I’ve never been interested in astrophysics, quantum mechanics, or anything else I think involves too much theory and not enough proof. (And I might be completely off base with those particular impressions.) I find myself wondering if people just make up these theories to justify their jobs or funding, knowing we can’t disprove them. Having said that, and again admitting that my little brain may be leading me astray in all matters, I am really impressed that there are people out there smart enough to imagine and then calculate Lagrange Points.

What's amazing to me is the original discovery of Lagrange points occurred in the late 1700s.

There is a LOT of data on all the things you mention. You are relying on quantum mechanics in your daily life (everything form fiber networks and a lot of modern electronics).

Astrophysics really doesn't have a lot of impact on daily life but they have not measured the properties of millions of galaxies to fit to models of the origin of the universe. We've recently learned how most of the gold in the universe is made (neutron star collisions)

I don't see any fields as needing "smarter" people than others - the smartest people make advances in all areas, whether is aeronautical engineering or cosmology.

This might help. Sounds like the secondary mirror is now good.

Here's a Dumb Bruce question (it's been several minutes since I've asked one):

The reason for the JWST (as I understand it) is that the light energy from the most distance reaches have undergone the Red Shift, meaning the light's wavelengths have stretched out and are no longer in the visible light spectrum and they are dim, too, meaning the waves' amplitude has decreased.
It stands to reason that the wavelengths will continue to lengthen and the waves' amplitude will continue to decrease over time and distance (same thing, really, no?)... so... does that mean that eventually the energy waves will "flatline"? What will it be then? Or is that the "background noise" from the Big Bang that we already know about? Or could one consider the regions of space where all energy waves have petered out like that as being the somewhat fuzzy edge of the universe?

Here's a video of it in testing. With the NASA folks in the picture, you get a much better sense of the size of it.

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a ... yVideo.mp4

Not a dumb question at all. What you describe is the 'cooling off' of the universe, at least from the standpoint of red shift as a proxy. I would not view amplitude like you view amplitude of a sea wave but rather think of intensity as the number of waves.

I supported some of the electronics reliability side of JWT a long, long time ago. I cannot imagine the gut wrenching nervousness the mechanical guys must've been experiencing. Every single moving joint represents a zillion nightmare failure scenarios. I can't believe the thing has worked as well as it has so far to be honest with you.


Then again, like me, I imagine most of the original engineers have long since moved on to other projects, other jobs, or the afterworld.

Not a dumb question at all. What you describe is the 'cooling off' of the universe, at least from the standpoint of red shift as a proxy. I would not view amplitude like you view amplitude of a sea wave but rather think of intensity as the number of waves.

Earlier in the thread, someone asked why the Webb telescope doesn't have cameras that can monitor the deployment of its components and allow operators to check on its status.

I heard one of the team offer a detailed explanation the other day during a live event, but here's a detailed answer at the project's blog.

Each time I read about or hear one of the team discuss this project I am dazzled by the engineering talent and skill they bring to the challenge.

Meanwhile, the unfolding continues as planned. A critical heat radiator has been deployed.

Tomorrow and Saturday should complete the opening of the primary mirror.

Look to the scientific achievements of our species, progressing and producing at prodigious rates and be both dazzled and humbled by the brilliance of the human mind.

Turn and look around you at the gouging ignorance and stupidity of the vast majority of the population with whom we walk daily and be disgusted that they are the ones that actually dominate the track of our civilization. To them, in the end, it's all magic anyway.

Jg

What's amazing to me is the original discovery of Lagrange points occurred in the late 1700s.

First primary mirror segment deployed and latched. The final segment should be deployed tomorrow. That's the final major unfolding before the telescope begins testing and calibration.

Amazing.

What amazes me in this whole thing - why somewhere along the line they didn't stop by, and instead spending on those millions of $ and thousands of hours trying to design, test and failproof the unfolding process, called Musk and ask 'can we get wider first stage fairing'?

I'm not talking deploy it fully unfolded, but at least the main mirror? Looking at the origami video it feels like even small increase in volume of the first stage could significantly reduce complexity

They say that a country/culture that changes the cost of a critical necessity changes the world to their favor.

Agriculture changed the world by making food cheap/plentiful.
The Romans made transportation easy (roads). Later trains, cars & aviation.
Gunpowder for war.
The printing press for information. Later, the internet did the same.
The telegraph for communications, later the phone.
The societies that conquered the oceans with ships that could navigate reliably and sail in any winds.

The next big jump will be energy, and the divorce from extracted energy (IE petro). This will be the ultimate game changer, period.

The first country that makes economic fusion power a thing is going to win biggly.

The step after that is reliable transport to space and the outer planets. There are riches beyond the dreams of avarice lurking in the asteroid belt.

Hop on the train, or get left behind. Look to the stars, not at your feet.