The answer to everything really is 42

Posted by Matthew on June 18, 2008 at 11:25 pm

Many of you have probably read (or at least seen the movie of) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Even if you haven’t, you might be familiar with a certain part of the story that is frequently referenced among fans — that when asked for the answer to the ultimate question of Life, The Universe, and Everything, the supercomputer called “Deep Thought” finally responded with “42″.

I was watching an episode of the History Channel miniseries The Universe this evening, and this particular episode was concerning gravity and its role in the universe at large. Most of the concepts covered in the show were nothing new to me, but I found one particular scenario very intriguing: what would happen if you bored a hole through the Earth straight to the other side, vacuum-sealed it (to remove friction), and dropped something through? How long would it take to reach the other side, considering that it should free-fall until it reaches the core, at which point gravity will start pulling it back and it will slow down?

As it turns out, the most interesting part of this scenario is that by picking any two points on the Earth — New York and LA, Boston and London, Cairo and Anchorage, whatever you want — and boring a hole straight from one to the other, the amount of time required by such a “gravity train” will always be exactly the same, due to the angle of the hole and thus the varying degree to which Earth’s gravity will be able to affect the object. How much time, you ask?

42 minutes.

No matter what two points on the planet you choose, no matter if they’re on opposite sides of the globe or are very near each other, the time to get from one to the other driven purely by gravity will always be 42 minutes. As soon as I heard that, I had to wonder if it was Douglas Adams’ inspiration for the answer to the Ultimate Question asked of Deep Thought. If not, it’s quite a coincidence — and still a really cool physics fact.

More on the 42 minute “gravity train” concept on Damn Interesting, Wikipedia (which references a mathematical proof from my own Purdue University), and a 1966 TIME Magazine article.

Tags: Science

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Motorcycle cops: efficient or lazy?

Posted by Matthew on June 6, 2008 at 8:42 am

So I’m driving into work this morning on I-65 south, entering Indianapolis, and there’s a spot where I-465 joins I-65 that is perfect for cops to hide. You know the situation…there’s a low cement divider wall off on the shoulder, and it’s positioned just after a slight crest in the road so you couldn’t possibly see the cops camped out in their favorite hiding until you’re practically on top of them.

This morning, there were three motorcycle cops positioned behind this wall, with their handheld radar units perched atop it. My speed-trap Spidey-sense was tingling, so fortunately I wasn’t speeding when I came over the rise, but several people in the other lane were. As I passed, I watched in my rearview mirror as a cop simply pointed at a driver, and then jerked his thumb over to the side of the road. Obediently, the vehicle pulled over, about 50 yards past the cops’ little bunker area. Between the three cops, they had five vehicles pulled over at once!

Is this laziness or efficiency? My first thought was to wonder that so many pulled over because of a hand signal. I have to believe that at 65 or 70 miles an hour, a number of people this morning “didn’t see” the hand signal…or perhaps really didn’t see it. Considering that none of the cops looked inclined to get on his bike anytime soon, I imagine any such drivers just got away scott-free. Is this a situation where you get punished for doing the right thing? What would you do?

Tags: Automotive

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F-150 no longer America’s best selling vehicle

Posted by Matthew on June 3, 2008 at 9:13 pm

If you were looking for concrete evidence that sky-high gas prices are affecting consumer buying habits en masse, look no further.

The Ford F-150, which has been the best selling vehicle in America for 17 straight years, has, in May 2008, fallen to 5th place behind the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, and the new best selling vehicle the Honda Civic.

All four of those well-built vehicles offer a lot for the money and get about 30 mpg or better on the highway, while most full-size trucks are about half that. With $4 gas, a lot more people appear to be asking themselves the question, “Do I really need that truck?” As I’ve personally pointed out for years, most people who drive them don’t actually need them.

Source: Autoblog

Tags: Automotive, Business

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