Science & Environment

socratus

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Science & Environment
Where does the bagel hole go when the bagel is eaten?
Where do massive stars go when they collapse?
Does anyone have an answer?
 

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spaminator

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The machine behind the 'God particle' is on the hunt for dark matter
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Pranshu Verma, The Washington Post
Publishing date:Jul 08, 2022 • 1 day ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation

Ten years ago, a team operating the world’s largest particle collider made history by discovering the Higgs boson particle, a finding key to understanding the creation of the universe, earning it the nickname the “God particle.”


After a more than three year pause for upgrades, the accelerator, run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is collecting data again. This time it’s out to prove the existence of another mysterious substance – dark matter.

Though scientists largely believe dark matter is real, none have been able to see or create it. Data collection and power upgrades made to the particle smasher, called the Large Hadron Collider, could provide researchers one of their best chances to visualize and understand the substance.

“If we can figure out the properties of dark matter, we learn what our galaxy is made of,” said Joshua Ruderman, an assistant professor of physics at New York University. “It would be transformative.”


Dark matter has fascinated physicists for decades. It is widely believed to make up a significant part of the universe, and learning more about it could provide clues as to how the universe came to be.

All the stars, planets and galaxies in the universe account for only 5% of the universe’s matter, according to scientists at CERN. Roughly 27% of the universe is thought to be composed of dark matter, which does not absorb, reflect or emit light, making it extremely hard to detect. Researchers say it exists because they’ve seen its gravitational pull on objects – and have witnessed how it helps bend light.

Researchers are hoping the Large Hadron Collider can help. The collider was built over the course of a decade by the European Organization for Nuclear Research to help answer outstanding questions of particle physics. The machine is located roughly 328 feet underground in a tunnel near the French-Swiss border and the city of Geneva. Its circumference spans nearly 17 miles.


Inside the collider, superconducting magnets are chilled to roughly minues-456 degrees Fahrenheit – colder than space – while two particle beams traveling close to the speed of light are made to collide. Using advanced sensors and monitors, scientists analyze the substances created by those collisions, which replicate conditions similar to the Big Bang. It allows them to learn about the earliest moments of the universe.

The machine started working in September 2008 but has shut down multiple times for enhancements. For the past three years, engineers have upgraded the collider so it can detect more data and run at higher speeds. Now the accelerator can run at its highest energy level ever, 13.6 trillion electron volts, allowing scientists to run bigger, more complicated experiments that could yield new insights into particle physics.


“This is a significant increase,” said Mike Lamont, CERN’s director for accelerators and technology. “Paving the way for new discoveries.”

At the beginning of the universe, particles did not have mass, so scientists have long questioned how stars, planets and additional life were created. In 1964, physicists François Englert and Peter Higgs and others theorized a force field gave particles mass when they connected, but they couldn’t document the existence of the entity.

The discovery of the Higgs boson particle, a part of the hypothesized force field, won Englert and Higgs a Nobel Prize in physics.

The particle has fascinated scientists and the general public alike. CERN and the collider are featured prominently in the Dan Brown book and adapted movie “Angels & Demons.”


But now researchers want to answer more vexing questions, especially those surrounding dark matter.

During the Large Hadron Collider’s four-year experiment, scientists are hoping to find evidence of dark matter. As they fire up the machine, protons will spin at nearly the speed of light. The hope, researchers said, is that when they collide, it creates new particles resembling the properties of dark matter.

They also hope to learn more about how the Higgs boson particle behaves. On Tuesday, shortly after the collider began collecting data, scientists at CERN announced they’d found three new “exotic” particles that could provide clues as to how subatomic particles bind together.

“High-energy colliders remain the most powerful microscope at our disposal to explore nature at the smallest scales and to discover the fundamental laws that govern the universe,” said Gian Giudice, head of CERN’s theory department.


Ruderman, of New York University, said CERN’s quest to learn about dark matter and explain the origins of the universe has him eagerly awaiting the results from the experiment. The research excites him greatly. “It’s why I wake up in the morning,” he said.

Once data starts coming out from the experiment, Ruderman will see if it’s producing new particles. Even if it does, it will be hard immediately to tell if it is dark matter or not.

First, they will need to assess whether the particle in question emits light. If it does, then that makes it less likely it is dark matter. Second, the particle should show signs of existing for a long time and not decaying immediately, since dark matter should in theory be able to last billions of years. They also hope the particle behaves similarly to current theories of dark matter.

Ruderman said it could take more than four years to make the discovery.

If CERN scientists do not discover dark matter in the next four years, they have more upgrades in the works. The upgrades are likely to take three years after the current run stops, leaving the fourth round of data collection and experiments to start in 2029.

As planned, the trial could capture 10 times more data than previous experiments, according to CERN’s website. But unraveling the universe’s secrets isn’t easy.

“This is hard,” Ruderman said, “and something that could take a whole lifetime of exploration.”
 

socratus

socratus
Dec 10, 2008
1,151
17
38
Israel
www.worldnpa.org
The machine behind the 'God particle' is on the hunt for dark matter
Pranshu Verma, The Washington Post
Publishing date: Jul 08, 2022
--------
Inside the collider, superconducting magnets are chilled
to roughly minues-456 degrees Fahrenheit – colder than space –
----------
-------
1 - Without a perfect vacuum, the LHC is useless machine.
2 - The vacuum of the LHC is a copy of the cosmic vacuum.
3 - The Cosmic Vacuum is an infinite/eternal energy structure filled
with infinite kinds of quantum particles and CERN will never reach
the Energy of the Infinite Cosmic Vacuum, so the work of CERN
is the work of Sisyphus.
4 - Cosmic vacuum is the source of everything.
--------
 

Tecumsehsbones

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...

The Premier of New Brunswick is Blaine Higgs.

Higgs believes there is nothing he does that is wrong.

When you do nothing wrong, you think you are God.

Higgs believes he is God.

Ergo... yep, that's apparently the case. :(
Well. . . when ya go around with a handle like "Premier". . .
 
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spaminator

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Scientists uncover history of 'ridiculously charming' penguins
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Will Dunham
Publishing date:Jul 19, 2022 • 14 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

WASHINGTON — The evolution of penguins from their flying seabird ancestors into the flightless denizens of marine environments from frigid Antarctica to the tropical Galapagos Islands is among the wonders of the animal kingdom.


Researchers on Tuesday offered the most thorough examination to date of the history of penguins dating back to their origins more than 60 million years ago, including identifying a suite of genes crucial in adaptations related to underwater vision, long dives, body temperature regulation, diet and body size.

The researchers sequenced the genomes of the 20 living penguin species and subspecies. With more than three quarters of known penguin species now extinct, the researchers also included in their analysis 50 fossil species using skeletal data.

The researchers said penguins evolved from a common ancestor shared with a group of seabirds that includes albatrosses and petrels. Penguins first evolved the ability to dive, like a puffin, and subsequently lost the ability to fly as they adapted to an aquatic realm, becoming excellent swimmers and divers.


The earliest-known penguin – dating back to 61 million years ago, about 5 million years after the mass extinction event that doomed the dinosaurs – is called Waimanu manneringi, from New Zealand.


“To me, penguins are a perfect example of a major evolutionary transition, like the evolution of an aquatic lifestyle in whales or flight in bats,” said avian paleontologist Daniel Ksepka of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications.

“We know penguins evolved from flying birds, but that happened over 60 million years ago and we need to look to the fossil record to piece together where, when and how that happened. Plus, penguins are ridiculously charming creatures. They love, they fight, they steal, and because of their funny upright posture it’s really easy to imagine them having all the same motivations as people,” Ksepka said.


The study illustrated how global temperature changes – oscillations between cold and warm periods – and shifts in major ocean currents have been important drivers of penguin evolution.

“We estimated how populations of each penguin species fluctuated over the last 250,000 years from signatures left in their genome by population crashes and booms,” Ksepka said. “The waxing and waning of ice sheets had a big impact on penguins, and species vulnerable to receding sea ice may suffer greatly from future global heating.”

Penguins also were found to exhibit the lowest evolutionary rates yet detected among birds.

Penguins live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, including species like the Adelie penguin along Antarctica’s coastlines. The Galapagos penguin is the only one found north of the equator.


University of Copenhagen postdoctoral researcher and study lead author Theresa Cole said the research uncovered a variety of genes likely involved in unique penguin physiological adaptations.

They show gene mutations that shift their vision toward the blue end of the color spectrum. Blue light penetrates more deeply into the ocean than light at the red end of the spectrum, so this trait helped fine-tune vision for low-light, underwater acuity.

Genes that help birds detect salty and sour tastes are active in penguins. But genes that help detect bitter, sweet and savory tastes are inactivated. Those may no longer be needed as penguins forage in cold, salty water and typically swallow prey including fish, shrimp and squid whole.


Penguins exhibit a flattening and stiffening of their wing bones and a reduction of their flight feathers into tiny structures that help convert wings into flippers. They also reduced the air spaces in the skeleton and increased bone wall thickness to increase diving efficiency, as well as adding the ability to store more oxygen in their muscles for long dives.

Penguins were once much larger than today’s species. One species, Kumimanu biceae, that inhabited New Zealand between 55 and 60 million years ago stood about 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall. The largest extant species, the emperor penguin, is about 3 feet (1 metre) tall.
 
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spaminator

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'DEVASTATING DECLINE': Monarch butterflies now listed as endangered
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Christina Larson
Publishing date:Jul 21, 2022 • 18 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

WASHINGTON — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.


“It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.

The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.

“What we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. “It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”


Haddad, who was not directly involved in the listing, estimates that the population of monarch butterflies he studies in the eastern United States has declined between 85% and 95% since the 1990s.

In North America, millions of monarch butterflies undertake the longest migration of any insect species known to science.

After wintering in the mountains of central Mexico, the butterflies migrate to the north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada then begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.

“It’s a true spectacle and incites such awe,” said Anna Walker, a conservation biologist at New Mexico BioPark Society, who was involved in determining the new listing.


A smaller group spends winters in coastal California, then disperses in spring and summer across several states west of the Rocky Mountains. This population has seen an even more precipitous decline than the eastern monarchs, although there was a small bounce back last winter.

Emma Pelton of the nonprofit Xerces Society, which monitors the western butterflies, said the butterflies are imperiled by loss of habitat and increased use of herbicides and pesticides for agriculture, as well as climate change.

“There are things people can do to help,” she said, including planting milkweed, a plant that the caterpillars depend upon.

Nonmigratory monarch butterflies in Central and South America were not designated as endangered.


The United States has not listed monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, but several environmental groups believe it should be listed.

The international union also announced new estimates for the global population of tigers, which are 40% higher than the most recent estimates from 2015.

The new figures, of between 3,726 and 5,578 wild tigers worldwide, reflect better methods for counting tigers and, potentially, an increase in their overall numbers, said Dale Miquelle, coordinator for the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society’s tiger program.

In the past decade, tiger populations have increased in Nepal, northern China and perhaps in India, while tigers have disappeared entirely from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, said Miquelle. They remain designated as endangered.
 

spaminator

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A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster. Red Lobster
A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster. Red Lobster
ORANGE LOBSTER SAVED

A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster.

The lobster, who was named Cheddar after being rescued, was at a Red Lobster in Hollywood, Fla., when employees noticed how much it stood out because of its bright orange colour.

They decided to try to rescue it and Ripley’s Aquariam of Myrtle Beach stepped up and adopted Cheddar, who was named after Red Lobster’s biscuits.


“Sometimes ordinary miracles happen, and Cheddar is one of them,” said Mario Roque in a release. Roque is a manager at Red Lobster who led the rescue of Cheddar.“ A group of incredible people helped us make this possible. We are so honored to have been able to save Cheddar and find her a good home.”

“We are incredibly proud of Mario and the team for recognizing what a special and rare creature Cheddar is and for working relentlessly to find someone to rescue her,” said Nicole Bott, Senior Director, Communications at Red Lobster. “It is an honor to be able to share the story of Cheddar and provide her a new home where she can be enjoyed by many for years to come, all from the safety of her tank.”
1658750523782.png
 

Tecumsehsbones

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A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster. Red Lobster
A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster. Red Lobster
ORANGE LOBSTER SAVED

A rare orange lobster got a new lease on life last week when it was saved from the pot at a Florida Red Lobster.

The lobster, who was named Cheddar after being rescued, was at a Red Lobster in Hollywood, Fla., when employees noticed how much it stood out because of its bright orange colour.
Shoulda named it Donald. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

On the other hand, it WAS Red Lobster. . .
 

spaminator

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Volcanic eruption in Japan forces evacuations in two towns
Japan’s Meteorological Agency raised the eruption alert to the highest level of five

Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Mari Yamaguchi
Publishing date:Jul 25, 2022 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • 19 Comments
A remote camera image show shows an eruption of Sakurajima in Tarumizu, western Japan, July 24, 2022.
A remote camera image show shows an eruption of Sakurajima in Tarumizu, western Japan, July 24, 2022. PHOTO BY KYODO /via REUTERS
TOKYO — Dozens of people have evacuated two towns on Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu where a volcano spewed ash and large rocks into the nighttime sky.


Large rocks fell as far as 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the Sakurajima volcano Sunday night in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima. Footage on Japan’s NHK public television showed orange flames flashing near the crater and dark smoke with ash billowing high above the mountaintop.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency raised the eruption alert to the highest level of five and advised 51 residents in two towns facing the volcano to leave their homes.

By Monday morning, 33 of them left their homes for a nursing care facility in a safer part of the region, according to Kagoshima city. NHK said others subject to evacuation might have evacuated to other locations.

“We will put the people’s lives first and do our utmost to assess the situation and respond to any emergency,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters. He called on residents to pay close attention to updates from local authorities to protect their lives.


A dusting of ash was visible on cars in Kagoshima, but no damage or injuries have been reported. Schools in the area are on summer recess but closed Monday for clubs and extracurricular activities.

JMA warned of the potential for falling volcanic rocks within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the crater and possible flow of lava, ash and searing gas within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

The chances of more explosive violent eruptions were low, but residents still should be watchful for falling rocks, mudslide and pyroclastic flow, said Tsuyoshi Nakatsuji, a JMA official in charge of volcano watch. He also advised residents to close curtains and stay away from windows, which could break by the force of an eruption.

Sakurajima on the main southern island of Kyushu is one of Japan’s most active volcanos and has erupted repeatedly. It used to be an island but became a peninsula following an eruption in 1914 that killed 58 people.

Sakurajima is about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
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spaminator

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Big pink diamond discovered in Angola, largest in 300 years
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Jul 27, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
This photo supplied by Lucapa Diamond Company on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, shows the 170 carat pink diamond, right, recovered from Lulo, Angola.
This photo supplied by Lucapa Diamond Company on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, shows the 170 carat pink diamond, right, recovered from Lulo, Angola. PHOTO BY LUCAPA DIAMOND COMPANY /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHANNESBURG — A big pink diamond of 170 carats has been discovered in Angola and is claimed to be the largest such gemstone found in 300 years.


Called the “Lulo Rose,” the diamond was found at the Lulo alluvial diamond mine, the mine’s owner, the Lucapa Diamond Company, announced Wednesday on its website.

The Lulo mine has already produced the two largest diamonds ever found in Angola, including a 404-carat clear diamond.



The pink gemstone is the fifth largest diamond found at the mine where 27 diamonds of 100 carats or more have been found, according to Lucapa, which is based in Australia.

The pink diamond will be sold by international tender by the Angolan state diamond marketing company, Sodiam. Angola’s mines make it one of the world’s top 10 producers of diamonds.

“This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage for diamond mining and demonstrates the potential and rewards for commitment and investment in our growing diamond mining industry,” Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas said, according to the Lucapa website.

The pink diamond is an impressive size but many clear diamonds are larger than 1,000 carats. The Cullinan diamond found in South Africa in 1905 tips the scales at 3,106 carats and it’s in the British Sovereign’s Scepter.
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spaminator

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EAT WITH YOUR HANDS: Feds advice vs single use plastic forks
The Single Use Plastic Prohibition Regulations will start being enforced in 2024 and ban six plastic products: single use cutlery, stir sticks, straws, polystyrene food containers, six-pack rings and checkout bags.

Author of the article:postmedia News
Publishing date:Jul 29, 2022 • 15 hours ago • 1 minute read • 60 Comments

This could get messy.


The Environment Minister’s department wants Canadians to eat with their hands as a way to deal with Ottawa’s ban on single use plastic forks according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

The department also wants food trucks to ask customers to bring their own containers to cut down on takeout polystyrene boxes.

“Businesses should consider giving the customers the option to specify whether they require single use cutlery at all,” says a report titled Guidance For Selecting Alternatives To Single Use Plastics.

“Businesses could also consider providing more meal options that do not require the use of cutlery, e.g. wraps and sandwiches.”

The Single Use Plastic Prohibition Regulations will start being enforced in 2024 and ban six plastic products: single use cutlery, stir sticks, straws, polystyrene food containers, six-pack rings and checkout bags.


A 2021 report by the Environment Department said the plastics ban will cost $204 million in its first year.

“These costs are significant,” said the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.

“These substitutes would replace around 30 billion single use plastic items annually or around 800 single use plastic items per Canadian.”

The report said plastic forks costing four cents each would be replaced by wooden cutlery at nine cents each and plastic six-pack rings worth three cents each would be replaced with cardboard ones at 34 cents each.

It also said plastic checkout bags that cost three cents each could be replaced by paper bags costing eight cents each.

The Environment Department estimated shoppers use about 15.6 billion plastic bags each year.
 
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taxslave

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So now, the same group that made us ban paper bags and straws because they "might" be made from old growth forests have decided that single use plastics are not good and we now use paper straws and wooden "knives and forks" because wood is recyclable.
 

spaminator

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Loch Ness Monster might not be far-fetched after fossil findings
Author of the article:postmedia News
Publishing date:Jul 29, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation

The Loch Ness Monster might not be a myth after all.


BBC reports researchers from the University of Bath have found fossils of plesiosaurs in an ancient river system, which may indicate they lived in freshwater areas — just like Loch Ness in Scotland — and not only seawater.

Writing in the journal Cretaceous Research, the researchers said it was “plausible” a plesiosaur — a prehistoric reptile with a long and slender neck — could have once lived in the Scottish lake known as Loch Ness.

Plesiosaur fossils were identified in a 100 million-year-old river system in Morocco’s Sahara Desert, which could mean they lived in freshwater.

That goes against all of the thinking that they could only live in seawater.

“It’s a bit controversial, but who’s to say that because we paleontologists have always called them ‘marine reptiles,’ they had to live in the sea?” said Dr. Nick Longrich, of the university’s Milner Centre for Evolution, the BBC reported. “Lots of marine lineages invaded freshwater.”‘
 

Tecumsehsbones

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So now, the same group that made us ban paper bags and straws because they "might" be made from old growth forests have decided that single use plastics are not good and we now use paper straws and wooden "knives and forks" because wood is recyclable.
Use chopsticks. Or drop your face in the plate and slurp up your poutine.