stick worked every time.  When they dug the well they always found water.
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-  Astronomers use spectroscopy to find water for their science.  ( See Review #853 “ But a Spectrum of Light” and Review #38 “ Rainbows can tell us what the Universe is made of” )  Their science has discovered water on Jupiter’s moon Europa and on the asteroid Ceres.  This signature for H2O comes from ultraviolet light that is reflected off the surfaces.  This light passes through plumes, or geysers, of water vapor up to 120 miles above the surface.
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-  Ceres’ water was detected in the infrared spectrum.  This asteroid is orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.  The water jets from the surface of the asteroid are similar to how comets create their tails.
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-  A spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the Ceres asteroid in April , 1025.  We should learn much more of how Ceres is giving us this H2O “fingerprint”.
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-  If astronomers find an abundance of water that will suggest that there really is not much difference between asteroids and comets.
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-  But, where did all this water come from?
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-  Water does not just have an H2O fingerprint.  It also has a unique identity with the ratio of hydrogen to deuterium.  Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen that contains a neutron as well as a proton in the nucleus.  Hydrogen has only one proton.
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-   By studying the atomic structures of elements in water astronomers can determine the temperature and pressure  and where it was formed.  This can define time and location and environment.  Water on asteroids that formed between Mars and Jupiter has a different composition than water formed in comets outside the orbit of Neptune.
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-  Channels on Mars appear to have been created by running water.  No liquid water exist on the surface of Mars today.  Evidence shows that Mars did have rain and surface water in its distant past.  Today water is frozen in the polar caps and in the top meter of surface soil.
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-  Comets are ice-rich because they formed beyond the frost-line in their orbits.  Comets also contain frozen carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that are gases condensed only in the very coldest and most distant orbits in the Solar System.
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-  Europa has an icy crust that likely hides a subsurface ocean of liquid water.
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-    Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.  It has a surface of water-ice.  It is thought that the large cracks and grooves in its surface are created by water erupting in the cracks, freezing, expanding , creating large craters and grooves.  Some tidal heating and radioactive decay provide enough heat to liquefy the subsurface water.
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-  Venus has virtually no water.  Earth’s carbon dioxide is mostly in its rocks rather than in the atmosphere.   If it were not the case Earth would be like Venus too hot to be inhabitable.
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-  Recent studies with computer simulations are suggesting that the water was not all born in our Solar System.  Maybe, more than half of the water in Earth’s oceans came form water that was in interstellar space before the Sun was even born.
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-  If this were true then the water ice as well as the organic material would be equally abundant around the other stars, planets, moons.  Life may be more common in many of these other solar systems.   Stay tuned , there is more to learn.
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RSVP, with comments, suggestions, corrections. Index of reviews available ---
---   Some reviews are at:  --------------------     http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
----  email request for copies to:   -------      jamesdetrick@comcast.net  ---------
 ---- https://plus.google.com/u/0/  , “Jim Detrick” ----- www.facebook.com  ---
 ---- www.twitter.com , ---   707-536-3272    ----   Tuesday, January 13, 2015  ---
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