Free Republic

One of the surprising discoveries of the Webb telescope involves an early population of compact red galaxies at redshift above 7, a time when the Universe was 20 times younger than it is today. The galaxies are redder than expected from their cosmological redshift, indicating additional reddening by a layer of dust. Some of these galaxies contain as much mass in evolved stars as our own Milky Way galaxy. Nevertheless, they are a hundred times smaller in radius, of an order of a few hundred light years. These compact galaxies manifest an increase by a factor of a million in...

Using the Subaru Telescope and Gemini North telescope, an international team of astronomers including Kavli IPMU (WPI) has found the earliest pair of quasars, monsters shining with intense radiation powered by actively feeding super massive black holes. Figure 1: Twin super massive black holes, HSC J121503.42−014858.7 (C1) and HSC J121503.55−014859.3 (C2), discovered by the Subaru Telescope in the Universe 12.9 billion light-years away. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) https://www.ipmu.jp/en/20240618-TwinQuasars Using the Subaru Telescope and Gemini North telescope, both located on Maunakea in Hawai`i, an international team of...

FTA: "The model developed by the team could help scientists better understand the 11-year solar cycle and improve the forecasting of space weather, which can disrupt GPS and communication satellites as well as dazzle night sky watchers with auroras."

A state-of-the-art new gravitational wave detector could mark the beginning of a new era in astrophysics with the development of the Einstein Telescope. The telescope, currently still in the planning stages, will employ advanced laser technology to measure gravitational waves and help scientists peer even more deeply at phenomena associated with some of the universe’s greatest secrets. Construction could begin in Europe, and the project could revolutionize our understanding of cosmic events, including the collisions of neutron stars and black holes. The Einstein Telescope will build on the 2015 discovery of gravitational waves and observations in 2017 produced by the...

Theory has become practice as new work from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering taps diamond defects’ remarkable ability to concentrate optical energy. Researchers have developed atomic antennas using germanium vacancy centers in diamonds, achieving a million-fold optical energy enhancement. This advancement allows the study of fundamental physics and opens new research avenues. The collaboration between theoretical and experimental teams was essential to this breakthrough. Atomic Antennas: Harnessing Light for Powerful Signals Similar to how a radio antenna captures a broadcast from the air and concentrates the energy into music, individual atoms can collect and concentrate the...

As some entities identify new (or at least overlooked) sources to meet the growing demand for rare earth materials, others are looking toward new tools. UK deep-tech company Materials Nexus announced on Tuesday that it has designed a new rare-earth-free permanent magnet with the help of its AI platform. It says the AI-driven discovery and development process was 200 times faster than the resource-intensive manual route, bringing new hope to an electrifying world with a growing appetite for powerful magnets. With the world moving away from internal combustion engines and gradually embracing electric mobility, the demand for compact, high-power motors...

A recent study that presents new challenges to the existence of dark matter suggests gravity may be able to exist even in the absence of mass. Although all life on Earth experiences its effects daily, gravity remains one of the great mysteries of modern physics. Now, a new study published by Dr. Richard Lieu with The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) proposes that the gravitational effects observed in galaxies and clusters may be the result of what he likens to topological defects in the universe, a theory that does not require the inclusion of dark matter to explain phenomena...

When astronomers turn our radio telescopes out towards space, we sometimes detect sporadic bursts of radio waves originating from across the vast expanse of the universe. We call them “radio transients”: some erupt only once, never to be seen again, and others flicker on and off in predictable patterns. We think most radio transients come from rotating neutron stars known as pulsars, which emit regular flashes of radio waves, like cosmic lighthouses. Typically, these neutron stars spin at incredible speeds, taking mere seconds or even a fraction of a second to complete each rotation. Recently, we discovered a radio transient...

Although Thomas Edison was awarded 2,332 worldwide patents as an inventor, one of his lasting contributions to modern society was not proprietary: the job interview. Edison was not just a prolific inventor — he was also a businessman in charge of an industrial empire. His corporation, Thomas A. Edison, Inc., employed more than 10,000 workers at dozens of companies. Edison wanted employees who could memorize large quantities of information and also make efficient business decisions. To find them, he devised an extensive questionnaire to assess job candidates’ knowledge and personality.Edison began using tests for candidate assessment in the late 19th...

XAI has its sights set on creating the world’s largest supercomputer and, according to a recent announcement, the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence company has selected Memphis for its site. The Greater Memphis Chamber revealed the southwestern Tennessee city had landed the planned project on Wednesday, saying it will be the "largest capital investment by a new-to-market company in Memphis history." The supercomputer will be called the "Gigafactory of Compute," the group said. Musk said it's "true" in a reply to an X post that contained footage of the Greater Memphis Chamber’s press conference announcing plans for Memphis to get the...

Costco will no longer offer books for sale year-round and will instead stock them only for the holiday shopping period and during special promotions, according to a report — a surprise move that poses yet another threat to the publishing industry.Several publishing executives who were informed of the retailer’s plans told The New York Times that Costco will cease offering books for sale on a consistent basis starting in January.The decision was met with criticism on Reddit, where users vented that the decision was akin to “cancelling the hot dog in the food court” — a reference to Costco’s beloved...

Two dwarf galaxies (top and bottom) orbit the much larger Andromeda galaxy. DAVID DAYAG/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When astronomers fret about the “missing satellites problem,” they’re not talking about spacecraft in Earth orbit. Their problem is much bigger: For decades, far fewer dwarf galaxies have been seen orbiting the Milky Way and other large galaxies than predicted by models of galaxy formation. But now, two groups of astronomers have found evidence for not just a sufficient number of satellite galaxies to satisfy the simulations—but too many. “Maybe we’ve oversolved the problem,” says Marcel Pawlowski, an astronomer at the Leibniz Institute for...

MIT astronomers discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they live in our own galactic neighborhood. The stars are in the Milky Way’s “halo” — the cloud of stars that envelopes the main galactic disk — and they appear to have formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, when the very first galaxies were taking shape. Credit: Serge Brunier; NASA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Astronomers discovered three ancient stars circling the Milky Way’s halo, formed 12-13 billion years ago. MIT researchers have discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they happen to live in our own...

Just two weeks ago, the European Space Agency announced the discovery of a new black hole, the heaviest on the Milky Way, 33 times bigger than the Sun and 2,000 light years from Earth. Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Tsevi Mazeh, who was recently awarded the Israel Prize in physics, is among those responsible for the European Gaia spacecraft’s discovery. But if you ask him how excited he was that week, in which he both learned of his Israel prize award and his research on the new black was published, he’ll swiftly answer “The Israel prize wins bigtime.” “I cried a...

A novel warp drive concept that can function without any need for hypothesized exotic or negative forms of energy has been unveiled in a groundbreaking new study by leading propulsion researchers. Dubbed the “Constant-Velocity Subluminal Warp Drive,” the concept, developed by physicists with the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory at the New York-based think tank Applied Physics and from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, offers a theoretical new means of propulsion for space travel that conforms to general relativity, allowing it to operate at constant subluminal speeds with no need for unphysical forms of matter outlined in past concepts. According to...

X-ray image of GRB221009A (Credit: NASA/Swift) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope are offering new clues about the nature of a massive supernova associated with GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst astronomers have ever recorded. The new research confirms the presence of a supernova linked to this highly energetic source of gamma rays and reveals its comparatively low production of radioactive nickel, findings that challenge our currently accepted models involving these powerful events. Astronomers hope the new findings made possible by NASA’s premier space science observatory will also help to offer unique new views into the processes that...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and is improving at an unprecedented pace...But there are risks in embracing any new technology, especially one that we do not fully understand. While AI could be a powerful personal assistant, for example, it could also represent a threat to our livelihoods and even our lives.The various existential risks that an advanced AI poses means the technology should be guided by ethical frameworks and humanity's best interests, says researcher and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member Nell Watson.In "Taming the Machine" (Kogan Page, 2024), Watson explores how humanity can wield the...

WEST (Credit: CEA-IRFM). A new record in fusion has been achieved using a device internally clad in tungsten, a development that could set the pace for helping make fusion energy viable at the commercial scale. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility, reports that the device was able to sustain hot fusion plasma nearing temperatures of 50 million degrees Celsius for a record-breaking six minutes. Relying on 1.15 gigajoules of power, the latest achievement saw a 15% increase in energy, as well as twice the density of previous experiments. The new milestone was set using...

Scientists have taken a significant step in understanding these whirling quasiparticles and putting them to work in future semiconductor technologies. Researchers reported that they have imaged the exciton’s electron and hole for the first time, revealing how excitons may be trapped in dense, stable arrays. According to the scientists, the findings have significant implications for the development of various future technologies as well as the quest to better understand excitons. The findings were published on March 8th, 2022, in the journal Nature by researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, and the Okinawa Institute for...

In 1957, the astrophysicist Herman Bondi wrote a paper in which he considered the possible existence of a negative mass in Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity. A negative mass would repel a positive mass away from it. Given that, a pair of positive and negative masses could accelerate together up to the speed of light. The negative mass would push away the positive mass which in turn would pull the negative mass for the ride. The runaway pair would accelerate indefinitely, without any need for fuel or a propulsion system. Energy conservation would not be violated because the sum of...