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What sonic black holes say about real ones

quantamagazine.org

11–20 of 33 posts

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#11
post #7
post #5

Is there a good word that describes the somewhat uncomfortable feeling one gets in their stomach when thinking about the magnitude and complexity of reality? Is humbled a feeling? I can't thinking of anything good in English, wondering if any other languages have this word (like how Saudade is in Portuguese)

Maybe you mean "awe"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awe

I was thinking about awe, it's probably the most accurate, but when you go to something like "saudade" - awe doesn't feel "deep" enough (not sure that makes sense)? Then again, I don't know that we tend to have particularly "emotionally deep" words in English... Awe is good though.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#12
I have a (probably stupid) question - are the tunnels (https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/science-and-future/ear...) the solar system is currently in - connected to black hole at the heart of our galaxy?

Like do black holes extend enormous magnetic tendrils into the surrounding space similar to neutron stars?

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#13
post #5

Is there a good word that describes the somewhat uncomfortable feeling one gets in their stomach when thinking about the magnitude and complexity of reality? Is humbled a feeling? I can't thinking of anything good in English, wondering if any other languages have this word (like how Saudade is in Portuguese)

Some might call it the sublime: "fascinated but also a bit unsettled" "existentially insignificant but strangely exalted" “delightful horror” and a “sort of tranquility tinged with terror.” from https://erraticus.co/2018/12/04/sublime-experience-kant-scho...

This is a fantastic article, thanks for sharing, I hadn't remotely considered sublime in this context, probably because they're my favourite band...sublime is great word in this context.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#14
post #11
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you mean "awe"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awe

I was thinking about awe, it's probably the most accurate, but when you go to something like "saudade" - awe doesn't feel "deep" enough (not sure that makes sense)? Then again, I don't know that we tend to have particularly "emotionally deep" words in English... Awe is good though.

Thanks for making me look up "saudade", it is quite different from what I had expected!

Wikipedia has articles in different languages on it.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#15
post #2

Absolute pure amateur here with no expertise or special knowledge, but could this work lead to new insights about the emergence of turbulent flows, or is thaat currently very well understood?

Fluid mech on the whole has a lot left to solve.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30011260 looks at this a bit.

Author confirmed that superradiance, backreaction, and quasi-normal radiance are all observable in the fluid analog. These observations will likely prove useful for fluid mech as well as astrophys

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#16
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you like that feeling, read Stephen Baxter's work. Existential dread is the main character in a lot of it, it's quite something. The Xeelee Sequence especially comes to mind.

My go to is works by Greg Egan (e.g. Diaspora and Schild's Ladder and Permutation City). Thanks for the suggestion, I will check out Baxter.

Always glad to share. I'll check out Greg Egan, I've heard the name a bunch of times but never actually got to his work yet.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#17
post #5

Is there a good word that describes the somewhat uncomfortable feeling one gets in their stomach when thinking about the magnitude and complexity of reality? Is humbled a feeling? I can't thinking of anything good in English, wondering if any other languages have this word (like how Saudade is in Portuguese)

The Greek word "δέος" I think describes what you feel. A combination of admiration and fear, but also to recognize the grandeur of a higher power. It's frequently used for spiritual purposes. Awe is the English translation.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#19
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My go to is works by Greg Egan (e.g. Diaspora and Schild's Ladder and Permutation City). Thanks for the suggestion, I will check out Baxter.

Always glad to share. I'll check out Greg Egan, I've heard the name a bunch of times but never actually got to his work yet.

He is my all time favourite science fiction author. If it's existential dread you're after he delivers it in spades.

Re: What sonic black holes say about real ones

#20
post #5

Is there a good word that describes the somewhat uncomfortable feeling one gets in their stomach when thinking about the magnitude and complexity of reality? Is humbled a feeling? I can't thinking of anything good in English, wondering if any other languages have this word (like how Saudade is in Portuguese)

terrible beauty
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