TIL: Scientists May Have Evidence We Are In A Matrix-Like Simulation. : todayilearned Physicists discover ‘clearest evidence yet’ that the Universe is a hologram A team of physicists have provided what has been described by the journal Nature as the “clearest evidence yet” that our universe is a hologram. The new research could help reconcile one of modern physics’ most enduring problems : the apparent inconsistencies between the different models of the universe as explained by quantum physics and Einstein’s theory of gravity. The two new scientific papers are the culmination of years’ work led by Yoshifumi Hyakutake of Ibaraki University in Japan, and deal with hypothetical calculations of the energies of black holes in different universes. The idea of the universe existing as a ‘hologram’ doesn’t refer to a Matrix-like illusion, but the theory that the three dimensions we perceive are actually just“painted” onto the cosmological horizon – the boundary of the known universe. If this sounds paradoxical, try to imagine a holographic picture that changes as you move it. For more information on this research, click here to read the original release.
Quantum biology: Do weird physics effects abound in nature? 28 January 2013Last updated at 00:05 GMT By Jason Palmer and Alex Mansfield BBC News and BBC Radio Science Unit The multi-billion-dollar fragrance industry might just benefit from the ideas in quantum biology Disappearing in one place and reappearing in another. This kind of weird behaviour is commonplace in dark, still laboratories studying the branch of physics called quantum mechanics, but what might it have to do with fresh flowers, migrating birds, and the smell of rotten eggs? Welcome to the frontier of what is called quantum biology. It is still a tentative, even speculative discipline, but what scientists are learning from it might just spark revolutions in the development of new drugs, computers and perfumes - or even help in the fight against cancer. Until recently, the delicate states of matter predicted by quantum mechanics have only been accessed with the most careful experiments: isolated particles at blisteringly low temperatures or pressures approaching that of deep space.
The Measurement That Would Reveal The Universe As A Computer Simulation One of modern physics’ most cherished ideas is quantum chromodynamics, the theory that describes the strong nuclear force, how it binds quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons, how these form nuclei that themselves interact. This is the universe at its most fundamental. So an interesting pursuit is to simulate quantum chromodynamics on a computer to see what kind of complexity arises. The promise is that simulating physics on such a fundamental level is more or less equivalent to simulating the universe itself. There are one or two challenges of course. That may not sound like much but the significant point is that the simulation is essentially indistinguishable from the real thing (at least as far as we understand it). It’s not hard to imagine that Moore’s Law-type progress will allow physicists to simulate significantly larger regions of space. Again, the behaviour of this human cell would be indistinguishable from the real thing. First, some background.
Lost pyramids spotted by space scientists - Technology & science - Science Seventeen lost pyramids are believed to have been found in Egypt by a team of space archaeologists from Alabama, according to a report. Sarah Parcak and her team at a NASA-sponsored laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham made the discoveries using a satellite survey, and also found more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements in infrared images that show up buildings underground, BBC News reported. The BBC said that two of the suspected pyramids had been confirmed by initial excavations. "We were very intensely doing this research for over a year. I could see the data as it was emerging, but for me the 'aha' moment was when I could step back and look at everything that we'd found, and I couldn't believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt," Parcak said. She said it was likely that more buildings would be found. "These are just the sites [close to] the surface. "It gives us a much bigger perspective on archaeological sites.
TIL That the Vikings were actually much cleaner than we assume them to be today; Saxon women even preferred them to their own (Saxon)men. : todayilearned Metaphysics Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it,[1] although the term is not easily defined.[2] Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:[3] Ultimately, what is there?What is it like? Prior to the modern history of science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as natural philosophy. Originally, the term "science" (Latin scientia) simply meant "knowledge". The scientific method, however, transformed natural philosophy into an empirical activity deriving from experiment unlike the rest of philosophy. Etymology[edit] However, once the name was given, the commentators sought to find intrinsic reasons for its appropriateness. Central questions[edit] Cosmology and cosmogony[edit] Metaphysical Cosmology is the branch of metaphysics that deals with the world as the totality of all phenomena in space and time. [edit] [edit]
Quantum entanglement isn't only spooky, you can't avoid it Quantum entanglement is the key to quantum computing, cryptography, and numerous other real-world applications of quantum mechanics. It is also one of the strangest phenomena in the Universe, overcoming barriers of space and time and knitting the entire cosmos into an integrated whole. Scientists have long thought that entanglement between two particles was a rare and fleeting phenomenon, so delicate that exposure of the particles to their surroundings would quickly destroy this linkage. Now mathematicians at Case Western University have shown that entanglement between parts of large systems is the norm, rather than being a rare and short-lived relationship. Entanglement is one of the strangest predictions of quantum mechanics. Entanglement is clearly subtle, but how common is it in the real world of macroscopic objects? Systems of a few particles will tend to lie close to a pure state, a state in which none of the internal particles are entangled with each other.
No magic show: Real-world levitation to inspire better pharmaceuticals It’s not a magic trick and it’s not sleight of hand – scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a way to use sound waves to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals. While the connection between levitation and drug development may not be immediately apparent, a special relationship emerges at the molecular level. At the molecular level, pharmaceutical structures fall into one of two categories: amorphous or crystalline. “One of the biggest challenges when it comes to drug development is in reducing the amount of the drug needed to attain the therapeutic benefit, whatever it is,” said Argonne X-ray physicist Chris Benmore, who led the study. Getting pharmaceuticals from solution into an amorphous state, however, is no easy task.
puter breakthrough: Code of life becomes data bank Data could be stored in DNA for years. Photo: Phil Carrick Scientists in Britain on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in the quest to turn DNA into a revolutionary form of data storage. A speck of man-made DNA can hold mountains of data that can be freeze-dried, shipped and stored, potentially for thousands of years, they said. The contents are "read" by sequencing the DNA — as is routinely done today, in genetic fingerprinting and so on — and turning it back into computer code. "We already know that DNA is a robust way to store information because we can extract it from bones of woolly mammoths, which date back tens of thousands of years, and make sense of it," said Nick Goldman of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in Cambridge. Advertisement "It's also incredibly small, dense and does not need any power for storage, so shipping and keeping it is easy." The letter sequence comprises the genome, or the chemical blueprint for making and sustaining life.
TIL that composer Charles Ives proposed that a 20th Amendment should be added to the U.S. Constitution that allowed people to submit legislative proposals to Congress. Members of Congress would then cull the proposals, selecting 10 each year as referendum The Physics of Death (And What Happens to Your Energy) Credit: depositphotos Even though it’s an inexorable part of life, for many people, death—or at least the thought of ceasing to exist forever—can be a scary thing. I mean, the disturbing things that happen to the body during decomposition—the point in which cells and tissues begin to break down post mortem—are bad enough. In life, the human body is comprised of both matter and energy—including energy of the electrical and chemical varieties. The process is much more complex with humans. As we know through thermodynamics, energy can not be created nor destroyed.. it can simply change states. In death, the collection of atoms that comprise you (a universe within the universe) are repurposed. (Image by All Science, All the Time. Over the course of a single year, we compile thousands of articles, and generate dozens upon dozens of high-quality videos and infographics.
What the Hell Are Tachyons? Tachyons cause a lot of problems in movies with starships, but they also cause problems for people in real life. Specifically, they cause problems for students of relativity and string theorists. Learn about the ins and outs of tachyons, and why they need extra dimensions. Whenever the Borg come jumping out of a wormhole in space, go ahead and blame tachyons. Whenever temporal distortions mean an older version of you has come back to scold the younger version of you, blame tachyons. Whenever an ancient vessel gets a boost across a galaxy, and re-starts an ancient war, blame tachyons. Tachyons are particles that have mass, but travel faster than light. Before we dismiss tachyons as an annoyance to both philosophy students and Star Fleet captains, let’s take a look at the problems they pose for string theorists. The relationship between energy and mass is defined by Einstein as E = mc2.