So what's the meaning of this ramble? Well, if my corny title served its job at all, then you may have figured out that we're dealing with some pretty small stuff. Incidentally, however, this small stuff is actually huge (not just what I'm dealing with in this entry, but things pertaining to its field in general, which I intend to explore more thoroughly in a future post). Okay, so enough suspense! Nanoparticles. Teeny tiny clusters of atoms. How teeny tiny? Let's just say no larger than 2,500 nanometers. And a nanometer...how big is that you ask? One billionth of a meter! I once heard a professor say hair grows at a nanometer per second. We're really talking teeny here. A marble compared to the size of the Earth teeny. So what's so special about these nanoparticles other the fact that they're extraordinarily (and almost uncomprehendingly) small?
Well, there are a lot of reasons, the most important of which having to do with nanotechnology (the thing I said I intend to explore more thoroughly in a future post—sorry for taunting you so), but beyond that, nanoparticles are of particular interest because they reveal to scientists how physics work at an unimaginably small level. That is to say, the normal laws of physics do (or 'can' is perhaps a better choice), indeed, break down at teeny levels of matter. This was seen recently by researchers who were colliding nanoclusters composed of several hundred atoms just under 12 miles per hour.
When collided, these nanoclusters usually clung together. Riveting, no? But approximately five percent of the time, these nanoclusters actually sped up after colliding, exhibiting what's been dubbed a super rebound. If it doesn't sound crazy or mean anything, let me present to you the second law of thermodynamics—one of the most fundamental laws of nature—which our lovely little nanoclusters defy. It says, in short, that the universe will increase in entropy as time passes. That is, the universe has a tendency to become more disordered or less ordered, which means, further, that the universe has the tendency to move towards a state of less energy. Perhaps the image below will demonstrate the law better...
Image Courtesy 'o' http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/therm/entrop.html
So, back to the nanoclusters, the research performed showed nanoclusters actually losing entropy (gaining order/losing disorder) contrary to the second law five percent of the time. Frankly it is not the biggest deal considering that the nanoclusters go against the second law almost solely on a statistical technicality (the general behavior of the nanoclusters fall in line with the second law), but it is, in some senses, very meaningful to me.
To me, discoveries like this demand further questioning, further introspection, further research, and, most especially, greater doubts. For when we become thoroughly convinced that our laws, theories, and ideas are inarguably and unwaveringly right, we ensure ourselves of halted progress. As we plunge deeper into the questions that probe the meanings and workings of the universe, we must remain humble in our convictions, else we might forget the times when the Earth was flat and in the center of the universe. The point is to proceed with constant scrutiny. I said I get giddy every time I see something like the article that informed me of those mad lawless nanoclusters because it compels me to take a step back and reconsider the things I think I know, whether scientific or personal. There are so many questions to be answered, so many answers to be reconsidered, and, even greater than both of these, so many questions still to be asked. We are becoming masters of the world around us, more and more in tune with the tenets of our universe, but we must be cautious and always leave room for other possibilities, else our assumptions might lead us to fall right off the face of Earth.
To me, discoveries like this demand further questioning, further introspection, further research, and, most especially, greater doubts. For when we become thoroughly convinced that our laws, theories, and ideas are inarguably and unwaveringly right, we ensure ourselves of halted progress. As we plunge deeper into the questions that probe the meanings and workings of the universe, we must remain humble in our convictions, else we might forget the times when the Earth was flat and in the center of the universe. The point is to proceed with constant scrutiny. I said I get giddy every time I see something like the article that informed me of those mad lawless nanoclusters because it compels me to take a step back and reconsider the things I think I know, whether scientific or personal. There are so many questions to be answered, so many answers to be reconsidered, and, even greater than both of these, so many questions still to be asked. We are becoming masters of the world around us, more and more in tune with the tenets of our universe, but we must be cautious and always leave room for other possibilities, else our assumptions might lead us to fall right off the face of Earth.
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