The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach market got the top spot on the list, while Chicago and San Francisco ranked as two of the cities with the lowest inflation.
Author: Paola Suro (WXIA) Published: 8:07 PM EDT October 16, 2023 Updated: 8:07 PM EDT October 16, 2023
ATLANTA — A new study claims Atlanta and the metro area ranked fifth in the nation for inflation. According to a WalletHub analysis, the metro area has seen a 1.10% increase in inflation in the last two months and a 4.40% increase compared to last year.
Atlanta resident Ariel Alba said he’s not surprised.
“From where it was, everything now is more expensive,” Alba said. “Everything went up… food, groceries, gas, a lot of stuff.”
Our sun and the solar system, including the Oort cloud, are roughly 1 to 2 light years in diameter. This is a much greater distance than just to Neptune, which is a mere four and a half hours away at the speed of light. This solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, roughly 100,000 light years in diameter. So the orbit of Neptune is a tiny speck in size compared to the entire Galaxy.
In the Milky Way, we have many neighbors. Alpha Centauri is best known as our closest neighbor star, and speculations of planets and life within reach have been the subject of science fiction. Alpha Centauri is three stars drawing each other together with gravitational force while maintaining their distance with the centrifugal force that could make us fall off a merry-go-round.
The Alpha Centauri group rotates between 4.25 and 4.35 light years from our sun, well beyond the Oort cloud. Some science fiction stories tell of planets with multiple suns, probably inspired by our knowledge of Alpha Centauri. We have known for hundreds of years that Alpha Centauri was two stars, and in 1915 a Scottish astronomer proposed that a third star was part of the group.
While light from the sun takes around eight minutes to reach Earth, the size of the rotation of the Centauri stars is ten percent of a year or around 40 days. This would make it unlikely that a planet could exist gravitationally in a zone heated by the stars of Alpha Centauri. Scientists believe that more stars exist in binary or tertiary orbits that singular masses such as the sun. If this is true, this could be an important factor to consider in the Drake equation.
The Drake equation states that the probability of live elsewhere in the universe is dependent on the probability of a number of factors. But scientific research since the Drake equation was proposed has produced a number of factors making it less likely that life as we know it can evolve. Certainly the Star Trek notion of hopping from one warm, fertile planet to another is less likely that portrayed. We need to find planets that are between five and 15 light ‘minutes’ from a singular star, warmed by that star but not burned up. But in a universe with billions of galaxies, you would think life somewhere had four billion years to evolve.
The universe is so vast, more and more study is done on the possibility of life evolving elsewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy. Here too, we have learned that we perhaps have good fortune to be near the edge of the galaxy and not nearer the middle. Peering into the galaxy we find higher rates of radiation, black holes and nuetron stars, all which can wipe out DNA life forms in an instant. But to look at our galaxy from 360 degrees we would first need to travel around the edge of the Milky Way, a trip of 300,000 light years.
A better idea would be to travel a ways in and out of our local arm of the Milky Way. A spiral galaxy, the Milky Way seems to have two arms like a lawn sprinkler radiating out from the center. While it has been more than 40 centuries since mankind built the pyramids, in another 40 centuries we could explore perhaps that closest neighbors in our spiral arm.
The closest unary type-G solar or star system to earth is thought to be the Tau Ceti system. Dustier than our solar system, the ‘inhabitable zone’ of this system would seem to be more prone to collision, and lacks a rocky, metallic planet of a mass capable of generating Earth’s gravity and holding an atmosphere such as ours. Tau Ceti is in the constellation Cetus.
Tau Ceti is a star similar to the Sun, 20% smaller. 12 light-years from Earth, it is the closest star similar to the sun. A multitude of types of stars have been discovered from brown dwarfs to red giants, and many stars form binary and tertiary star systems, which would seem not to allow a planet to orbit in the habitable zone with earth type gravity. So we have become more interested, in 2014, to stars like our Sun in unary star systems and of an age between two and six billion years. In travel time, at the speed of light, with a rapid acceleration and deceleration, it would take at least two decades to reach the Tau Ceti system.
The Tau Ceti system is more gaseous and less rocky and metallic than our solar system. Evidence of five planets orbiting Tau Ceti with one in the habitable zone has been recently found. Tau Ceti can be seen without a telescope. Tau Ceti is only about half as bright as our sun, so the habitable zone would be closer to the star than in our solar system. Scientific calculations put the optimal habitable orbit for the Tau Ceti system to be roughly equal to the orbit of Venus in our solar system. The magnetic field of Tau Ceti also seems to be weaker than our sun. The magnetic field of the sun shields the inner planets from high levels of cosmic rays. The level of asteroids, comets and general debris in the Tau Ceti system is much higher, even ten times higher than our solar system.
It is exciting for us to learn so much about a class G unary solar system just 12 light years from Earth, but difficult to imagine life as we know it evolving there. Nonetheless, in the search for Extra-Terrestrial intelligence, or SETI, Tau Ceti is a fascinating aiming point for listening. Even Frank Drake chose Tau Ceti for research. Drake pioneered the Drake Equation, an infamous postulate for the likelihood of life elsewhere in the universe. Other SETI scientist, notably Turnbull and Tarter, have listed more than 17,000 theoretically habitable nearby star systems. Plans are in the works to search more carefully five candidates like Tau Ceti, all within 100 light years of Earth.
Burckle Crater is a hypothesized impact site popularized by, among others, Dallas Abbott of Columbia University, as well as other members of the Holocene Impact Working Group.
Some scientists are investigating the possibility of a strike in the Indian Ocean that precipitated myths in more than hundred cultural stories of a great flood accompanying many days and nights of rain.Another interesting proposal of the Holocene Impact Working Group is of an extra-terrestrial impact around 500 A.D. Evidence of tropical biological remains in Greenland ice core samples dating to this period align with the proposal that a strike in Australia may have been responsible. Historical records in England document that by 535 A.D. a mini ice age gripped the region.
Did an asteroid strike in Australia plunge Anglo-Saxon England into a mini ice-age?
Wootz steel is a type of high-carbon steel that was produced in India and Sri Lanka from the early centuries AD until the modern era. It was renowned for its unique microstructure, which gave it exceptional strength and a distinctive pattern on the surface when etched. Wootz steel was widely exported and highly valued for its use in making high-quality swords, knives, and other weapons. It is considered to be one of the first examples of a specialized steel product, and it helped lay the foundation for the development of metallurgy in the ancient world.
Why isn’t Wootz called iron?
Wootz steel is a type of high-carbon steel, not iron. It is made by a specific process that involves heating the steel with charcoal in a closed container, allowing it to cool slowly, and then forging it into the desired shape. This process creates a unique microstructure in the steel that gives it its exceptional strength and distinctive pattern when etched.
How to get iron at home
A bloomery is a type of furnace used in the ironmaking process to produce wrought iron from iron ore. Here is a general overview of how to use a bloomery to refine iron:
Preparation: The iron ore is mined and processed to remove impurities and then formed into small lumps or balls.
Loading the bloomery: The iron ore is layered with charcoal in the furnace. The charcoal serves as fuel and a source of carbon, which will combine with the iron to form the desired iron-carbon alloy.
Ignition: The furnace is lit and the temperature is increased until the iron and charcoal are heated to a high enough temperature to cause the iron to melt.
Reduction: As the iron melts, it reacts with the carbon in the charcoal to form a spongy mass called a “bloom.” The bloom is composed of a mixture of iron, carbon, and slag, which floats to the top and can be removed.
Forging: The bloom is removed from the furnace and hammered to remove impurities and consolidate the iron. The process of forging can be repeated several times to produce a more refined wrought iron product.
Cooling: The final wrought iron product is allowed to cool slowly to prevent cracking.
Crucible Steel
Crucible steel is a type of high-quality steel that was produced by melting iron and carbon together in a clay or graphite crucible, a container made of a refractory material that can withstand high temperatures. The process of making crucible steel involves heating the mixture of iron and carbon to a high temperature and then allowing it to cool slowly, which encourages the carbon to diffuse into the iron and form a homogeneous mixture.
Crucible steel was prized for its exceptional strength and durability, and was often used to make high-quality tools and weapons. The crucible steelmaking process was widely used in medieval and Renaissance Europe, as well as in other parts of the world, including the Middle East and India.
Today, the production of crucible steel has been largely replaced by more efficient and modern steelmaking processes, but the term “crucible steel” is still used to refer to high-quality steel with a fine, homogeneous grain structure and exceptional strength and toughness.
Scientists do not believe, most of them, that the universe will collapse again. For many years, it was thought that the universe would eventually stop expanding and collapse back in on itself, but more recent observations have shown that the expansion of the universe is actually accelerating.
Dark Energy
This is due to the presence of dark energy, a mysterious force that makes up about 70% of the universe. Dark energy is causing the galaxies to move away from each other at an ever-increasing rate, and it is very likely that this expansion will continue forever.
There are a few different theories about what will happen to the universe in the far future. One possibility is that the universe will eventually reach a state of “heat death,” in which all of the stars will burn out and all of the matter will be spread out so thinly that there is no longer any energy available to create new stars or galaxies.
Separate Universes?
Another possibility is that the universe will continue to expand forever, eventually becoming so large that no individual galaxy can be seen from any other galaxy. In this scenario, the universe would effectively become a vast, empty void.
It is also possible that the universe will eventually collapse again, but this is considered to be much less likely than the other two scenarios. In order for the universe to collapse, the amount of dark energy would have to decrease significantly. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is happening.
Ultimately, the fate of the universe is a mystery. We can only make educated guesses based on the current state of the universe and our understanding of physics. However, one thing is for sure: the universe is a vast and amazing place, and it is full of mysteries that we have yet to solve.
Research
Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark are proposing that a ‘phase transition’ envelope will spread through the universe, making matter more massive and leading to a big crunch. Since the advent of the Big Bang theory some scientists have put the notion up that the expansion we think we see will come to an end and the universe will once again collapse to a point of singularity.
Other scientists have postulated that the universe might continue to expand, reaching for maximum randomness, until gravity itself cannot hold particles together. The universe, and even physics as we know it will be overcome by a sub-zero space where even the packets of energy we know as protons and neutrons will unravel. However, the latest mathematics announced in the Daily Mail out of Denmark lean toward the opposite.
Should scientists at University of Southern Denmark be correct, a “shift in the forces of the universe will cause every particle in it to become extremely heavy”. Research and calculations now account for the famous Higgs boson, now being studied with glee at the CERN accelerator. Scientists can’t say where or exactly why, but their numbers lead them to believe an ultra-dense “bubble” might appear suddenly in a certain place of the universe at a certain time. “The bubble would then expand at the speed of light, entering all space … all elementary particles inside the bubble will reach a mass much heavier than if they were outside the bubble, and they would be pulled together to form supermassive centers.”
Other research, of course, has postulated that the Big Bang expanded faster than the speed of light, and scientist admit that discoveries beyond the Higgs Boson would probably lead to new theories and calculations.
The brightest stars are roughly 50 times the size of our sun.
Up to a million times brighter than our sun, Class O (oh) stars can be between 15 and 100 times the mass of our sun and boast surface temperatures of 30,000 to 50,000 degrees Kelvin, or 50,000 to 90,000 degrees F. There may be as many as 15,000 of these in the Milky Way galaxy. O-type stars also expel massive amounts of radiation in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Betelgeuse is not an O-type, it is one of the brightest in our sky because it is one of the closest stars. It is a red giant, with a mass between 5 and 30 times that of our sun. Estimates put its temperature around 3300 degrees Kelvin and it has been observed contracting in recent years. Red giants are pulsating stars, meaning that they will expand and contract in size, but some scientists believe Betelgeuse is due to burn out in less than a million years. The uncertainty is so great thought that some say it may already have exploded as a type II super nova, but the light has not reached earth. Around 500 light years away, that is a mathematical possibility.
500 light years, or 150 parsecs from earth, even a super nova explosion would not have a great impact on earth. Betelgeuse is part of the Orion constellation, an evening winter to spring zodiacal display which also contains Rigel, Bellatrix and Alnilam. Orion is roughly between and below Gemini and Taurus, the late April and late May constellations. In North America, Gemini is a February constellation, remember that the astrological time periods came from Greece and Italy.
To find an O-type supergiant, one can look to the Monoceros constellation, a faint display directly below Gemini in the North American Sky. Difficult to see with the naked eye, but the star Monocerotis is over 2400 light years distant with a mass roughly 60 times that of our sun.
The Milky Way galaxy is thought to contain around 250 billion stars. Reaching 100,000 light years across, and with stars beyond 1,000 light years being difficult to observe with the naked eye, many light patterns we observe in the Milky Way are the sum of multiple stars.
A submarine volcano in seven thousand feet of water, 300 miles off the coast of Oregon, may have grown to an underwater elevation of 2,000 feet off the ocean floor. Named by scientists “Axial Seamount”, the underwater volcano is thought to have also erupted in 1998 and 2011.
The Juan de Fuca plate and ridge are important bits of geology between Portland and the eruption. These features are further out to sea than the infamous Cascadia Subduction Zone. 20 miles off the coast of Oregon, the 1700 Cascadia earthquake caused tsunamis in Japan, lowered Cascade forest into tidal swamps, and may have caused waves 60 feet high.
Between the Cascadia fault and Axial Seamount lies the Juan de Fuca plate, one of the Earth’s smallest plate remnants. At some point in our geologic future, the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate under the Cascadia Subduction Zone will violently tilt the remainder of the plate upwards, which could cause a Tsunami of epic proportions.
The Juan de Fuca Plate is a small oceanic tectonic plate in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The plate is bounded to the west by the Pacific Plate, to the north by the Explorer Plate, to the east by the North American Plate, and to the south by the Gorda Plate. The Juan de Fuca Plate is a spreading plate, meaning that it is created at a mid-ocean ridge. The Juan de Fuca Ridge is located along the western edge of the plate, and it is where new oceanic crust is created.
Axial Seamount is a submarine volcano located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, approximately 480 km (298 mi) west of Cannon Beach, Oregon. Standing 1,100 m (3,609 ft) high, Axial Seamount is the youngest volcano and current eruptive center of the Cobb–Eickelberg Seamount chain. Located at the center of both a geological hotspot and a mid-ocean ridge, the seamount is geologically complex, and its origins are still poorly understood.
The Juan de Fuca Plate and Axial Seamount are important features in the Pacific Ocean. The plate is a major source of earthquakes and tsunamis, and the seamount is a unique ecosystem that supports a variety of marine life.
Here are some new findings about the Juan de Fuca Plate and Axial Seamount:
In 2015, a team of scientists from Oregon State University and the University of Washington discovered that Axial Seamount is more active than previously thought. The team found that the volcano erupts on average every 16 years, and that the last eruption occurred in 2011.
In 2016, a team of scientists from the University of Washington and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute discovered that Axial Seamount is home to a unique ecosystem of hydrothermal vents. The vents release heat and chemicals from the Earth’s interior, and they support a variety of bacteria and other organisms.
In 2017, a team of scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Oregon discovered that the Juan de Fuca Plate is moving faster than previously thought. The team found that the plate is moving at a rate of about 6 cm per year, which is faster than the rate of plate motion in most other parts of the world.
These new findings are important for understanding the geology and biology of the Juan de Fuca Plate and Axial Seamount. They also help us to better understand the risks of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest.
The length of the elements of a television antenna is directly related to the wavelength of the frequency of RF (radio frequency) transmissions that it is designed to receive or transmit. Specifically, the length of the elements should be a fraction of the wavelength of the signal.
The most commonly used formula to determine the length of an antenna element is the half-wave dipole formula, which states that the length of a half-wave dipole antenna is equal to half the wavelength of the frequency it is designed to receive or transmit:
Length of antenna element = λ/2
Where λ (lambda) is the wavelength of the frequency in question.
For example, if the frequency of the RF transmission is 500 MHz (megahertz), and the speed of light is approximately 3 x 10^8 meters per second, then the wavelength of the signal would be:
λ = c/f = 3 x 10^8 / 500 x 10^6 = 0.6 meters (or 60 centimeters)
Thus, the length of the antenna element for a half-wave dipole antenna designed to receive or transmit at 500 MHz would be:
Length of antenna element = λ/2 = 0.6/2 = 0.3 meters (or 30 centimeters)
It is important to note that this formula assumes that the antenna is in free space and not influenced by nearby objects or structures. In practice, the length of the antenna may need to be adjusted to compensate for these factors.
Atlanta HDTV Channels 2.1 and 46.1
Note that the channel numbers assigned to these stations are virtual channel numbers, i.e. they have no direct correlation to the exact frequency and wavelength of the signal. To start with, we will refer to these as ABC and CBS, and there actual signal frequencies are different in the digital HDTV spectrum. What does that mean?
According to the FCC filing for Virtual Channel 2, WSB-TV in Atlanta, they are licensed to transmit on RF channel 32 at a frequency of 578.0 Mhz. The FCC document showed the license expiring in 2021, so hopefully they have not jumped to another frequency.
According to the FCC filing for Virtual Channel 46, WANF in Atlanta, they are licensed to transmit on RF channel 19 at a frequency of 500.0 Mhz.
Wavelength of 500 Mhz
To calculate the wavelength of a radio wave at 500 MHz, we can use the formula:
wavelength = speed of light / frequency
The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 3 x 10^8 meters per second. Therefore, the wavelength of a radio wave at 500 MHz is:
wavelength = 3 x 10^8 / 500 x 10^6 = 0.6 meters
So the wavelength of a radio wave at 500 MHz is 0.6 meters.
Wavelength of 578 Mhz
To calculate the wavelength of a radio wave at 578 MHz, we can use the formula:
wavelength = speed of light / frequency
The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 3 x 10^8 meters per second. Therefore, the wavelength of a radio wave at 578 MHz is:
wavelength = 3 x 10^8 / 578 x 10^6 = 0.518 meters
So the wavelength of a radio wave at 578 MHz is 0.518 meters or 51.8 centimeters.
How long is an antenna element for a wavelength of .6 meters? That would be .3 times 39.37 or 11.811 inches.
Fractal Antenna for 11.811 inches
A fractal antenna is a type of antenna design that incorporates self-similar patterns at different scales to increase its effective length and improve its performance. One popular fractal antenna design is the Koch snowflake antenna.
The Koch snowflake antenna is a fractal design that is based on the Koch snowflake fractal, which is a self-repeating pattern that can be generated by adding triangular shapes to each side of an equilateral triangle.
To create a Koch snowflake antenna with element lengths of 11.811 inches, we can use the following steps:
Start with a straight wire that is 11.811 inches long.
Divide the wire into three equal segments, and add a triangular shape to each segment to create a new shape that resembles an arrowhead.
Repeat step 2 for each of the three segments of the arrowhead shape to create a new, larger shape.
Continue this process of dividing each segment into three and adding a triangular shape to create a new shape until the desired size is reached.
Each iteration of this process increases the effective length of the antenna by a factor of 4/3. By repeating this process multiple times, we can create a Koch snowflake antenna with element lengths of 11.811 inches.
It is worth noting that the exact dimensions and number of iterations needed to create an effective fractal antenna will depend on the specific frequency and application for which it is designed.
Kepler-186f is an exoplanet, which means it is a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun. It was discovered by the Kepler spacecraft, which is a space observatory launched by NASA in 2009 to search for exoplanets. Kepler-186f is notable because it is the first Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of its star, which means it is potentially capable of supporting life as we know it.
500 light years from earth, much further than Tau-Ceti at 12 light years, Kepler-186f orbits red dwarf Kepler-186 with a radius similar to Earth. Discovered and documented by the Kepler space telescope, it is accompanied by four other planets orbiting much closer to the star. The planet 186f would seem to orbit it’s ‘sun’ in just over four months.
Kepler-186f is located about 500 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. Its host star, Kepler-186, is an M-dwarf star that is about half the size of the Sun and about one-fifth as bright. The planet orbits the star at a distance of about 0.35 astronomical units (AU), which is closer than the Earth orbits the Sun. However, because Kepler-186 is a smaller and cooler star, Kepler-186f receives about the same amount of radiation as the Earth does from the Sun, putting it in the habitable zone.
While news reports make popular the existence of an Earth-like planet in an Earth sized orbit, this is not interesting because the star is a red giant, and the system seems to lack the protective gas giants that would shield a planet of this type from meteorites and comets. However the Earth sized planet is important in that gravitational forces would be comparable. However the Olympics, if held on such a planet, would have their own set of high jump and pole vault records to deal with minor gravitational differences.
Kepler-186f was discovered by analyzing data from the Kepler spacecraft. Kepler detects exoplanets by observing a star and measuring the slight dimming that occurs when a planet passes in front of it, blocking some of its light. This method is called the transit method. Because Kepler-186f is Earth-sized, its transit signal is small and difficult to detect. However, scientists were able to identify it by carefully analyzing the data and ruling out other possible explanations for the signal.
Kepler-186 is a star one twenty fifth the brightness of the Sun. Kepler-186f is actually in a smaller orbit and would receive around one third the light energy than does Earth.
One of the main reasons Kepler-186f is so exciting is because it is the first Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of its star. The habitable zone is the region around a star where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet. This is important because water is essential for life as we know it. If Kepler-186f has an atmosphere and a stable climate, it could potentially support liquid water and therefore, life.
About ten percent larger than Earth, 186f is still not with any certainty identified as the home of oceans or a thick atmosphere. It’s rotation speed, or day is also not determined, but because of its proximity to the start 186, it is thought that the day length might be much longer than Earth’s.
However, there is much we do not know about Kepler-186f. For example, we do not know if it has an atmosphere, what its composition is, or whether it has liquid water on its surface. These are all important factors that would affect whether the planet could support life. Scientists are currently working to answer these questions using a variety of methods, including observations from ground-based telescopes and other spacecraft.
One of the challenges in studying Kepler-186f is its distance from Earth. Because it is located 500 light-years away, it is difficult to observe in detail. However, scientists have been able to learn some things about the planet using a variety of techniques. For example, they have used spectroscopy to analyze the light that passes through the atmosphere of Kepler-186f’s host star. By studying how the star’s light is absorbed by the planet’s atmosphere, scientists can learn about the composition of the atmosphere and whether it contains certain molecules, such as oxygen or methane, that could be signs of life.
Another way scientists are studying Kepler-186f is by using computer simulations. By modeling the planet’s climate and atmosphere, they can make predictions about what conditions might be like on the surface. For example, they can simulate how much sunlight the planet receives and how that affects its temperature. They can also simulate the planet’s atmospheric composition and how that affects its ability to retain heat and support liquid water.
