Physics
Sonic black holes
If a fluid flows faster than sound, sound waves can become trapped behind a boundary that behaves like the event horizon of a black hole. It is a clever way to explore ideas such as Hawking radiation in a laboratory.
Here I will put some things I find interesting about any topic. If something is outdated or you know something that could fit this place, let me know.
Physics
The Unruh effect
What does empty space look like when you are accelerating? According to quantum field theory, an accelerating observer would detect a warm bath of particles where an observer moving at constant speed sees only vacuum.
Language
Arabic morphology and the mental lexicon
Many Arabic words are built by fitting consonantal roots into different patterns. This raises a question: when we learn a word, what exactly does the mind store? The whole word, its root, its pattern, or something smaller? The papers below approach the question through experiments and through unusual language errors found in aphasia and dyslexia.
- Prunet, Béland & Idrissi, “The Mental Representation of Semitic Words” (2000)
- Boudelaa & Marslen-Wilson, “Structure, Form, and Meaning in the Mental Lexicon: Evidence from Arabic” (2015)
- Idrissi & Kehayia, “Morphological Units in the Arabic Mental Lexicon: Evidence from an Individual with Deep Dyslexia” (2004)
Technology
Google Maps UX: The India Conundrum
How does Google maps give directions in India if there are no street names?