startswithabang

startswithabang, 6 days ago to random

2024’s summer solstice is Earth’s earliest since 1796

On June 20, 2024, the summer solstice occurs at its earliest moment since 1796: when George Washington was President of the USA.

Our calendar holds the reason why.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/summer-solstice-earliest-since-1796/

startswithabang, 7 days ago to random

No, new measurements can’t relax the Hubble tension

Many have claimed that new distance ladder measurements ease, relax, or even eliminate the Hubble tension.

They don't, not even a little, and here's why.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/measurements-relax-hubble-tension/

startswithabang, 8 days ago to random

5 big lessons from JWST's new record-setting galaxy.

Congratulations to the JADES team for finding a galaxy when the Universe was just 285 million years old.

Now, how did it get to have all of these weird properties we're seeing?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/5-lessons-jwst-record-galaxy/

startswithabang, 11 days ago to random

Why didn’t the Big Bang become a black hole?

#AskEthan

During the Big Bang and the inflationary phase preceding it, space experienced the greatest energy density of all-time.

So why didn't we become a black hole?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/big-bang-become-black-hole/

startswithabang, 12 days ago to random

Is the “Methuselah star” really older than the Universe?

The Universe is 13.8 billion years old.

The Methuselah star, on the other hand, is estimated to be 14.5 billion years old.

Here's why that's no problem for astrophysics.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/methuselah-star-older-than-universe/

startswithabang, 13 days ago to random

8 basic unanswered questions about the known particles

If you want to go beyond the Standard Model, you don't need to find new particles.

You can simply answer any one of these outstanding questions about the particles we already know.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/unanswered-questions-known-particles/

startswithabang, 14 days ago to random

The Higgs boson’s most captivating puzzle still remains

We know its mass, charge, and spin, but discovering how the Higgs transitions from a restored symmetry to a broken symmetry could be the most important question in the Universe.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/higgs-boson-captivating-puzzle/

startswithabang, 18 days ago to random

Will the Universe ever reach equilibrium?

#AskEthan

Our Universe is a very out-of-equilibrium place.

But as time goes on and entropy increases, perhaps someday we'll truly reach the "heat death" of everything.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/universe-reach-equilibrium/

startswithabang, 19 days ago to random

Is fundamental science a victim of its own success?

Scientific revolutions always take a long time to occur.

Blaming groupthink is a popular reason, but not really an accurate one.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/fundamental-science-victim-success/

startswithabang, 20 days ago to random

Why physicists now question the fate of the Universe

The Universe's fate is known, so long as dark energy is truly a cosmological constant.

With the Hubble tension and new DESI data combined, perhaps we need to rethink dark energy.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/physicists-question-fate-universe/

startswithabang, 21 days ago to random

Why reimagining the particle accelerator is so challenging

Particle physicists need a new accelerator to go beyond the LHC's limits.

But choosing which one to build... well, they all have potential, but big drawbacks as well.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/particle-accelerator-498843/

startswithabang, 22 days ago to random

The ultimate fate of every star that’s ever lived

All of the stars are eventually going to die, and when they do, you can't count on their corpses sticking around forever.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/ultimate-fate-star/

startswithabang, 26 days ago to random

4 pervasive myths that cause us to abandon science

None of us consider ourselves to be "anti-science" at our cores, yet many of us regurgitate these four prominent myths all the time.

Here's how to see through to the truth instead.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/4-prominent-myths-science/

startswithabang, 27 days ago to random

New LHC results refute Fermilab’s “hole” in the Standard Model

In 2022, Fermilab's CDF collaboration announced a new mass for the W-boson, defying the Standard Model.

Now CERN's ATLAS collaboration has weighed in, and the mismatch is gone.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/lhc-refute-fermilab-hole-standard-model/

startswithabang, 28 days ago to random

The unexpected connection between the northern lights and Hubble’s death

2024 has gifted us the most spectacular auroral show on Earth since 2003.

It's also been the year that Hubble's orbit has decayed more severely than any other.

They're related.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/northern-lights-hubble/

startswithabang, 29 days ago to random

Astronomers discover how energy escapes the galactic center

The galactic center has its own chimney, complete with "vents," that enable the escape of energy, the flow of plasma, and more.

Yet another reason why NASA's Chandra must continue!
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/energy-escape-galactic-center/

startswithabang, 1 month ago to random

Does the Universe expand by stretching or creating space?

When the Universe expands, does the existing space stretch, or does new space get created in between the gaps of previously-existing space?

The answer isn't universal.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/universe-expand-stretching-creating-space/

startswithabang, 1 month ago to random

New particle at last! Physicists detect the first “glueball”

It's not a new "fundamental" particle, but finding a glueball — a composite particle made solely out of gluons, with no valence quarks — is a huge deal.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/new-particle-first-glueball/

startswithabang, 1 month ago to random

JWST uncovers new secrets within the Horsehead Nebula

Here's what JWST really saw, and what it means, when it peered inside the "mane" of the Horsehead Nebula.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/jwst-secrets-horsehead-nebula/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

What was it like when human beings transformed the Earth?

The final part of an epic, more than 30-part series on the history of the Universe. Check out the full series with a lovely infographic here courtesy of Big Think!

https://bigthink.com/collections/the-universe-a-history/

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/human-beings-transformed-the-earth/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

What was it like when humans first arose on planet Earth?

For 99.998% of the Universe's history, there were no human beings.

Here are the great evolutionary and historical steps that allowed our species to come into existence.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/humans-arose-earth/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

What was it like when life on Earth became complex?

Just four evolutionary advances took us from simple life to the complex, differentiated life that has dominated Earth for more than the last half-a-billion years.

But how frequent are those steps?
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/life-became-complex/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

What was it like when oxygen killed almost all life on Earth?

Oxygen: giver of animal life or the cause of the greatest extinction event in Earth's history?

Why not both?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/oxygen-killed-life-on-earth/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

How do symmetries lead to conservation laws?

#AskEthan

The profound connection between physical conserved quantities and symmetries of a physical theory go back more than a century to one unheralded woman: Emmy Noether.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/symmetries-conservation-laws/

startswithabang, 2 months ago to random

Particle physics finally charts a healthy path forward

No more infighting. No more (fake) "certainty" about SUSY or WIMP dark matter. No more budget-busting projects.

Particle physicists finally learn their lesson, charting a course to a bright future.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/particle-physics-path-forward/