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Physicists have many theories for the beginning of our universe: A big bang, a big bounce, a black hole, a network, a collision of membranes, a gas of strings, and the list goes on. What does this mean? It means we don’t know how the universe began. And the reason isn’t just that we’re lacking data, the reason is that science is reaching its limits when we try to understand the initial condition of the entire universe.

Continue reading “Did the Big Bang happen?” »

Artificial intelligence has advanced faster than anyone expected, giving renewed urgency to the question of what comes next, artificial superintelligence, and what it means for us.

This isn’t what we see. What we observe is that more distant galaxies have a dimmer surface brightness than closer ones. The amount of dimming is proportional to the amount of redshift the galaxy has. You might think this proves that all those distant galaxies are speeding away from us, but it actually doesn’t. If those distant galaxies were speeding away, you’d have two dimming effects. The red shift and the ever-increasing distance. The Tolman test predicts that in a simple expanding universe, the surface brightness of galaxies should diminish proportional to both redshift and distance. We only see the effects of redshift.

This fact has led some to propose a static universe where light spontaneously loses energy over time. It’s the so-called tired light hypothesis, and it’s very popular among big bang opponents. If the universe is static and light is tired, then the Tolman test predicts exactly what we observe. Hence no big bang.

Back in 2014, Eric Lerner et al. published a paper making exactly this point. It caused a flurry of “Big Bang Dead!” articles in the popular media. The latest claims about Webb killing the big bang began with a popular article by the same Eric Lerner. So here we are. In fairness, back in 2014, the Hubble observations supported Lerner’s claim, and so do the latest Webb observations. But what Lerner conveniently omitted from his paper is that the Hubble and Webb observations also support the LCDM model.

An algae-powered computer: Researchers from the University of Cambridge and British tech company Arm have now demonstrated a different source of power for IoT devices: algae.

For their study, published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, the team built a container about the size of a AA battery out of aluminum and clear plastic. They then filled it with water and algae that use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight.

That process produces a small electric current. An electrode in the device uses that current to power a tiny computer processor commonly used in IoT devices.

Steam turbines could be replaced by pressurized carbon dioxide (CO₂) closed-loop systems to spin turbines.

Steam turbines in thermal power generation are today’s standard. But pressurized carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a closed-loop system could do the job. Supercritical CO₂ acting as both a liquid and a gas under extreme pressure would provide the impetus to spin a turbine. Using supercritical CO₂ may prove to be far more efficient than steam to provide emissions-free power to the electrical grid. Energy input coming from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, as well as nuclear power, or even gas or coal-fired thermal energy power plants with accompanying carbon capture technology could be combined with this technology to be an effective addition to energy utilities.

Recently researchers at the Sandia National Laboratory Kirtland Air Force Base in the United States demonstrated a closed-loop Brayton Cycle engine technology as it delivered power to the electrical grid continuously. Sandia has been working with the Brayton Cycle technology for power generation for some time now because it is seen as having significant energy conversion advantages over conventional steam turbines by as much as 50%.

Biomedical researchers working with lambs got promising results from an experiment designed to prevent the health problems associated with premature births.

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Over the centuries humanity has tried many versions of government and many variations on each type, today we will examine how technology and space colonization might impact what types of governments we use in the future.

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Continue reading “Government Types of the Future” »

A mathematical shortcut for analyzing black hole collisions works even in cases where it shouldn’t. As astronomers use it to search for new classes of hidden black holes, others wonder: Why?

Mark Zuckerberg has announced Meta’s new VR headset that will cost around UDS 1,000.

While speaking to Joe Rogan in his podcast, Zuckerberg announced that the new headsets will be out this October.

Zuckerberg referred to the company’s Project Cambria, a higher-end VR and mixed-reality headset than the current Quest 2 that uses advanced eye-and facial-tracking features to more naturally represent the wearer’s expressions and body language.