August 7, 2002
4:14 PM Subscribe
A computer aided simulation builds a spiral galaxy from its beginning. In all, 390,000 particles were placed in an arrangement similar to a newborn galaxy. The end result after three months is an event that is believed to take billions of years to occur. (animation)
There's something evil and alive about that animation.
posted by donkeyschlong at 5:20 PM on August 7, 2002
posted by donkeyschlong at 5:20 PM on August 7, 2002
Each country has its myth about how it all began.
This site has them all.
posted by rightho at 5:33 PM on August 7, 2002
This site has them all.
posted by rightho at 5:33 PM on August 7, 2002
The universe is self-organizing.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:13 PM on August 7, 2002
posted by five fresh fish at 7:13 PM on August 7, 2002
although waiting 3 months between computations must get a bit tiresome.
I agree, but you must admit it sure beats waiting 2 billion years :) The progress of computer technology utilized in research constantly amazes me. Sure, a super computer such as ASCII white may have been able to run this type of simulation within a day, being able to do it in three months with local resources is something only daydreamed about a decade ago.
What I think will be interesting is the next time they run the simulation. I wonder if what they observed was a rare relationship between gas and dark matter, or if it constantly turns out to create spiraled arms.
While I'd love to have a copy of the program so I could create my own universe, guess I'll have to wait.
There are plenty of freely available galaxy sims to occupy the armchair astronaut in me for now such as the awe inspiring Celestia. It's an "interesting" feeling to zip along to a distant star only to find, that when you turn around, Sol could be 1 out of 10,000 points of light. Some other beautifully crafted, but less intuitively controlled simulations are Orbiter and OpenUniverse.
posted by samsara at 8:36 PM on August 7, 2002
I agree, but you must admit it sure beats waiting 2 billion years :) The progress of computer technology utilized in research constantly amazes me. Sure, a super computer such as ASCII white may have been able to run this type of simulation within a day, being able to do it in three months with local resources is something only daydreamed about a decade ago.
What I think will be interesting is the next time they run the simulation. I wonder if what they observed was a rare relationship between gas and dark matter, or if it constantly turns out to create spiraled arms.
While I'd love to have a copy of the program so I could create my own universe, guess I'll have to wait.
There are plenty of freely available galaxy sims to occupy the armchair astronaut in me for now such as the awe inspiring Celestia. It's an "interesting" feeling to zip along to a distant star only to find, that when you turn around, Sol could be 1 out of 10,000 points of light. Some other beautifully crafted, but less intuitively controlled simulations are Orbiter and OpenUniverse.
posted by samsara at 8:36 PM on August 7, 2002
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posted by zygoticmynci at 4:57 PM on August 7, 2002