A controversial design for a new, advanced type of space travel received a boost as German scientists confirmed that it does in fact work.
The EMDrive propulsion system would permit travel at speeds until now only seen in science fiction.
When the concept was first proposed it was considered impossible because it went against the laws of physics.
But subsequent tests - further backed up by this announcement - have shown that the idea could revolutionise space travel.
Martin Tajmar, professor and chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology confirmed that the EMDrive would work. Pictured is the first device created by Roger Sawyer
Researchers say the new drive could carry passengers and their equipment to the moon in as little as four hours.
A trip to Alpha Centauri, which would take tens of thousands of years to reach right now, could be reached in just 100 years.
The system is based on electromagnetic drive, or EMDrive, which converts electrical energy into thrust without the need for rocket fuel.
PhysicsDigest
Which part of quantum theory don't you understand?
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Generation IV reactors? Generation V reactors?
Generation IV reactors are a set of nuclear reactor designs currently being researched for commercial applications, with depending on the particular design,Technology readiness levels varying between the level requiring a demonstration, to economical competitive implementation.
Most of these designs, with the exception of the BN-1200 reactor, are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030-40.
Presently the majority of reactors in operation around the world are considered second generation reactor systems, as the vast majority of thefirst-generation systems were retired some time ago, and there are only a dozen or so Generation III reactors in operation .
.Generation V reactors refer to reactors that are purely theoretical and are therefore not yet considered feasible in the short term, resulting in limited R&D funding.
Most of these designs, with the exception of the BN-1200 reactor, are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030-40.
Presently the majority of reactors in operation around the world are considered second generation reactor systems, as the vast majority of thefirst-generation systems were retired some time ago, and there are only a dozen or so Generation III reactors in operation .
.Generation V reactors refer to reactors that are purely theoretical and are therefore not yet considered feasible in the short term, resulting in limited R&D funding.
"Einstein is wrong" says quantum entanglement theory.
'Quantum Entanglement' Is real and experiment shows universe is ‘Spooky’ proving einstein wrong.
Albert Einstein once thought Bell's inequality in quantum theory is an invalid explanation for why entangled particles act the way they do, but a team of Dutch scientists prove the theory correct.
The spooky side of quantum theory turns out to be the real thing when an experiment proved that one theory of the famous genius physicist Albert Einstein could be wrong.
A team of Dutch scientists conducted a study at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and found that they were able to prove that objects can simultaneously affect one another even if separated by great distances.
This is contrary to Einstein's insistence that this "spooky" idea was wrong and that there may be some other yet to be discovered reason why particles behave the way they do.
This experiment is also supportive of John Bell's inequality, which has, up to this point, been fraught with experiments that have certain flaws or loopholes that spur debates on its credibility.
According to the study published in the journal Nature, researchers placed diamonds with a lone electron in two locations that are 1.3 kilometer apart and was able to demonstrate that the particles have a clear connection.
Bell's inequality stated that quantum mechanics function in contrary to the local-realist theory, which claims that entangled particles can only affect each other within a certain distance and all the behavior pertaining to these particles can be predicted.
But with the result of the new study, experts believe they may have cemendted over the loopholes from past experiments. The researchers claim to have found the validity of Bell's inequality, that particles are entangled and always connected in a way that they can affect one another regardless of the distance.
Other physicists applaud the results of the experiment, saying it could bring the research on quantum mechanics to a whole new level.
"I think this is a beautiful and ingenious experiment and it will help to push the entire field forward," said David Kaiser of the M.I.T. He was not involved in the study, but added that the results will probably not eliminate all the doubts on Bell's inequality.
Another physicist, Leonard Susskind from Stanford was equally impressed with the experiment and agreed that the results showed how far the field of quantum mechanics has come.
"What I do find interesting is that the experimenters are learning how to manipulate quantum systems, and do experiments that are far beyond what was possible when I was starting in physics," Susskind said.
The experiment also has important implications for technologies that use the principles of quantum mechanics, for example, cryptography.
"Loopholes can be backdoors into systems," said Professor Ronald Hanson, who led the team of researchers. "When you go loophole-free then you add an extra layer of security and you can be absolutely certain there is no way for hackers to get in."
Albert Einstein once thought Bell's inequality in quantum theory is an invalid explanation for why entangled particles act the way they do, but a team of Dutch scientists prove the theory correct.
The spooky side of quantum theory turns out to be the real thing when an experiment proved that one theory of the famous genius physicist Albert Einstein could be wrong.
A team of Dutch scientists conducted a study at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and found that they were able to prove that objects can simultaneously affect one another even if separated by great distances.
This is contrary to Einstein's insistence that this "spooky" idea was wrong and that there may be some other yet to be discovered reason why particles behave the way they do.
This experiment is also supportive of John Bell's inequality, which has, up to this point, been fraught with experiments that have certain flaws or loopholes that spur debates on its credibility.
According to the study published in the journal Nature, researchers placed diamonds with a lone electron in two locations that are 1.3 kilometer apart and was able to demonstrate that the particles have a clear connection.
Bell's inequality stated that quantum mechanics function in contrary to the local-realist theory, which claims that entangled particles can only affect each other within a certain distance and all the behavior pertaining to these particles can be predicted.
But with the result of the new study, experts believe they may have cemendted over the loopholes from past experiments. The researchers claim to have found the validity of Bell's inequality, that particles are entangled and always connected in a way that they can affect one another regardless of the distance.
Other physicists applaud the results of the experiment, saying it could bring the research on quantum mechanics to a whole new level.
"I think this is a beautiful and ingenious experiment and it will help to push the entire field forward," said David Kaiser of the M.I.T. He was not involved in the study, but added that the results will probably not eliminate all the doubts on Bell's inequality.
Another physicist, Leonard Susskind from Stanford was equally impressed with the experiment and agreed that the results showed how far the field of quantum mechanics has come.
"What I do find interesting is that the experimenters are learning how to manipulate quantum systems, and do experiments that are far beyond what was possible when I was starting in physics," Susskind said.
The experiment also has important implications for technologies that use the principles of quantum mechanics, for example, cryptography.
"Loopholes can be backdoors into systems," said Professor Ronald Hanson, who led the team of researchers. "When you go loophole-free then you add an extra layer of security and you can be absolutely certain there is no way for hackers to get in."
Quantum levitation and Quantum locking.
This levitation effect is explained by the Meissner effect, which describes how, when a material makes the transition from its normal to its superconducting state, it actively excludes magnetic fields from its interior by circulating current near its surface, leaving only a thin layer on its surface.
When a material is in its superconducting state, which involves very low temperatures, it is strongly diamagnetic. This means that when a magnetic field is externally applied, it will create an equally opposing magnetic field, locking it in place. This is termed as quantum locking.
LHC, Mother of all Colliders
The Large Haddon Collider is the world's largest and
most powerful particle collider, the largest, most complex experimental
facility ever built, and the largest single machine in the world.
Inside the accelerator, two high-energy particle beams travel at close to the speed of light before they are made to collide. The beams travel in opposite directions in separate beam pipes – two tubes kept at ultrahigh vacuum. They are guided around the accelerator ring by a strong magnetic field maintained by superconducting electromagnets. The electromagnets are built from coils of special electric cable that operates in a superconducting state, efficiently conducting electricity without resistance or loss of energy. This requires chilling the magnets to ‑271.3°C – a temperature colder than outer space. For this reason, much of the accelerator is connected to a distribution system of liquid helium, which cools the magnets, as well as to other supply services.
Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes are used to direct the beams around the accelerator. These include 1232 dipole magnets 15 metres in length which bend the beams, and 392 quadrupole magnets, each 5–7 metres long, which focus the beams. Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to "squeeze" the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions. The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 kilometres apart with such precision that they meet halfway.
All the controls for the accelerator, its services and technical infrastructure are housed under one roof at the CERN Control Centre. From here, the beams inside the colider are made to collide at four locations around the accelerator ring, corresponding to the positions of fourparticle detectors ATLAS, CMS, ALICEand LHCb.
What's with the whole Quantum mechanics thing?
Quantum mechanics is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behavior of photons, electrons and the other particles that make up the universe.It results in what may appear to be some very strange conclusions about the physical world. At the scale of atoms and electrons, many of the equations of classical mechanics, which describe how things move at everyday sizes and speeds, cease to be useful. In classical mechanics, objects exist in a specific place at a specific time. However, in quantum mechanics, objects instead exist in a haze of probability; they have a certain chance of being at point A, another chance of being at point B and so on.
Quantum mechanics developed over many decades, beginning as a set of controversial mathematical explanations of experiments that the math of classical mechanics could not explain. It began at the turn of the 20th century, around the same time that Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity, a separate mathematical revolution in physics that describes the motion of things at high speeds. Unlike relativity, however, the origins of quantum mechanics cannot be attributed to any one scientist. Rather, multiple scientists contributed to a foundation of three revolutionary principles that gradually gained acceptance and experimental verification between 1900 and 1930.
The Three revolutionary principles of Quantum mechanics.
1) Quantized properties:
Certain properties, such as position, speed and color, can sometimes only occur in specific, set amounts, much like a dial that "clicks" from number to number. This challenged a fundamental assumption of classical mechanics, which said that such properties should exist on a smooth, continuous spectrum. To describe the idea that some properties.
2) Particles of light:
Light can sometimes behave as a particle. This was initially met with harsh criticism, as it ran contrary to 200 years of experiments showing that light behaved as a wave; much like ripples on the surface of a calm lake. Light behaves similarly in that it bounces off walls and bends around corners, and that the crests and troughs of the wave can add up or cancel out. Added wave crests result in brighter light, while waves that cancel out produce darkness. A light source can be thought of as a ball on a stick being rhythmically dipped in the center of a lake. The color emitted corresponds to the distance between the crests, which is determined by the speed of the ball's rhythm.
3) Waves of matter:
Matter can also behave as a wave. This ran counter to the roughly 30 years of experiments showing that matter (such as electrons) exists as particles.
Quantum mechanics developed over many decades, beginning as a set of controversial mathematical explanations of experiments that the math of classical mechanics could not explain. It began at the turn of the 20th century, around the same time that Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity, a separate mathematical revolution in physics that describes the motion of things at high speeds. Unlike relativity, however, the origins of quantum mechanics cannot be attributed to any one scientist. Rather, multiple scientists contributed to a foundation of three revolutionary principles that gradually gained acceptance and experimental verification between 1900 and 1930.
The Three revolutionary principles of Quantum mechanics.
1) Quantized properties:
Certain properties, such as position, speed and color, can sometimes only occur in specific, set amounts, much like a dial that "clicks" from number to number. This challenged a fundamental assumption of classical mechanics, which said that such properties should exist on a smooth, continuous spectrum. To describe the idea that some properties.
2) Particles of light:
Light can sometimes behave as a particle. This was initially met with harsh criticism, as it ran contrary to 200 years of experiments showing that light behaved as a wave; much like ripples on the surface of a calm lake. Light behaves similarly in that it bounces off walls and bends around corners, and that the crests and troughs of the wave can add up or cancel out. Added wave crests result in brighter light, while waves that cancel out produce darkness. A light source can be thought of as a ball on a stick being rhythmically dipped in the center of a lake. The color emitted corresponds to the distance between the crests, which is determined by the speed of the ball's rhythm.
3) Waves of matter:
Matter can also behave as a wave. This ran counter to the roughly 30 years of experiments showing that matter (such as electrons) exists as particles.
"Humans could escape from black holes"- Stephen Hawking
Humans could escape from black holes, rather than getting stuck in them, according to a new theory proposed by Stephen Hawking.Unfortunate space travellers won’t be able to return to their own universe, according to Hawking. But they will be able to escape somewhere else, he has proposed at a conference in Stockholm.
Hawking: AI could be the end of humanity. Humanity needs to live in space or die out, physicist warns via hologram. Stephen Hawking: 'I'd consider assisted suicide'
Black holes in fact aren’t as “black” as people thought and could be a way of getting through to an alternative universe.“The existence of alternative histories with black holes suggests this might be possible,” Hawking said, according to a report from Stockholm University. “The hole would need to be large and if it was rotating it might have a passage to another universe. But you couldn’t come back to our universe. So although I’m keen on space flight, I’m not going to try that.
Hawking’s proposal is an attempt to answer a problem that has tormented physicists about what happens to things when they go beyond the event horizon, where even light can’t get back. The information about the object has to be preserved, scientists believe, even if the thing itself is swallowed up — and that paradox has puzzled scientists for decades.
Now Hawking has proposed that the information is stored on the boundary, at the event horizon. That means that it never makes its way into the black hole, and so never needs to make its way out again either.
That would also mean that humans might not disappear if they fall into one. They'd either stay as a "hologram" on the edge, or fall out somewhere else.
“If you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up,” he told the audience at the end of his speech. “There’s a way out.”
Gravity. Not very 9.8?
A gravity anomaly is the difference between the observed acceleration of a planet's reaction to gravity and a value predicted from a model.Certain places on the earth shows deviation from the perfect graviational equation.
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The anomaly is the body or effect that causes the deviation from the "ideal" gravity model. There are two types of anomalies. Namely positive anomalies and negative anomalies .A location with a positive anomaly exhibits more gravity than predicted, while a negative anomaly exhibits a lower value than predicted. According to the perfect graviational equation, Earth should basically looking like this.
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The anomaly is the body or effect that causes the deviation from the "ideal" gravity model. There are two types of anomalies. Namely positive anomalies and negative anomalies .A location with a positive anomaly exhibits more gravity than predicted, while a negative anomaly exhibits a lower value than predicted. According to the perfect graviational equation, Earth should basically looking like this.
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In fact, God might be actually playing dice with the universe.
Random number generators developed at ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, by the groups of ICREA Professors Morgan W. Mitchell and Valerio Pruneri, played a critical role in the historic experiment was published online in Nature by the group of Ronald Hanson at TU Delft. The experiment gives the strongest refutation to date of Albert Einstein's principle of "local realism," which says that the universe obeys laws, not chance, and that there is no communication faster than light.
As described in Hanson's group web the Delft experiment first "entangled" two electrons trapped inside two different diamond crystals, and then measured the electrons' orientations. In quantum theory entanglement is powerful and mysterious: mathematically the two electrons are described by a single "wave-function" that only specifies whether they agree or disagree, not which direction either spin points. In a mathematical sense, they lose their identities. "Local realism" attempts to explain the same phenomena with less mystery, saying that the particles must be pointing somewhere, we just don't know their directions until we measure them.
When measured, the Delft electrons did indeed appear individually random while agreeing very well. So well, in fact, that they cannot have had pre-existing orientations, as realism claims. This behaviour is only possible if the electrons communicate with each other, something that is very surprising for electrons trapped in different crystals. But here's the amazing part: in the Delft experiment, the diamonds were in different buildings, 1.3 km away from each other. Moreover, the measurements were made so quickly that there wasn't time for the electrons to communicate, not even with signals traveling at the speed of light. This puts "local realism" in a very tight spot: if the electron orientations are real, the electrons must have communicated. But if they communicated, they must have done so faster than the speed of light. There's no way out, and local realism is disproven. Either God does play "dice" with the universe, or electron spins can talk to each other faster than the speed of light.
This amazing experiment called for extremely fast, unpredictable decisions about how to measure the electron orientations. If the measurements had been predictable, the electrons could have agreed in advance which way to point, simulating communications where there wasn't really any, a gap in the experimental proof known as a "loophole." To close this loophole, the Delft team turned to ICFO, who hold the record for the fastest quantum random number generators. ICFO designed a pair of "quantum dice" for the experiment: a special version of their patented random number generation technology, including very fast "randomness extraction" electronics. This produced one extremely pure random bit for each measurement made in the Delft experiment. The bits were produced in about 100 ns, the time it takes light to travel just 30 meters, not nearly enough time for the electrons to communicate. "Delft asked us to go beyond the state of the art in random number generation . Never before has an experiment required such good random numbers in such a short time." Says Carlos Abellán, a PhD student at ICFO and a co-author of the Delft study.
For the ICFO team, the participation in the Delft experiment was more than a chance to contribute to fundamental physics. Prof. Morgan Mitchell comments: "Working on this experiment pushed us to develop technologies that we can now apply to improve communications security and high-performance computing, other areas that require high-speed and high-quality random numbers."
With the help of ICFO's quantum random numbergenerators, the Delft experiment gives a nearly perfect disproof of Einstein's world-view, in which "nothing travels faster than light" and "God does not play dice." At least one of these statements must be wrong. The laws that govern the Universe may indeed be a throw of the dice.
Enter, thy "Glueballs".
A nuclueus of an atom consists of nucleons. All nucleons consist of quarks and gluons. A glueball is an exotic particle, made up entirely of gluons -- the sticky particles that keep nuclear particles together. Basically a ball of gluons.
All this were hypothetical, untill now. Scientists at TU Wien predict that the meson f0(1710) has the potential of being the so called "Glueball".
Since the wide spread use of particle accelerators scientists have been looking for so-calmed "glueballs." Now it seems they have been found at last.
Glueballs are unstable and can only be detected indirectly, by analysing their not yet understood decay. Professor Anton Rebhan and Frederic Brünner from TU Wien have now employed a new theoretical approach to calculate glueball decay. Their results agree extremely well with data from particle accelerator experiments.
This is strong evidence to prove that a resonance called "f0(1710)," which has been found in various of these partical accelerator experiments, is in fact the long-sought glueball.
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