“If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others”*…
In cosmology as in so many branches of the scientists, theorist tend to get most of the attention. But in the end, it’s experimentalists who covert hypothesis into knowledge. Current theories suggest that our universe– which could be “the universe” or could be one of many– could be a hologram, a computer program, a black hole or a bubble—and, experimentalists suggest, there are ways to check…
Ponder their proofs at “What Is the Universe? Real Physics Has Some Mind-Bending Answers.”
* Philip K. Dick
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As we practice our pronunciation of “billions and billions,” we might spare a thought for Ron Toomer; he died on this date in 2011. Toomer began his career as an aeronautical engineer who contributed to the heat shields on NASA’s Apollo spacecraft. But in 1965, he joined Arrow Development, an amusement park ride design company, where he became a legendary creator of steel roller coasters. His first assignment was “The Run-Away Mine Train” (at Six Flags Over Texas), the first “mine train” ride, and the second steel roller coaster (after Arrow’s Matterhorn Ride at Disneyland). Toomer went on to design 93 coasters worldwide, and was especially known for his creation of the first “inversion” coasters (he built the first coasters with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, loops). In 2000, he was inducted in the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame as a “Living Legend.”
Toomer with his design model for “The Corkscrew,” the first three-inversion coaster
“The Corkscrew” at Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio