Astronomers find cause of “dicky tickers”

CSIRO ^ | June 25, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

In today’s issue of Science, CSIRO astronomer George Hobbs and colleagues in the UK, Germany and Canada report that they have taken a big step towards solving a 30-year-old puzzle: why the “cosmic clocks” called pulsars aren’t perfect.

“We now have a more fundamental understanding of how pulsars work,” Dr Hobbs said.

“We’ve shown that many pulsar characteristics are linked, because they have one underlying cause.”

Armed with this understanding, astronomers will find it easier to compensate for errors in their pulsar “clocks” when they use them as tools - for instance, in trying to detect gravitational waves, which is something Dr Hobbs is doing with CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope.

The work is based on observations of 366 pulsars collected over several decades with the 76-m radio telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, run by the University of Manchester, and grew out of work George Hobbs did for his PhD thesis.

Pulsars are small spinning stars that emit a beam of radio waves. When the beam sweeps over the Earth we detect a “pulse” of radio waves. The rate at which the pulses repeat, fast or slow, depends on how fast the pulsar spins and so how often its radio beam flashes across the Earth.

[decimon]

Hickety dickety dock ping.

[UCANSEE2]

“We don’t know exactly what happens,” Dr Hobbs said.

That man should get a NOBEL PRIZE for the most important and most truthful statement ever made by a living scientist.

[mikrofon]

What’s all this talk about dicky ticklers and pulsation....

[mikrofon]

What’s all this talk about dicky ticklers and pulsation....

[scott7278]

I had to read that headline twice...

[stinkerpot65]

If I had a dicky-ticker problem, I would go to the doctor.

[SunkenCiv]

Ya know I had to look at this topic, whatta headline! Thanks decimon!

why the "cosmic clocks" called pulsars aren’t perfect

This is a three-list ping, so just for guffaws, I'm going to do all three of you together; please feel free to ignore the logo or logos that don't apply. :') Some of you were going to get more than one ping out this deal anyway. :')

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[SunkenCiv]

They don’t give Nobel Prizes for that, only for saying “the debate is over” or for bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia.

[kalee]

ping

[MaryFromMichigan]

Not A “Weird Science” Ping.

[Slings and Arrows]

Dicky Ticker ping!

[Squawk 8888]

Actually, that’s the true spirit of science. “I don’t know” is the genesis of curiosity.

[TheOldLady]

Funny ping to a fascinating subject. I had a dicky ticker, but it’s fixed now.

[ApplegateRanch]

Well, I swan! Astronomers figured it out?!?

I thought the cause of the dicky ticker was just plain bad taste.

[SunkenCiv]

;’)