4 ms·

It takes a special kind of mind to appreciate this short post, not as fiction, but as truth and also as a jab at the physics sciences in general.

viraptor 2y ago
More jabs available at https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar/bio.html https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar/bio.html and https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar in general.
- fc417fc802 2y ago
  Taken down since you posted the links it seems. I wonder why?
ssivark 2y ago
Why is it a jab at physics? It's honest and beautiful -- I imagine this is exactly what an experience on the cutting edge of experiment is like! :D Making this measurement (an ancient discovery) with latest equipment is easy, but imagine what it might have been like for the people who actually discovered this property of germanium. Our tools/probes cannot advance much faster than our understanding of a (related) subject -- we are constantly inventing/improvising tools using cutting edge scientific knowledge from a related field.
- throwway120385 2y ago
  I mean if you didn't already know how to solder to Germanium crystals you would have had to spend months experimenting with the material before you could get leads to stick.
  - robocat 2y ago
    Google said (AI result): Soldering a lead to a germanium crystal typically involves using a gold-germanium solder alloy (like 88% gold, 12% germanium) due to its compatibility and good bonding properties Also one of the search results implied etching first could help remove germanium oxide and used a different solder: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-to-solder-germanium-wafers https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-to-solder-germanium-wa... Plus you'd need to decide how to get a good thermal connection to set the temperature of the crystal - maybe via one big lead? Being in the future makes some things simpler? The little experience I've had with lab physicists showed they needed a good ability to build, debug and maintain their own equipment. You can't always rely on technicians.
    - qwezxcrty 2y ago
      In most but the very richest physics research groups there are no such thing called technicians. Except for shared equipment in centralized managed facilities like the nanofabs, even there you need to tune your own recipe...
    - throwway120385 2y ago
      Good, but go back in time to the year 2000 and try to solve the problem with the technology extant at that time.
- lazide 2y ago
  Especially when the entire concept might seem absolutely absurd at the time.
- RotationPedant 2y ago
  [dead]
syndicatedjelly 2y ago
I understood and appreciated it, and I’m not special
blatantly 2y ago
I appreciate it just from reading enough HN and XKCD
analog31 2y ago
I'm an industrial physicist, and the post put a smile on my face. And indeed, it's not fiction. It's a blast. You will go through times like this, I guarantee it. I've been wrestling with a cantankerous experiment for a couple of weeks. It produces reproducible results, but they don't make sense, and the work is not in a domain where discovering new physics by accident is likely.

viraptor 2y ago

More jabs available at https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar/bio.html https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar/bio.html and https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~kovar in general.

fc417fc802 2y ago
Taken down since you posted the links it seems. I wonder why?

ssivark 2y ago

Why is it a jab at physics? It's honest and beautiful -- I imagine this is exactly what an experience on the cutting edge of experiment is like! :D Making this measurement (an ancient discovery) with latest equipment is easy, but imagine what it might have been like for the people who actually discovered this property of germanium. Our tools/probes cannot advance much faster than our understanding of a (related) subject -- we are constantly inventing/improvising tools using cutting edge scientific knowledge from a related field.

throwway120385 2y ago
I mean if you didn't already know how to solder to Germanium crystals you would have had to spend months experimenting with the material before you could get leads to stick.
- robocat 2y ago
  Google said (AI result): Soldering a lead to a germanium crystal typically involves using a gold-germanium solder alloy (like 88% gold, 12% germanium) due to its compatibility and good bonding properties Also one of the search results implied etching first could help remove germanium oxide and used a different solder: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-to-solder-germanium-wafers https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-to-solder-germanium-wa... Plus you'd need to decide how to get a good thermal connection to set the temperature of the crystal - maybe via one big lead? Being in the future makes some things simpler? The little experience I've had with lab physicists showed they needed a good ability to build, debug and maintain their own equipment. You can't always rely on technicians.
  - qwezxcrty 2y ago
    In most but the very richest physics research groups there are no such thing called technicians. Except for shared equipment in centralized managed facilities like the nanofabs, even there you need to tune your own recipe...
  - throwway120385 2y ago
    Good, but go back in time to the year 2000 and try to solve the problem with the technology extant at that time.
lazide 2y ago
Especially when the entire concept might seem absolutely absurd at the time.
RotationPedant 2y ago
[dead]

syndicatedjelly 2y ago

I understood and appreciated it, and I’m not special

blatantly 2y ago

I appreciate it just from reading enough HN and XKCD

analog31 2y ago

I'm an industrial physicist, and the post put a smile on my face. And indeed, it's not fiction. It's a blast. You will go through times like this, I guarantee it. I've been wrestling with a cantankerous experiment for a couple of weeks. It produces reproducible results, but they don't make sense, and the work is not in a domain where discovering new physics by accident is likely.