@ #65 posted by nolongeranon

Just to clarify: I only took issue with your statement that "Work is independent of the mass of the object." In your original statement (#56), you correctly responded to #33, who said "More mass moved across the same distance is more work." You are correct that more mass moved across the same distance is not necessarily more work.

However, it is not the case that work is independent of mass. In your example, you may have set it up so that the same amount of work could be performed on two different masses, but this does not mean that the two are independent. For work to truly be mathematically independent of mass, you would have to be able to freely vary the mass and have no effect on the work (all other terms held constant). This is clearly not the case.

So, while work may be independent of a lot of things, like, say, the color of the car or the scent of the air freshener, it is not independent of its mass (all other things (distance and acceleration) remaining equal).

#56 posted by nolongeranon:

See that? W = F*d. Work is independent of the mass of the object.

Catastrophic physics fail, man.
While Work = Force * Distance, Force = Mass * Acceleration (F=ma). The algebra is pretty simple here:
W = F * d
F = m * a
W = (m * a) * d
So the amount of work you do fundamentally depends on the amount of mass you're moving.
http://www.xkcd.com/386/

... but go ahead, tell us you were being sarcastic. :)

@ZUZU #2 and everyone:

Actually the technology that goes into the drills used in brain surgery really is quite impressive. They're not just super-sterile Ryobi or Craftsman mock-ups.

Surgical drills for operating on the human brain have carefully calibrated sensors that determine the amount of resistance they're experiencing, which can identify whether they're drilling through soft tissue or bone. Critically, these sensors prevent the drill from continuing to bore once it's gone through the skull. This way unattentive surgeons don't accidentally keep boring into your parietal lobe, or any other critical piece of brain tissue. I'd say $30k for such technology isn't so unreasonable.

If you're interested in the technology and techniques of brain surgery, you should definitely check out Katrina Firlik's Another Day in the Frontal Lobe (2006, Random House). Full disclosure: I have no financial interest in that book. Also, I'm a neuroscientist, not a neurologist, so excuse the lack of details!

One thing I've always been curious about: Many major airports have more than one security checkpoint for getting into the terminal. I've definitely seen people get out of line (after being told by a screener they can't carry item X onto the plane) to return to the ticket counter to check a certain piece of luggage. So -- Is it possible to just get out of line and instead go to another security checkpoint and try again, hoping perhaps to get more reasonable TSA agents? With a little footwork, one might actually win the security-line lottery once in a while...

I'm halfway through this book right now and can't seem to put it down. Highly recommended. Shubin blends the right amount of autobiography with straight-up science with clever metaphor to keep the book engaging whatever your scientific background.

It also has numerous clear, straightforward, and easy-to-remember examples of the strong evidence we have for Darwinian evolution... in case you ever find yourself in need of a quick trump card while debating proponents of "ID".

I can't speak to the Empire State Building specifically, but I can confirm that powerful radio waves (microwaves) can affect automobiles.

There was a large FAA radar installation several miles north of a town I used to live in. If you drove along the highway by the radar dome and got caught in the radar sweep, it could definitely affect your car. Depending on the particular make and model, anything from the air conditioner to the radio to the entire engine could fail temporarily.

Although I'm no physicist / auto mechanic, there's clearly something going on between the microwaves and the electrical components of the car. (I mean, this is why high-powered microwave ovens have warnings about getting your pacemaker too close to them!).

Of course, my experiences with this radar predated keyless ignition by at least a decade, so there could definitely be other factors involved.