NOTIDE LIRPA
RETTELSWEN ECNEICS EHT
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDERS
Hello everyone, and welcome to the First Edition of the
Spectrum Newsletter. We, the editors and founders - Arnav
Garg, Aryav Saigal and Atiksh Anand - hope that you enjoy, and
learn something new from your reading. A lot of effort has been
put by all of our talented authors into the articles in this
newsletter, and we are all wholeheartedly proud of this
publication.
Spectrum is just starting out, and if any of you feel inspired to
write after reading some of our brilliant articles, do put pen to
paper, or even finger to keyboard, and send your own articles, or
comments about our publication.
We won’t hold you any longer, so go on and check out this first
edition of Spectrum. Enjoy, and stay curious.
Sincerely,
The Founders
Arnav Garg, Aryav Saigal, Atiksh Anand
CONTENTS
1. The Big Bang Theory: Unlocking the Universe
Kunal Mathur
2. Modern Praxis: The Art of Speed
Ojasvi Anand
3. Stranger Things: Chaos and Symmetry
Prashasti Pandey
4. Escaping the Matrix: Setting the Bits
Aryav Saigal
THE BIG BANG THEORY
SPECTRUM KUNAL MATHUR
UNLOCKING THE UNIVERSE
HOW CERN CHANGED OUR PERSPECTIVE OF PARTICLE PHYSICS
Almost twelve years ago, on the 4th of July 2012, the ATLAS and
CMS experiments at CERN announced the discovery of a new particle
compatible with the long-sought Higgs boson - a particle which has
been sought since half a century.
This discovery takes us back to the events occurring in our early
universe, just a fraction of a nanosecond after the Big Bang, when a
mechanism took place that led to fundamental particles acquiring mass.
This Higgs mechanism postulates the existence of a field that
permeates the entire universe.
Atoms and molecules are the well known basic constituents of the
universe. But what are these atoms composed of? Atoms were
postulated long ago by the Greek philosopher Democritus. Protons,
neutrons and electrons came to be regarded as the fundamental
particles of nature when we learned in the 1900's through the
experiments of Rutherford and others that atoms consist of mostly
empty space with electrons surrounding a dense central nucleus made
up of protons and neutrons.
Particles such as electrons and quarks (constituents of atoms), and
almost all other elementary particles, acquire mass by interacting with
this postulated field. The impact is far-reaching: atoms can form, and
stars can shine, endowing our universe with its observed complexity. In
other words, without this field, there won’t be “us,” and everything of
substance would be mere “puffs of radiation.”
THE BIG BANG THEORY
SPECTRUM KUNAL MATHUR
This is where the mystifying and intriguing branch of science,
particle physics came in. Particle accelerators helped to surge
forward discoveries in this field- these could accelerate subatomic
particles such as protons and neutrons to such high speeds so as to
successfully collide them with nuclei. These experiments produced a
host of new particles which have continued to baffle scientists and
physicists.
Cern, based in a western suburb of Geneva, has a system of seven
particle accelerators and two de accelerators. The CMS or Compact
Muon Solenoid is one of the leading contributors to research in this
field in the past decade. The basic purpose of the CMS, and the
LHC's other detectors like ATLAS, is to capture as much
information as possible about the particles created in high-energy
collisions in the LHC's massive, 27 kilometers underground ring,
according to CERN.
THE BIG BANG THEORY
SPECTRUM KUNAL MATHUR
The Compact Muon Solenoid is akin to a giant 3D camera,
snapping up to 40 million images of particle collisions, from all
directions, every second. It contains around 75 million individual
electronic sensors, which can record the curved paths traced out by
charged particles. The outer layer of the detector is where the
elusive muons are observed, using specially designed "muon
chambers."
The beauty of the experiment lies in the fact that when electricity
(~18,500A) is circulated within these coils, they encounter no
resistance -- the magic of superconductivity! -- and can generate a
magnetic field of around 4 tesla.
The final particle that CMS observes directly is the muon. Muons
belong to the same family of particles as the electron, although they
are around 200 times heavier. They are not stopped by the
calorimeters, so special sub-detectors have to be built to detect them
as they traverse the huge length of the solenoid.
The CMS Collaboration has a broad physics programme, ranging
from measurements of the Standard Model and the recently
discovered Higgs boson, to studies of heavy-ion collisions, to
searches for new particles, phenomena, and even extra dimensions
in the Universe. CMS along with similar particle accelerators such
as ATLAS are our tools to inquire into the truths of the universe.
MODERN PRAXIS
SPECTRUM OJASVI ANAND
THE ART OF SPEED
HOW FORMULA 1 MASTERS AERODYNAMICS
Formula 1 has been the pinnacle of motorsports since its inception in 1950. It
is a highly competitive sport and requires teams to utilize the latest methods
and technologies to improve their cars. A car's biggest differentiating factor
on the grid is its aerodynamic design because every car on the grid has the
same drivetrain and power unit, thus leading to new and innovative
aerodynamic designs for the cars on the grid.
The role of aerodynamic technology has significantly impacted the speeds of
Formula 1 cars over the years. In the 1950s and 1960s, the average top speed
was 115 km/h which rose to more than 305 km/h in the 1990s, which today
has finally risen to speeds of 355 km/h. This increase has been mainly linked
to strides in aerodynamic technology.
At the beginning of Formula 1, the cars had a simple design and a low power-
to-weight ratio due to their aerodynamically efficient design. A car that
generates a lot of torque would be heavier, which would negatively impact its
aerodynamics and therefore its top speed. Additionally, Formula One cars are
specifically designed for racing on circuits, which typically feature long
straights, tight corners and high speeds. They are not designed for maximum
torque but for maximum speed and performance on those specific tracks.
As technologies improved, teams started computer-aided design, to improve
the performance of their cars. Today, teams use Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnels to analyze and simulate the performance
and to potentially improve the performance of their cars, by adjusting the
aerodynamic design to improve their top and cornering speeds.
MODERN PRAXIS
SPECTRUM OJASVI ANAND
Materials like carbon fibre and titanium are also used to increase durability
and decrease the weight of the car.
Over the years, aerodynamic technology has seen significant developments in
Formula 1 racing. This has resulted in cars becoming faster and more
efficient. For example, in the 2020 season, the fastest lap in history was set
by Lewis Hamilton with an average speed of 263 km/h. This was made
possible by new technologies like the Drag Reduction System (DRS), Rear
Wing Adjustments (FAR), and Dual Axis Driving System (DAS).
Wind Tunnel of a Reb Bull car
In the current F1 season, the RB 19 (the car for Red Bull racing in 2023) has
been highly dominant in almost all aspects mainly due to its highly efficient
aerodynamic design, touted to be the most efficient design in Formula 1’s
history.
MODERN PRAXIS
SPECTRUM OJASVI ANAND
In the high-speed world of Formula 1, the subtle dance between engineering
genius and aerodynamic prowess takes center stage, and at the heart of this
ballet is downforce. Downforce is the ability of a car to stick to the ground
and generate more grip and consequently increase the speed of the car. It is
the most important aspect to be considered when designing and improving a
Formula 1 car.
In Formula 1, downforce is produced by several key components. The front
wing enhances cornering speeds and boosts overall grip. Meanwhile, the rear
wing, equipped with the Drag Reduction System (DRS), enhances straight-
line speed for overtaking and minimizes air resistance with its wake.
Additionally, the diffuser accelerates the airflow beneath the car, generating
a negative pressure that pulls the car closer to the track's surface.
Even though, generating downforce is a key aspect of aerodynamic design,
too much downforce might hinder the speed of the car and may introduce
Porpoising ( a phenomenon where the car bounces on its suspension (the
wheels stay grounded.) So, achieving an aerodynamic design that is balanced
is extremely necessary and important for the overall stability of the car.
Race strategy is an area that involves strategies about which tyres to use
when to pit, how many pit stops, etc. But, all of these decisions are made
after analyzing the intricacies of the track and how the conditions of the
track react to the car, consequently how the aerodynamics of the car react.
The car's aerodynamics are the primary influencer when deciding the race
strategy.
In the future, the aerodynamics of Formula 1 cars will only improve and may
even lead to better and more efficient cars, not only with fuel consumption
but also with the no. of tires they use.
MODERN PRAXIS
SPECTRUM OJASVI ANAND
Last but not least, the Formula 1 world has been ever-changing and evolving
leading to newer versions of cars and engines, but the primary driving force
which improves and builds upon the speed of the car is the aerodynamics.
Without that, many of the records in Formula 1 might have never been set.
The perpetual need for better cars will keep the Formula 1 world on its toes,
by innovating and making new and better technologies to improve and
construct better cars.
STRANGER THINGS
SPECTRUM PRASHASTI PANDEY
CHAOS AND SYMMETRY
RELATIONS WITH HUMANITIES
Chaos is ever present, swirling and swaying at the whims of the
universe. Stemming from the Greek word "Khaos," a term referring to
"gaping void”, although chaos is difficult to define, it is simple to
recognize when you see it pursuant to mathematicians. It connects
quotidian occurring to the laws of nature by revealing the subtle
relationships between simplicity and complexity and between
orderliness and randomness. A universe that is at once deterministic
and obeys the fundamental physical laws, but is capable of devastating
disorder, complexity and unpredictability is merciful at the hands of
chaos. Chaos, a dynamic phenomenon occurring under the impulses of
variables of a system holds nonlinear relationships and harbours
unstable aperiodic behaviour.
There have been developing models for natural phenomena that take
nonlinearity and feedback into account. These models display
incongruous features consisting of only a few simple equations and that
solutions to these equations are complex and at times unpredictable.
Analysis of such models, alike behaviour in experiments and patterns is
known as “chaos theory”. If we take the simple equation x^2 + c =
result where x is a complex number that changes and c is a fixed
complex number, and continuously feedback the result into changing
number (x) slot - that is, we iterate the equation - chaotic patterns such
as fractals are produced.
STRANGER THINGS
SPECTRUM PRASHASTI PANDEY
Dissipative structures, turbulence, periodic windows and chaotic
pendulums carry the ability to provide a small window to the
infinite, obscure and unchartered world of chaos and symmetry.
Understanding the wildly fluctuating flow regime that is turbulence
is crucial for numerous disciplines of basic and applied study, since
its mixing and transfer qualities are significantly improved above
those of their molecular counterparts. Turbulence can be
understood as the outcome of an unlimited number of oscillation
modes superposed upon one another, with the regime's randomness
originating from the lack of knowledge of each mode's beginning
phase. But as was initially emphasised, this notion of a simple
superposition is somewhat too linear. In actuality, chaotic behaviour
is generally produced by nonlinear interactions among a small
number of modes, and this behaviour is better described as a
turbulent regime by a decay of correlations.
Bifurcation refers to a sudden change in the behaviour of a
dynamical system as one or more parameters vary. This change can
happen due to small changes in initial conditions and can result in a
transformation from an ordered pattern to a chaotic one. “When
looking at the bifurcation diagram of a chaotic system, one observes
"windows of order", namely short intervals where the system briefly
leaves its chaotic state and then rapidly returns to chaos”.
The figure below shows the onset of chaos, via a cascade of period-
doubling bifurcations, as the quality-factor Q is gradually increased.
It can be seen that the chaotic region ends abruptly when Q exceeds
a critical value. Beyond this critical value, the time-asymptotic
motion appears to revert to period-1 motion (the solid black region
collapses to a single curve).
STRANGER THINGS
SPECTRUM PRASHASTI PANDEY
It can also be seen that the chaotic region contains many narrow
windows in which chaos reverts to periodic motion (the solid black
region collapses to n curves, where n is the period of the motion) for
a short interval in Q.
“The existence of a universal sequence of stable periodic orbits in
dynamical systems which exhibit a transition to chaos via a cascade
of period-doubling bifurcations is another indication that chaos is a
universal phenomenon”.
In order lies chaos and in chaos lies order. And so chaos reigns
everywhere, but not beyond the cosmos. Within all disarray lies a
design. If you look hard enough, you will find chaos and cosmos
woven into the very fibres of existence: the memory of explosive
beginnings, still slumbering beneath your veins. If you look hard
enough, you too can map galaxies in your bones, connect
constellations in the cusps of your cells, and taste nebula residue
lying dormant in the back of your throat. When you do, you too will
come to realise that we are all nothing but broken pieces of the
universe we ponder upon so deeply. Humanity is a fragmented
illusion, a fractal that continues to repeat, a living, dying, infinite
whole.
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
SETTING THE BITS
CARDINALITY OF THE COMPLEXITIES
All data in computers is internally stored as bits, that is, either 0 or 1.
We store integers as a binary number, which is a base-2 numeral system
that usually consists of 32 bits. (We can also use other bits, such as 8
bits for smaller numbers or 64 bits for larger numbers, but 32 bits is
usually the convention for storing integers.)
For example, the number 42 represented as a 32-bit integer is
represented by:
00000000000000000000000000101010
The bits in this representation are read from right to left, where the
rightmost bit is the 0th bit and the leftmost bit is the (n-1)th bit, where
n is the number of bits used. In this case, n = 32, therefore the leftmost
bit is the 31st bit.
To convert a bit representation of a binary number into a decimal
number, we can apply a simple formula:
Where b represents the value of the kth bit.
k
For example, looking at the above representation of 42:
(We can ignore the bits with value 0 as it won’t make a difference in the final sum)
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
We can perform various operations on bits. For simplicity, almost
all examples will be performed on 5-bit positive integers and their
respective representation in base-10 will be written on the side.
1. And Operation
The ‘and’ operation, which is denoted by a & b produces a number
that has one bit in positions where both a and b have one bit, and
zero bits otherwise.
For example, taking a=10110 (22) and b=11010 (26), a & b=10010
(18).
Over here, we can note that wherever a and b both have one bit, the
position of a&b has one bit, otherwise it has 0.
2. Or Operation
The or operation, which is denoted by a | b produces a number that
has one bit in positions where at least one of a or b has one bit, and
zero bits otherwise.
For example, taking a=10110 (22) and b=11010 (26), a & b=11110
(30).
Over here, we can note that wherever at least one of a or b has one
bit, the position of a&b has one bit, otherwise it has 0.
3. Not Operation
The not operation, which is denoted by ~x produces a number
where all bits of x have been inverted, that is one bit is converted to
zero bit and vice-versa.
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
For example, taking a = 10010 (18), ~a = 01101 (13), do note that
the result of the not operation depends on the length of the bit
representation. We had performed the earlier example in a 5-bit
setting, however, if we were to represent 18 in an 8-bit setting, the
answer would be widely different.
Suppose, a=00010010 (18), ~a=11101101 (237), hence it is important
to know the length of bits we are working with whilst performing
this operation.
4. Left Bit Shift
The left bit shift, denoted by x<<k, appends k zero bits to the
number.
For example, taking x=1110 (14) and k=10 (2), x<<k=111000 (56).
5. Right Bit Shift
The right bit shift, denoted by x>>k, removes the k last bits from
the number.
For example, taking x=110001 (49) and k=11 (3), x>>k=110 (6).
Hence, we can define a function to find out whether the kth bit of a
number is one or zero.
f(b,k) = b & (1<<k), where b is any number
If f(b,k) > 0, then the kth bit is 1, else if f(b,k)=0, then the kth bit is
0.
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
For example,
If b=10010 (18), and k=1, then f(10010,1)=10010 & 10 = 10010 &
00010=10
Over here, 10 > 0, therefore the 1st bit is 1, which as we can observe
is true. However, if we take k=10 (2), then f(10010, 10)=10010 &
100 = 10010 & 00100 = 0, therefore the 2nd bit is 0, which as we
can observe is true.
A set is a collection of elements. For example, the set
X = {1, 3, 5}
contains the elements 1, 3, and 5. The symbol represents an empty
set, that is Φ = {}, and |S| denotes the size or cardinality of a set,
i.e. the number of elements in the set. For example, in the above set,
|X|=3 and |Φ|=0.
∈
If a set S contains an element x, we write x S, and otherwise we
∉
write x S. For example, in the above set X:
3 ∈X and 4∈X
We can perform various operations on sets, which you will find are
similar to the operations we performed on bits.
1. Intersection Operation
The intersection A ∩B consists of elements that are in both A and
B.
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
For example, A={1,3,5} and B={3,4}, then A ∩B={3}.
2. Union Operation
∪
The union A B consists of elements that are in A or B or both.
For example, A={1,3,5} and B={2,4,6}, then A ∪B={1,2,3,4,5,6}.
3. Complement Operation
The complement A’ consists of elements that are not in A. The
interpretation of a complement depends a lot on the universal set,
which contains all possible elements in a specific context.
For example, if the universal set is U={1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} and A’=
{1,3,5,7,9}, then A={2,4,6,8,10}.
4. Difference Operation
The difference A \ B or A-B or A ∩B’ consists of elements that are
in A but not in B.
For example, A={1,2,5,7} and B={1,3,5,6}, then A \ B ={2,7}.
If each element of a set, say A, also belongs to another set, say B,
then we say that A is a subset of B.
A B ⊂
A set S always has 2^|S| subsets, including the empty set. For
example, the subsets of A={2,3,7} are:
Φ, {2},{3},{7},{2,3},{2,7},{3,7},{2,3,7}
(We observe that 2^|S|=2^3=8 which is the number of subsets presented above)
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
There are some frequently used sets, such as N (natural numbers), Z
(integers), Q (rational numbers), and R (real numbers).
We can also construct a set based on a rule of the form, where f(n)
is some function:
{f(n): n ∈S}
For example, we can have a set of all even numbers,
{2n: n ∈Z}
As mentioned earlier, generally storing an integer in a computer
requires 32 bits. Hence, if we were to store the set, say A={2,3,9}, it
would require |A|n bits, that is 332 bits=96 bits.
This may not seem like a lot, but as the cardinality of the set
increases, the space complexity increases by a large margin.
However, there is a neat trick to represent sets while minimising the
space complexity.
Every subset of a set {1,2,3, ... ,n-1} can be represented as an n-bit
integer whose one bit indicates whether the index belongs to the set
or not. This is way more efficient, as now each integer only requires
one bit of memory, and we can utilise bit operations to implement
set operations easily.
For example, since integers are usually 32 bits, the set A={2,3,9} can
be represented by bits as:
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
00000000000000000000001000001100
(We can observe that the 2nd, 3rd, and 9th index bits are one,
indicating that those indices belong to the set)
which corresponds to the number 2^2+2^3+2^9=524.
Set operations can hence be implemented using bit operations as
shown in the below table, where A and B are two sets and a and b
are their bit representation respectively.
For example, let us take two sets A={1,2,4,7} and B={2,4,9,11} and
their respective 32-bit representation to be
a=00000000000000000000000010010110 (150) and
b=00000000000000000000101000010100 (2580).
If we take their union, AB={1,2,4,7,9,11}. If we take it using the bit
syntax, which is a | b, it equals the bit
00000000000000000000101010010110 (2710). As we can note,
the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th, and 11th bits of the representation of a |
b correspond to 1, therefore it gives the union of the two sets.
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
Similarly, AB={2,4}, and if we use the bit syntax, a & b, which will
be equal to the bits 00000000000000000000000000010100 (20),
and as we can note the 2nd and 4th bits are 1, therefore it gives the
intersection of the two sets.
A \ B={1,7} , and if we use the bit syntax, a & (~b), which will equal
to the bits 00000000000000000000000010000010 (130), and as
we can note again, the 1st and 7th bits are 1, therefore it gives the
difference of the two sets.
As we are using 32-bit integers to represent sets, the universal set
U={0,1, ... ,31}, therefore A=
{0,3,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,
29,30,31}, which in its bit syntax is represented by
~a=11111111111111111111111101101001 (4294967145).
As we can note, all positions except the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th are 1.
Therefore it gives the complement of the sets.
One clever thing we can do using this is go through every subset of
a set A={0,1, ... ,n-1},
For example, for a 32-bit integer,
∈
S={n: n Z and 0≤n≤2^32-1}, then we can process each subset and
get which elements belong to it using the f(b,k) function.
A simple implementation of this in C++ is as follows:
ESCAPING THE MATRIX
SPECTRUM ARYAV SAIGAL
This runs in O(2^n) time complexity.
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Editors: Arnav Garg, Aryav Saigal, Atiksh Anand
Creative Director: Seemon Saraogi
Digital Media Manager: Avantika Jain
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