Comments on: Take that, quarks!

By: chemicalscum

chemicalscum — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:06:22 +0000

Chemists in the past have sometimes had fun with names as in the case of the hydrocarbon Dogcollarane but “When Albert Szent-Gyorgyi isolated ascorbic acid and published his findings, he called the new substance ‘ignose’ since he was convinced it was a sugar that resembled glucose and fructose, but was ignorant of its structure. When the journal editor refused to accept ignose as a sensible name, Szent-Gyorgyi suggested ‘Godnose’ instead! Alas the editor was neither imaginative nor humorous, and suggested that a more proper name had to be used” (http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm).

I won’t comment on the arsenic containing ring with the name arsole (ibid).

By: Julianne

Julianne — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:31:24 +0000

The vertical structure of disks is usually set by the balance between self-gravity (pulling the disk down) and pressure (puffing it up). You can get flaring if the density of the disk falls off sufficiently rapidly with radius that the pressure forces start to win.

By: Dileep

Dileep — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:51:06 +0000

So the accretion disk seems thin in the ecliptic region and thicker on the “sides” in this view. Is that because light isn’t scattered enough in our direction by the upper and lower edges/surfaces of the disk??

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:41:08 +0000

I’m quite partial to Hoag’s object, personally. But as far as silly names go, Gomez’s Hamburger is silly, but in a good way; I think you’ll have to do quite a bit worse than that to compare to the “pretzelosity function” I saw a paper about on hep-ph a while back.

By: Fermi-Walker Public Transport

Fermi-Walker Public Transport — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:26:32 +0000

Mike,

You might be on to something. Observing all night does make one hungry, especially if it is cold.
When I visit an observatory I have never been to before, I ask colleagues who have been there
two questions, first how is the technical support and then how is the food. Rumor has it that the
best observatory food is at the VLT in Chile.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:59:06 +0000

Astronomers are the hungriest people around. It must be the hours. 3 out of every 4 astronomical metaphors or similes are food related. Moons are compared to cantaloupes or pizzas. Gomez’s Hamburger doesn’t come close to weirdest analogy. The raisin pudding model of the expanding universe is especially odd, considering how few people have ever encountered raisin pudding. Bananas, pancakes (especially pancakes) sugar crystals, “hungry” black holes… mmm. Astrophysics is delicious.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:57:30 +0000

If physicist nomenclature is kooky, just imagine what the philosophers are coming up with. Philosophy of Mind seems to have the edge on everyone else: Zombies, Swampmen, and Brains in Vats are all clear winners. But even philosophers of science have a few gems, including supertasks, the hole argument, and the Growing Block.

By: ts

ts — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:36:15 +0000

> My favourite astro-name is still “Carinae’s Defiant Finger”

I always thought if that defiant middle finger was the first object that the ancient astronomers ever saw in the sky, the relationship between humans and religions would have taken an entirely different course.

By: Jason Heldenbrand

Jason Heldenbrand — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:13:00 +0000

“Ding fries are done.”

By: Eugene

Eugene — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:06:36 +0000

My favourite astro-name is still “Carinae’s Defiant Finger” :

By: ts

ts — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:06:31 +0000

Doesn’t seem to come with fries though. What a bummer.

By: greg

greg — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:04:37 +0000

Until I see a cat photoshopped into that and a suitable lolcat statement appended, I will not be happy

By: squawky

squawky — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:40:45 +0000

Oooo. many thanks for the images today – I have to write a lecture on the formation of the solar system, and Gomez’s Hamburger is… well… a very nice example to show. And a laugh, too.

To be honest, I much prefer the name Gomez’s Hamburger to some of names we’ve applied to rocks on Mars (Scooby Doo, for example). Much more descriptive!