5 ms·
"The process relies on the incredibly short pulses from the laser. These pulses last only a few picoseconds — a picosecond to a second is like a second compared
by sjcsjc 8y ago
"The process relies on the incredibly short pulses from the laser. These pulses last only a few picoseconds — a picosecond to a second is like a second compared to 30,000 years."
Nice bit of exposition.
- lozaning 8y agoYou might enjoy this video of Grace Hopper explaining how to visualize a nanosecond http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEpsKnWZrJ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEpsKnWZrJ8
- cmroanirgo 8y agoWonderful. For the time it takes an electron to travel in 1 microsec (in vacuum, yada, yada): > 984 feet ... We oughta hang one over every programmers desk, or over their neck (:audience chuckles:), so they know what they're throwing away when they're throwing away microseconds.
- theandrewbailey 8y agoThat would be incredibly useful today for web development.
- PhantomGremlin 8y agoI actually didn't like that. Most people reading these types of articles know what a picosecond is. Those who don't know are much more likely to click on articles about one of the Kardashians or about Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.
- jcims 8y agoThis is an interesting sentiment. Do you think 'those that don't know' are unreachable or just haven't ever been reached?
- PhantomGremlin 8y agoIMO most of 'those that don't know' don't care to know and never will care to know. It's simply not an area of interest to them. E.g. here's a recent story about Duchess Meghan: See how Meghan Markle's baby bump has grown since her pregnancy announcement last October[1] Did you know she was pregnant? Do you care when her due date is? I sure don't. We all have a finite number of minutes each day. Some of us spend time reading about picosecond lasers, others spend time reading about pregnant Royals. This is not a value judgment of any sort. Neither of these interests is "better" than the other. They're just different. [1] https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/gallery/2019030570456/meghan-markle-baby-bump-evolution-morocco-tour/1/ https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/gallery/2019030570456/...
- kbutler 8y agoI often share somewhat technical articles with less-technical friends and family. And I appreciate useful comparisons or metaphors to explain concepts. And I know a lot of people interested in welding that wouldn't know what a picosecond is, from a recent high-school grad to a woman who specs out building welds to some old-school manual welders.
- Lukas_Skywalker 8y agoI know well what a picosecond is. I still liked the comparison, because I havr a much better intuition for durations in the seconds to years range. And, to be honest, I was surprised it was that large of a factor.
- cafard 8y agoIn the "Rules of Thumb" chapter in Jon Bentley's Perls of Programming book, there is the entry "Pi seconds is a nanocentury". My copy is not at the office, so I can't tell you to whom he attributes this.
- johnr2 8y ago> "Pi seconds is a nanocentury". My copy is not at the office, so I can't tell you to whom he attributes this. Tom Duff. It's in Column 7/7.1/Rules of Thumb.