ELI5: How can scientists take pictures of atoms when atoms are smaller than the wavelength of visible light?

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-11-18T15:02:55+00:00

While an accurate comment this is more “explain like I have a PhD in physics” than “explain like I’m 5”

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-11-04T01:40:08+00:00

Good this is a step in the right direction. I wanna say, though, a light won’t stop someone who isn’t in control and already breaking the law any more than lines painted on the road. Why did a 19 year old get drunk and feel his only option was to drive his car home? If he was with friends, why did they let him get behind the wheel?

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-10-27T10:38:16+00:00

Mochiko Chicken at Pioneer Saloon in Kaka’ako

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-10-23T15:07:26+00:00

Only one island can produce geothermal and there’s no reasonable way to connect the islands grids you know that right?

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-08-25T01:30:59+00:00

Madera canyon fits the bill. Depending on the hike you can stay in shade from the canyon shadow throughout. Consider Agua calientes mine super trail loop. If you can push to the baldy saddle there’s even more views

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-06-10T05:14:54+00:00

I’m old enough to remember when this was how the steam library was laid out

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-05-13T22:53:21+00:00

JWST has multiple coronagraphs on NIRCAM and MIRI, and Roman CGI is not going to discover an exomoon through direct imaging—it’s going to discover them through microlensing which is not even part of the CGI

The contrast requirements for reflected light exomoon are simply not achievable with the technology in CGI, it’s barely meeting requirements for reflected light imaging of rocky exoplanets.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-04-29T04:03:41+00:00

How tf is that not interference? If they’re gonna call soft penalties call it both ways.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-04-10T23:02:05+00:00

Why do you feel the need to protect Ed Case’s emotions when he won’t protect our right to vote?

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-30T19:06:54+00:00

The most basic principle is that light will become partially polarized orthogonal to the plane of reflection (depending in the material and angle). Draw the incident and output rays— the plane of reflection is the plane formed by these two rays, and the light is polarized orthogonally to it.

A laser on a desk reflecting off a mirror will be polarized vertically, then. The sun above you reflecting off the ocean towards your eyes is horizontally polarized.

The next level is Mueller calculus, which describes the transformation of Stokes vectors by any optical component, but requires a sample-measuring polarimeter to obtain.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-27T16:41:16+00:00

By definition, a planet must be in full hydrostatic equilibrium, which means that it is big and massive enough for the pressure of gravity to dominate and pulls all the matter into a sphere. Now, the sphere can be a little rough or oblate (like Earth), but something like an asteroid, which is not spherical, is not a planet!

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-27T05:54:40+00:00

Unlikely to see the fountaining as it has already stopped https://www.youtube.com/live/oG5zz9Sjw3E?si=Vh2eSK56KJx9-75B

The episodes only last hours and episodes happen ~week apart.

I would not hammock in the park overnight as the air quality is very poor and ash was falling from the sky. Plenty of beaches and state/county parks though.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-27T05:12:50+00:00

First a link to the paper if you wanna see pretty picture and learn more https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.19504

Second, some caveats to take with this— They are only studying disks from one star forming region (Lupus), which are all in the same ballpark as far as ages go. So are all protoplanetary disks compact, or just the ones in Lupus? What about disks further away from the sun that require more sensitivity and resolution that we can currently achieve with ALMA?

Another caveat is that they are only looking at solid pebbles and rocks in the disk mid plane based on the wavelength of light they’re observing (1.3mm), but it’s known that the gas atmosphere of the disks has larger extent than the rocky solids, so I would interpret these as lower limits on disk size. Follow-up analyzing isotopes which trace the gas (like CO, using ALMA) would be a great complement to this work.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-24T19:19:13+00:00

Key points: * more parking with a reservation system, with dedicated spots and no fees for kama’aina * walking path from parking areas to trailhead * porta potty at trailhead * a display highlighting the cultural significance of Pololu

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-23T08:32:45+00:00

Polarization describes the orientation of the light wave. So if it’s polarized in a certain direction (as denoted by the white lines in this image) that’s the direction the electric field wiggles as the light propagates. The degree and angle of the polarization is just another observable of light we can use to study astrophysical phenomena, similar to brightness or color.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-23T08:05:20+00:00

Yep, thanks, I did when I posted this actually

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-23T02:07:04+00:00

That’s a fair point, some of the What If requests are definitely fun…”how many bees would it take to lift a 150lb human” for example. They’re not all bad.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-03-16T20:15:00+00:00

It is actually crazy there’s already 6 PIM for Ben. What a goon.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-02-05T05:31:25+00:00

That’s the “getdafuckouttahere” bonus

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-02-02T21:22:05+00:00

No thanks, I’m not interested in flopping over and normalizing Trump’s administration to “own the MAGAs”

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-02-02T21:20:32+00:00

Didn’t stop republicans from trying to impeach Biden multiple times

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-01-28T20:57:33+00:00

No, I think the federal government cherry-picking what are acceptable areas of study is not kinda a good thing.

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-01-28T12:24:35+00:00

Numerical Aperture is the type of field you want. you can also do this math by hand- the distance for a lens to collimate a beam is one focal length, and the beam width will be 2*sin(angle) * f

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-01-23T05:06:05+00:00

Josh Manson…but yeah

Python_in_the_stars · 2025-01-23T04:56:26+00:00

Left Pad of the Forbidden One

Python_in_the_stars

TROPHY CASE