mass
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Astronomers more accurately calculate the Milky Way's mass
It's impossible to arrive at an exact measurement for the billions of stars and other objects that make up the Milky Way. However, a group of astronomers say they have calculated the most accurate estimate to date. In a paper that will be published in The Astrophysics Journal, the scientists estimate the mass of the Milky Way to be 9.5 x 1041 kilograms or 95 followed by 40 zeros. For reference, that's 4.8 x 1011 times the mass of the sun. Astronomers use the so-called "solar masses" as a standard unit of measure, comparing other objects and formations to the sun.
Researchers help give the kilogram a fundamental equivalent
Much to the consternation of scientists, the cylindrical platinum-iridium artifacts that represent the kilogram (see image above) have been gradually packing on extra weight due to surface contamination. Since that unit of measure is the last to be based on an artifact and not a physical constant of nature -- for instance, a meter is the distance light travels in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second -- it means that scientists no longer know exactly how much a kilogram is. That makes experiments requiring extreme precision more difficult, so researchers from Mettler Toledo, CERN and the EPFL have been working for the last 15 years on a so-called Watt balance, which works on the principle of electromagnetic force restoration. The team managed to created a "load cell" that's accurate to a 0.3 µg resolution for a 2kg weight, well below the desired level of 1 µg -- meaning the goal of replacing a hunk of metal from 1878 with something more, ahem, solid is within reach by the 2015 target date.
Mass. legislators considering 'games-as-porn' bill
Tomorrow the Massachusetts legislature will discuss a bill that would make it illegal for minors to buy video games deemed too violent by the state (not through ESRB ratings such as M or AO). No similar law exists for movies, music or books. House Bill 1423 is dubbed a "games-as-porn" bill because the rationale used to prevent minors from buying violent video games is the same used on porn. The original bill was drafted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (pictured) with assistance from Jack Thompson and legislative sponsor Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry (D).GamePolitics points out HB1423 is based on a failed Utah bill and, given the history of other similar bills, it seems odd that Massachusetts would potentially be putting itself (and taxpayer dollars) at risk of repaying the ESA for fighting this bill in court.
When good toys go bad IV: explicit CD player triggered during mass
While we've seen quite a few toys pulling stunts that they should definitely be ashamed of, the latest edition ups the ante by doing its dirty deed in a Roman Catholic cathedral. Following the "if it blinks, obliterate it" mentality so well exemplified at various Boston transit arteries, a team of Santa Fe bomb squad experts were called onto the scene after three CD players were triggered to start blasting "sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass" at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Reportedly, the players were "duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews," apparently causing the innocent church dwellers to assume the worse -- you know, like C4 explosives camouflaged as a mid-range driver. Nevertheless, the bomb squad removed the devices, took them outside, and probably had a thrilling experience whilst detonating two of the players as a safety measure. Once the crew realized the only explosive tendencies were captured in the inappropriate lyrics, they salvaged the third unit to comb for fingerprints and hopefully arrest the perpetrator(s). Now, which cop is going to cave in and post the fireworks on YouTube?[Via BoingBoing]
