To Build a Bridge of Water

While looking up on encryption with regards to the Cs-133 hyperfine splitting experiment, I stumbled across an article on a water bridge between two beakers of water.


(Image taken from PhyOrg article linked.)

It occurs when a large voltage difference is applied to the two beakers of water. The exact procedure and setup is described in a journal article published in Journal of Physics D (link). I haven't really looked into it in detail, but I think it shouldn't be too difficult to carry out.

Maybe one day I'll try to replicate the experiment.

Reporting on the Second

The Atomic Physics course I'm taking has a serious lab component (35%). It consists of four 3-hour lab sessions with one set of experiments involving the Cs-133 hyperfine splitting, which are used to define the S.I. unit of second: 9192631770 periods of the radiation between the two hyperfine lines.

The experiment, as intended by the lecturer, was to be less undergraduate lab style and more real research style (we're using, according to the lecturer, research-grade lasers). There is no lab manual, no complete instructions, no fixed way of setting up the apparatus. Hell, we don't even get the exact specifications of the apparatus and have to make our own approximations (such as estimating the intensity at which the detector saturates and thus rendering it useless). However, it was quite fun, since it is not those find-this-line or record-this-number kind of experiments, and there's lots of fooling around exploring that we made. There was plenty of thrill and frustration (trying to align the laser, for example) involved.

So with the lab done and data collected, the first part is done. Which, however, was not so much for the data but for the experience of research, because everyone's data was made available for everyone else to use. The reason for this is that some groups had inferior apparatus and some were given flawed information, so it's only fair for everyone to have the better data. After all, this is the first time this course is ran this way, so some kinks has yet to be ironed out.

However, if grading is not so much on the data, then it has to be on the report. What's interesting is that the lecturer wanted the report to look more like a journal article than a standard undergraduate lab report. We are allowed to give it a spin of perspective, such as pretending that we're writing a paper on making cheap atomic clocks. Sounds fun, but it sure isn't easy. Right now, I've been throwing in crazy ideas such as linking gravitational wave detection to the hyperfine splitting lines of Cs-133, or encrypting messages using this methods of measurement. The former is pretty down the drain now, but the latter seem to hold quite some promise.

I'm open to any ideas if anyone has some. Somehow I've got this murky idea of dark matter hovering at the back of my head, but I think it'd be wise to abandon that idea. At the moment, I'll go with the encryption idea.

The report's due at the end of the semester (which, now looking at it, is a mere one month away), though the lecturer is pretty flexible with things and is pretty fine with a submission beyond that. Still, it's a wise move to start early, and, definitely, if the theme can't be fixed, we can start working on the data analysis itself first.

Only problem is, data analysis is one of the most dreaded part of any lab for me. Just imagine those wretched error bars... URGH!

The Departure of my Thumb Drive

Yesterday I discovered that my thumb drive has finally went on to the great beyond. It probably died after I dropped the bunch of keys to which it was attached. A mere 128 MB thumb drive that came along as a free gift with my laptop, it has faithfully served me for more than two years, quite a formidable feat for today's technology as well as what it went through during its life.

It displayed every sign of resilience and toughness. I cannot remember the number of times it has kissed the floor, but I would say that averages about once a month. And I will never forget the incident when I forgot to take it out of my pocket before doing my laundry, thus giving it a swim in the washing machine, and it survived.

Fortunately, no data was lost, for the thumb drive is used primarily for file transfer and secondarily for backup. Nonetheless, it was a bit of a loss, as I have never expected such strength from a thumb drive, and this I admire.

The Feeling of the Present and of History

A queer, contemplative post in The Feynman Boson.

A Duck's Life

In ANU there are a hell lot of ducks. Quite understandable given that there are numerous bodies of water lying around the campus, including a creek that runs right through it.

Everyday I would see ducks, waddling over the place, nibbling on the field (though what they're doing in exact is still a mystery to me), floating around ponds, nestled in the grass, quacking about... Which made me wonder... is that all a duck does?

I mean, looking at the ducks, especially those on campus that doesn't have any predators (except for cars, maybe), they just seem to live their lives away. Eating, shitting, sleeping, eating... and maybe mating because I saw some ducklings the other day... sleeping... That's what they do every day, every month, every year, all in their lives.

What a boring way to lead a life.

But isn't ours not too far off as well?

Floriade 2007

Floriade is the annual spring festival in Canberra, with a vast display of flowers in one of the parks by the lake. It has on exhibit lots of flowers (though of limited variety), as well as a few other performances. It lasts for a month, starting from last Saturday. I went down to take a look, and it was sure crowded! It was as if the whole of Canberra converged upon Floriade. That's not surprising though, considering the amount of flowers on display.

Here are some photos I took.











Some of the flowers has yet to bloom, so I will be heading down to Floriade in a week or two.

Chased by the Storm Clouds

Earlier this June when I first came to Canberra, I had to transit at Sydney Airport. That day it was raining so terribly in Sydney such that my flights (both incoming and outgoing) were delayed.

Then when I went to Thredbo, it snowed! Yay! But there was also rain and sleet. But whatever it was, it was precipitating.

Later, when I went to Batemans Bay, it rained and spoiled the trip.

And when I went to Melbourne it rained as well.

Two weeks ago, when I first reached Sydney, it rained. It was all clear the days before. When I left Sydney, I was told that the weather turned sunny.

And of course, it rained in Gold Coast when I reached there.

I returned to Canberra on Thursday. On Friday, it rained the heaviest I've ever seen in this dry capital.

...

One day I ought to visit some drought-stricken areas.

Back to Sydney and Away

I took a coach from Canberra to Sydney last Friday, then flew to Gold Coast on Sunday, before flying back to Sydney on Wednesday and finally returning to Canberra on Thursday. It seems quite a cumbersome plan, but that's probably the best I can manage due to the way the transport system works here. Coach between Canberra and Sydney is fast and cheap, while the only practical way to go to Gold Coast is by a domestic flight (except from Brisbane - about an hour drive away), and there are no cheap domestic flights connecting Canberra and Gold Coast. Initially this was pretty messy and troublesome, but it turned out to be a charming plan as it allowed me to visit Sydney both during and after APEC.



During, I get to see the protests. After, I get to visit the Sydney Opera House, which was closed during APEC. In fact, that was the only attraction I wanted to see in my second visit, so there is very little rush over my trip.



From the Opera House, the view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the northern part of the city was simply great. It's no wonder the government made the Opera House the centre of the APEC activities. It also commands an impressive view of the cityscape.





I also went to University of Sydney where Dominic is studying. Being in a busy city, the campus is more crowded and has fewer open spaces than in ANU, though it is still not jammed pack like NUS. I like the architecture of the buildings in Sydney University, with mostly mediaeval, cathedral-styled buildings. It gives a Hogwartish feel.





Other than these two places, I spent the remaining time walking around the city. I had lunch at Zilver, a Cantonese restaurant recommended by Matt. Their dim sum is pretty famous, and that becomes obvious when one has tasted them, but I find their food slightly too salty.



So here it ended, my trip up north. A whole lot of thanks for Dominic and Matt for making my time so fun! It's back to Canberra, and back to school.

Sailing into the Golden Coast

After Sydney as accounted in the previous post, I went on to Gold Coast on Sunday and stayed there at Matt's place until Wednesday. I would've posted updates sooner if I could, but it so happened that I failed to anticipate the need for my camera cable (which is a USB wire so small that I've not seen anyone else having another one), and without my photographs it would be pointless to post anything. Since I am on this, I might as well mention that it is a wise policy to bring a battery charger along: no amount of batteries is sufficient - a lesson I've picked up after finding my five pair of rechargeable batteries depleted when I left for Sydney.

In any case, it was absolutely wonderful to have someone bringing me around, instead of myself groping for places to visit. Right after I stepped out of the airport, we went to Byron Bay, some 45 minutes drive away. It possesses a superb view of a stunning stretch of beach from a mountaintop, as well as the most easterly point in mainland Australia.











We stayed at Byron until the sun set, sipping tea and enjoying deserts in the meantime. This was quite necessarily to avoid being blinded by the setting sun in the drive back to Gold Coast. Seriously, the intensity of the sun at Gold Coast is not a joke.

The next day I walked from Southport, where Matt is staying, to Main Beach, which is the beginning of the famous coast. It was a long walk, but the view of the beach was pretty rewarding. Main Beach is connected to Surfers Paradise, and then to three other beaches along this whole stretch, but man it was so far that I didn't even get beyond Main Beach before I turned back.



I've spent the remainder of the day wandering around the beach area as well as an alcove near Southport where the water's quieter and sun not so glaring. The next day Matt drove me up to another place, further inland, up a mountain called Mt. Tamborine. It's quite a pleasant surprise to find such hilly and forested areas in Gold Coast.



There's a winery there which sold good wine for quite decent prices. It's a pity I've abstained from alcohol, so this visit was not quite as fruitful as it should've been. There were also avocados sold by the residents there, by a method which very much shows the honesty of the people there: the residents just place the fruits in a wooden stall with a coin box and a price board. No one tends to the stall, so whoever wants to buy can just take what they want and put the appropriate amount into the box. Such a device would certain not work in Singapore (a particular incident of free fruit tasting in Giant hypermarket comes into mind...).

On top of buying wine and avocados, we also bought some fudge, which I must admit makes an excellent but sinful dessert, and we had tea in the town. It reminded me so much of a nice country town in the hills, of gentle wind and cool air, and the only detraction to that image was the crowd there.



And after that, we had lunch at a high-end restaurant called George's Paragon. It's a Greek seafood restaurant and it was simply amazing. Never mind that it's a bit expensive... the food's really fresh and superb, something I'll never ever get in Canberra unless melting icebergs forces the coasts to marry Lake Burley Griffin.





That night was a leisurely stroll at Surfers Paradise. The place kinda reminded me of Boat Quay. In my impression, it was quite crowded though probably not as much as Boat Quay, but Matt was of the opinion that it was usually busier. Well, I suppose I was too tuned to Canberra and APECed-Sydney. In any case, this was a Tuesday night, and in Canberra you'd only get this kind of crowds in Friday and weekend nights.



Wednesday was the day I left Gold Coast, and I've done pretty much everything I want to do there except for one last thing: sunrise. The horizon, unfortunately, was tainted with a line of clouds, but the sunrise was still fresh nonetheless. I felt kinda bad to have to wake Matt up so early though: the sunrise was at 5:50 a.m..



That was all of Gold Coast for me. I had quite a relaxing time there, and much thanks goes to Matt for showing me around (or else all I get to do is probably to stare at the water).

Clashing with the APEC Summit

Right now, Sydney is in quite a mess from the APEC summit, and is probably the worst time for someone to visit that city. Unforunately, when I planned my trip for the two-weeks spring break, I have no idea it would coincide so well with the APEC summit. Not only is the Sydney Opera House closed, there is also quite some security clampdown in many areas.

However, now that I'm here, I did not regret coming here at this time at all. Sure, I missed quite a number of places (a few of which I can catch up with when I come back here a few days later) but the APEC protests was quite a thing to see. As reported in the news (at least in Australia), there was some protest going on yesterday and a massive one today, both of which I've kaypoh-ed as a spectator.

The one on Friday was more on the humour/mocking side. I arrived just that noon, and got news of it and managed to catch the event. Entitled "Bums for Bush", the protestors attempted a world record at the largest moon attempt, though they failed miserably with only about 100 mooners turning up (they were targeting 2000, if I recall correctly). Nonetheless, it was quite a scene to see so many people exposing their bottoms, including old ladies who appeared to have enjoyed showing their sexy butts.



However, the weather was offended by the sight of so many bums that it decided to rain, thus scattering much of the protestors from Hyde Park, where the event was held.

The protest today, on the other hand, was a serious one. It swelled up at the Town Hall and began a march towards Hyde Park. They met up with a police blockade so formidable that I am sure they have picked up a skill or two from the Singapore Police Force.





Protestors of all sorts and all styles and all purposes were there. While it was organised by a "Stop Bush Coalition", there were socialists, anarchists, and even neo-Nazis around. Of so many causes of their protests, the only one which I would support is climate change. (Special thanks to the polar bear who posed for me!)





I left the protest about two hours after it started, since it got pretty slow after that with the police choking up the protest route (furthermore, I was planning to visit some other place that afternoon). I later on heard from the news that some scuffle broke out and a couple of people were arrested, though the protest has been largely peaceful.

The APEC summit really dampened the city. In the district of The Rock, which is usually a very busy shopping area, it was quiet like a cemetery. The entire city was quite depressing, to be frank, and it doesn't help that there is a constant hum of the security helicopter all the time. It was worse at night: they had spotlights sweeping the streets, and the whole atmosphere reminds me of Nineteen Eighty-Four.



Anyway, Dominic brought me away from the town area to a nearby cliff park, and that alone made my Sydney experience worthwhile. The wind was exhilarating and the view was completely mind-blowing. The sunset, above all, was simply thrilling.







Later on we went to have dinner near the Sydney Opera House, where most of the APEC delegates were (and it was a hassle to manoeuvre through the security shutdown), and halfway through we were rewarded with a close view of the APEC fireworks.



Cool! Tomorrow, I'll be heading for Gold Coast, before returning for a day to Sydney and then heading back to Canberra. But I think it won't be long before I visit Sydney again.

Thawing a Chicken

One of the major headaches of cooking on my own is the thawing of the food (washing the dishes is another). Frozen meat, especially chicken, are so hard to thaw. The proper way is of course to bring it out of the freezer hours before cooking, but sometimes it's quite hard to predict what I'll be cooking, and sometimes I'll just forget.

Washing with hot water or putting the frozen meat into the microwave oven is a quick solution to separating the individual pieces of meat, but that doesn't always work if I'm just taking a small portion. And even if I succeeded in separating the pieces, frozen meat isn't exactly easy to cut.

But if you think about it, there's quite some energy wasted in freezing the food and letting it thaw. So here's a way to reduce energy consumption:



Oh wait... it's winter here... Hmm...

Spring at the Window

Oh wonderful spring! What would be better than to have your window view by adorned flowers of the most magnificent? A casual glance through the pink petals of warmth melts the stress into the sweetest caramel, and the scent of nature shines into the room like a miraculous cure to the worries of the world!

If only the room were mine...



Drats!

Spring is Coming

While you do get flowers back in Singapore, it is rare that you have a whole tree of flowers. But this shows my naivety in seasons, since this is typical in spring. A short stretch of avenue at the ANU has this spectacular display of pinkish-white flowers that occupied the entire tree. It looks like cherry blossom, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

Of course, weather's warming up as well, and the surroundings look livelier now. And I suppose the two-weeks break came just at the right time...