Lifeboat Foundation

For the first time, astronomers have observed a strange quantum phenomenon in action, where a neutron star is surrounded by a magnetic field so intense, it’s given rise to a region in empty space where matter spontaneously pops in and out of existence.

Called vacuum birefringence, this bizarre phenomenon was first predicted back in the 1930s, but had only ever been observed on the atomic scale. Now scientists have finally seen it occur in nature, and it goes against everything that Newton and Einstein had mapped out.

“This is a macroscopic manifestation of quantum field,” Jeremy Heyl from the University of British Columbia in Canada, who was not involved in the research, told Science. “It’s manifest on the scale of a neutron star.”

Continue reading “We Just Got the First Real Evidence of a Strange Quantum Distortion in Empty Space” »

Astronomers have at last observed polarisation of light by virtual particles in a neutron star’s magnetic field, a long-expected quantum effect.

NASA announces their first voice skill for Amazon’s Alexa at the AWS re: invent conference tonight. You’ll be able to ask Alexa questions about Mars.

Multiple companies are pursuing space mining activities, so what’s standing in the way of a space mining gold rush?

The methane seems to bloom in the Martian summers when the atmosphere is viewed with spectrography lenses on powerful telescopes I read once. Which always made me wonder if there’s algae of some form in the subsoil.

Scientists are getting closer to solving one of the biggest Martian mysteries.

THE universe that we see and know is simply a holographic illusion like a symbol on a credit card, an astonishing theory suggests.

What generates voltage when you warm it up, push on it, or blow on it?

Get your mind out of the gutter. The correct answer is polyvinylidene fluoride, a material NASA researchers have refined for use in morphing aircraft that shapeshift in response to their environment. But wait! There’s more: It can also kickstart the human body’s healing process.

Continue reading “A Material From Shapeshifting Planes Could Heal Human Flesh” »

Since man first explored space, it has been a largely peaceful environment. But now US adversaries are deploying weapons beyond Earth’s atmosphere, leading the US military to prepare for the frightening prospect of war in space.

“As humans go out there, there has always been conflict. Conflict in the Wild West as we move in the West … conflict twice in Europe for its horrible world wars,” Gen. John Hyten, head of US Strategic Command, told CNN. “So, every time humans actually physically move into that, there’s conflict, and in that case, we’ll have to be prepared for that.”

Efforts to explain a strange cold spot in the cosmos have led to the discovery of something even odder: a vast area with very little matter.