Researchers at the CERN released results today that indicate that the abstract particle called the neutrino can, in fact, travel faster than the speed of light. If this is proven true, it will be a momentous discovery, and quite possibly the beginning of a new era. Faster-than-light travel has thus far been only extent in science fiction, but it appears that fiction is about to become reality. Perhaps one day, we will fly across the galaxy in faster-than-light spacecraft that will make the Enterprise look like an artifact of bygone days, and it began today.
Roll over Einstein: Pillar of physics challenged
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering 9/11
I imagine that each of us who is old enough to remember this time, remembers exactly what we were doing when we heard the horrifying news of the 9/11 attacks.
I was in high school, home sick when a family member called and told me to turn on the television. I was greeted with an image of the world trade center with one tower smoking from the impact of the first aircraft. I sat transfixed by this curious image, wondering what it could possibly mean. They said that a commercial airplane had struck the first tower, and that it was likely to be a terrorist attack. No one mentioned that a second aircraft was en route, until it was too late. The shock and horror seeped thickly in the reporters voice. I continued to watch as both towers now burned and people streamed out of the base.. and fire-fighters and rescue workers streamed into it. To say that confusion reigned supreme on that day is surely an understatement. Chaos, confusion, grief, horror, disbelief, infuriation, selflessness, courage and these mixed emotions reigned the day. It was a cocktail of emotions that no one can forget. I continued to watch the television, now horrified at the thought of terrorists attacking our country. How could this happen? We are separated by oceans from the rest of the world. It was absurd. This was a day of unanticipated horrors though, and they simply continued piling up. To lose one life is a tragedy, but to lose many thousands in the span of several minutes is an unfathomable tragedy. That it was an act of pure malice made the whole ordeal all the more vile. I watched the first tower fall, imploding on itself, floor-by-floor. Then several minutes later, the second tower followed suit. I do not typically cry, but that day was an exception. I imagined the many people dying that day, and my heart simply broke. I prayed that God would be merciful to those who were there, that somehow he would save some, and He did to my relief. Yet many others died, and it was terrible.
To say that this was a day of pure evil is not accurate. Many people died to save others, died selflessly, and without thought for their own life. They truly exemplified Christ in this, "there is no greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends." Heroic and selfless deeds abounded on that day as well, and hope was borne out of tragedy. Hope that our amoral slide into a godless existence would be stemmed. Hope that people would truly wake-up, and many did. And above the wreckage stood a cross, wrought by violence and death, shining as a beacon of hope. Such an image yields hope to all who look at it, for unto all is given a savior who died for them, in order to redeem them from an eternal destruction. It is this hope that we as humans need to cling to, as this life is short and eternity is but an unfathomable dream right now. We have to believe that life is not meaningless and that God has a good and lovely end for us. I hope that I will be able to communicate this to all of the people whom I interact with in the coming weeks. Hope is here! It is real, and there is a good future for us! We will cling to this, even if we lose everything else, for nothing else matters aside from this hope and the love that we hold for one another.
I have transcribed below an article written by the Associated Press that details some of the events of that day and memorials of today.
I was in high school, home sick when a family member called and told me to turn on the television. I was greeted with an image of the world trade center with one tower smoking from the impact of the first aircraft. I sat transfixed by this curious image, wondering what it could possibly mean. They said that a commercial airplane had struck the first tower, and that it was likely to be a terrorist attack. No one mentioned that a second aircraft was en route, until it was too late. The shock and horror seeped thickly in the reporters voice. I continued to watch as both towers now burned and people streamed out of the base.. and fire-fighters and rescue workers streamed into it. To say that confusion reigned supreme on that day is surely an understatement. Chaos, confusion, grief, horror, disbelief, infuriation, selflessness, courage and these mixed emotions reigned the day. It was a cocktail of emotions that no one can forget. I continued to watch the television, now horrified at the thought of terrorists attacking our country. How could this happen? We are separated by oceans from the rest of the world. It was absurd. This was a day of unanticipated horrors though, and they simply continued piling up. To lose one life is a tragedy, but to lose many thousands in the span of several minutes is an unfathomable tragedy. That it was an act of pure malice made the whole ordeal all the more vile. I watched the first tower fall, imploding on itself, floor-by-floor. Then several minutes later, the second tower followed suit. I do not typically cry, but that day was an exception. I imagined the many people dying that day, and my heart simply broke. I prayed that God would be merciful to those who were there, that somehow he would save some, and He did to my relief. Yet many others died, and it was terrible.
To say that this was a day of pure evil is not accurate. Many people died to save others, died selflessly, and without thought for their own life. They truly exemplified Christ in this, "there is no greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends." Heroic and selfless deeds abounded on that day as well, and hope was borne out of tragedy. Hope that our amoral slide into a godless existence would be stemmed. Hope that people would truly wake-up, and many did. And above the wreckage stood a cross, wrought by violence and death, shining as a beacon of hope. Such an image yields hope to all who look at it, for unto all is given a savior who died for them, in order to redeem them from an eternal destruction. It is this hope that we as humans need to cling to, as this life is short and eternity is but an unfathomable dream right now. We have to believe that life is not meaningless and that God has a good and lovely end for us. I hope that I will be able to communicate this to all of the people whom I interact with in the coming weeks. Hope is here! It is real, and there is a good future for us! We will cling to this, even if we lose everything else, for nothing else matters aside from this hope and the love that we hold for one another.
I have transcribed below an article written by the Associated Press that details some of the events of that day and memorials of today.
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