Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
Some numerology of astronomy
WHAT might be the hidden significance of the number 187.5? We reported that a measure of the delay between the arrival of low- and high-frequency components of mysterious bursts of radio waves comes in exact multiples of 187.5 (4 April, p 8). Chris Conklin immediately wrote to point out that 1.875 is 鈥渢he smallest positive solution of cos(x)cosh(x) = 鈥�1鈥� and appears in the formula for calculating the frequency of a crystal oscillator from its size and properties. But the link to quartz clocks seems circumstantial to us.
An Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics found 80.44% of people want foods containing DNA to be labelled. We were cutting down on those that don鈥檛鈥�
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Food and drink for thought
IDLY searching for the number 187.5 鈥� key to the astronomical mystery described above 鈥� finds it surprisingly often. A quarter bottle of wine is 187.5 millilitres; we find chocolate in units of 187.5 grams; and, probably for a reason, one that escapes us, some antidepressants are delivered in tablets containing 187.5 milligrams of the drug. In a further example of our ability to see patterns in noise, we sought to complete the set of drug, red wine and chocolate with cheese, in 187.5 g portions.
We thus discovered instead that this is a common, if absurdly precise, conversion of the US recipe measure 鈥渙ne-and-a-half cups鈥�. If the radio bursts are a signal from aliens, are they looking for our lunch?
We revisit magic DNA numbers
THINKING of aliens wielding odd numbers prompts us to delve into our piling system to draw out responses to the suggestion that the number 37 is encoded in our DNA, and has odd numerological properties (20/27 December 2014, p 61). Mick Crisford was 鈥渓ess than impressed鈥� with these, because they depend on us happening to count in base 10 (7 January, p 54).
Chris Goldfrap points out that the hexadecimal number 5B has a similar range of properties and that aliens have loads more possible code numbers to choose from. Feedback expects a proper citation from the aliens.
What does this anti-lens see?
PERHAPS those mystery radio signals come from distant galaxies? This leads us to ask: how can we tell these aren鈥檛 made of antimatter? This is one of those 鈥渂ig questions鈥� that has long concerned us (3 August 1996, p 36).
Did astronomers answer this by observing whole clusters of galaxies colliding without producing the fireworks expected from matter meeting antimatter (30 August 2008, p 14)? Not according to a from the , which claims that a telescope made with concave lenses has confirmed the detection of antimatter galaxies.
Concave lenses don鈥檛 focus light, so how would a telescope that used them work? The Santilli press release helpfully explains: 鈥淭he only possibility for a telescope with concave lenses to focus images is that the antimatter-light has an index of refraction opposite that of matter-light鈥� a negative index of refraction can only occur if antimatter-light is repelled by matter, namely matter and antimatter repel each other.鈥� Klar?
There are no anti-photons
BUT wait. The above explanation for antimatter-detecting anti-lenses speaks of the index of refraction of light. It鈥檚 matter that has one of those. So, presumably, does antimatter.
And you can鈥檛 have 鈥渕atter-light鈥� and 鈥渁ntimatter-light鈥� because light is made of photons, and photons are identical to antiphotons. So what we appear to have is a new type of quantum fruitloopery 鈥� sneakily avoiding the word 鈥渜uantum鈥�.
Rereading the press release we do note an inherent duality in the author, who signs herself as 鈥渆xecutive vice-president鈥� of the Institute of Basic Research in one place and as 鈥渆xcessive vice-president鈥� in a second.
Subliminal education message?
WITH the UK election taking place on 7 May, Feedback is concerned that the country鈥檚 Education Council may be sending subliminal messages. These are detectable, however, by those who have served in the armed forces.
The Council promotes study in the UK and has been advertising the 2015, in which more than 90 universities will take part on 16 May. Posters for the event, and the organiser鈥檚 website, feature a picture of a cheery student with a Union Jack flag on a stick over her shoulder.
The flag is upside down. To those steeped in, for example, naval protocol, this is traditionally a sign of distress. What message is the Council giving about education?
L猫se-majest茅? Unthinkable!
INVERTING a flag may an insult to our own dear Queen. Feedback finds this interpretation unthinkable, if not, , illegal.
Attribution where it is due
FINALLY, Feedback wishes to make a correction. Discussing the proposition that 鈥渁nyone who suspects the probability of a set of independent failures occurring together to be vanishingly small should urgently make plans to cope with them all happening at once鈥�, we noted the suggestion that it could be called 鈥淩incewind鈥檚 Rule鈥� after the hapless wizard in Terry Pratchett鈥檚 Discworld novels (11 April).
It was, we insist, alliteration and not sexism that trumped precedence of attribution here: in fact, it was Granny Weatherwax who first enunciated the principle in Equal Rites, a of Pratchett鈥檚 fantastical universe. Honest, Granny.