physics

Zero Days

Zero Days is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Zero Days rather than just read about it. In short: Zero Days is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

Key takeaways

Zero Days belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Zero Days to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Zero Days from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Zero Days is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

Synopsis Although the entire subject is still shrouded in secrecy, the film attempts to tell the story of the development, deployment, discovery, and investigation of the Stuxnet computer virus and the malware software known as "Olympic Games" in as much detail, and as accurately, as possible. It concludes with a discussion of the follow-up cyber plan "Nitro Zeus", and the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

Interviewees David E. Sanger Emad Kiyaei, Director of External Affairs at the American Iranian Council (AIC) Eric Chien, Symantec security response Liam O'Murchu, Symantec security response Colonel Gary D. Brown, staff judge advocate of the United States Cyber Command Gary Samore Chris Inglis Amos Yadlin Yossi Melman Yuval Steinitz Eugene Kaspersky Vitaly Kamluk, Kaspersky Lab Michael Hayden Olli Heinonen Ralph Langner, control systems security consultant Richard A. Clarke Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, CIA Officer (1982–2005) Seán Paul McGurk, Department of Homeland Security Director of Cybersecurity (2008–2011) Sergey Ulasen, Kaspersky Lab Belarus

Release Zero Days was released digitally on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes on December 6, 2016, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four in the Storyville strand on January 16, 2017, and released on DVD on January 17, 2017.

Reception On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 73 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Factors beyond Gibney's control prevent Zero Days from offering a comprehensive look at its subject, but the partial picture that emerges remains as frightening as it is impossible to ignore." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Godfrey Cheshire praised the film as "Easily the most important film anyone has released this year, it is a documentary that deserves to be seen by every sentient citizen of this country—and indeed the world."

Accolades Zero Days was among the 15 films shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not chosen as one of the final five nominees in the category. It was nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay at the 69th Writers Guild of America Awards. The film won a Peabody Award in 2017.

See also Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence The Pragmatic Entente: Israeli-Iranian Relations, 1948-1988

References

External links Zero Days at IMDb Zero Days at Rotten Tomatoes

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Zero Days

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Zero Days claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Zero Days before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Zero Days ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Zero Days

In research: Zero Days appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Zero Days in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Zero Days is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2016 American films, 2016 English-language films, 2016 documentary films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Zero Days outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Zero Days in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Zero Days means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Zero Days out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zero Days in simple terms?

Zero Days is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

Why does Zero Days matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Zero Days?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Zero Days.