06.07.08 -- Beam Me Up! -- the Acrostic

Beam Me Up by Tiros D'Raagon of Dragon Council
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz
Today’s quotation is taken from the Preface of
Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku. The purpose of this book is to consider what technologies are considered “impossible” today that might well become commonplace decades to centuries down the road.
The quotation: WRITERS OF STAR TREK WERE SO STUNG BY CRITICISM FROM PHYSICISTS THAT THEY ADDED HEISENBERG COMPENSATORS TO EXPLAIN THEIR TELEPORTERS TODAY BECAUSE OF A RECENT BREAKTHROUGH PHYSICISTS CAN TELEPORT ATOMS ACROSS A ROOM
The author’s name and the title of the work: KAKU PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
The defined words: KRAMER (A. TV character in apartment 5B); ASTEROIDS; (B. Classic Atari arcade game); KETCH (C. Boat similar to a yawl);
UPTHRUST (D. Buoyancy; forcible rise of the earth’s crust); PRESTO (E. Utterance from a conjurer); HIGH BEAM (F. Lamp on a lonely road at night [2 wds.]); YOGI (G. Master of many an asana); STRANGE (H. Third-lightest flavor of quark); ICE STORM (I. Potential cause of broken limbs [2 wds.]); CYBERSPACE (J. Virtual reality milieu); K. Tom SWIFT, inventive genius of fiction; OP ART (L. Eye-tricking works [2 wds.]); FINEST (M. Able to pass through the tiniest holes); TEST CASE (N. Precedent-setting legal action [2 wds.]); HERSCHEL (O. Discoverer of Uranus and infrared light); EMITTER (P. Whence electrons flow in a transistor); IXION (Q. King forever revolving in Tartarus); METEROIC (R. Brief but brilliant); PUSSYFOOT (S. Move stealthily or cautiously); OSTRACOD (T. Tiny bivalve also called a seed shrimp); SPLASH DOWN (U. Land in the water [2 wds.]); STROBE (V. Aid for photographing a bullet in flight, e.g.); ITCHY (W. Restless, unable to sit still); BETA RAYS (X. Signs of decay observed in a lab [2 wds.]); LEONARDO (Y. One of four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles); ERRANT (Z. Traveling in quest of adventure).
The full paragraph of the quote: Already one “impossible” technology is now proving to be possible: the notion of teleportation (at least at the level of atoms). Even a few years ago physicists would have said that sending or beaming an object from one point to another violated the laws of quantum physics. The writers of the original Star Trek television series, in fact were so stung by the criticism from physicists that they added
“Heisenberg compensators” to explain their teleporters in order to address this flaw. Today because of a recent breakthrough, physicists can teleport atoms across a room or photons under the Danube River.
Beam me up Scotty!
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1 comment:

Leon said...

Thanks for the write-up.

"Beam me up Scotty !" link was great.

The NYT Tom Swifties competition now has 2,182 comments.