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Category: physics – Page 6

Extreme cosmic events such as colliding black holes or the explosions of stars can cause ripples in spacetime, so-called gravitational waves. Their discovery opened a new window into the universe. To observe them, ultra-precise detectors are required, but designing them remains a major scientific challenge for humans.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have been working on how an artificial intelligence system could explore an unimaginably vast space of possible designs to find entirely new solutions. The results were recently published in the journal Physical Review X.

More than a century ago, Einstein theoretically predicted gravitational waves. They could only be directly detected in 2016 because the development of the necessary detectors was extremely complex.

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A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers, physicists and battery specialists affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. has developed a water-based battery that offers 2,000-cycle stability. In their paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the group outlines why they believe it could help bridge the gap between aqueous batteries and non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries.

The main advantage of using aqueous batteries is their safety compared to nonaqueous, . They cannot ignite unexpectedly, minimizing fire hazard. The reason that they are not common is their reduction potential limit of aqueous electrolytes, which has restricted their . Also, the current types of electrolytes they use tend to have problems with water shuttling the interface and high impedance.

In this new study, the research team has taken a step toward resolving these problems by improving ion transport and the stability of biphasic electrolytes via lithium ionophores.

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Here in this video today we will explore something that has been demanded by viewers of the channel for quite sometime, the Xeelee rings, one of the largest megastructures in fiction. We first have to take a look at the universe we are discussing about. So, The Xeelee Sequence is a series of science fiction novels and short stories by British author Stephen Baxter, exploring the grand scale of the universe from the Big Bang to its ultimate end. The series follows humanity’s evolution over billions of years, its conflicts with alien species, and the mysterious, hyper-advanced Xeelee, who are engaged in a cosmic war against the enigmatic dark matter entities known as the Photino Birds. The books blend hard science fiction with cosmic wonder, delving into themes of time travel, black hole physics, alternate universes, and the limits of human potential. Major works in the series include \.

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How did complex systems emerge from chaos? Physicist Sean Carroll explains.

Up next, The Universe in 90 minutes: Time, free will, God, & more ► https://youtu.be/tM4sLmt1Ui8

How did life on Earth originate? Scientists still aren’t sure, and this remains one of the world’s most fascinating and mind-boggling mysteries.

One way of approaching the question is to think generally about how complex systems emerge from chaos. Since the 1800s, scientists have known that entropy is always increasing, with everything in our Universe trending toward disorder over time.

A more nuanced understanding of entropy is helping today’s scientists make progress on the question of the origin of life, as Sean Carroll explains in this Big Think video.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/great-question/entropy-origin-of-life/

Continue reading “The physics of entropy and the origin of life | Sean Carroll” | >

Learn more about the science videos you’ve been watching with Brilliant! First 30 days are free and 20% off the annual premium subscription when you use our link ➜ https://brilliant.org/sabine.

Correction: When I say that there are 2/3 of galaxies that spin one direction and 1/3 the other, that should have been 3/5 one way and 2/5 the other. Or, to put it into percentages, it’s 60% vs 40% (not 67% vs 33%). Sorry about that uneasy

A new study has found that the universe might be spinning. What does that even mean? Let’s have a look.

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Continue reading “The Entire Universe Seems to Spin, New Data Reveal” | >

That’s the question raised by physicist Dr. Richard Lieu at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. In a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Lieu offers a theory that could challenge one of the biggest assumptions in astrophysics. His idea: gravity can exist without any mass at all.

The study explores a different solution to the same equations that normally describe gravity—both in Newtonian theory and in general relativity. These equations link mass with the gravitational force it creates. Lieu focused on what’s known as the Poisson equation, a simplified form of Einstein’s field equations used for describing gravity in weaker fields, like those around galaxies.

This equation typically has one well-known solution: gravity that weakens with distance, created by mass. But there’s another, lesser-known solution that’s often ignored. It can also create an attractive force but doesn’t come from any actual matter.

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