Latest news with #CornellUniversity
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The world started with a ‘bang' but will end in a scary ‘big crunch' — and scientists think they know when that will be
Our humble blue planet came into being with the Big Bang — the sudden expansion of the universe outwards. Now, according to astrophysicists and cosmologists, Earth and all of its celestial siblings will likely be swallowed back into the super-small singularity they came from, in what is known as the 'big crunch' theory. Alarming as it sounds, physicists say there's no reason to fret just yet. According to leading experts on the matter, the big crunch theory supposes that the universe will eventually stop expanding and everything will be pulled back together. Cosmologists at Cornell University predict that the big crunch is billions of years away —19.5 to be exact. Henry Tye, a lead researcher at the institution, suggested that the big crunch will begin in 11 billion years, and will take another 8.5 billion years to conclude. Supposing humanity is still around billions of years from now, scientists say it's unlikely we would notice any distinct changes while the big crunch takes place. 'Intelligent civilizations at the scales of solar systems or even galactic scales would not notice any obvious phenomenon because these changes happen at much larger cosmological scales,' Dr Hoang Nhan Luu, a researcher at the Donostia International Physics Center, explained to the Daily Mail. However, one of the warning signs would be a rising cosmic temperature. In a few billion years, it's probable that the universe, including all of its major celestial bodies, will be the same temperature as the surface of the sun. 'Needless to say, all humans will burn up in the furnace of this cosmic hell,' Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist at Harvard University, told the Daily Mail. The theory has been swirling among academic circles for decades, but fell out of favor among some camps of researchers several decades back. However, after dark energy — a repellent force that pushes things in the universe apart — was discovered in the '90s and research has progressed, it seems more and more experts are reevaluating their stances. Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, an astrophysicist at the University of Texas at Dallas, told Discover Magazine that dark matter research has revealed that the universe isn't slowing down, but rather, its expansion is accelerating less, and eventually, it will come to a slow halt. 'To survive, human beings have to move to the edge of our solar system or beyond. We have a few billion years' time to prepare for that trip,' Tye explained to the Daily Mail. The big crunch theory spells trouble for humanity in several ways, but it's far from the first scary-sounding phenomenon that our planet has undergone. Earth's magnetic poles reversed 780,000 years ago. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany created a soundscape of the geological gymnastics routine, which they dubbed a 'disharmonic cacophony.' Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
2 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
NASA-Funded Greenland Survey Reveals ‘Crazy' Amounts Of Ocean Warming
Pieces of ice in front of glacier, barren mountains, Knud Rasmussen Glacier, in far northwest ... More Greenland. Preliminary data from a NASA-funded Greenland survey point to a two-degree centigrade rise in regional ocean water temperatures in less than a decade. For the first time ever, a team of researchers took the data from a subglacial Greenland channel in February of this year using a custom-built, remotely operated vehicle equipped with sonar, laser-ranging and a mass spectrometer. Preliminarily, what we've been able to show is, at least during this year, ocean water in this region is almost two degrees warmer than it was less than 10 years ago, Britney Schmidt, a Cornell University astrobiologist and the ongoing Icefin project's principal investigator, tells me in Reykjavik. It's crazy amounts of warming; we're losing this ice very rapidly and it's much warmer than I would have expected; two degrees in 10 years is insane, she says. The ROV allows us to find channels that are bringing water out from underneath the ice sheet which has huge climate implications, Schmidt tells me during the recent European Astrobiology Institute's BEACON 25 conference in Iceland. But it also has astrobiological implications, because you're bringing samples from under the ice sheet that we otherwise can't get to, she says. This ROV exploration is also trailblazing the way for NASA's potential subsurface lander missions to the icy moons of Europa and Enceladus. At the same time, this research is providing the most current data on climate change in our Northern hemisphere. One of these glaciers has been moving back at about a kilometer a year; others are moving faster, but this system is quite unstable, so we're rapidly losing ice, says Schmidt. NASA-funded and partly funded by the private Simons Foundation, one aim of the research is to simulate the types of exploration, decision making, and analyses that might be required for a mission one of our solar system's icy moons. Cornell University astrobiologist Britney Schmidt gives her presentation at the recent European ... More Astrobiology Insitute's BEACON 25 conference in Iceland. Schmidt is pictured here with an image of Icefin, a underwater robotic operated vehicle (ROV). Retreating Glaciers Working from temporary headquarters atop Greenland's ice cap, the team made its measurements earlier this year by deploying the ROV into subsurface channels and steering the ROV upstream underneath the ice sheet. The team worked near or on three glaciers, including the Knud Rasmussen Glacier on Greenland's Northwestern Coast We're able to resolve exactly how the ocean is getting into these channels and how much fresh water is affecting the base of the ice, says Schmidt. That allows us to put much tighter constraints on how melting is happening, she says. Ice Melt Even so, Greenland has been rapidly losing ice for the last 100 years due to direct human-caused effects in the Northern hemisphere. Three glaciers are calving (or losing) ice directly into the ocean. In the cold part of the season, the team can drive out on snowmobiles to these environments, Schmidt explains in her BEACON 25 talk. The team first drills a hole in the sea ice, then we deploy the vehicle vertically through the ice, then drive it under the ice horizontally, as Schmidt explains in her talk. Future Icy Moon Exploration The ways in which we're exploring beneath the ice are analogous to the types of things we'd need to develop to explore Jupiter and Saturn's icy moons, says Schmidt. You'd melt through the ice shell to be able to pull water samples and decide which samples are interesting and then pass the most interesting ones through to in-situ life detection instrumentation, she says. At the same time, this work is helping the team develop new sample handling systems that oceanographers and climatologists can use on Earth. Mass spectrometers pull in samples of material and analyze their chemistry. in this case, it's what's called a membrane inlet (semi-permeable) mass spectrometer, says Schmidt. It's pulling dissolved gases out of the water and analyzing their composition, she says. That allows us to do is to understand what's going on underneath the ice and measure just how much melting is happening underneath the glaciers, she notes. This basic research will also help further NASA's laundry list of tech development needed to manage eventual subsurface sampling of Europa and Enceladus. How would a subsurface rover on the icy moons of Europa or Enceladus communicate back to Earth? It would probably need a tether or a set of acoustic transponders that can transit through the ice to allow it to radio back to the surface and then radio out back to Earth, says Schmidt. But it's possible, she says. But before such ambitious space missions to Europa or Enceladus, there's practical work to do here on Earth. One involves enabling AI for the Icefin ROV so that it can make at least some of its own exploration decisions in situ. We have a long way to go on under-ice robotic autonomy, both from just how to keep vehicles safe to how to understand the environment, says Schmidt. That's kind of a frontier, not just for space exploration, but also for Earth exploration, she says.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Nature's musician: Meet the only bird that produces music with its wings
Deep within South America's cloud forests lives the club-winged manakin, a bird unlike any other. Instead of singing, the male manakin creates a musical tone with its wings, rubbing specialized feathers together at an incredible speed. Scientists discovered that unusually dense bones in its wings support this rapid motion, a unique adaptation for sound production. Nature does not fall short when it comes to blessing the human eyes and ears with surprising marvels! One among these marvels resides deep in the cloud forests of South America. It is a small, vibrant creature called the club-winged manakin that has turned its sound-producing abilities into a concert. While most birds sing with their vocal cords to attract mates, the Male club-winged manakin has taken a completely different approach. It doesn't sing, instead, it uses its wings to create a musical tone that is quite pure and precise, so much so that it competes as a musical instrument. This sound isn't just noise; it's rhythm, it's tone, and it's so consistent that it has been compared to a musical note. Recent research has revealed a unique modification in its body that allows this bird to make such sounds. What is special about this bird? According to scientists at Cornell University, the male club-winged manakin doesn't sing in the traditional way. Instead, it creates sound by rubbing a pair of specialized wing feathers together, up to an astonishing 100 times per second. This unusually fast wing movement produces a high-pitched tone that is so stable, it matches the frequency of a musical note. It's like the bird is playing its own instrument, using its body as the bow and strings. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo What makes this movement unique? A surprising trait about the bird is that despite its tiny size, the bird's body could withstand such rapid motion without breaking down. Using X-ray imaging, scientists found that the bones in the manakin's wings are unusually solid and dense, unlike any other known songbird. As reported by Cornell's research team, the wing bones are more similar to those of mammals than birds. 'This is one of the only known examples of a bird evolving dense bone not for flight, but for sound,' the study noted. These dense bones are necessary to support the intense vibration caused by the feather rubbing. Researchers also found out that the bird sacrificed its ability for powerful flight to perform its unique musical mating call. Instead of soaring long distances, the club-winged manakin stays close to the forest floor, using its rhythm to charm potential mates. It's just like a trade-off that shows just how far evolution can go in the name of love and sound. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Is this how the world will end? Scientists give terrifying glimpse into the 'Big Crunch' - and reveal the exact date it could happen
From alien invasions to robot uprisings, there is no shortage of terrifying ways that the world might end. But scientists have now worked out exactly when one terrifying scenario could bring the universe to a close. According to the 'Big Crunch' theory, the universe will eventually collapse in on itself in a final climactic implosion. As space itself contracts, the temperatures will soar until everything is destroyed in the 'furnace of this cosmic hell'. Finally, the entire cosmos will find itself packed back into an infinitely dense singularity just like it was before the Big Bang. While this was once just a terrifying possibility, new measurements of 'Dark Energy' suggest the Big Crunch is the most likely outcome for the Universe. In a recent study, scientists from Cornell University calculated exactly when the 'Big Crunch' could begin. Thankfully, their calculations suggest we can relax for the time being... that is if something else doesn't cause our demise. What is the Big Crunch? The Big Crunch is essentially the opposite of the Big Bang which started the universe 13.8 billion years ago. After the Big Bang, the universe rapidly expanded as a sea of superheated matter cooled into the familiar particles which make up the cosmos today. During the Big Crunch, this process will run in reverse - compacting space back into a hot, dense state. Scientists believe the current outward expansion of the universe is due to a mysterious force called Dark Energy. If the pushing force of Dark Energy was constant, the universe would keep on expanding and cooling for ever. But now, astronomers are beginning to question whether this really is the case. Based on the latest data, some scientists believe that Dark Energy is weakening, leaving an inward force called the cosmological constant to pull the universe back together. The latest map of the known universe suggests that dark energy is getting weaker, which means the universe will one day fall back in on itself like a ball falling back to Earth under the influence of gravity What is the Big Crunch? The Big Crunch is essentially the reversal of the Big Bang. In the first few moments of the universe, space and time expanded rapidly and cooled to form the matter we now see around us. In the Big Crunch, all this matter will once again contract inwards towards that same infinitely dense point. As it collapses, space will become hot, and matter will be torn into a soup of fundamental particles. Eventually, the cosmos will be compressed into a singularity, just as it was before the Big Bang. Dr Ethan Yu–Cheng, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told MailOnline: 'It is just like throwing a basketball vertically upwards in daily life. 'The negative cosmological constant acts like the Earth's gravity, which pulls the basketball downward. The basketball will de–accelerate until reaching the maximum height and start to fall.' Would we notice the Big Crunch starting? If it's difficult to imagine what life during the Big Crunch would be like, think about the universe as a balloon with lots of little dots drawn on its surface. As you blow air in, the balloon expands, the surface stretches, and the distance between all the dots grows larger. The Big Crunch is like letting all the air out of the balloon at once, bringing those distant points back together in a rush. However, the process would start very slowly. Dr Hoang Nhan Luu, a researcher at the Donostia International Physics Center, told MailOnline: 'Intelligent civilisations at the scales of solar systems or even galactic scales would not notice any obvious phenomenon because these changes happen at much larger cosmological scales. 'Civilisations like us typically exist on time scales of hundreds to thousands of years while the changes happen on billion–year time scales, so we wouldn't notice any obvious day–to–day phenomenon until the very last moment.' But Dr Luu says that any observant humans still alive in the universe would be able to spot the warning signs. Just as we can look at distant galaxies to see that the universe is expanding, astronomers of the future would be able to see that the galaxies are now rushing towards them. What would the first signs of the Big Crunch be? The first obvious sign that the universe was changing would be that the cosmic temperature would start to increase. Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical physicist from Cornell University, told MailOnline: 'It is the reverse history of our expanding universe.' The universe has been getting colder as it expands, like gas escaping from a pressurised container. During the Big Crunch, this process will play out in reverse and raise the temperature of space. Why will the Big Crunch happen? Some scientists believe that the universe's current expansion is determined by two factors. A negative 'cosmological constant' pulling the universe inwards and an outward force from Dark Energy. If Dark Energy were constant, the universe would keep on expanding forever. However, researchers think that Dark Energy is getting weaker. When it gets weak enough, the cosmological constant will overpower Dark Energy and pull the universe inwards. About 13 billion years from now, Professor Loeb predicts the density of energy in the universe will be about 1,000 times higher than it is now. Just half a billion years after that, it would be another 1,000 times higher, making the universe room temperature. Professor Loeb says: 'At this point it wouldn't be the sun warming that is warming us, but the equivalent of the Cosmic Microwave Background.' Within a few million years, the entire universe would be as hot as the surface of the sun. Eventually, the universe would reach the 'Planck temperature', the highest possible temperature according to our models of physics. Professor Loeb says: 'Needless to say, all humans will burn up in the furnace of this cosmic hell. What will happen to the solar system during the Big Crunch? During the Big Crunch, the universe will eventually become so dense that the planets and stars will be pushed together by the collapse. The only thing that will survive the collapse at first will be black holes. Black holes will actually thrive during the Big Crunch as they feed on a soup of ultra–dense matter That means the planets of the solar system will come closer and closer together until they are crushed together. As space approaches the final moments of the crunch, Professor Loeb says that the universe will be even denser than space inside an atom. As the universe becomes even denser than an atomic nucleus, all matter in the cosmos will once again be squeezed back into this primordial state. The only things in the universe to survive this transition would be black holes, which would thrive as they feed on the dense matter all around them. Finally, this boiling mess of black holes and elementary particles would be crushed into a single infinitely dense point known as the singularity, bringing the universe to an end. When will the Big Crunch happen? Thankfully, scientists believe that the Big Crunch is still far off in the impossibly distant future. Professor Henry Tye, a leading cosmologist from Cornell University, 'We calculate that this will lead to a big crunch about 19.5 billion years from now. 'Knowing that the age of the universe is 13.8 billion years, one obtains that the lifespan is 33.3 billion years. In their pre–print paper, Professor Tye and his co–authors, Dr Luu and Dr Yu–Cheng, say that the Big Crunch will begin about 11 billion years from now. The crunching phase would then last around 8.5 billion years before the universe completely collapses into a singularity. Given that Homo sapiens have only been around for at most 300,000 years, that gives us plenty of time to relax. Likewise, while it might not necessarily be a comforting thought, it is almost certain that humanity will have been wiped out long before then in any case. Professor Tye says: 'Before the big crunch, at about 5 billion years from now, the sun will use up its fuel and start growing dramatically. 'Its outer layers will expand until they engulf much of the solar system, as it becomes what astronomers call a red giant. Eventually, it fades to a tiny white dwarf. 'To survive, human beings have to move to the edge of our solar system or beyond. We have a few billion years' time to prepare for that trip.' THE BIG BANG THEORY DESCRIBES THE BEGINNING AND EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE The Big Bang Theory is a cosmological model, a theory used to describe the beginning and the evolution of our universe. It says that the universe was in a very hot and dense state before it started to expand 13,7 billion years ago. This theory is based on fundamental observations. In 1920, Hubble observed that the distance between galaxies was increasing everywhere in the universe. This means that galaxies had to be closer to each other in the past. In 1964, Wilson and Penzias discovered the cosmic background radiation, which is a like a fossil of radiation emitted during the beginning of the universe, when it was hot and dense. The cosmic background radiation is observable everywhere in the universe. The composition of the universe - that is, the the number of atoms of different elements - is consistent with the Big Bang Theory. So far, this theory is the only one that can explain why we observe an abundance of primordial elements in the universe.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The 2 compliments you should NEVER say to your partner
Whether it's 'you look beautiful' or 'you're such a great cook', it's usually nice to receive a compliment from your partner. However, if you want a happy relationship, there are two phrases you should steer clear of. At a surface level, these phrases sound fairly harmless. But, they may unintentionally serve to 'instruct' rather than 'affirm', an expert has warned. Dr Mark Travers, an American psychologist with degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder, said people probably say them without realising the potential negative consequences. 'Compliments can be disarming. They make us feel chosen and understood in ways that other words rarely do,' he explained. 'But sometimes, the praise that feels the most flattering is also the praise that teaches us to edit ourselves.' So, are you guilty of saying either compliment to your partner? 'HOW ARE YOU ALWAYS SO CALM?' 'This is a praise that can be used to reward emotional silence, not emotional strength,' Dr Travers wrote on Psychology Today. He explained that while it might sound like a genuine compliment at first, it may be a reflection of how relieved you are that your partner did not have an emotional reaction. As a result, a person could feel 'implicitly incentivised to perform that calmness' even when they are hurting, he said. 'When emotional suppression is praised in adult relationships, it reinforces the message that your worth lies in being agreeable and low-maintenance,' he said. It could mean your partner may try to appear calm, even in moments of deep hurt, because that role has previously been rewarded, he added. 'YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON I CAN TALK TO' Saying this to your partner can make them feel responsible for your emotional regulation, Dr Travers warned. While it may seem like the highest form of trust, it can be 'less about connection and more about emotional dependency'. He referenced a previous study on 'emotionships' that found people experience better mental health when they turn to different individuals for different emotional needs. For example, having one friend who can calm your anxiety while another friend is who you turn to if you need a vent. 'This diversity in emotional support leads to greater wellbeing, because no single relationship is overloaded with the task of holding it all,' Dr Travers said. If you tell someone they're the only person you can talk to, it creates an 'unspoken pressure to be endlessly available' and a sense of 'emotional obligation', he added. Dr Travers previously revealed three nicknames that could indicate your relationship is doomed to fail. These include 'Babe', 'Sweetheart' and 'Angel', and can act as 'emotional wallpaper' for deeper issues. Pet names can simulate intimacy before it's truly earned, can dismiss someone's worries rather than dealing with them, and deflect the real issue rather than resolve it. WHEN YOU SHOULD BREAK UP WITH YOUR PARTNER Kale Monk, assistant professor of human development and family science at University of Missouri says on-off relationships are associated with higher rates of abuse, poorer communication and lower levels of commitment. People in these kinds of relationships should make informed decisions about either staying together once and for all or terminating their relationship. Here are his top five tips to work out whether it's the right time to end your relationship – 1. When considering rekindling a relationship that ended or avoiding future breakups, partners should think about the reasons they broke up to determine if there are consistent or persistent issues impacting the relationship. 2. Having explicit conversations about issues that have led to break ups can be helpful, especially if the issues will likely reoccur. If there was ever violence in the relationship, however, or if having a conversation about relationship issues can lead to safety concerns, consider seeking support-services when it is safe to do so. 3. Similar to thinking about the reasons the relationship ended, spend time thinking about the reasons why reconciliation might be an option. Is the reason rooted in commitment and positive feelings, or more about obligations and convenience? The latter reasons are more likely to lead down a path of continual distress. 4. Remember that it is okay to end a toxic relationship. For example, if your relationship is beyond repair, do not feel guilty leaving for your mental or physical well-being. 5. Couples therapy or relationship counselling is not just for partners on the brink of divorce. Even happy dating and married couples can benefit from 'relationship check-ups' in order to strengthen the connection between partners and have additional support in approaching relationship transitions.
