Browsing Archive: February, 2017
Posted by on Friday, February 24, 2017,
In :
Astronomy
Another interesting announcement from NASA today in regards to the search for exoplanets. Using a combination of several ground based telescopes together with the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, the team has discovered seven new planets, each of which is roughly Earth sized, and orbiting a star a mere 39 lightyears away from the Earth.
The star at the center of this system is a very small, very cold star which was not observed until last May. It has been named TRAPPIST-1, short for Transi...
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Posted by on Wednesday, February 22, 2017,
Over the past week I have been reviewing some of the possible solution for the fine tuning problem of cosmology. One option is that some aspect of quantum mechanics requires the Universe to contain a sentient observer, and in effect cause the Universe to fine tune itself. Another possibility is that there are a very large number of Universes aside from our own, and with each Universe having slightly differently properties it follows that a few will be habitable. Today we will look at another ...
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Posted by on Wednesday, February 22, 2017,
In the previous article, I gave an overview of how the fine tuning problem of cosmology could be an effect of some as yet unknown aspect of quantum mechanics and its requirement that the Universe always contain an observer. While this solution is quite interesting, it is also quite speculative and requires many assumptions about the nature of quantum mechanics. However there are other solutions to the fine tuning problem which are less speculative.
The second class of solutions to the fine tu...
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Posted by on Monday, February 20, 2017,
In the previous article I gave a very quick overview of the fine tuning problem of cosmology. Why do the laws of physics and the fundamental constants of nature, which are believed to be random, just perfect for creating a Universe that permits life to develop and exist.
One particularly interesting potential solution arises from the foundations of quantum mechanics. While it might sound more like philosophy than physics, it is possible that the Universe cannot exist unless there is someone he...
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Posted by on Saturday, February 18, 2017,
Why are we here?
It is a question that has been asked many times in classrooms and lecture halls around the world, but it does have a deeper meaning in physics and cosmology. Why should it be that the Universe, with seemingly random laws and variables, should happen to suitable for the formation of life? With so many possible states of the Universe that are completely sterile, why did it just happen to form in the perfect way to provide a home for beings like us?
This is one of the big question...
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Posted by on Wednesday, February 1, 2017,
The scientific media has been buzzing this week about the possibility that our Universe is holographic. All across the internet I have seen headlines claiming that we live in only two dimensions, and that everything we see and sense is an illusion. And while both the media coverage is definitely overhyping what should be a minor scientific paper, the entire topic of a holographic universe is an interesting subject that is worth exploring.
Let me first make it clear that I have read the origina...
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I am a theoretical physicist & mathematician, with training in electronics, programming, robotics, and a number of other related fields.
