[blackhole]

Davydov soliton is a quantum quasiparticle representing a propagating along the protein α-helix self-trapped amide I excitation that is a solution of the Davydov Hamiltonian. The Davydov model describes the interaction of the amide I vibrations with the hydrogen bonds that stabilize the α-helix of proteins. The elementary excitations within the α-helix are given by the phonons which correspond to the deformational oscillations of the lattice, and the excitons which describe the internal amide I excitations of the peptide groups.

In technical terms, they are vector gauge bosons that mediate strong color charge interactions of quarks in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Unlike the neutral photon of quantum electrodynamics (QED), gluons themselves participate in strong interactions.

It is clear from the quark model assignments that the kaons form two doublets of isospin; that is, they belong to the fundamental representation of SU(2) called the 2. One doublet of strangeness +1 contains the K+ and the K0. The antiparticles form the other doublet.

In principle, multiplicative quantum numbers can be defined for any Abelian group. An example would be to trade the electric charge, Q, (related to the Abelian group U(1) of electromagnetism), for the new quantum number exp(2iπ Q). Then this becomes a multiplicative quantum number by virtue of the charge being an additive quantum number. However, this route is usually followed only for discrete subgroups of U(1), of which Z2 finds the widest possible use.

[Kosh]

Wow, looks a lot like this came from an episode of star trek.

[Black Wolf]

This is why quantum physicists get the kudos as probably the smartest people on the planet.

[Bobboau]

or most full of BS

[blowfish]

I never thought I would say this, but

Can I have that in English?

[Al Tarket]

welcome to the universe of star trek!! . what else have then got

http://www.jumpstation.ca/recroom/trek/techno.html Enjoy!

[IceFire]

Thats impressive amounts of techno babble.  I suppose it actually means something to the people who wrote it and would be interested in this stuff.  Actually its not all that different then when a bunch of computer folks start talking computer tech terms to people who are not computer people at all.

As for doing it on TV....StarTrek always got a little too caught up in it.  I love how in StarGate SG-1 Carter might start going off on one of these and O'Neil is aways saying "Carter!  Just stop..."

[MarkN]

The scary thing is that I understand those, although I couln't actually tell you what the davydov hamiltonian or an abelian group are.

Of course the real way to get confused is to ask what 'strangeness' is, or ask how to solve the davydov hamiltonian (I think this has no exact solution due to being a multi-body system).

As for alternatives in TV to star Trek, I like when Captain Sheriden in Babylon 5 is on the receiving end of some Minbari technobabble (about the Whitestars systems, I think), his response is 'As my grandfather would have said, cool'

[Colonol Dekker]

As i sometimes say. . If it's too complex for me to understand. . . I probably don't need to

[Al Tarket]

i have a similar saying 'if it can not be understood walk around it or ignore it'.

[Stormkeeper]

My favorite saying:

High explosives are life's solution to every thing.

If its too complicated to understand, I'll toss into the incinerator.

[Snail]

The problem with Technobabble is that in Doctor Who, it is significant to the plot. Every episode seems to end with "Yeah, we just use the circumventationary gamma ray ultraviolet spectrum-o-meter of the temporal rift transportation matter beam to superficially atomize the Dalek's delta waves, in turn forcing them into an enhanced state of sub-conscious dormant hibernation."

[CP5670]

I like what we mathematicians do instead, taking everyday words and giving them completely different meanings.

The scary thing is that I understand those, although I couln't actually tell you what the davydov hamiltonian or an abelian group are.

The latter is just a set with an addition operation that is commutative. No idea about the other one, but a Hamiltonian in general is a function that describes the total energy of a system in terms of its position and momentum.

[Davros]

A Hamiltonian is the relative probability of a black guy winning formula 1

[Solatar]

Scientists just like to compress entire sentences into multi-syllable words.

Career Sesquipidalians.

[Topgun]

I hate wow in star trek they make up some technobabble just so they can put it of as "ingenuity".
like: how are we going to circumvent the planets shields, captain?
captain- well, if we use the icnosecpanizer and the photon array, we can disable the shield.
-guy- that's a good idea captain! but there is a chance it might not work. what will we do then?
-captain- well, we just will have to try!

later we see that it wont work because they have a anti-emitter-cannon.
-some smart guy at the last moment-  Oh, know! they have a anti-emitter-cannon! wait! if we reverse the polarity of the icnosecpanizer we will save the day!

and they go on to save the day. the stupid writers can't even figure out something actually creative and ingenious  that the characters can do to save the day.

[Colonol Dekker]

Send in the redshirts. That's what i'd do.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Send in the redshirts. That's what i'd do.

DEM reference, Colonel?

A girl I know says she can do quite well in science. The problem was that she got sorted into a business course, which is mathematics-intensive.

[Mars]

Redshirts are expendable characters, not limited to DEM... it originates from star trek.

[CP5670]

A girl I know says she can do quite well in science. The problem was that she got sorted into a business course, which is mathematics-intensive.

No business course is math intensive.