An Age of Magic

How to stay slim – the secret is in staying single!

If this is all it takes to keep the figure then maybe more people will consider staying single. Well, it is often claimed that marriage makes you far more contented but now scientists have discovered the extent to which that happiness translates into extra pounds around the waist. Married men are three times as likely to suffer from abdominal obesity – or belly fat – as single men, their report shows. Married women are twice as likely to have those problems as those who remain unmarried – we know this already though.

But is it better to go for the happy marriage and keep the weight loss pills in stock or stay single and slim…? Unmarried people often spend a lot of time keeping fit and making themselves attractive to find a partner. But once they get married they let themselves go because the need to hunt for a partner is reduced – this might sound familiar to many people and it is kind of true. The important thing though is to keep on making the effort once you are married because married people seem to be happier in the long run – don’t let yourself go.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Quantum mechanics…and all that jazz.

The mind-bending and confusing laws of quantum mechanics – you know, where tiny atoms and molecules can effectively be in two places at once, just like us women – have been applied to a visible object for the first time. A U.S team managed to create a quantum state in an object billions of times larger than any previously tested. Andrew Cleland from the University of California and his team used a tiny metal paddle, which is inclined to vibrate when a current passes through it.

They cooled it down to a 1000th of a degree above absolute zero. This is very close to its quantum mechanical ‘ground state’, which is when no more energy can be removed. The team then transmitted just one quantum of electrical energy from a specially devised electric circuit to the paddle. They were able to show the resonating paddle was in a quantum state, between one and zero quanta of energy. This meant it was effectively moving and standing still at the same time.

He described a situation where a cat is placed inside a steel chamber alongside a vial of acid and a small amount of radioactive substance. If one atom of this decays during a test period this will break the vial and kill the cat.Schrodinger said according to quantum law the cat was alive and dead in a super-position of states while the chamber was closed. The state of the cat is only decided when the chamber is opened and the cat is observed. So it is the observation or measurement itself that affects the outcome.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Does your child ‘know everything’ as well…?

I have one – my eldest in fact – who you just cannot give advice of any kind to. He knows everything you see. The trouble is when he realises that he doesn’t, and that Mum was actually correct in what she said, he wont admit it…

Like for example when he went to go and set up house abroad with his now-fiancee. I told him to check that he had an unlocked phone before he left so that when he arrived he would not get the nasty surprise of his mobile phone not working. But would he listen…? nope. Surprise, surprise – he gets to Germany and tries to call Mum and it doesn’t work. Now he has a new phone and has had to outlay for the expense – I suggested he just change the sim card but did he listen…?

You guessed it.

Popularity: 30% [?]