Lifeboat Foundation

In this episode, we explore how a triple-lens supernova observed by the James Webb Space Telescope could help solve the mystery of the Hubble tension, which is the discrepancy between different measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe. We also learn about the details of the supernova and the galaxy cluster that caused the gravitational lensing effect, and how JWST and other telescopes can use this supernova to test various cosmological models and parameters.

Paper Link:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.

Continue reading “James Webb just Found a Supernova That Could Break the Laws of Physics” »

It lets researchers extract pixel-by-pixel information from nanoscale.

The nanoscale refers to a length scale that is extremely small, typically on the order of nanometers (nm), which is one billionth of a meter. At this scale, materials and systems exhibit unique properties and behaviors that are different from those observed at larger length scales. The prefix “nano-” is derived from the Greek word “nanos,” which means “dwarf” or “very small.” Nanoscale phenomena are relevant to many fields, including materials science, chemistry, biology, and physics.

Black holes are regions in space characterized by extremely strong gravity, which prevents all matter and electromagnetic waves from escaping it. These fascinating cosmic bodies have been the focus of countless research studies, yet their intricate physical nuances are yet to be fully uncovered.

Researchers at University of California–Santa Barbara, University of Warsaw and University of Cambridge recently carried out a theoretical study focusing on a class of black holes known as extremal Kerr black holes, which are uncharged stationary black holes with a coinciding inner and outer horizon. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, shows that these black holes’ unique characteristics could make them ideal “amplifiers” of new, unknown physics.

“This research has its origin in a previous project started during my visit to UC Santa Barbara,” Maciej Kolanowski, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. “I started discussing very cold (so called, extremal) black holes with Gary Horowitz (UCSB) and Jorge Santos (at Cambridge). Soon we realized that in fact, generic extremal black holes look very different than it was previously believed.”

Knowing black holes’ speed after being kicked by gravitational waves can reveal how much energy converging black holes can release.

Grandfathers, take heart. You’ll survive the paradox that’s been gunning for you since the 1930s.

With up to a million X-ray flashes a second, the laser will help study mechanisms in physics, chemistry, and biology.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has fired the first X-rays using the upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), a press release said. The upgraded version, dubbed LCLS-II, was built for $1.1 billion.

Continue reading “World’s most powerful X-ray laser fired for the first time” »

Human writing and drawing dates back at least 30,000 years and incorporates traditional techniques such as carving, engraving, and printing/writing with ink, as well as more novel methods such as electron lithography. Now a team of German physicists has figured out a unique method for writing in water and other fluid substrates, according to a recent paper published in the journal Small.

According to the authors, most classical writing methods involve the same basic approach, in which a line is carved out or ink deposited. On a solid substrate, strong intermolecular forces help the written figures hold their shape, but that’s not the case for surfaces submerged in fluids. Prior research has used scanning probe lithography to “write’ on self-assembled monolayers submerged in fluids, or to bring structures at the micron scale using two-photon polymerization. ” There are now even commercial scuba diver slates available for underwater writing on a substrate,” they wrote.

All of these methods still rely on a substrate, however. The German team wanted to devise a means of literally writing into a fluid. Such a method would need to be robust enough to counter the rapid dispersion of drawn lines, and they would need a very tiny pen that didn’t stir up lots of turbulence as it moved through the fluid medium. (The smaller the object moving through a fluid, the fewer vortices, or eddies, it will create.)

The universe is bigger than you think.

This means any deep-space future awaiting humanity outside our solar system will remain beyond the span of a single life until we develop a means of propulsion that outclasses conventional rockets. And, when three studies rocked the world earlier this year, it felt like a dream come true: Warp drive was no longer science fiction, potentially unlocking a theoretical basis to build faster-than-light warp drive engines that could cut a trip to Mars down to minutes.

However, a recent study shared in a preprint journal cast doubt on the theory, pointing to a gap in the math that could put the viability of a physical warp drive back into the realm of speculation.

A 65-year old perplexing question may have finally been answered: Why is the Sun’s atmosphere hotter than its surface?

For over six decades, scientists have been baffled by a cosmic mystery of scorching proportions: Why is the Sun’s atmosphere, known as the corona, hotter than its surface?

Continue reading “ESA and NASA join forces to answer the Sun’s heating riddle” »