Lifeboat Foundation

Is there anything out there?

The concept of primordial black holes has waxed and waned in scientific circles over the decades. At first, it was a fascinating possibility. After all, the first few seconds of the big bang were pretty heady times, and there may have been large enough differences in density to generate black holes of all sorts of sizes, from microscopic to gigantic. But repeated observations have continually been unable to come up with any conclusive evidence for their existence.

Continue reading “Ancient black holes: New research reveals a surprising truth” »

Low-frequency gravitational waves could unlock the secrets of the ancient universe.

But scientists still can’t detect these waves at low frequencies that are often the result of even more massive objects colliding with one another or events that took place shortly after the Big Bang.

A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham suggests combining different methods to detect ultra low-frequency gravitational waves that hold the mystery of ancient black holes and the early universe.

Continue reading “Finding this cosmic phenomenon could unlock mysteries of the ancient universe” »

Two new studies examine ways we could engineer human wormhole travel.

The supernova remanent is located about 19,600 light years away from Earth.

A new image by Chandra reveals a rare supernova remanent created by a white dwarf accumulating material from another star until it explodes.

Continue reading “Look: New NASA image shows a rare stellar death” »

“idea here is not to go, ‘Yeah, look at me. I’m in space.’” Instead, he said that “the prince is missing the point. The point is these are the baby steps to show people [that] it’s very practical. You can send somebody like me up into space.” — William Shatner

William Shatner may be famous for his fictional otherworldly travels thanks to his role in the “Star Trek” universe, however, on October 13 he took a real-life trip that took him to space.

Along with three other passengers, the actor nabbed a spot on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space capsule, which headed out for a flight that lasted for 11 minutes, according to CNN. While it was obviously an incredible experience for the star, not everyone was impressed.

Continue reading “William Shatner Says Duke of Cambridge Has ‘Got the Wrong Idea’ About his Space Flight” »

We used to think the Big Bang meant the universe began from a singularity. Nearly 100 years later, we’re not so sure.

For example, the end could come as “heat death” (a reverse of the Big Bang known as the Big Crunch) or The Big Rip (when dark energy becomes so powerful it tears everything we know to pieces). But another possibility that has gained traction is the Cosmic Death Bubble.

The details of this death by bubble are pretty complicated, but it’s based on the idea that the universe is metastable, which means it’s not in its lowest or most stable energy state. While we’re okay for now, there’s the (remote) possibility that the universe could drop into a lower energy state, which would set off a giant light-speed bubble that destroys everything it touches.

Now, as Erik Vance at LiveScience reports, researchers have calculated how long before this Cosmic Death Bubble comes for us, if it happens at all.

Continue reading “If a Cosmic Bubble Destroys the Universe, Scientists Now Know When It’ll Happen” »

Researchers propose quantum circuit black hole lasers to explore Hawking radiation.

Given the tricks GPT-3 had up its sleeve, it’s intriguing to wonder how the Megatron-Turing model may surprise us given that it’s three times larger.

Scientists are getting closer to being able to spot Hawking radiation – that elusive thermal radiation thought to be produced by a black hole’s event horizon. Just understanding the concept of this radiation is tricky though, let alone finding it.

A new proposal suggests creating a special kind of quantum circuit to act as a ‘black hole laser’, essentially simulating some of the properties of a black hole. As with previous studies, the idea is that experts can observe and study Hawking radiation without actually having to look at any real black holes.

The basic principle is relatively straightforward. Black holes are objects that warp spacetime so much, not even a wave of light can escape. Swap spacetime for some other material (such as water) and make it flow quickly enough so that waves passing through are too slow to escape, and you’ve got yourself a fairly rudimentary model.

Continue reading “A ‘Black Hole Laser’ Could Finally Shine a Light on Elusive Hawking Radiation” »