physics – Lifeboat News: The Blog https://lifeboat.com/blog Safeguarding Humanity Fri, 05 Jan 2024 07:25:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 Magnetic Mystique: A Deeper Look at Massive Star Systems https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/magnetic-mystique-a-deeper-look-at-massive-star-systems https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/magnetic-mystique-a-deeper-look-at-massive-star-systems#respond Fri, 05 Jan 2024 07:25:26 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/magnetic-mystique-a-deeper-look-at-massive-star-systems

A new study reveals that magnetic fields are common in star systems with large blue stars, challenging prior beliefs and providing insights into the evolution and explosive nature of these massive stars.

Astronomers from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the MIT Kavli Institute and Department of Physics have discovered that magnetic fields in multiple star systems with at least one giant, hot blue star, are much more common than previously thought by scientists. The results significantly improve the understanding of massive stars and their role as progenitors of supernova explosions.

Characteristics of O-type Stars.

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Unlocking Alien Tech: Oxygen’s Crucial Role in Extraterrestrial Civilizations https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/unlocking-alien-tech-oxygens-crucial-role-in-extraterrestrial-civilizations https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/unlocking-alien-tech-oxygens-crucial-role-in-extraterrestrial-civilizations#respond Fri, 05 Jan 2024 07:25:15 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/unlocking-alien-tech-oxygens-crucial-role-in-extraterrestrial-civilizations

University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank explores the links between atmospheric oxygen and detecting extraterrestrial technology on distant planets.

In the quest to understand the potential for life beyond Earth, researchers are widening their search to encompass not only biological markers, but also technological ones. While astrobiologists have long recognized the importance of oxygen for life as we know it, oxygen could also be a key to unlocking advanced technology on a planetary scale.

In a new study published in Nature Astronomy, Adam Frank, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester and the author of The Little Book of Aliens (Harper, 2023), and Amedeo Balbi, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Roma Tor Vergata, Italy, outline the links between atmospheric oxygen and the potential rise of advanced technology on distant planets.

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Spacetime ripples detected in 2023 continue to puzzle astronomers. Could they be from the dawn of the universe? https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/spacetime-ripples-detected-in-2023-continue-to-puzzle-astronomers-could-they-be-from-the-dawn-of-the-universe https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/spacetime-ripples-detected-in-2023-continue-to-puzzle-astronomers-could-they-be-from-the-dawn-of-the-universe#respond Wed, 03 Jan 2024 23:28:21 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/spacetime-ripples-detected-in-2023-continue-to-puzzle-astronomers-could-they-be-from-the-dawn-of-the-universe

The recently detected gravitational waves are a muddled mix of various sources, new study finds.

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BREAKING: The Physics Nobel Prize Winner Of 2022 Just Proved That The “Universe Is Actually Not Real” https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/breaking-the-physics-nobel-prize-winner-of-2022-just-proved-that-the-universe-is-actually-not-real https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/breaking-the-physics-nobel-prize-winner-of-2022-just-proved-that-the-universe-is-actually-not-real#respond Sun, 31 Dec 2023 20:22:57 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/breaking-the-physics-nobel-prize-winner-of-2022-just-proved-that-the-universe-is-actually-not-real

The fact that the universe is not locally real is one of the more disquieting discoveries of the last half-century.

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Research Charts Stellar Birthplaces in the Whirlpool Galaxy for the first time https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/research-charts-stellar-birthplaces-in-the-whirlpool-galaxy-for-the-first-time https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/research-charts-stellar-birthplaces-in-the-whirlpool-galaxy-for-the-first-time#respond Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:22:49 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/research-charts-stellar-birthplaces-in-the-whirlpool-galaxy-for-the-first-time

An international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and involving the University of Bonn has mapped the cold, dense gas of future star nurseries in one of our neighboring galaxies with an unprecedented degree of detail. The data will enable the researchers for the first time to mount an in-depth study of the conditions that exist within the gas during the early stages of star formation outside the Milky Way at the scale of individual star-forming regions.

Their findings have now been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Paradoxically, hot stars begin to form in some of the coldest regions of the universe, specifically in thick clouds of gas and dust that straddle entire galaxies. “To investigate the early phases of star formation, where gas gradually condenses to eventually produce stars, we must first identify these regions,” says Sophia Stuber, a doctoral student at the MPIA in Heidelberg and the first author of the research paper.

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02 Karl Friston —The physics of sentience https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/02-karl-friston-the-physics-of-sentience https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/02-karl-friston-the-physics-of-sentience#respond Sat, 30 Dec 2023 22:45:28 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/02-karl-friston-the-physics-of-sentience

UCLA Department of Integrative Biology and PhysiologyLuskin Endowment forLeadership SymposiumPushing the Boundaries: Neuroscience, Cognition, and LifeKarl Fris…

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Scientists Propose New Explanation for “Impossible” Gamma-Ray Burst https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/scientists-propose-new-explanation-for-impossible-gamma-ray-burst https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/scientists-propose-new-explanation-for-impossible-gamma-ray-burst#respond Sat, 30 Dec 2023 13:23:11 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/scientists-propose-new-explanation-for-impossible-gamma-ray-burst

In 2022, scientists from Northwestern University presented novel observational data indicating that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) might originate from the collision of a neutron star with another dense celestial body, such as another neutron star or a black hole — a finding that was previously believed to be impossible.

Now, another Northwestern team offers a potential explanation for what generated the unprecedented and incredibly luminous burst of light.

After developing the first numerical simulation that follows the jet evolution in a black hole — neutron star merger out to large distances, the astrophysicists discovered that the post-merger black hole can launch jets of material from the swallowed neutron star.

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The Boundary Between Black Holes & Neutron Stars https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/the-boundary-between-black-holes-neutron-stars https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/the-boundary-between-black-holes-neutron-stars#respond Fri, 29 Dec 2023 12:29:51 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/the-boundary-between-black-holes-neutron-stars

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https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/space… we detected the very first gravitational wave, a new window was opened to the mysteries of the universe. We knew we’d see things previously thought impossible. And we just did — an object on the boundary between neutron stars and black holes, which promises to reveal the secrets of both. Hosted by Matt O’Dowd Written by Matt O’Dowd Graphics by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, & Pedro Osinski Directed by: Andrew Kornhaber Camera Operator: Bahaar Gholipour Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber Previous Episodes Referenced: Ligo’s First Detection of Gravitational Waves: • LIGO’s First Detection of Gravitation… The Future of Gravitational Waves: • The Future of Gravitational Waves How to build a black hole • How to Build a Black Hole Strange Stars — • Strange Stars | Space Time | PBS Digi… Special Thanks to Our Patreon Supporters Big Bang Supporters Robert Doxtator Ahmad Jodeh Caed Aldwych Radu Negulescu Alexander Tamas Morgan Hough Juan Benet Fabrice Eap David Nicklas Quasar Supporters Alec S-L Christina Oegren Mark Heising Vinnie Falco Hypernova Supporters william bryan Julian Tyacke Syed Ansar John R. Slavik Mathew Danton Spivey Donal Botkin John Pollock Edmund Fokschaner Joseph Salomone Hank S Matthew O’Connor chuck zegar Jordan Young John Hofmann Timothy McCulloch Gamma Ray Burst Supporters fieldsa eleanory Cody Lubinsky Peter Mertz Elliot Azizollahi Kevin O’Connell Bryan Dawley Richard Deighton Isaac Suttell Devon Rosenthal Oliver Flanagan Mikhail Klakotskiy Dawn M Fink Bleys Goodson Darryl J Lyle Robert Walter jechamt Bruce B Ismael Montecel M D Mark Daniel Cohen Andrew Richmond Simon Oliphant Mirik Gogri David Hughes Aria Ahmad Brandon Lattin Yannick Weyns Nickolas Andrew Freeman Protius Protius Brian Blanchard Shane Calimlim Tybie Fitzhugh Patrick Sutton Robert Ilardi Eric Kiebler Tatiana Vorovchenko Craig Stonaha Michael Conroy Graydon Goss Frederic Simon Greg Smith Sean Warniaha Tonyface John Robinson A G Kevin Lee Nick Wright Adrian Hatch Paul Rose Yurii Konovaliuk John Funai Cass Costello Geoffrey Short Bradley Jenkins Kyle Hofer Tim Stephani Luaan AlecZero Malte Ubl Nick Virtue Scott Gossett David Bethala Dan Warren John Griffith Daniel Lyons Josh Thomas DFaulk Kevin Warne Andreas Nautsch Brandon labonte.

When we detected the very first gravitational wave, a new window was opened to the mysteries of the universe. We knew we’d see things previously thought impossible. And we just did — an object on the boundary between neutron stars and black holes, which promises to reveal the secrets of both.

Hosted by Matt O’Dowd.
Written by Matt O’Dowd.
Graphics by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, & Pedro Osinski.
Directed by: Andrew Kornhaber.
Camera Operator: Bahaar Gholipour.
Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber.

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Astronomers inspect a peculiar nuclear transient https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/astronomers-inspect-a-peculiar-nuclear-transient https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/astronomers-inspect-a-peculiar-nuclear-transient#respond Fri, 29 Dec 2023 10:24:29 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/astronomers-inspect-a-peculiar-nuclear-transient

An international team of astronomers has employed a set of space telescopes to observe a peculiar nuclear transient known as AT 2019avd. Results of the observational campaign, presented in a paper published December 21 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the properties and behavior of this transient.

Nuclear astrophysics is key to understanding supernova explosions, and in particular the synthesis of the chemical elements that evolved after the Big Bang. Therefore, detecting and investigating nuclear transient events could be essential in order to advance our knowledge in this field.

At a redshift of 0.028, AT 2019avd is a peculiar nuclear transient discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in 2009. The transient has been detected in various wavelengths, from radio to soft X-rays, and has recently exhibited two continuous flaring episodes with different profiles, spanning over two years.

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Cache is king when it comes to designing the gaming CPUs of the next 20 years https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/cache-is-king-when-it-comes-to-designing-the-gaming-cpus-of-the-next-20-years https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/cache-is-king-when-it-comes-to-designing-the-gaming-cpus-of-the-next-20-years#respond Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:25:14 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/12/cache-is-king-when-it-comes-to-designing-the-gaming-cpus-of-the-next-20-years

Facing a power wall and the limit of physics, chip makers are in a constant battle to reengineer and re-evaluate ways to build a better CPU.

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