Physics
Explainer: Einstein's Theory of General Relativity
It’s the year 2100. You wake up alone in a small, windowless room.
Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV What's part of the universe? You may think of it as incorporating everything that exists - both on Earth and in space - but could it also include the unknown? In this One-Minute Physics episode, film-maker Henry Reich delves into the notion of the universe as described by physics, distinguishing between the whole universe and what's observable. He looks at the three components of the universe that we are sure of and whether mathematics could be included or not. Then there is the concept of parallel universes that could extend our understanding of space.
New Scientist TV: One-Minute Physics archive
An Alcubierre Warp Drive stretches spacetime in a wave causing the fabric of space ahead of a spacecraft to contract and the space behind it to expand. The ship can ride the wave to accelerate to high speeds and time travel. The Alcubierre drive, also known as the Alcubierre metric or Warp Drive, is a mathematical model of a spacetime exhibiting features reminiscent of the fictional "warp drive" from Star Trek, which can travel "faster than light" (although not in a local sense - see below).
Alcubierre Warp Drive Time Travel
Time is a measured or measurable period, a continuum that lacks spatial dimensions. Time is of philosophical interest and is also the subject of mathematical and scientific investigation. It is a component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. Time has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars. In physics as well as in other sciences, time is considered one of the few fundamental quantities.
Time
What would happen if I drilled a tunnel through the center of th"
Want to really get away from it all? The farthest you can travel from home (and still remain on Earth) is about 7,900 miles (12,700 kilometers) straight down, but you'll have to journey the long way round to get there: 12,450 miles (20,036 kilometers) over land and sea. Why not take a shortcut, straight down? You can get there in about 42 minutes -- that's short enough for a long lunch, assuming you can avoid Mole Men, prehistoric reptiles and underworld denizens en route. Granted, most Americans would end up in the Indian Ocean, but Chileans could dine out on authentic Chinese, and Kiwis could tuck into Spanish tapas for tea [sources: NOVA ; Shegelski ].
Scientists probe the idea of chronesthesia
Yes... much of remembering the past means reconstructing it, not just re-experiencing it, and contemplating the future requires similar "construction." It's why people can easily confabulate details in their memory--"remembering" things differently to how they actually happened, particularly when they're asked leading questions. It's a potent tool, this ability to remember the past and the future; but prone to error. Not to mention, thinking of the past and the future often distracts us from the present in potentially destructive ways.
Some 3.9 billion years ago a massive meteor shower of glittering gold and platinum fell on earth, says a new study published in the Nature Journal by researchers at the University of Bristol . This ancient meteor shower explains why tens to thousands of times more bling exists on earth's mantle and crust than anticipated, says the press statement . Prior to this study, many scientists pointed to the meteorite theory, but no substantial evidence existed to support it, until now, reports Deutsche Welle . The National Geographic reports that scientists put the theory to the test by analyzing the world's oldest rocks discovered in Greenland in 2008 , and then comparing it to the make up of other rocks found elsewhere around the planet.
Meteor Shower Rained Gold On Ancient Earth
News in Science Monday, 12 September 2011 Stuart Gary ABC Tiny ripples The race to discover gravity waves may be getting closer to the finish line with scientists successfully squeezing light using quantum mechanics. The detection of gravity waves is one of the Holy Grails of astronomy and astrophysics.
Scientists squeeze light past quantum limit › News in Science (ABC Science)