The 999 project · installment one · not peer reviewed
The target is 999 new theories. This is the first installment: twelve domains, ten each. Every entry states a mechanism, two predictions and the result that would kill it.
A room's modal density is felt only when volume per unit absorption crosses a threshold, so a large dry room can sound smaller than a small live one.
Structural damping in bolted assemblies is set by micro-slip amplitude at joints rather than by material loss factors.
Ultrasonic cleaning efficacy is set by how far the drive exceeds the cavitation threshold at that frequency, not by acoustic power.
Annoyance from environmental noise follows the rate of change of exposure rather than its level, so a stable noisy area can be tolerated while a quieting area remains a complaint source.
Musical consonance is set by a roughness threshold in the auditory filter bank rather than by the simplicity of frequency ratios.
Building panel insulation collapses at a coincidence frequency set by panel mass and stiffness, so a heavier panel can insulate worse in a band.
Vibration-induced white finger is set by the rate of energy delivery to the fingers rather than by cumulative exposure, so rest breaks change outcome at equal dose.
Sonar detection range is set by the curvature of the sound speed profile rather than by source level, so a louder source in a defocusing profile can detect less.
Loudspeaker distortion is set by the density of diaphragm breakup modes rather than by the first breakup frequency, so a lower first mode with dense modes above can sound cleaner.
Noise-induced hearing loss is predicted by the kurtosis of the exposure rather than by equal-energy dose, so impulsive noise damages more at the same energy.
Laser-induced damage threshold is set by absorbing defect density rather than by fluence alone, so two coatings of identical design can differ several-fold.
The onset of nonlinear impairment in fibre links is set by the ratio of launch power to effective mode area rather than by power.
LED efficiency droop begins at a carrier density threshold where Auger recombination overtakes radiative recombination, so the onset current scales with active volume.
Holographic image quality is set by coherence length relative to scene depth rather than by laser power, so a deep scene needs a longer coherence length.
Optical coherence tomography penetration is set by the scattering anisotropy factor rather than by scattering coefficient alone, so a highly forward-scattering tissue can be imaged deeper.
Crosstalk between photonic waveguides is set by the ratio of index contrast to spacing rather than by spacing alone, so a tighter spacing can be tolerated with higher contrast.
Lens flare is set by the spatial correlation of coating scatter rather than by total scatter, so a coating with more scatter arranged randomly can flare less than a smoother but correlated one.
The shortest pulse achievable in a chirped-pulse amplifier is set by gain narrowing rather than by the seed bandwidth.
Interferometric measurement error is set by the correlation length of air turbulence rather than by its magnitude, so strong but fine-grained turbulence can matter less than weak and coarse.
A display's colour gamut is set by the spectral width of its primaries rather than by their peak wavelength.
Casting porosity is set by the ratio of thermal gradient to solidification rate rather than by either alone.
Residual stress in a forging is set by the depth of die chilling during the final blows rather than by the overall forging load.
Heat-treatment distortion is set by austenitizing hold time rather than by peak temperature, because grain growth during the hold redistributes transformation strain.
Coating adhesion is maximal at an intermediate substrate roughness wavelength rather than at maximum roughness.
Powder compaction density rises sharply at a percolation threshold in the contact network rather than smoothly with pressure.
Machining chatter begins at a critical ratio of depth of cut to tool engagement width rather than at a critical depth.
Brazed joint strength peaks at an intermediate intermetallic layer thickness, weakening both thinner and thicker.
Polymer extrudate swell is set by the ratio of relaxation time to residence time in the die, not by shear rate alone.
Sintering shrinkage is set by the distribution of dihedral angles rather than by mean particle size.
Electroplating thickness uniformity is set by the ratio of ohmic to kinetic resistance rather than by current density.
Grasp success is set by the ratio of available friction to object curvature rather than by grip force alone, so a curved smooth object can slip despite high force.
Localisation drift is set by the density of loop closures rather than by sensor quality, so a good sensor without closures drifts more than a poor one with them.
Humanoid balance recovery is set by the capture point margin rather than by the centre of mass position, so a robot inside its support polygon can still fall.
Swarm coordination emerges only above a threshold in communication neighbour density, below which the group fragments into independent agents.
Manipulation policies transfer between robots only when the ratio of task-relevant to embodiment-specific degrees of freedom exceeds a threshold.
Multirotor endurance is set by the ratio of payload to disc loading rather than by battery capacity, so a larger rotor can outlast a larger battery.
Tolerable teleoperation latency is set by the task's error tolerance rather than by the operator's skill, so the same link supports coarse and blocks fine work.
Soft actuator stroke is set by the ratio of chamber pressure to wall stiffness rather than by pressure alone, so a stiffer body can deliver less motion at higher pressure.
Legged locomotion efficiency peaks at a stride frequency set by the ratio of natural leg frequency to speed, not at the frequency that minimises cost of transport empirically.
Robot safety certification thresholds are set by the ratio of kinetic energy to impact area rather than by mass or speed alone.
Network throughput collapses when buffer size falls below a critical fraction of the bandwidth-delay product, rather than degrading smoothly.
Millimetre-wave coverage is set by blockage density rather than by path loss, so a dense low-rise area can outperform an open area with few reflectors.
Network latency is set by the ratio of physical route length to great-circle distance rather than by nominal distance.
Achievable spectral efficiency is set by the correlation of interference across antennas rather than by signal-to-noise ratio.
Content delivery cost is set by the ratio of cache size to demand locality rather than by cache capacity.
Mesh network resilience is set by the number of articulation points rather than by node count or redundancy.
Satellite constellation capacity is set by the distribution of elevation angles rather than by satellite count.
Wi-Fi contention loss is set by the ratio of offered airtime to available airtime rather than by the number of stations.
Time synchronisation error is set by the depth of the distribution chain rather than by the quality of the master clock.
Network exposure is set by the ratio of reachable to total hosts rather than by the number of hosts.
Disinfection efficacy is set by the ratio of contact time-times-concentration to the organism's repair rate rather than by CT alone.
Membrane fouling is set by the ratio of operating flux to critical flux rather than by transmembrane pressure.
Distribution leakage is set by operating pressure relative to pipe condition rather than by pressure alone.
Optimal coagulant dose is set by the charge neutralisation point rather than by turbidity, so a clearer water can need more coagulant.
Desalination energy is set by recovery ratio relative to saturation concentration rather than by salinity alone.
Well yield declines abruptly once specific capacity falls below a threshold, because turbulent losses overtake laminar flow.
Wastewater aeration cost is set by oxygen transfer efficiency relative to demand rather than by blower power.
Lead release is set by whether the corrosion scale is on the soluble side of a stability boundary, not by lead concentration in the source water.
Rainwater harvesting yield is set by storage capacity relative to demand rather than by roof area.
Sanitation adoption is set by the ratio of convenience to cost rather than by health messaging.
Processing energy per unit metal is set by the ratio of energy needed for liberation to the grade recovered, so falling grade raises cost faster than linearly.
Flotation recovery is set by the ratio of particle size to bubble size rather than by collector dose.
Blast fragmentation is set by the powder factor relative to rock mass, so doubling charge in a larger volume changes nothing.
Rockburst risk is set by the ratio of excavation-induced stress to rock strength rather than by depth.
Tailings dam failure is set by the ratio of phreatic surface height to crest height rather than by dam height.
Heap leach recovery is set by whether the lift percolates uniformly rather than by leach time.
Grinding energy is set by the work index relative to the size reduction ratio, so a harder ore ground coarsely can use less energy than a softer ore ground finely.
Mine ventilation cost is set by the ratio of leakage to useful airflow rather than by fan power.
Acid mine drainage occurs when the ratio of acid-generating to neutralising minerals exceeds a threshold, not when pyrite is present.
Exploration success is set by the ratio of target area to survey resolution rather than by survey budget.
Fabric drape is set by the ratio of bending stiffness to weight, so a heavier fabric can drape better than a lighter one.
Yarn strength peaks at an optimum twist multiplier and falls both thinner and thicker.
Dye uptake is set by the amorphous fraction of the fibre rather than by dye concentration.
Fabric pilling is set by the propensity of fibres to migrate to the surface rather than by fibre strength.
Waterproof-breathable performance is set by the ratio of pore size to the mean free path of water vapour rather than by pore volume.
Textile flammability is set by the ratio of char-forming to fuel-forming decomposition pathways rather than by ignition temperature.
Colourfastness is set by whether dye-fibre affinity exceeds the wash liquor's stripping power, not by initial shade depth.
Fabric comfort is set by the ratio of moisture regain to transport rate, so a high-regain fibre that transports slowly feels clammy.
Nonwoven strength rises sharply above a threshold bond density and plateaus beyond it, rather than scaling smoothly.
Microfibre shedding is set by the ratio of twist level to abrasion severity, so tighter twist reduces shedding only when abrasion is mild.
Fingerprint identification error is set by the ratio of usable minutiae to distortion, so a clean print with few features can be less reliable than a smudged one with many.
DNA mixture interpretation becomes unreliable when the ratio of minor to major contributor falls below a threshold, independent of total template.
Eyewitness confidence tracks the feedback given after identification rather than accuracy, so confidence measured later is a poor guide.
Forensic glass matching discriminative power is set by the overlap of refractive index distributions rather than by absolute index difference.
Bloodstain pattern geometry is set by the ratio of impact energy to viscosity rather than by impact energy.
Digital evidence integrity assurance is set by the length of the unbroken hash chain rather than by the strength of the hash.
The practical accuracy of deception detection is set by the base rate of deception rather than by test sensitivity.
Sentencing disparity is set by the ratio of judicial discretion to appellate review rather than by the sentencing range.
Case backlog is set by the ratio of filings to disposal capacity rather than by case complexity.
The influence of expert testimony is set by the ratio of stated confidence to the strength of the underlying evidence rather than by credentials.
Antimicrobial resistance in livestock is set by the ratio of group to individual treatment rather than by total consumption.
Herd immunity thresholds in livestock are set by mixing between age groups rather than by R0 alone.
Equine lameness is set by the ratio of load to hoof contact area rather than by body mass.
Bovine mastitis incidence is set by the ratio of milking vacuum to teat-end pressure rather than by hygiene alone.
Kennel cough spread is set by the ratio of ventilation to occupancy rather than by animal density alone.
Poultry leg weakness is set by the ratio of growth rate to skeletal maturity, not by growth rate.
Anthelmintic resistance is set by the proportion of the parasite population in refugia rather than by treatment frequency.
Small-animal anesthetic risk is set by the ratio of body mass to surface area rather than by mass, so small patients are dosed proportionally higher.
Vaccine cold chain failure is set by the ratio of cumulative excursion time to the permitted limit rather than by the worst temperature reached.
Wildlife disease spillover risk is set by the density of the human-wildlife interface rather than by wildlife reservoir prevalence.
Soil compaction is set by the ratio of axle load to tyre contact pressure rather than by axle load.
Infiltration rate is set by the ratio of crust conductivity to matrix conductivity, so a thin crust can dominate a permeable soil.
Soil salinisation is set by the ratio of evaporation to leaching rather than by irrigation water salinity.
Aggregate stability is set by the ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass rather than by total microbial biomass.
Soil respiration is set by the ratio of labile to recalcitrant carbon rather than by total carbon.
Erosion is set by the ratio of rainfall erosivity to ground cover rather than by rainfall amount.
Nitrous oxide flux is set by the ratio of anaerobic to total soil volume rather than by nitrogen application.
Plant-available phosphorus is set by the ratio of sorption to desorption capacity rather than by total soil phosphorus.
Soil temperature amplitude is set by the ratio of thermal inertia to albedo rather than by air temperature.
Soil biodiversity is set by the pore-size distribution rather than by organic matter content.
Crown fire initiation is set by the ratio of canopy bulk density to canopy base height rather than by surface fuel load.
Fire spread rate is set by the ratio of wind speed to slope steepness rather than by either alone.
Post-fire regeneration is set by the ratio of seed bank to burn severity rather than by burn area.
Forest carbon storage is set by the ratio of growth to decomposition rather than by growth alone.
Bark beetle outbreaks occur when the ratio of drought stress to tree defensive capacity exceeds a threshold, not when beetle populations are high.
Timber yield is set by the ratio of site index to rotation length rather than by site index.
Wildland-urban interface loss is set by the ratio of defensible space to ember load rather than by proximity to vegetation.
Prescribed burn effectiveness is set by the ratio of fuel consumed to the fuel reduction target rather than by burn area.
Forest drought mortality is set by the ratio of hydraulic demand to safety margin rather than by precipitation deficit.
Reforestation survival is set by the root-to-shoot ratio at planting rather than by seedling size.
Each entry is deliberately short: a claim, the mechanism that would make it true, two predictions, and a refutation. There is no bibliography in this volume, which makes it fast to read and slow to audit. If a claim cannot be killed by the experiment in section three, it should not be here.
Entry page: atrium.html. There is deliberately no index.html.
Publication records: source hashes · original README · original manifest · additive publication note