Decades ago in a forgotten physics class, my professor paused in the midst of a long drawn out equation mixing trigonometry and calculus to explain, “Wave analysis is important; the universe oscillates a lot, at every scale.” Our own planet is indeed full of wave phenomena. Tides ebb and flow with faster sets of ripples super-imposed on the oceans, strange vibrations flash almost unnoticed through continents and crust like planetary click-trains. Bird wings and fish tails flutter, pendulums swing to and fro. Our primary mode of communication, speech, is nothing more than carefully constructed alternating regions of compactions and rare-factions in trillions of molecules making up the air, often transformed into modulated electromagnetic wave-forms for long distance transmission.
The wave phenomenon is so universal that we’ve come to use it as metaphor. Like the Big Blue metaphor that swept over the United States this week and put Democrats firmly in charge of the House of Representatives with one, super-critical purpose in mind above all others: putting a check on this miserable, lawless excuse for a President.
- Was Oumuamua an interstellar spacecraft? Probably not, but it’s fun to play pretend.
[W]ith the Democrats taking control of the House, something is happening that seems as much of a miracle as any result from the 2018 elections: for the first time since 2010, the House Science Committee is going to be chaired by someone who believes in science. It’s likely that chair will go to another Texan, Eddie Bernice Johnson ...
- Speaking of wave phenomena, NASA’s Juno spacecraft got a good look right into the giant ball of turbulence and found this amazing wavy feature dubbed The Dragon’s Eye.
- Last but certainly not least, some researchers suggest that consciousness itself may be due at least in part to vibrating phenomena:
It gets to the heart of the differences that matter when it comes to consciousness and the evolution of physical systems. It is all about vibrations, but it's also about the type of vibrations and, most importantly, about shared vibrations.