The Enlightening Science Thread

Quantum physics just solved one of the great paradoxes of time travel

The fuzziness of quantum physics causes a lot of problems, from maliciously changing time-of-flight calculations between satellites to mucking up Newton’s beautiful, all-seeing physical models of the universe. Yet, when it comes to topics as airy as the New Physics, incorporating genuinely insane ideas like negative mass and, yes, time travel, that very fuzziness can become a boon to researchers. Within the open and unknowable possibility space provided by the behavior of quantum particles, we can shovel in all manner of poorly understood concepts and phenomena, and that might not actually be such an irresponsible thing to do. By taking quantum mechanics into account, some physicists think they may have solved one of the oldest puzzles in the history of abstract physical thinking: the grandfather paradox.

Source

A Guy

it wasn't discovered until Aug. 31st:

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 60 feet (20 meters) in size.

Source: Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday | NASA

More: Asteroid 2014 RC Is Buzzing Earth This Weekend: See It Online Tonight

Stephen Hawking: God particle could wipe out the universe

Stephen Hawking seems to have turned into the man with the sandwich board that says: "The end is nigh."

Not only has he warned us that aliens might destroy us, but he's also been worrying that artificial intelligence might do the same.

Now he's perceiving a threat that might not merely put an end to Earth, but to the whole Universe.

Source

A Guy

Hmm Bill I have real odd feelings re Hawking - the way he is talking very strange because if it is usable for him why are the devices not available to any others??

As for the God particle I have read some articles re matter and they have referred in some part to matter breaking down and down into ever smaller particles until it comes out as pure energy and not a particle as such.
What I have been looking for is info on anti matter as I have wondered if it is the same "arrangement" as the matter as we know it now??

Human interest - Science - Technology - whatever, I think this is inspiring.
3-year-old boy fitted with 3D-printed prosthetic hand.

At a price that can help lots of people all over the world. Very unusual.

ICit2lol said:

Hmm Bill I have real odd feelings re Hawking - the way he is talking very strange because if it is usable for him why are the devices not available to any others??

As for the God particle I have read some articles re matter and they have referred in some part to matter breaking down and down into ever smaller particles until it comes out as pure energy and not a particle as such.
What I have been looking for is info on anti matter as I have wondered if it is the same "arrangement" as the matter as we know it now??

The Higgs mechanism explains why particles have mass. The god particle is a misnomer for the Higgs boson. As to why hawking thinks that is just an exaggeration by media. To generate that kind of a particle would require enormous amounts of energy - most likely not sustainable by the planet or the human race. It something like blowing up a huge atomic bomb but confining it in a pipeline.
Just take the news with a grain of salt. The world isn't gonna end anytime soon. :)

Humans Could Be In The Middle Of A Huge Evolutionary Transition

Mankind is undergoing a major evolutionary transition comparable to the shifts from prosimians to monkeys, monkeys to apes, and apes to humans, according to Cadell Last, an evolutionary anthropology Ph.D. student and researcher at the Global Brain Institute.

The effects of a solar event facing roughly toward Earth, on the 9th of September, should reach Earth around midnight on September 11th UT.
Another, larger event, also facing Earth, occurred on September10th, and it should have higher velocity. The effects of the latter event may therefore reach Earth at the same time. Even if it is later, disturbances should be large and last long enough to result in increased auroral activity for the next three to five days.

The result is that aurora watchers should monitor the Current Auroral Activity on the forecast website or watch OVATION Aurora for the next five days. We will post more accurate predictions or descriptions of conditions when the results of more solar observations become available.

Note that we do not expect the aurora to exceed index = 5 or 6 on our scale because the magnetosphere has been relatively quiet. However, conditions such as these could lead to auroras observed from the middle or southern states.

Source: Email alert.

I have found that a Kp or K index of at least 7 is usually needed in order to observe Aurora at my latitude of 40.00°N. A map and further explanation of the correlation of index to geographic location can be found here: The Planetary K index.

Clickable Kp Maps

SOLARHAM.com - CME Tracker

Space Weather Warnings Currently in Effect

Digital mapping project reveals Stonehenge secrets

The mysterious broken circle of giant stones is not, after all, all there is to Stonehenge. The monument, which could be anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 years old, and which consists of stones foreign to its home of Wiltshire, England, is just part of a larger site in which 17 previously unknown monuments have been discovered.

The project, called The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, conducted by the University of Birmingham and the University of Bradford in the UK, and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna, used a range of remote sensing technologies and geophysical surveys to find monuments and features buried underground.

Source

A Guy