Apr 15 2009
The Cosmos in a Cup of Coffee
In his poem “Auguries of Innocence,” William Blake waxed that “To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour” was to see God.
Does the same apply to seeing the cosmos in a cup of coffee? I think so.
Duke physicists claim to have seen exactly that – principles of the universe in a cup of coffee. The Science Blog reported that:
A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with the way gravity magnifies and distorts light from distant galaxies.
They think scientists will be able to use violations of this principle to map unseen clumps of dark matter in the universe.
Light rays naturally reflect off a curve like the inside surface of a coffee cup in a curving, ivy leaf pattern that comes to a point in the center and is brightest along its edge.
Mathematicians and physicists call that shape a “cusp curve,” and they call the bright edge a “caustic,” based on an alternative dictionary definition meaning “burning bright,” explains Arlie Petters, a Duke professor of mathematics, physics and business administration. “It happens because a lot of light rays can pile up along curves.”
It just goes to show how much one can glean from the little things in life - I think William Blake would be proud.
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