The WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) Argon Programme is a scientific initiative focused on the detection of dark matter, a mysterious substance that constitutes a significant portion of the universe's total mass yet does not emit, absorb, or reflect light. One of the leading candidates for dark matter is WIMPs, which are theorized to be massive particles that interact weakly with ordinary matter.
A geophysical survey is a method of investigating the physical properties of the Earth's subsurface using various techniques and instruments. These surveys are commonly employed in fields such as geology, environmental studies, archaeology, and resource exploration (like oil, gas, and minerals), as well as for engineering and construction purposes. Geophysical surveys typically use non-invasive methods to gather data about the subsurface without the need for drilling or excavation.
In archaeology, a survey refers to a systematic process of locating, mapping, and recording archaeological sites and artifacts within a specific area. This method is a crucial part of archaeological research, as it helps to identify areas of interest before any excavation takes place. Surveys can take various forms, including: 1. **Surface Surveys**: Archaeologists walk over a defined area, often using techniques like systematic sampling or grid pattern surveying, to visually inspect the ground for artifacts, features, or structures.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a scientific endeavor aimed at detecting signs of intelligent life beyond Earth. This field of research combines various disciplines, including astronomy, biology, and engineering, to explore the possibility that intelligent civilizations exist elsewhere in the universe. SETI primarily employs radio telescopes and other observational tools to listen for signals that might indicate the presence of alien civilizations.
Astrolinguistics is a theoretical field that combines the study of language with the exploration of extraterrestrial life and communication. It investigates how language might operate beyond Earth, including the potential for understanding and communicating with alien intelligences. The discipline examines various aspects, such as the nature of language, how it might be created or perceived by non-human entities, and the methods through which humans might convey and interpret messages across interstellar distances.
The Dark Forest Hypothesis is a concept in the realm of astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). It is named after the science fiction novel "The Three-Body Problem" by Liu Cixin, where the hypothesis is articulated as a way to explain the Fermi Paradox—an apparent contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial life in the universe and the lack of evidence for or contact with such civilizations.
"Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere" refers to scientific studies and experiments aimed at understanding how microbial life—such as bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms—can survive and function in the harsh conditions of the stratosphere, which is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, located above the troposphere and extending from about 10 to 50 kilometers (approximately 6 to 31 miles) above sea level.
The Viking landers, specifically Viking 1 and Viking 2, were two spacecraft sent to Mars by NASA in the 1970s, with the primary mission of conducting detailed investigations of the Martian surface and atmosphere. One of the most notable aspects of the Viking mission was its biological experiments, which aimed to detect signs of life on Mars. The Viking landers were equipped with several instruments designed to search for microbial life forms in the Martian soil.
Geysers on Mars refer to the geological phenomena that involve the expulsion of gas and potentially other materials, such as water vapor, from beneath the Martian surface. One of the most notable areas where these features have been observed is in the region of the south pole of Mars, particularly in the form of "cryovolcanoes" or icy geysers. These geysers are thought to be associated with the planet's subsurface ice and the release of carbon dioxide or other volatile substances.
"Life on Mars?" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released in 1971 on his album "Hunky Dory." The track is known for its surreal lyrics, which explore themes of alienation and the search for meaning in an increasingly confounding world. It combines elements of pop, rock, and cabaret, highlighted by a distinctive piano melody and Bowie's theatrical vocal delivery.
Life on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a subject of great interest and speculation among scientists due to the moon's unique environment. Titan has a dense atmosphere, primarily composed of nitrogen, with clouds and a surface that features lakes and rivers of liquid methane and ethane. This makes Titan one of the most Earth-like bodies in the solar system despite its frigid temperatures, which average around -290 degrees Fahrenheit (-179 degrees Celsius).
"Little green men" is a colloquial term often used to refer to extraterrestrial life forms, particularly those depicted in science fiction and popular culture as small, green-skinned aliens. The phrase gained popularity in the mid-20th century, especially in the context of UFO sightings and alien abduction stories. The term is sometimes associated with reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the idea of contact with extraterrestrial beings.
Mars habitability analogue environments on Earth are locations that exhibit conditions similar to those found on Mars. These environments are studied to understand the potential for life on Mars and to prepare for human exploration. Some key characteristics include aridity, extreme temperatures, high radiation levels, and unique geological features. Here are some examples: 1. **Atacama Desert, Chile**: Known as one of the driest places on Earth, the Atacama Desert has conditions similar to parts of Mars.
CppUnit is a C++ unit testing framework, inspired by the JUnit framework for Java. It is designed to facilitate unit testing in C++ applications by providing a set of classes and macros to create and manage test cases, test suites, and assertions. Key features of CppUnit include: 1. **Test Case Organization**: CppUnit allows you to define test cases as classes that inherit from `CppUnit::TestFixture`. This makes it easy to organize and manage tests.
The Pioneer plaque is a gold-anodized aluminum plate that was designed to be launched into space on the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft in the early 1970s. Its purpose is to communicate information about humanity and the Earth to any extraterrestrial life forms that might encounter the probes in the distant future.
The Hill–Beck land division problem is a mathematical problem in the field of combinatorial optimization. It deals with dividing a given piece of land or a set of resources into segments or divisions that satisfy certain criteria. While specific details may vary across sources, the problem often involves: 1. **Objective**: To find an optimal way to partition land or resources such that a certain criterion is maximized or minimized (like cost, fairness, or efficiency).
The Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (CCCS) was a compensation program developed by Chrysler Corporation (now part of Stellantis) designed to provide a structured approach to employee compensation. It was particularly focused on ensuring equitable pay for employees based on their roles, responsibilities, performance, and market benchmarks. Key features of the CCCS included: 1. **Job Evaluation**: The system evaluated jobs within the organization to determine their relative worth, which in turn influenced pay scales and compensation packages.
Database refactoring is the process of improving the structure and design of a database without changing its functionality or the data it contains. Just like code refactoring in software development, which aims to enhance code quality, maintainability, and performance, database refactoring focuses on optimizing the database schema and its components for better performance, scalability, and ease of maintenance.
NUnit is an open-source unit testing framework designed for the .NET platform. It provides a structured approach for writing and executing tests, enabling developers to validate that their code behaves as expected. NUnit is widely used for testing applications built with .NET, including those developed in C#, VB.NET, and other .NET languages. Key features of NUnit include: 1. **Test Fixtures**: NUnit allows grouping of tests into test fixtures.
Regression testing is a type of software testing that involves re-running previously completed tests on a new version of the software to ensure that existing functions continue to work as intended after changes have been made. These changes may include enhancements, bug fixes, or other updates to the software. The primary goals of regression testing are to: 1. **Verify Fixes**: Ensure that any defects identified in previous versions have been successfully fixed and that the fix did not introduce new issues.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.Figure 4. Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation.Figure 5. Web editor. You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.Video 4. OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo. Source. - Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact





