Quantum Leap: Blackholes Don’t Exist

February 6th, 2010 by Thomas Kennedy

Guest author, Thomas Kennedy, features a twice-monthly series, Quantum Leap, wherein he guides readers through the fascinating world of quantum mechanics. This is issue 007.

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Despite the regular pronouncements in the popular press, there is a growing debate among physicists that, in fact, the mathematical models that at one time purported to clearly substantiate the existence of such, black holes are proving out to be false.

Black holes have provided “simple”  answers to, for example, the questions of angular momentum for galaxy formation.  Why is it that galaxies don’t fly apart, given the energy and resulting motions that are readily evident?  Well, the theory goes, if you have a sufficiently strong gravitational force at the center of a galaxy, that provides the stickiness needed to keep galactic material from devolving into chaos.

At least that is a great explanation to the general public.

What is happening now, is that the great cry of “Eureka, we have found the Holy Grail of balancing variables in our cosmology models,” is beginning to fade out.

In and of itself, the hypothesis of black holes has always violated notions of both general and special relativity regarding matter and energy as it applies to the concept of a singularity and an event horizon.  This conflict had been sort of waved away by physicists who proclaimed that “we don’t yet understand what happens inside of the event horizon.”  Well, yeah, especially if the event horizon is a figment of ones imagination.

In addition to the violation of both forms of relativity, black holes also violate the theorems of quantum mechanics through the loss of information from our universe to some other location that we don’t know of.  In the world of qm, information doesn’t leak out, but is contained in our universe.

While I am by no means the first person to conclude that black holes don’t exist; don’t forget that when the hypothesis is ultimately dumped into a waste bin by the popular press, that you were already ahead of the game.

Watch for Issue #8 of Thomas’ “Quantum Leap”, here on A Sky Full of Stars, on February 19, 2010.

In the Homestretch – the Race for Space!

February 1st, 2010 by Tavi Greiner

The 2nd Annual Shorty Awards has reached the crucial vote-off stage. If you didn’t participate in the nominations, now, more than ever, is the time to make your vote count!

This stage runs only five days, from February 1 through February 5, so head on over to the Shorty site to cast your votes for Space.  All original nominations count as votes, so if you already voted for one of the finalists in the nominations stage, you don’t need to vote for them again in this finalists round.  If you haven’t yet voted, please do!  You can vote for more than one finalist in each category, but only once per finalist per category.  Below, are the Space finalists, linked directly to their respective categories.

P.S.  The #education category for which I was nominated did not make it into the official categories, so I am not a finalist.  Thank you, so much, to all who voted for me in the nomination round; and congratulations to finalists NASA, Twitter ISS Alerts, Jen Scheer, and Newbury Astronomy – Go #Spacetweeps!

NASA in #government … Vote Here

twisst (Twitter ISS Alerts) in #science … Vote Here

FlyingJenny (Jen Scheer) in #science  … Vote Here

NewburyAS (Newbury Astronomy) in #science … Vote Here

AFM’s Virtual #SDOisGO Tweetup!

January 27th, 2010 by Tavi Greiner

WHAT: AFM’s Virtual #SDOisGO Tweetup

WHEN: February 10, 2010 (subject to change, in accordance with SDO launch)

WHERE: Astronomy.FM

WHO: Everyone who wants to attend!

Did you know that NASA is launching a new solar observatory next month, and that you can participate from anywhere in the world?  Or maybe you already are an SDO fan, but aren’t able to make it to the launch, either of  NASA’s two #SDOisGO tweetups, or any of the simultaneous launch events.

In the spirit of NASA’s #SDOisGO tweetup and encouraging greater learning everywhere, Astronomy.FM is hosting the first-ever, simultaneous, virtual launch tweetup to celebrate the launch of NASA’s latest solar observatory!  Events and features will include live on-the-scene radio updates and interviews, solar-themed music and programs, embedded video players to watch the launch as it happens, Do You Know SDO? quiz opportunities for NASA prizes, virtual learning booths, and more!

This will be a 24-hour event, from midnight EST February 10 (0500 UTC) through midnight EST February 11 (0500 UTC), to encourage international participation.  While NASA is a USA space agency, the worlds they explore, the science they investigate, and the knowledge they gain, belong to all of us.  The more you know about NASA, the more you’ll learn about the world we live in and the greater horizons beyond.

Be sure to stop by Astronomy.FM on February 10 to learn more about the SDO mission and our Sun, to watch the launch, and for your opportunity to win some NASA swag!

The Race for Space!

January 16th, 2010 by Tavi Greiner

There is a race for Space, and it’s taking place right here on Earth. With this year’s Shorty Awards, we have a golden opportunity to put Space front-and-center … a position that has the potential to encourage greater participation in Space-related sciences, to promote the various Space programs, and even simply to remind people to “look up.”

Currently, there are several Space Tweeps in the running for a Shorty Award. You can help Space win the Shorty race by casting and encouraging votes for each, in their respective categories.   The nominees include NASA, SDO, astronauts Mike Massimino and TJ Creamer, Twitter ISS Alerts, Universe Today’s Nancy Atkinson, Journalist Miles O’Brien, Space Shuttle technician Jen Scheer, the AstronomyFM website, MeteorWatch founder Newbury Astronomy, and astronomy outreach enthusiast Tavi Greiner (that’s me!).

I’ve compiled a hyperlinked list to make voting a little easier.  Simply click on the various links, select the appropriate category from the little dropdown (this is important!),  state your reason for voting, and click “Tweet Your Vote.”  You can vote for more than one tweep in each category (such as the three in #science), but only once per tweep per category.

NASA in #government … Vote Here

NASA_SDO (SDO) in #science … Vote Here

twisst (Twitter ISS Alerts) in #science … Vote Here

FlyingJenny (Jen Scheer) in #science  … Vote Here

Nancy_A (Nancy Atkinson) in #journalist … Vote Here

TaviGreiner (that’s me) in #education … Vote Here

Astro_Mike (Mike Massimino) in #travel … Vote Here

Astro_TJ (TJ Creamer) in #tech … Vote Here

Miles O’Brien in #journalist … Vote Here

Astronomy.FM in #astronomy … Vote Here

NewburyAS (Newbury Astronomy) in #science … Vote Here

* If you know of any other SpaceTweeps in other categories, please share them in the comments section and I’ll add them to the list.

Quantum Mechanics: Did Newton Have it All Wrong?

January 15th, 2010 by Thomas Kennedy

Guest author, Thomas Kennedy, features a twice-monthly series, Quantum Leap, wherein he guides readers through the fascinating world of quantum mechanics. This is issue 006.

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You know, I am probably wrong in blaming Sir Isaac Newton for ideas like black holes, dark matter, and dark energy, but there is no doubt that the bulk of the scientific community have continued to attempt to use his approach based on Force, Mass, and Acceleration to model cosmology.  At least, at some point, after The Big Bang.

The $9 billion dollar science project, aka the Large Hadron Collider and the search for the elusive (and most likely) nonexistent Higgs Boson particle, represents the end point in this attempt.  Black holes and dark matter, the assumed core and make up of galaxies in an attempt to balance angular momentum, is akin to attempting, like the Little Dutch Boy, to plug as many holes as possible where observed reality fails to line up with the various hypotheses that exist in cosmology.  Dark energy is also a balancing variable in the equation because, if both black holes and dark matter have such a hold on the universe, why does it appear that all visible matter in space at the super scalar level appear to be growing more distant from one another?

The one thing that I have learned over the years building statistical models is that adding more variables in an attempt to improve ones forecasting accuracy isn’t necessarily the way to go, but this is the approach taken right now within the scientific community and their reliance on Sir Isaac.

Now this leads to the question of “If not Newtonian physics, what else is there?”  My and other minority scientists’ reply is Quantum Mechanics.  So what does that mean?

More to come…

<em>Watch for Issue #7 of Thomas’ “Quantum Leap”, here on A Sky Full of Stars, on February 05, 2010.</em>

A Short Word on Awards – the Shorty Awards, That Is

January 14th, 2010 by Tavi Greiner

Last week, I was nominated by a friend, Waddell Robey, for a Shorty Award in the #education category.  For a couple of days, others followed his lead and I made a short, fun run in the top ten.  I was even in second place at one point.  But, as is the case with so many things, the initial buzz died down and I am now somewhere around 15th place.

Of course, I’ve never had any illusions of winning a Shorty Award.  In fact, I am completely (but pleasantly) surprised for the votes that I have received.  There are so many others far more deserving than I, and I do hope that their work is acknowledged with an award.  Nonetheless, I am grateful to those who have voted for me, and I am humbled by the recognition.

The truly exciting thing about all of this is not that I, Tavi Greiner, have been nominated for an award.  It is the fact that, in my nomination, astronomy outreach is being acknowledged as education!

So often, astronomy is misunderstood to be a hobby – as simply playing with telescopes or looking at the moon.  But, astronomy is much more than merely turning our gaze skyward.  It is to gain a fundamental understanding of the truth of all other things – of life itself.  The more we learn about the world beyond our planet, the greater our capacity to affect the world in which we live.  So, when I encourage others to “look up”, I am not merely suggesting we “ooh” and “ahh” at the pretty stars, I am hoping to spark a curiosity to look beyond the beauty, to learn more about the what, why, and how.

I hadn’t thought to campaign for myself for a Shorty Award.  But, the thought of astronomy outreach being formally acknowledged as #education has me considering a serious run.  Imagine the new eyes that could be opened, the interest that could be triggered, the statement that would be made, should astronomy walk away with a Shorty Award.  Oh, the possibilities!

To those who’ve cast a vote my way: a sincere thank you – its great knowing that others are “looking up” with me!  To everyone who appreciates the significance of astronomy’s greater role in education: perhaps you’ll consider an #education vote for me, or even another astronomy-focused tweep.  You can also help to promote Space in other categories by casting votes for @flyingjenny and @NewburyAS in the #science category and a vote for @NASA in the #government category!