This Dreamy Animation Shows A Massive Black Hole Tearing Apart A Passing Star

Today is the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s presentation of general relativity’s field equations to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The equations demonstrated the relationship between the local curvature of spacetime and the energy and momentum within that area of spacetime. The first image shows the way that Einstein first presented the equations in his 25 November 1915 paper, where G_im is the Ricci tensor; g_im, the metric tensor; T_im, the energy–momentum tensor for matter; and κ is proportional to Newton’s gravitational constant. The second image shows a modern full version of the equation where R_μν, is the Ricci curvature tensor; R, is the scalar curvature; g_μν, is the metric tensor; Λ, is the cosmological constant; G, is Newton’s gravitational constant; c, is the speed of light in vacuum; and T_μν, is the stress–energy tensor. For more about Einstein’s development of the equations, we have a article available from our November issue: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.2979

via: Physics Today

Masterpieces in Agar. These are some of the most beautiful Agar Art pics from (and inspired by) the annual competition hosted by the American Society for Microbiology. Read more about the contest, the artists, and their work here.

Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.

Carl Sagan, Cosmos  (via victoriousvocabulary)

I need help. So, you know how when you’re in a bus, or in a car, and you throw something into the air and it basically moves with the bus? It goes straight back down when you throw it up, as if the bus wasn’t moving. But the bus /is/ moving so PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY

Subvisual Subway - Bacteria of the New York City subway- Craig Ward

“Infinity is just an 8 that has gone to sleep.”

Real analysis professor (via mathprofessorquotes)

The fear of being found, Greg Ponthus

Happy Birthday Carl (1934 - 1996). Your legacy continues to shine.