PHYSICS – Why Matter Matters!

Can you guess who it is?

"I’m a riddle (enigma). I am what I’m not. A blank space without a crumb (migalha) of matter. Diddly squat (uma quantia pequena ou sem valor). Ancient scientists thought I was impossible- how could nothing be something? But it’s only away from the influence of Mass and matter that the Universe approaches perfection. I cancel out Friction so that Light can travel at its theoretical fastest.

I clean your home, freeze-dry and vacuum-pack food for freshness, and keep your drinks hot or cold in flasks (frascos). But step outside your spacecraft in outer space and I’ll suck the life out of you in a few minutes. My lack of pressure will also boil your bodily fluids. Astronauts wear pressurized suits to stop this happening. But even in the cold emptiness of space, there’s a tiny flicker (palpitação) of restless (inquieta) Energy. You might get something from nothing after all.
(Text by Dan Green)
DATE OF DISCOVERY: 1643
DISCOVERER: EVANGELISTA TORRICELLI"

So, what's your choice?

a) Antimatter
b) Radio Wave
c) Frequency
d) Vacuum
e) Magnetism

Please leave your answers in the comments.

LULA TO INAUGURATE NEW RBS FACILITY

As I wrote in my last post: “To legitimate these atrocities the state uses mass media to entertain people and keep them lethargic as savagery runs rampant.” Now check this friendly and “unsuspecting” activity of the president in Porto Alegre today (Jun 26):

Lula aciona máquinas do novo parque gráfico
RBS inaugura hoje complexo para impressão de ZH e Diário Gaúcho
Os leitores de Zero Hora terão um jornal com maior qualidade de impressão, mais colorido e chegando mais cedo às suas mãos a partir de amanhã. No final da tarde de hoje, o Grupo RBS inaugura seu novo parque gráfico, em Porto Alegre.

A primazia de acionar as rotativas suíças Wifag – as mais modernas em atividade no Brasil – será do presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Can we infer anything out of it?

HITTING ROCK BOTTOM (chegando no fundo do poço)

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons”.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Our state prisons are nothing but inhuman, cruel factories of evil and prove that our social and political institutions are, to say the least, cynical.

We even have to face the ridiculous situations of robbers who were already hauled in but had to be later unrestrained allegedly because there was no space in Porto Alegre penitentiary.

I hate to believe that there must be some kind of uncanny strategy to boost criminality by not investing in new correctional institutions. It might be due to our historical bureaucracy that is enrooted inside our state, or embezzlement (the fraudulent appropriation by a person to his or her own use of property or money) or are the bigwigs the ones who control crime in this country? Whatever the reason, the situation is on the verge of a chaos.

Those who committed crime should obviously be punished but this punitive justice should aim the restoration of the individual to the social life. If the place that the offender goes to only evokes his worst feelings, is home of the most unimaginable fears and just make them worst than before– as are our prisons, then the state should be punished for not living up to the Social Contract. To legitimate these atrocities the state uses mass media to entertain people and keep them lethargic as savagery runs rampant.

SOME KEY TERMS ON THE GM’S BANKRUPTCY FILING THAT I TRANSLATED TO PORTUGUESE (IN BRACKETS)

General Motors Corp. once mattered so much to the U.S. economy that a two-month strike (uma greve de dois meses) in 1970 helped trigger (desencadear) a 4.2 percent drop in gross domestic product (uma queda de 4.2% no produto interno bruto) for the fourth quarter, as national auto production fell 82 percent.

Then, GM accounted for (respondia por) about half the cars and light trucks sold in the country. Now, GM controls just 20 percent of the market, and analysts say its bankruptcy filing (encaminhamento/pedido de falência)will barely register in the broader economy.

GM’s drawn-out restructuring (o restruturamento demorado da GM), an increase in U.S. manufacturing by foreign carmakers and the recession-induced decline in auto sales all have meant more to the economy than today’s legal filing (do que o pedido de falência de hoje).

GM has been reducing payrolls (a GM tem reduzido as folhas de pagamento) for three decades. Its U.S. employment peaked in 1979 at 618,365, when it was the nation’s largest private employer and auto manufacturing accounted for 4.1 percent of GDP. At the end of this year’s first quarter, autos were 1.5 percent of the economy, and GM had 88,000 U.S. workers.
Michael McKee's Bloomberg story

LOST AND INSECURE...YOU FOUND ME, YOU FOUND ME
It’s easy to watch it and judge the girl’s performance, pointing out something she got musically wrong or quibbling about a minor point. The difficult thing is though, to understand the meaning this song might play in the depth of her soul or to grasp the feeling that moved her to shoot it and publish on the web.

Have the urge to sing this song! Awesome song!

Check out the real The Fray song here and see if she doesn’t have a thing or two in her favor.

ROBOT ASKS FOR DIRECTIONS

It might be another effort to set the beginning of a long lasting relationship (humans & robots). Who knows where it may end up?

LIFE UNPLUGGED
The Turnoff TV folks are calling out for an unplugged week. If you missed the April version, there's another chance next September. These guys are working hard to create awareness of the infamous impact of television on collective minds.
George told me in his last class that TV loves to broadcast and overstress bad news (as some scientific studies show) for people under fear are more easily controlled and shop more. This hypotheses sounds interesting and I would add that mass media not only recreates reality as it filters what is news. The few minds behind the global theater don't unveil their intentions but manage to control the collective minds. Even though these lines might be an oversimplification of this very controversial issue, the facts can't be ignored. Yep.
Turn off your box.

THE TREES

This one comes from “The Metamorphosis and Other Great Stories” by Franz Kafka, published by Penguin:

“For we are like the trunks of trees in the snow. Apparently they rest smoothly on the surface and with a gentle push we should be able to shift them. No, that one cannot, for they are firmly attached to the ground. But see, that too is only apparent”.

Please, save these words for further explanation and discussion in class along this week.