Transcript Slide 1 - Boswellsgmt

• Have you ever wondered what would happen to you if you fell into a black
hole, but could somehow avoid being ripped apart? Charles Liu from New
York's College of Staten Island sat down with "Life's Little Mysteries" and
answered that question. In short, The larger the blackhole, the less
extreme its surface is. If you were sucked into the event horizon of a black
hole about the size of our galaxy, it would hypothetically be possible to
maintain your structural integrity. Einsteins special theory of relativity says
that the faster objects move through space, the slower they move through
time. Therefore, You and every object that was swallowed by the black
hole would feel the effects of dilatation of the curvature of space/time.
The objects that hurdled into the black hole before you did would
experience a larger time dilation than you would and all of the objects
that entered it after you would experience less dilation. Thus, if you're
able to look forward toward the black hole as you're falling into it at the
speed of light, you would see every object that has fallen into it in the
past. If you look backwards, you'd be able to see everything that will ever
fall into the black hole behind you. You'd be able to see the entire history
of that particular spot in the cosmos from the inception of the universe
until the end of time. Hypothetically, of course.
• Charles answers this question and more!
• http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/1545-top-3-questions-people-askastrophysicist-answers.html -JT
•
Meet PSR B1257+12 b from the Virgo constellation, the first extra-solar planet
found outside of our solar system and one of only a small handful of known
objects that have been discovered orbiting a pulsar! Granted, this planet isn't a
slice of paradise or anything like the place we call home. In fact, it's downright
hellacious. You see, a pulsar is a magnetized, fast rotating neutron star that beams
deadly electromagnetic radiation into space like no bodies business. The events
leading to the formation of a pulsar begin when the core of a massive star is
compressed during a supernova, which collapses into a neutron star or a black
hole. If the former happens, What's left at the end of the supernova is the dense
core from the dead star that's only about 10 miles in diameter called a neutro...n
star. When the neutron star continues to spit out light and radiation after it
explodes, it's classified as a pulsar. The only way we can observe the radiation is if
the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth, much the way a lighthouse
can only be seen when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer.
•
PSR B1257+12 was discovered in 1992 by Aleksander Wolszczan, a astronomer
from Poland. The planet is over 4 times as massive as Earth and it orbits around its
mother pulsar (PSR B1257+12) approximately every 66 Earth days. The only light
the planet receives comes from the pulsar. So, if you could stand on the planet, the
sky would look like blue light reflecting off from a disco ball. Oh, did I mention that
the planet receives so much radiation, part of it actually glows?
•
- JT
• Quantum levitation anyone?
• A thin superconductor layer (~1µm thick) is
coated on a sapphire wafer. Quantum physics
tells us that the magnetic field penetrates into
the superconductor in the form of discrete flux
tubes. The superconductor strongly pins these
tubes, causing it to float in midair. This effect is
called ‘quantum levitation’.
• http://www.quantumlevitation.com/QuantumLev
itation/See_it_in_Action.html
•
Meet "super-earth" Gliese 581 c. Gliese 581 c is 20.3 light years away and it orbits
a dying star named "Gliese 581" in the Libra constellation. Don't let the "superearth" title fool you. This planet is probably much different from our own. First of
all, it's believed that the sky of the planet is a crimson red color based on known
atmospheric conditions and the fact that its mother star is a red dwarf. The planet
is tidally locked to Gliese 581, which means one side is perpetually light and one
side is perpetually dark and the two always show the same face to one another. On
average, it seems that the light Gliese 581 c receives from its star has about 30% of
the intensity of sunlight on Earth. This may indicate that the planet would be too
cold for life. However, in reality the atmospheric greenhouse effect can
significantly raise planetary temperatures. If Gliese 581 c has a large greenhouse
effect, then the surface temperature might well permit water AND life. However, If
life were to somehow develop and evolve on this planet, there would only be a
narrow strip of land where the temperature would be compatible with life. Seeing
as how one side of the planet is hot and the other is cold, you could generally also
expect some strange weather patterns, with gale winds surging from the hot to the
cold side every day, along with permanent torrential rain, because there are no
seasons.
•
In 2008, scientists from Ukraine sent a high-powered digital radio signal towards
the planet that contained 501 messages that were chosen through a competition
on Bebo, the social networking website. The message is expected to reach their
solar system in early 2029.
• Within the next 4 to 7 billion years, the sun will begin to make the
transition from a star into a red giant. As it does, gravity will force
the sun to collapse into its core, which will ratchet up the heat on
the remaining hydrogen and cause the sun to expand into a red
giant- incinerating the innermost rocky planets in our solar system.
Don't worry though. You and I won't be around to see it. Gradually,
the sun's brightness is increasing by almost 10% every billion years,
which in turn, will inevitably cause all of the water on our little
planet to dry up, thus eliminating life as we know it.
• It's not all bad news though! Scientists think they've found some
good contenders to host life in our own back yard. Two places of
interest are Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) and Enceladus (one of
Saturn's moons), which are located respectively 480 and 900 million
miles away from the sun. Both are believed to contain sub-surface
bodies of liquid water, which is imperative to the survival of carbon
based lifeforms (i.e. YOU). So, what's the problem then? Well, both
moons are EXTREMELY cold and very far from the Goldilocks region
of our solar system. However, while our rapidly expanding sun is
using the remainder of its fuel, these small moons will thaw out,
bringing a brief springtime after a 10-billion-year winter.