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Friday, September 5, 2008

Definition of Graphene


Definition of Graphene: Graphene is a 2-brane which anchors a triangular lattice of quarks whose vertices represent virtual locations or density of states characteristic of carbon atoms. Superimposed on this 2-brane is its chiral complement in which the triangles are rotated 180 degrees and moved, so that, each overlapping pair of triangles forms a Star of David. Sigma orbitals link the 2-branes together in a honeycomb arrangement. Pi orbitals with two valleys form like spouting mushrooms above and below the 2-brane. This permits Cooper pairs since they are time reversed electron states. The characteristic rippled shape of graphene means that the Fourier transform looks like a hexagon with light cones at the vertices rather than the cylinders it would have, if you could populate it in completely flat form. The properties of graphene are highly variable depending on how the 2-brane is populated internally and on the boundaries.
The total magnetic moment of graphene is zero when there are equal numbers of carbon atoms in its 2-brane and chiral complement. In the general case the total magnetic moment is half the difference between the numbers of atom populating the 2-branes. The magnetization in a zigzag edge has ferromagnetic ordering on each edge, but anti-ferromagnetic coupling between the edges. A single layer of graphene under low magnetic field oscillations has a Berry phase of pi while two layer systems display a Berry phase of 2pi. Similarly, a single layer has almost negligible magnetoresistance, while more than one layer has more conventional properties. Two layer graphene is most notable with respect to its noise cancelling properties.
Internal and external migration of carbon atoms forming pentagons and heptagons can warp the shape of the 2-brane without affecting the threefold coordination of the carbon atoms.
When a single carbon atom is missing from an internal hexagon, the resulting pentagon has “weak” and “gravitational” effects:
1. It exchanges the amplitudes of the two lattices.
2. It exchanges the two Fermi points.
3. It induces a phase coupling proportional to the deficit angle.
4. It induces local (4nm) “gravitational” curvature in spacetime and thus in the sheet. Spin connections provide a generalization of gauge fields used to model spacetime.
The resulting heptagon is paired with a pentagon. The pair acts as a diplole. The pentagon attracts charge and the heptagon repels charge. The heptagon induces negative “gravitational” curvature.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Single Hydrogen Atoms are Visible on Graphene


One can see individual hydrogen atoms on a graphene substrate using a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Graphene is a sheet of carbon one atom thick. This is reason enough to dream of hydrogen atoms tonight!

Healthy Dreams

I prefer to fall asleep dreaming about diagrams like the ones above, rather than the disorganized behaviour of others. Mental pictures allow one to use their innate geometrical intuition to reason about abstract ideas.

Can you imagine two different time orderings giving rise to the same physical observable event as in the Feynman - Stuckelberg interpretation?

How do you visualize entanglement?

Is a hydrogen atom entangled with anti-particles a more tractible problem?



Does soaking the hydrogen atom in a sea of electrons make it easier to peal back the layers, like soaking a nut in water?

Hydrogen atom:

Z(1-118) Dirac Theory
Z(119-136) (relativistic effects, Dirac Theory plus free parameter ?)
Z(137) first diagram above.
Z(138-169) second diagram above
Z(>169) Level diving one by one into Dirac-Fermi sea.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Mango Days

The 6th Annual Mango Days race will be coming up soon. I had to read the book, Mango Days by Patty Smith, to decide whether to run in the race. The books makes you feel you have found a new friend. It reminded me of La Clef des Songes. How can I not run after reading this touching book?

La Clef des Songes

Watch more Dailymotion videos on AOL Video



Grothendieck


My favorite quotes from the world's greatest living mathematician:

Vous soulignez, a juste titre, la difficulte psychique de la creation solitaire...C’est la la situation qui a ete la mienne plus ou moins pendant toute ma vie, depuis mon enfance, tant sur le plan de la creation mathematique, que dans mon itineraire spirituel... Et sans cela, rien de grand ne s'accomplit, ni dans l’aventure individuelle, ni dans l’aventure collective – que ce soit au plan intellectuel, ou au plan spirituel... Au niveau spirituel, la plus grande ouevre (a mes yeux) qu’un homme ait accomplie, etait la Passion du Christ et sa mort sur la croix... Cette oeuvre etait et ne pouvait etre que solitaire. Et meme c’etait la solitude supreme, car Dieu Lui-meme s’est retire, pour que l’Oeuvre s’accomplisse sans le secours d’une consolation.

Les lois mathematiques peuvent etre d´ecouvertes par l’homme, mais elles ne sont crees ni par l’homme ni meme par Dieu. Que deux plus deux egale quatre n’est pas un d´ecret de Dieu, qu’Il aurait ete libre de changer en deux plus deux egale trois, ou cinq. Je sens les lois mathematiques comme faisant partie de la nature meme de Dieu – une partie infime, certes, la plus superficielle en quelque sorte, et la seule qui soit accesible a la seule raison.

-A. Grothendieck

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Using Quantum Dots to Explore the Genome


In a world where energy is becoming increasing expensive, it it tempting to think of quantum dots as merely a way to get a flashlight or imaging light source with low energy drain. However, this phenomena has current applications in epigenetics and possible future physical realizations of quantum computing and theoretical condensed matter applications. Silencing certain genes and observing the consequences is one experimental method use to explore the genome. This is one way quantum dots are used.


Genes can be silenced indirectly by blocking messenger RNA. This can be done by introducing "small interfering RNA" (SiRNA). Quantum dots are a highly effect method of delivering the siRNA. Each quantum dot was surrounded by a proton sponge that carried a positive charge. Without any quantum dots attached, the siRNA's negative charge would prevent it from penetrating a cell's wall. With the quantum-dot chaperone, the more weakly charged siRNA complex crosses the cellular wall, escapes from the endosome (a fatty bubble that surrounds incoming material) and accumulates in the cellular fluid, where it can do its work disrupting protein manufacture.
The technique is described in "Proton-Sponge Coated Quantum Dots for siRNA Delivery and Intracellular Imaging" by Maksym V. Yezhelyev, Lifeng Qi, Ruth M. O’Regan, Shuming Nie, and Xiaohu Gao.





Thursday, July 3, 2008

Epigenetic Effects in Early Nutrition

The epigenetic effects of breast feeding and maternal care giving are discussed in a video called "Epigenetic Effects in Early Nutrition" at the URL: http://epresence.tv/Presentation/127. Transgenerational effects are not explored. Transposable elements (SINEs, LINEs, etc.) comprise more that 40% of the human genome supporting the hypothesis that there may well be epigenetic effects in the early nutrition of humans as well. Possible reasons for the present of creatine and nucleotides in human breast milk are described.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Relationship between Arsenic and Folate in Nutrition

See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18522624 for information.
The panel discussion at the 2005: Environmental Epigenomics, Imprinting and Disease Susceptibility Conference available on video touched on this. Note that some of the remarks by the panel are merely intended to be humorous. The videos of all conference presentations as well as links to those for six other conferences are at http://www.geneimprint.com/site/meetings/2005-durham.
Food is now grown in areas in the U.S. like cotton fields, etc., that were formerly treated with arsenic. Water supplies contaminated with arsenic are a problem in many areas of the world.

A Breakfast Fit for Running

On days that I plan do endurance running, here is what I consume. One glass of pomegranate juice with my usual supplements, namely, the Herbalife Vitamin, Cell Activator, Cell-U-Loss, Total Control, Gardin-7, Triple Berry, Joint Support, Xtra-Cal and Core Complex. Also, I drink One Dutch Chocolate Healthy Meal Shake, one serving of Nite-Works and two servings of the H30 trehalose based, sports drink. I am trying to imitate what the nutritional researchers actually do, not just what they say, since obviously they understand a lot more than the rest of us. The directions with the shake just say to eat any fruit with it, but the researchers tend to actually drink pomegranate juice. Pomegranate juice is reportedly healthier than pomegranate extract because of the sugar-containing polyphenolic anthocyanins. Likewise, the instructions with Nite-Works are to use it at bedtime, but they take it before and after and an athletic event. They also do squats pulling on a rubber cord stretched under their feet. Apparently, this is to strengthen certain muscles needed in running.