Tesla driver arrested for allegedly fleeing scene of deadly collision on Pattullo Bridge
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tesla-collision-dead-civil-forfeiture-1.7477059?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into British Columbia @british-columbia-cbcnews
There are 7 states of matter; “topoconductor” isn’t one of them
There truly are more states of matter than just solid, liquid, and gas: a total of 7 states, all told.
But no, Satya Nadella, "topoconductor" isn't one of them at all.
bigthink.com/starts-with-a-ban…
There are 7 states of matter; “topoconductor” isn’t one of them
Under extreme conditions, matter takes on properties that lead to remarkable, novel possibilities. Topological superconductors included.Ethan Siegel (Big Think)
The MAGA world will still tell me they've brought free speech back to college campuses.
Justice Barrett May Have the Crucial Vote in Trump Cases
She was the only member of the court appointed by the president to vote against his emergency request to freeze foreign aid.Adam Liptak (The New York Times)
reshared this
reshared this
The Past and Present of Prison Labor: Your Questions Answered - Bolts
A historian answers Bolts readers’ questions on the deep roots of forced labor in U.S. prisons, how it operates today, and efforts to challenge it.Rosie Gillies (Bolts)
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Liberal initiative will vote in favor of the government’s confidence motion
Liberal initiative will vote in favor of the Government's confidence motion - SIC Notíciashttps://www.reddit.com/r/portugal/comments/1j57c9q/iniciativa_liberal_vai_votar_a_favor_da_moção_de/Posted by Agitated-Cloud8248BYTESEU (Bytes Europe)
The Dutch poll dictatorship
The Dutch poll dictatorshiphttps://www.groene.nl/artikel/de-nederlandse-peilingendictatuurPosted by ChaimasalaBYTESEU (Bytes Europe)
Always make them work for it.
Freedom and Unity, bitches.
also going to reup this, because you all have not come through with subs despite this dog just begging you for treats. The dog wants treats! plus if you contribute I get to keep scribbling. So consider a sub; it's $5/month, $50/year. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/please-con...
SpaceX again loses its Starship rocket on test flight after explosion during previous attempt
#AureFreePress #News #press #headline #Musk #Twitter #socialmedia #Tesla #SpaceX #Breaking #BreakingNews
yahoo.com/news/spacex-again-lo…
Germany: Five jailed over far-right plot to kidnap health minister bbc.com/news/articles/cvg5vp8y…Germany: Five jailed over far-right plot to kidnap health minister
The group wanted to create civil war-like conditions in Germany and overthrow the government.André Rhoden-Paul (BBC News)
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From: blenderdumbass . org
This is a test of federation. But I will be using it the way it was intended, for discussion and respectful disagreements between people. In this case I will be trying to counter argument the statement in this post by Madiator, while agreeing with some of it.
Images show mother with 2 young children in buggy crossing tracks at Sint-Niklaas station
Images show mother with 2 young children in buggy crossing tracks at Sint-Niklaas stationhttps://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/03/05/beelden-tonen-hoe-moeder-met-kinderwagen-sporen-oversteekt-in-st/Posted by Boomtown_RatBYTESEU (Bytes Europe)
Thursday Luxbourg
Thursday Luxbourghttps://i.redd.it/o8z0erik35ne1.jpegPosted by PackProfessional2913BYTESEU (Bytes Europe)
I've always thought this bit from a 2018 Velo column answered that question nicely. velo.outsideonline.com/news/comment...
RE: bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tz6ax…
My thoughts on this topic are laid out here: www.readtpa.com/p/fine-lets-...
Fine, Let's Talk About Trans A...
Fine, Let's Talk About Trans Athletes
But let's dispense with the pretense that this is actually about sports at allParker Molloy (The Present Age)
A federal judge in Washington ruled Thursday that Trump's firing of a member of the National Labor Relations Board was unlawful and said she must be allowed to continue in her role
#AureFreePress #News #press #headline #GOP #Politics #uspolitics #uspol #Breaking #BreakingNews
cbsnews.com/news/trump-nlrb-na…
Judge finds Trump's firing of member of National Labor Relations Board was illegal
President Trump removed Gwynne Wilcox from her position on the National Labor Relations Board soon after taking office.Melissa Quinn (CBS News)
Steve Dodge
in reply to StartsWithABang • • •This usage is common in condensed matter physics and I don’t see your objection to it. What is the precise definition of “state of matter” that restricts the number to 7?
Would your opinion be different if he had said “phase of matter”?
Douglas Natelson
in reply to Steve Dodge • • •I agree with Steve. Depending on your definition, there are a huge number of phases of matter, and I don't see anything special about seven. The usual delineation involves uniformity of properties, particular symmetries, and these days particular (electronic or other) topologies.
StartsWithABang
in reply to Douglas Natelson • • •@Nanoscale @jsdodge
If he had said "phase of matter" I wouldn't have objected.
It's sort of like when planetary geologists use the geophysical definition of a planet: sure, there's nothing wrong with it in their own field, but telling the general public that the moon is a planet, Jupiter's galilean moons are planets, Ceres is a planet, hundreds of Kuiper belt objects are planets, etc., really misleads the public in a way I don't support.
You're not talking solely to other condensed matter physicists here; you're talking to the world. What would you like them to understand, and how can you meet them where they are? (Remember, their starting point is likely to be: solid, liquid, and gas are the three states of matter.)
Steve Dodge
in reply to StartsWithABang • • •@Nanoscale
I recognize that you are speaking to a general audience and my question arose out of a mixture of curiosity of confusion. I can see why you might think that this usage of “state of matter” might confuse more than it clarifies in this context, but I still don’t understand your assertion that there are actually seven. Why seven, and what is the physical basis for this classification? It wasn’t clear to me from reading your piece.
FWIW, I’d also say it’s arguable whether liquid and gas are different states of matter. On one hand, they are separated by a line of first-order phase transitions, with water being the go-to example that makes the solid-liquid-gas classification seem natural. But on the other hand, you don’t need to pass through this line to change from one state to the other, and they have the same symmetry. Technically, my working definition of a “state of matter” is that it is separated fro
... show more@Nanoscale
I recognize that you are speaking to a general audience and my question arose out of a mixture of curiosity of confusion. I can see why you might think that this usage of “state of matter” might confuse more than it clarifies in this context, but I still don’t understand your assertion that there are actually seven. Why seven, and what is the physical basis for this classification? It wasn’t clear to me from reading your piece.
FWIW, I’d also say it’s arguable whether liquid and gas are different states of matter. On one hand, they are separated by a line of first-order phase transitions, with water being the go-to example that makes the solid-liquid-gas classification seem natural. But on the other hand, you don’t need to pass through this line to change from one state to the other, and they have the same symmetry. Technically, my working definition of a “state of matter” is that it is separated from another state of matter by a phase transition. I can augment that by recognizing states with different topology.
StartsWithABang
in reply to Steve Dodge • • •@jsdodge @Nanoscale
So, let's pretend we lived in a world where instead of me being an astrophysicist who became a science communicator, I (or someone like me) was a condensed matter physicist who became a science communicator.
How should I be communicating the notions of states of matter (and/or phases of matter) to the general public?
What don't they know; what should they know; how should they think about it?
How do you convey "there are X different phases of superfluidity in different isotopes of helium" or "Y different phases of water-ice in solid form" or "every phase transition yields a new state of matter" without rendering everyday concepts of what a "phase" or "state" of matter is untenable?
In biology, we have many different granularities of classification for organism, from superkingdom to subspecies. Do we need something like that for states of matter? And what would it look like?
I'm legitimately not enough of an expert to have a strong opinion. What's yours?
Steve Dodge
in reply to StartsWithABang • • •@Nanoscale
Umm… I continue to be confused by your responses here. I started out asking what I thought was a straightforward question about your essay: why seven? And I still don’t know.
If you want to hear my thoughts on how I (or another condensed matter physicist) might communicate about states of matter, that’s a different issue. It’s an interesting question that I can try to answer, but I’d like to understand first why astrophysicists might use the term differently.
Douglas Natelson
in reply to Steve Dodge • • •I think there is certainly an interesting scicomm angle here that I've tried to touch on in my (not nearly as well read as Ethan's) writing.
Way back when people started pondering "matter" as something to study, it was easy to identify three broadly different types. Solids are dense and rigid. Liquids are dense, but they are not rigid. Gases are very dilute and are also not rigid.
Douglas Natelson
in reply to Douglas Natelson • • •Douglas Natelson
in reply to Douglas Natelson • • •Douglas Natelson
in reply to Douglas Natelson • • •I don't think there is a lot to be gained by saying, rigidly, that there are only 3 or 4 or 7 states of matter - that the only states or phases that count are the ones where you can readily tell the difference between them with your eyes and your fingers.
There is a lot of wonder to instill here, if done correctly. How does matter pick what state to be in under given circumstances?
(I still don't see where 7 comes from either.)
(Also, how do I make long posts?)
Steve Dodge
in reply to Douglas Natelson • • •I can answer your question about long posts! Move to a different server or lobby the server admins.
Steve Dodge
in reply to Steve Dodge • • •@Nanoscale
@startswithabang
I second Doug’s framing here—I would start by introducing the solid-liquid-gas distinction as familiar but in need of a more precise definition. I would emphasize that the key is to recognize that the most important distinction between these phases is that they are separated by a phase *transition*.
Then I would note that the liquid-gas transition can be avoided altogether in the P-T phase diagram, and point out that this is possible because liquid and gas have the same *symmetry*. I’d then explain that the modern classification of matter prioritizes symmetry, and we’re off to the races with popular introductions to Landau theory, the metal-insulator transition, and topology.
Another thing I would want to mention is that different ground-state symmetries imply different excited states, so cr
... show more@Nanoscale
@startswithabang
I second Doug’s framing here—I would start by introducing the solid-liquid-gas distinction as familiar but in need of a more precise definition. I would emphasize that the key is to recognize that the most important distinction between these phases is that they are separated by a phase *transition*.
Then I would note that the liquid-gas transition can be avoided altogether in the P-T phase diagram, and point out that this is possible because liquid and gas have the same *symmetry*. I’d then explain that the modern classification of matter prioritizes symmetry, and we’re off to the races with popular introductions to Landau theory, the metal-insulator transition, and topology.
Another thing I would want to mention is that different ground-state symmetries imply different excited states, so crystalline solids have phonons, ferromagnets have magnons, etc. When you add topology, you can get even weirder excitations, with fractional charges such as e/3, or (in principle) quantum statistics that are intermediate between fermionic and bosonic.
I took a look at the Wikipedia entry for “state of matter” and it is a hot mess, suggesting that maybe we should accept that its meaning depends on the context. I don’t really object to the solid-liquid-gas-plasma+ framework, but I don’t see anything fundamental about it.
Lastly, I think a much more important critique of Nayak’s claim is that it remains inconclusive!
StartsWithABang
in reply to Steve Dodge • • •@jsdodge @Nanoscale I would say that the big challenge in "converting" people away from their common line of thinking, from a communications perspective, is the longstanding connection to physical properties of:
solid: definite shape and volume (and fixed distance between atoms/molecules),
liquid: definite volume (up to compressibility) but no fixed shape or inter-particle distance,
gas: no definite volume and no definite shape or particle-particle distance.
So if you want to communicate "there's no difference between liquid and gas" except in certain materials (or under certain conditions) where a phase transition is observable, that's a big challenge right there.
How would you re-formulate the distinction between liquid and gas, or how would you encourage people to change their line of thought in thinking about liquids and gases, so that they can overcome this rigid way of thinking?
John Carlos Baez
in reply to StartsWithABang • • •@jsdodge @Nanoscale - I don't see any way to teach people about the subtlety of the distinction between liquid and gas without teaching them about the "critical point" shown here, which lets something sneak around from liquid to gas without ever boiling.
Due to issues like this, I believe mathematical physicists are still stuck when it comes to proving the existence of a liquid-gas phase transition. At least they were when I last checked!
There's a lot of fun stuff to say about this critical point, like the "critical opalescence" we see there.
I believe the horizontal and vertical dashed lines coming out of the critical point are nothing like actual phase transitions, and the diagram would be clearer without them.