Both photons and gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light through the vacuum of empty... [+] space itself. Despite the fact that it isn't intuitive, there's no evidence that there's a physical medium, or aether, required for these entities to travel through.

All throughout the Universe, different types of signals propagate. Some of them, like sound waves, require a medium to travel through. Others, like light or gravitational waves, are perfectly content to traverse the vacuum of space, seemingly defying the need for a medium altogether. Irrespective of how they do it, all of these signals can be detected from the effects they induce when they eventually arrive at their destination. But is it really possible for waves to travel through the vacuum of space itself, without any medium at all to propagate through? That's what Wade Campbell wants to know, asking:

Back in the late 1800s, an "aether" was proposed as the medium that light travels through. We now don't believe that is the case. What is the evidence and/or proof that no aether exists?

It's an easy assumption to make, but a difficult assertion to disprove. Here's the story.

Whether through a medium, like mechanical waves, or in vacuum, like electromagnetic and... [+] gravitational waves, every ripple that propagates has a propagation speed. In no cases is the propagation speed infinite, and in theory, the speed at which gravitational ripples propagate should be the same as the maximum speed in the Universe: the speed of light.

Back in the earliest days of science before Newton, going back hundreds or even thousands of years we only had large-scale, macroscopic phenomena to investigate. The waves we observed came in many different varieties, including:

In the case of all of these waves, matter is involved. That matter provides a medium for these waves to travel through, and as the medium either compresses-and-rarifies in the direction of propagation (a longitudinal wave) or oscillates perpendicular to the direction of propagation (a transverse wave), the signal is transported from one location to another.

This diagram, dating back to Thomas Young's work in the early 1800s, is one of the oldest pictures... [+] that demonstrate both constructive and destructive interference as arising from wave sources originating at two points: A and B. This is a physically identical setup to a double slit experiment, even though it applies just as well to water waves propagated through a tank.

As we began to investigate waves more carefully, a third type began to emerge. In addition to longitudinal and transverse waves, a type of wave where each of the particles involved underwent motion in a circular path a surface wave was discovered. The rippling characteristics of water, which were previously thought to be either longitudinal or transverse waves exclusively, were shown to also contain this surface wave component.

All three of these types of wave are examples of mechanical waves, which is where some type of energy is transported from one location to another through a material, matter-based medium. A wave that travels through a spring, a slinky, water, the Earth, a string, or even the air, all require an impetus for creating some initial displacement from equilibrium, and then the wave carries that energy through a medium towards its destination.

A series of particles moving along circular paths can appear to create a macroscopic illusion of... [+] waves. Similarly, individual water molecules that move in a particular pattern can produce macroscopic water waves, and the gravitational waves we see are likely made out of individual quantum particles that compose them: gravitons.

It makes sense, then, that as we discovered new types of waves, we'd assume they had similar properties to the classes of waves we already knew about. Even before Newton, the aether was the name given to the void of space, where the planets and other celestial objects resided. Tycho Brahe's famous 1588 work,De Mundi Aetherei Recentioribus Phaenomenis, literally translates as "On Recent Phenomena in the Aethereal World."

The aether, it was assumed, was the medium inherent to space that all objects, from comets to planets to starlight itself, traveled through. Whether light was a wave or a corpuscle, though, was a point of contention for many centuries. Newton claimed it was a corpuscle, which Christiaan Huygens, his contemporary, claimed it was a wave. The issue wasn't decided until the 19th century, where experiments with light unambiguously revealed its wave-like nature. (With modern quantum physics, we now know it behaves like a particle also, but its wave-like nature cannot be denied.)

The results of an experiment, showcased using laser light around a spherical object, with the actual... [+] optical data. Note the extraordinary validation of Fresnel's theory's prediction: that a bright, central spot would appear in the shadow cast by the sphere, verifying the absurd prediction of the wave theory of light.

This was further borne out as we began to understand the nature of electricity and magnetism. Experiments that accelerated charged particles not only showed that they were affected by magnetic fields, but that when you bent a charged particle with a magnetic field, it radiated light. Theoretical developments showed that light itself was an electromagnetic wave that propagated at a finite, large, but calculable velocity, today known asc, the speed of light in a vacuum.

If light was an electromagnetic wave, and all waves required a medium to travel through, and as all the heavenly bodies traveled through the medium of space then surely that medium itself, the aether, was the medium that light traveled through. The biggest question remaining, then, was to determine what properties the aether itself possessed.

In Descartes' vision of gravity, there was an aether permeating space, and only the displacement of... [+] matter through it could explain gravitation. This did not lead to an accurate formulation of gravity that matched with observations.

One of the most important points about what the aethercouldn't be was figured out by Maxwell himself, who was the first to derive the electromagnetic nature of light waves. In an 1874 letter to Lewis Campbell, he wrote:

It may also be worth knowing that the aether cannot be molecular. If it were, it would be a gas, and a pint of it would have the same properties as regards heat, etc., as a pint of air, except that it would not be so heavy.

In other words, whatever the aether was or more accurately, whatever it was that electromagnetic waves propagated through it could not have many of the traditional properties that other, matter-based media possessed. It could not be composed of individual particles. It could not contain heat. It could not transfer energy through it. In fact, just about the only thing left that the aether was allowed to do was serve as a background medium through which things like light were permitted to travel.

If you split light into two perpendicular components and bring them back together, they will produce... [+] an interference pattern. If there's a medium that light is traveling through, the interference pattern should depend on how your apparatus is oriented relative to that motion.

All of this led to the most important experiment for detecting the aether: the Michelson-Morley experiment. If aether really were a medium for light to travel through, then the Earth should be passing through the aether as it rotated on its axis and revolved around the Sun. Even though we only revolve at a speed of around 30 km/s, that's a substantial fraction (about 0.01%) of the speed of light.

With a sensitive enough interferometer, if light were a wave traveling through this medium, we should detect a shift in light's interference pattern dependent on the angle the interferometer made with our direction of motion. Michelson alone tried to measure this effect in 1881, but his results were inconclusive. 6 years later, with Morley, they reached sensitivities that were just 1/40th the magnitude of the expected signal. Their experiment, however, yielded a null result; there was no evidence for the aether at all.

The Michelson interferometer (top) showed a negligible shift in light patterns (bottom, solid) as... [+] compared with what was expected if Galilean relativity were true (bottom, dotted). The speed of light was the same no matter which direction the interferometer was oriented, including with, perpendicular to, or against the Earth's motion through space.

Aether enthusiasts contorted themselves in knots attempting to explain this null result.

All of these possibilities, despite their arbitrary constants and parameters, were seriously considered right up until Einstein's relativity came along. Once the realization came about that the laws of physics should be, and in fact were, the same for all observers in all frames of reference, the idea of an "absolute frame of reference," which the aether absolutely was, was no longer necessary or tenable.

If you allow light to come from outside your environment to inside, you can gain information about... [+] the relative velocities and accelerations of the two reference frames. The fact that the laws of physics, the speed of light, and every other observable is independent of your reference frame is strong evidence against the need for an aether.

What all of this means is that the laws of physics don't require the existence of an aether; they work just fine without one. Today, with our modern understanding of not just Special Relativity but also General Relativity which incorporates gravitation we recognize that both electromagnetic waves and gravitational waves don't require any sort of medium to travel through at all. The vacuum of space, devoid of any material entity, is enough all on its own.

This doesn't mean, however, that we've disproven the existence of the aether. All we've proven, and indeed all we're capable of proving, is that if there is an aether, it has no properties that are detectable by any experiment we're capable of performing. It doesn't affect the motion of light or gravitational waves through it, not under any physical circumstances, which is equivalent to stating that everything we observe is consistent with it's non-existence.

Visualization of a quantum field theory calculation showing virtual particles in the quantum vacuum.... [+] (Specifically, for the strong interactions.) Even in empty space, this vacuum energy is non-zero, and what appears to be the 'ground state' in one region of curved space will look different from the perspective of an observer where the spatial curvature differs. As long as quantum fields are present, this vacuum energy (or a cosmological constant) must be present, too.

If something has no observable, measurable effects on our Universe in any way, shape or form, even in principle, we consider that "thing" to be physically non-existent. But the fact that there's nothing pointing to the existence of the aether doesn't mean we fully understand what empty space, or the quantum vacuum, actually is. In fact, there are a whole slew of unanswered, open questions about exactly that topic plaguing the field today.

Why does empty space still have a non-zero amount of energy dark energy, or a cosmological constant intrinsic to it? If space is discrete at some level, does that imply a preferred frame of reference, where that discrete "size" is maximized under the rules of relativity? Can light or gravitational waves exist without space to travel through, and does that mean there is some type of propagation medium, after all?

As Carl Sagan famously said, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." We have no proof that the aether exists, but can never prove the negative: that no aether exists. All we can demonstrate, and have demonstrated, is that if the aether exists, it has no properties that affect the matter and radiation that we do observe.

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Ask Ethan: Does The Aether Exist? - Forbes

BROWNSVILLE, Texas The effort continues to name Brownsville the next space city. Currently two cities in the U.S. have that title, Houston and Cape Canaveral. Now Brownsville wants in. It is a title that exists only by name, but with SpaceX getting ready a for launch in 2020, the community excitement and interest are expected to grow.

The South Texas Astronomical Society hosting a panel to begin discussions on what it means to have a space program in our back yards.

Richard Camuccio, Cristina V. Torres Memorial Observatory, Assistant Director, Theres this interest that is there that needs to be tapped. I see it that it will happen. Its an inevitability. Its not if but when.

Its not the first time the idea has been floated around. In 2019 staff from NASA spoke about Brownsvilles potential to become a space city. Referring to the creations of new industry jobs, both directly and assisting with space travel. Academic focus on the sciences and engineering.

Right now SpaceX makes up a major bulk of space exploration in South Texas, but the goal is to have a regional effort in schools, the general public, and local business.

Victor De Los Santos, South Texas Astronomical Society, When we do become the space city, its the culture and its the people and were all a part of it. its not just big corporations coming in and doing all the work.

Marija Jette, South Texas Astronomical Society, Getting all these forces together and multiplying the effect. Really making a name for Brownsville as the place to do research and create new exciting business and technologies.

One of the many big space projects for SpaceX in the future involves travel to Mars.

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Brownsville aiming to become Space City by 2030 - KVEO-TV

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Since NASA ended its shuttle program back in 2011, flight enthusiasts have been looking to commercial companies to take up the mantle and make space transportation a reality for the general public. While there has been talk about colonizing Mars and supporting a space tourism industry in recent years, commercial travel is still very much in its infancy. How is it expected to advance and evolve in the 2020s?

The 2010s saw commercial space travel take a giant leap forward. Prior to 2012, the International Space Station (ISS) was solely the domain of government-operated vehicles, but that changed when Elon Musks company, SpaceX, arrived with its Dragon cargo capsule. This marked a shift from a private space industry centered on tech areas such as defense and aviation.

Secure World Foundations director of program planning Brian Weeden recently noted that the government was pretty much the sole driver of funding and activity under the old model. He added: Almost all the money would come from the government, and the government would have almost complete control over what was built.

SpaceX personifies the new age of commercial space, where a number of launch providers have tried to make travel into the unknown more accessible. These companies include Rocket Lab, founded in New Zealand, and the Washington-based Blue Origin.

The competition has been a key driver for innovation, and expert Bill Roberson believes that it has kick-started the space race after a few decades of relative stagnation. This points to an exciting decade, especially as the number of average weekly orbital launches from the US, as well as China, Russia and Japan, continues to increase.

Roberson notes: Private, commercial spaceflight. Even lunar exploration, mining, and colonization its suddenly all on the table, making the race for space today more vital than it has felt in years.

The renewed interest and competition in space has also made it a smart outlet for investment, which could spur further advances and milestones in both the burgeoning commercial sector and national security arena. Voyager Space Holdings, headed by founder and CEO Dylan Taylor, is a holding company that focuses specifically on acquiring and supporting hi-tech space companies.

Taylor believes that his philosophy centered on bringing the best capabilities of different companies under one banner will provide a platform for innovation to flourish. Being able to work at scale will also finally enable smaller companies to compete with bigger competitors, which is potentially transformative for space travel in general.

A major event on the horizon for commercialized space travel is the first-ever tourist voyage to the Moon, which is planned by SpaceX in 2023. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will be the first civilian passenger to venture near the location where Neil Armstrong once uttered his One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind speech more than 50 years ago.

Maezawa, a 44-year-old fashion mogul, recently set up a planned match-making event with the view to sharing the experience with a significant other. The event is sure to garner huge publicity, both in the run-up to launch and during the trip, which will take place in the SpaceX Starship. The success of that event will surely have some impact on how commercialized space travel develops during the remainder of the decade.

Boeing also plans on shaping the industry during the coming years as it now has the capacity for space travel after receiving a contract from NASA. The aerospace giant recently unveiled its Fewest Steps to the Moon program, with the aim of building a lander on the Moon in order to shuttle humans back and forth. It wants these plans to come to fruition by 2024.

NASA recently announced that private individuals would be able to visit the ISS for the first time in 2020 in another move that appears to herald the start of space tourism in earnest. It is unlikely to be affordable for the masses in the foreseeable future though as just a single days visit to the ISS is rumored to cost around $35,000 per day.

Those high costs and uncertainty about whether commercial space can really hit the mass market mean that it will probably be hard to judge its success before the mid-2020s. Richard Branson once said that flying tourists would be commonplace by 2008, but the dates for commercial flights continue to be pushed back.

It is an exciting time for the commercial industry, especially with visionaries such as Taylor, Musk and Jeff Bezos buying into space travel, and it certainly has the potential to come on leaps and bounds during the next decade. However, the success of planned flights and other factors will be a key determining factor in how exactly everything unfolds before 2030.

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How Commercialized Space Travel is Expected to Advance During the 2020s - The Future of Things

Researchers at the University of Washington have announced early findings on a potentially revolutionary new type of rotating detonation engine which could help produce cheaper, lighter spacecraft. Theres just one small catch.

While the research is only in its infancy, the fuel-efficient rocket would, theoretically at least, be easier and cheaper to build than current space-faring rockets, paving the way for more space travel at a lower cost to the environment. For instance, it currently takes about 3.5 million pounds of fuel to send NASAs space shuttles into space.

A conventional rocket engine burns propellant and forces it out the back using a vast array of machinery and control nozzles to create thrust and launch the rocket skyward, without any unforeseen detours.

In the rotating detonation engine, however, the shockwave does all the work, without the need for complicated machinery in the engine to direct the thrust, after which a number of secondary combustion pulses follow to launch the beast skyward. At least thats the theory.

The problem is, for the time being anyway, the engine is too unpredictable to use.

Its made of concentric cylinders. Propellant flows in the gap between the cylinders, and, after ignition, the rapid heat release forms a shock wave, a strong pulse of gas with significantly higher pressure and temperature that is moving faster than the speed of sound, said lead author James Koch, a UW doctoral student in aeronautics and astronautics.

The downside of that is that these detonations have a mind of their own. Once you detonate something, it just goes. Its so violent.

Koch and his team conducted a series of 0.5-second experiments captured using high-speed cameras at 240,000 frames per second to show exactly what happens when such engines fire, so they could then begin crunching the numbers and figure out how to replicate the power and efficiency minus the chaos.

The researchers have since developed a mathematical model which they are poring over to begin the process of developing a functioning prototype engine which wouldn't plaster a crew against the rear of the spaceship.

Now I can take what Ive done here and make it quantitative. From there we can talk about how to make a better engine, Koch concludes.

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Its so violent: Scientists propose revolutionary new kind of engine for space travel, theres just one small catch (VIDEOS) - RT

Visiting the Audio Foundation and the Michael Lett Gallery, both just off Aucklands K Road, Tulia Thompson finds herself considering the galaxy and what it means to be human.

You have to imagine you are viewing these on a stifling hot February afternoon. There is a cacophony of men and machines, orange road cones and iron mesh-wire. Karangahape Rd is being dug up for the new transport hub.

I head through St Kevins Arcade, down the wide steps to the green lip of Myers Park, and around the corner. The Audio Foundation is an interesting find, both a leading space for experimental music and a gallery. You descend into the space down a long flight of concrete stairs with paint peeling from the metal railing, concrete walls painted in cream, mint and red. It feels properly abandoned. Theres no one at the reception, so when I slip into the first room, into near darkness, it feels like I could lie on the cool, concrete floor to observe the piece if I wanted to.

Sarah Callesens show Drawing, Synopsis and Song is a quiet exploration of our relationship with space, making visible the contribution of 17th century astronomer and mathematician Maria Cunitz. She was considered the most learned woman in astronomy since Hypatia of Alexandria.

Sarah Callesen Retrograde

Retrograde consists of three rotating thin wooden rods lit by a single stage-light on the floor; they remind me of meter rulers. Rotating slowly counter-clockwise; windmills come to mind as they make slow, whirring circles. Callesen intended them to turn retrograde, like Venus, but the low-fi AC motors freestyle. So this is the rotation of planets, in honour of a bright queen.

At times the outside enters again, a rhythmic pounding of bass, and the high-pitched screeching of machines as Karangahape Road is torn up and reordered.

In the next room, a projector close to the wall projects the Moon. A small black spot with a blur of red and green travels across it in a straight line. It reaches the end, the image shudders, disappears, blinks and begins again. The dots travel marks the Transit of Venus.

From Sarah Callesens Drawing, Synopsis and Song

A large black rectangle of card on the floor has names and distances written diagonally across it in white: Polina 21.6 Km. Pasha 7.2 Km. Qulzhan 7.9 Km. If you stand back and let your eyes blur it makes a pattern of uneven fretwork. I discover this because I kneel down by it and then stand up too quickly. I panic that I cant find a way in. I cant find supporting material to orient me. This piece is the sort of thing that makes some people hate artists their obscure provocations can feel exclusionary. But then I remind myself that I am, after all, an eccentric person who puts obscure references in her own writing. Im probably invoking a curse from the female gods, possibly Venus.

I chat to a lovely chap, Sam, who explains that these names and diameters are craters on Venus. Those with diameters greater than 20km are named after women who make outstanding contributions to their fields, under 20km are given female first names. All of these craters are named for women, by men. Fascinating! One of the craters is called Cunitz, and I wonder whether she would be delighted, or pissed off that she didnt do the naming. There is an iPad plugged into the wall showing images of the craters next to biographic information about the women they are named after. These pairings are strange and effective.

New Zealand poet Helen Rickersbys recent, brilliant poetry collection How to Live has a poem about philosopher Hipparchia in which Rickersby writes: Silence isnt always not speaking. Silence is sometimes an erasure. We dont know much about her, but we know she spoke. The erasure of women, both through institutional sexism and the retellings of history, still feels pervasive. We are back observing bodies colliding with uninhabitable spaces. Theres something potent about observing the silencing of women extended into space.

From Sarah Callesens Drawing, Synopsis and Song

There is an almost mechanical noise in this room; a sound recording taken in 1982 on Venus by Russian spacecraft Venera 14, looped with the sound recording from an earlier version of Retrograde. How strange that celestial bodies make sound. Not angelic chiming, but disorienting noises like wind and fierce waterfalls. The sounds are abrasive like an industrial site or furnace. At times I cant decipher the audio loop from the street sounds.

Callesens art is often visually stunning; beautiful, strange images sometimes paired with sound. So, I would have liked more aesthetically from her engagement with Maria Cunitz. I got the sense she was searching for her uncovering the imprints of her data, dusting it off from the invisibility accorded to it by men. But I didnt feel like she had found her; Maria herself remains fractal and diffuse. Maybe that is the point.

How disturbing that humankind has even extended its sexist ideas into space. What stayed with me was an impression that our mappings of space, and consideration of other bodies, are a partial, emotive picture of our own limited humanness.

Zac Langdon-Pole, Cleave Study (ii), 2019, anatomical human tongue cross-section, Xenophora shell

Up the road at Michael Lett Gallery is Zac Langdon-Poles Interbeing. The cool of the gallery is a welcome contrast to the pressing heat outside. The airy room has pristine white walls and warm wooden floors. On the left-hand wall, in Cleave Study (ii), a plastic, anatomical human-tongue meets a seashell. The shell has other small shells and bits of rock attached. Xenophora sea snails glue foreign objects to their shells for camouflage. My first thought are the tacky shell ornaments my grandmother had in the 70s.

Cleave Study (ii) also reminds me of that famous line from theorists Deleuze and Guattaris A Thousand Plateaus:an electron crashes into a language. Deleuze and Guattari were interested in how assemblages of disparate objects confound our imposed, rigid meanings. In contrast to the view language was our inescapable lens, Deleuze and Guattari argued that the materiality of the physical world was also creative and could disrupt language. So, the Xenophora shell is not just a metaphor for human art; Xenophora shells are their own art machines.

On the one hand, a human tongue here is cleaved to a pearlescent surface, but on the other its still plastic. There is something disturbing about plastic being made human meeting shell. I cant not think of ghostly plastic bags and sea-turtles. The tongue is a visceral metaphor for language, but tongues are also true to shell (the tongue of the oyster, say, or the tongue-like muscular foot of the Xenophora).

Langdon-Poles strength is the exquisite poetry he creates through assemblage quietly placing found objects together in a way that is both resonant and jarring. To cleave is both to join and sever. Cleave Study (ii) sets up the tension between human and nonhuman that pervades this collection.

Standing in the centre of the room, the first impression is that Majuro Atoll, Te Whanganui-A-Hei/ Cooks Beach, and Treptower Park, Berlin present stars in night-sky. I think of camping up north over Christmas, looking up to the glitter of the Milky Way. The expanse of it reorders your own perception of freedom. Yet as you adjust your eyes, you realise these images are not stars, that the spaces between are not star-like. Indeed, the images are enlarged prints of sand photograms, named for the beach that the sand has come from.

Zac Langdon-Pole, Te Whanganui-A-Hei / Cooks Beach 12.06.2019, 2019, sand photogram (1000% enlarged), made with sand from Te Whananui-A-Hei / Cooks Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand, archival hahnemhle fine art print.

The most impressive is Te Whanganui-A-Hei/ Cooks Beach where, enlarged 1000%, the light flares of the sand particles show shadowed depths and have a painterly quality.

Zac Langdon-Pole, Assimilation Study (detail), 2020, painted wooden shape-sorter blocks, hand carved Campo del Cielo meteorite, artist designed display case, acrylic, mdf, paint.

In Assimilation Study wooden sorting blocks, including a green star, are scattered in a display cabinet. One piece is slightly larger, a metallic triangle that is actually a hand-carved meteorite. It looks as if God has a toddler. If Langdon-Poles intention is that the meteorite is juxtaposed with the mundane, it looks too pristine to achieve it. But it is visually arresting. Im thinking about galaxies again.

I walk down white-painted concrete stairs into the narrower, cellar space of the building. Three prints show sand photograms at a one-to-one scale, making you wonder about the production of these images. They are made from putting sand on top of photograph paper. The place names as titles seem almost idiosyncratic, but then I think about Langdon-Pole travelling between these places. Did he go around collecting buckets of sand? Apparently, curator Andrew Thomas tells me, he gathered small handfuls from each place. Thomas notes previous works stemmed from the flightpath of migratory birds.

Sand is ground rock or shell. A quick look at the NIWA website tells me that the density and grain size is determined by the source. The process of becoming sand takes hundreds of thousands of years. So sand is already in motion, moved by tide across expanse. It is a journey that is immense, already glittering and star-like. And these images trace an alternate journey, via Zac Langdon-Poles pockets and transposed through exposure to light, that make me rethink our part in it; the grand scale of time and space confounds us.

Zac Langdon-Pole, Orbits (Cast Dandelion, Rainbow Obsidian), 2019, anatomical orbital human eye models; resin-embalmed dandelion paperweight; rainbow obsidian sphere; screws.

In Orbits, a dandelion paperweight is fixed into the socket of a plastic, anatomical model of an eye. Other versions use rainbow obsidian or petrified sequoia-wood, which creates an inky iris, an almost anime look. They are both grotesque and beautiful.

Langdon-Poles work manages to have a trueness to the ideas he explores while also being beautiful. I dont think art should have to be aesthetically pleasing, but there is a real joy in this marriage of substance and form.

Thinking of the materiality of space data in Callesens work and the travels of materiality in Zac Langdon-Poles, I would say that both displace humanness the way we think we are the centre of everything. But theres a strange doubling back of what it means to be human through examining our limitations. A meteor becomes a childs block, the ancient journey of sand is reordered into human memory, and planetary data is transformed into art object

But still, this universe, writhing alongside us. Theres a poem called My God, Its Full of Stars! by Tracy K. Smith from her stunning Pulitzer-winning collection Life of Mars where she grapples with her fathers work building the Hubble telescope.

We saw to the edge of all there is

So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.

Sarah Callesens Drawing, Synopsis and Songand Zac Langdon-Poles Interbeingare both on until Saturday February 29.

The Spinoff Weekly compiles the best stories of the week an essential guide to modern life in New Zealand, emailed out on Monday evenings.

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My God, Its Full of Stars! Two Auckland art shows on bodies colliding with space - The Spinoff

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 28: Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic, poses for photographs ... [+] before ringing a ceremonial bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to promote the first day of trading of Virgin Galactic Holdings shares on October 28, 2019 in New York City. Virgin Galactic Holdings became the first space-tourism company to go public as it began trading on Monday with a market value of about $1 billion. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Virgin Galactic (SPCE:NYSE) blasted off on Valentines Day 2020, rising more than 21% to a 52-week high despite a falling stock market. The company was founded in 2004 by Sir Richard Branson (#478 on the Forbes billionaire list with, $4 billion) and has yet to earn a profit.

Why did the stock rocket upward? The company made a three-hour positioning flight. It flew its passenger spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, from Mojave Airport in California to its commercial headquarters at Spaceport Americas Gateway to Space building in New Mexico.

But the simple flight was, as the company puts it with its typical hype, another vital step on its path to commercial service.

The transfer of the spacecraft to its long-promised Spaceport America base is indeed big step in the companys 15-year journey to credibility. Typical of the companys history of hype is its exciting website. It opens with a little aircraft flying over the desert and suddenly belching rocket fire, along with video of an astronaut at the controls of a vibrating spaceship.

The product has been pre-sold to more than 600 would-be space tourists in 60 countries who have put down deposits on future flights.

Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson demonstrates a spacewear system, designed for Virgin ... [+] Galactic astronauts, at an event October 16, 2019 in Yonkers, New York. - At the event Virgin Galactic and Under Armour unveiled the worlds first exclusive spacewear system for private astronauts. (Photo by Don Emmert / AFP) (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)

But before Virgin Galactic reached orbit in the stock market in October of 2019 through a reverse-merger maneuver, it suffered a well-publicized series of reverses and controversies that might have derailed another company.

The opportunity to build the Spaceport, for example, was won by New Mexico in a bidding war with California. But with more than $250 million in New Mexico taxpayer money spent, the spaceport was largely unused for years. As the Atlantic put in in 2018, Although the spaceport has been flight-worthy since 2010, the first launch by its anchor tenant, Virgin Galactic, still hasnt taken off.

Of course, the biggest setback was the tragic 2014 crash of the original SpaceShipTwo on a test flight, which killed one pilot and injured another. The spacecraft was destroyed. But with more than a billion in capital raised from the likes of Abu Dhabi and Boeing, among others, Virgin Galactic soldiered on, with this weeks transfer of the space craft a major milestone for the company.

On the flight, the carrier aircraft, VMS Eve (named for founder Sir Richard Bransons mother) ferried SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity out of Mojave, where Virgin Galactics manufacturing and test facilities are base. (Virgin says the building of two additional spacecraft is well underway in Mojave.) The pair landed at 15:49MT, where Virgin says it was greeted by an enthusiastic group of teammates who will operate the spaceship in New Mexico.

This captive carry flight also let Virgin engineers evaluate VSS Unity for over three hours at high altitude and cold temperatures, which the company says are difficult to replicate at ground level. The flight was also an opportunity for Italian Air Force test pilot Nicola Stick Pecile to become the fifth pilot to complete a flight in VSS Unity.

As part of the getting ready for space process, Virgin Galactic has moved 100 team members to New Mexico, hired 70 local people, and now has transferred the space craft and carrier ship.

With the arrival of SpaceShipTwo in the New Mexico desert, Virgin Galactic says it will launch captive carry and glide flights from the New Mexico base so the spaceflight team can coordinate with Virgins airspace and ground control. After the glide tests, the team will carry out rocket-powered test flights from Spaceport America to continue to evaluate the spacecrafts performance, including final spaceship cabin and customer experience evaluations in preparation for the start of commercial spaceflight operations.

WhiteKnightTwo, carrying SpaceShipTwo, takes flight over Spaceport America, northeast of Truth Or ... [+] Consequences, on October 17, 2011 in New Mexico. Sir Richard Branson was on hand to host the Keys To A New Dawn event, for the dedication of Virgin Galactic's new home at Spaceport America, the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport in southern New Mexico, where the Spaceport America Terminal Hangar Facility will serve as the operating hubfor Virgin Galactic and is expected to house two WhiteKnightTwos and five SpaceShipTwos, in addition to all of Virgin's astronaut preparation facilities and mission control. AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

The irrepressible Sir Richard Branson, a founder of the company, has vowed to be among the first customers, as a sort of human proof of concept. As the Virgin Galctic website trumpets, Together we open space to change the world for good.

Branson will turn 70 in July. But as his improbable career shows, the British billionaire might just pull it off.

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Is Virgin Galactic And Its Version Of Space Travel Finally For Real? - Forbes

The finding by Lockheed Martin and North Carolina State University effectively sinks one of the big issues in missions to Mars and beyond. A simple, easily-applied layer of powder can be an effective defense against radiation. This procedure would be marginally more difficult than any other type of assembly on any type of vehicle, like putting duco on a car. This, it turns out, is a baseline solution for one of anti-space rhetorics more banal objections. Consider for a moment a large number of people obviously dedicated to raising objections but never finding solutions. The theoretical objections to space exploration are almost unbelievably tedious in their dogma. Lockheed Martin and North Carolina State University had the insight and acumen to simply find the compound, evaluate it, and pin down a highly productive use for the material. The everythings impossible BS has to goConsider also the knowledge base required to make a finding like this. Now consider the lack of knowledge required for the everythings impossible approach to space travel and other future aspirations. Interesting contrast, isnt it? Now consider this Cheap, effective radiation shielding has a lot of practical uses. Satellites, for example, or systems vulnerable to solar flares, spring to mind. Why would such an important subject be so utterly neglected, never mind denigrated, by people so passionate about proving the impossibility of critical future needs? Sometimes this BS is qualified by the use of phrases like existing technology cant, but weve just had 200 years of massive technological advances, based entirely on solving problems like that. Case in point Artificial gravityA classic case of everythings impossible in the same context as radiation shielding is the spaceflight zero gravity issue. Long times in zero gravity lead to a range of physical risks for space travelers. Not least of these are muscle degeneration and leaky astronaut circulation issues. These are real problems, and proposals have been stymied for years by the everythings impossible argument. There are pages and pages of discussion on artificial gravity, and even more pages of actual designs, some dating back decades. Some of these designs are, to put it mildly gutsy, ambitious and deserve lots of credit for getting out of the pedantic box and staying there. The only thing holding back proper experimentation and research is the everythings impossible argument. The artificial gravity issue is critical to future space exploration. It doesn't matter whether anyone thinks it's possible or impossible; it must be done. One of the classic early cases of destroying these totally negative everythings impossible arguments was in 1903. An academic wrote to his friend that everything had already been discovered, and that science would inevitably follow the ideas of the 19th century. Six months later, the Wright Brothers took off. A bit later, mass production, electronics, genetics, space flight, and the 20th century obliterated that sort of thinking forever. Total obliteration is where everythings impossible needs to go, right now. Its a useless view of anything. Lockheed Martin and North Carolina State University have delivered a massive hit to this baseless idiocy with their research. Keep hitting these do-nothing dogmas until theres nothing left to hit. When you hit light speed, hit the accelerator. If the universe doesnt like it, it can get out of the bloody way.

This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com

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Op-Ed: Rust shield vs space radiation Debunking the space travel BS - Digital Journal

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LANGSTON, Okla. (KFOR) - A local university has teamed up with NASA to study the effects of micro-gravity on astronauts.

"Today is a big day. We're going to sign a document that establishes a relationship between NASA and Langston University," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced a new partnership with the university to study the effects of micro-gravity on astronauts-- something that is key when considering long-term space travel.

"The research that will be done at Langston University is going to give us the counter measures that are necessary so humans are healthy all the way to Mars and all the way home," Bridenstine.

Students are also focused on ways to boost astronauts' immune systems. One strange fact about space travel is that dormant viruses-- like chickenpox--can activate during space-flight.

"We're trying to see what happens if we use plant extracts or natural countermeasures and seeing how that will affect the immune system to increase it, Myshal Morris said.

They will send a payload of biological experiments to the international space station in August-- all aimed at supporting an astronaut's health in no gravity.

"Maybe you're flying all the way to Mars at that point, and there's no way for you to get healthy so we have to make sure we mitigate against that," Bridenstine said.

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NASA, Langston University partner to keep astronauts healthy for future long-term space travel - KFOR Oklahoma City

Imagine being confined to a metal cell with a couple of other people and few amenities for months or even years. Maybe after that, youll be moved to a new compound, but you still have no privacy and extremely limited communication with your family and anyone else in the outside world. You feel both crowded and lonely at the same time, and yet no one comes to treat your emerging mental-health problems.

While this might sound like life in prison, it could just as easily be life as a deep-space explorer, in a sardine can of a rocket hurtling to Mars or a more distant world. Despite years of research by NASA and others, scientists have little insight into the psychological, neurological and sociological problems that will inevitably afflict space travelers battling depression, loneliness, anxiety, stress and personality clashes many millions of miles away from home. Sure, a growing body of research now documents the impact of microgravity on ones brain and body, along with the exercises and medical attention needed to mitigate the effects. But social isolation, limited privacy, interpersonal issues, along with vast separation from loved ones, remain relatively unexplored.

Even massive Star Trek spaceshipswith plenty of space per personcome with counselors on board, but what if the crew member with counseling training gets injured or falls ill during a critical moment? If morale plummets and rapport among the team disappears, an emergency situation could spell the end of both the astronauts and the mission.

Space confronts us with many fascinating worlds and phenomena. But we have to traverse the void to reach them, and almost any trip will be long and boring before we arrive. Peeking out the little window offers the same view you saw yesterday and the day before. While a jaunt to the Moon takes just a few days, its a slow, eight-month journey or longer to Mars. A trip to the more intriguing asteroids or moons of Jupiter and Saturn such as Europa and Titan would take years. (And, just for scale, an attempt to send a crew to Proxima Centauri, our nearest star, would likely take millennia.) Then, when you arrive, new challenges and more isolation await you.

Research on people in prison and solitary confinement offers lessons that deep-space astronauts could learn from. People in prison develop symptoms similar to ones reported by those stationed for long periods on the International Space Station: hallucinations, stress, depression, irritability and insomnia, all of it exacerbated when physical activity is difficult to achieve. You dont have the freedom to go outside for a peaceful stroll to clear your mind or to visit and get cheered up by old friends. In solitary confinement, the social isolation, the loneliness and monotony affect your mental state and your brain activity after only a couple of weeks, and some people never totally recover from the ordeal.

To make matters worse, communication with Earth suffers more and more delay the further one travels from home. Deep-space astronauts would benefit from messages and video calls with loved onesor better yet, virtual-reality interactions with thembut as they fly further away, it becomes less and less feasible to have those conversations. Even a highly trained team of professional, resilient people would struggle when theres an increasingly tenuous connection to everyone they know on Earth.

Its hard to imagine what these situations will be like, but NASA is trying. The agencys psychological experiments with the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) involve sequestering a six-member crew in a cramped dome for four months to a year on a remote, otherworldly spot on Mauna Loa, a rocky volcano. Over that time, participants pretend theyre living on another planet, such as Mars. Theres a 20-minute delay in written communications with mission control (which means 40 minutes between a message and its reply). The dome is equipped with extremely limited amenities (such as composting toilets and freeze-dried food). And residents can leave the habitat only for short time periods in simulation spacesuits.

As part of these experiments, participants wear devices and answer weekly questionnaires that track their heart rates, sleep quality, fatigue and changes in mood. Researchers hope to learn which individual and group qualities help to solve problems and resolve the interpersonal conflicts that inevitably arise when people are cooped up in a tiny space.

Researchers have already accumulated plenty of data, though not from the most recent mock mission. That one didnt fare as well as hopedit had to be aborted after only four days. After fixing an issue with the habitats power source, a crew member appeared to have suffered from an electric shock and needed an ambulance. After that individual was taken away, a disagreement about safety concerns resulted in another person withdrawing from the simulation, which then had to be called off.

An earlier simulation of six men squeezed into a spacecraft-like module in Moscow also produced surprising results. Those crew members developed increasing trouble sleeping and sometimes slept more than usual, becoming more lethargic and less active. One members sleep rhythm shifted to a 25-hour cycle (which is actually the length of a Martian day), making him out of sync with everyone else. Follow-up research showed that the two crew members experiencing the most stress and exhaustion were involved in 85 per cent of the perceived conflicts.

In a real mission to Mars, people will get hurt, and someone might even get killed. When heated arguments develop, cooler heads will have to prevail. Real space travel probably will have more boredom and more infighting than anything on Star Trek or Star Wars. (Theres a reason why science fiction relies on ludicrously fast speeds: it makes such trips short enough for a story.)

To minimize conflicts among the astronauts or the pain of someone suffering from a mental breakdown, experts will need to spot the signs of their flagging mental state beforehand. These future space explorers will probably undergo a battery of physical and psychological tests every day, week and month, and their data could be sent to scientists at home for analysis. Anything raising a flag of concern could then be addressed.

If theres one thing the limited research shows, its that its hard to predict who will cope best and work well together as the weeks and months, maybe even years, wear on. Many factors can boost the chances of success, however, especially if crew members give each other precisely the kind of support and encouragement that people in prison are deprived of.

A well-performing team needs talented leaders and a closely knit group of people. They need to build trust between each other while theyre training, long before the rocket blasts off. Diverse, international crews could help to overcome some challenges that might come up, but that diversity also sometimes results in cultural and interpersonal problems. A larger crew would likely perform better than a smaller one, but the teams size will always be limited by how much weight and fuel can be launched.

Once theyre in space, people need to keep busy, and they need to think they have something worthwhile to do, even if its actually of limited value. They also need a tiny bit of privacy and entertainment at times, which might include something they brought from home or a simulation of the family and friends they left behind. While at work, the crew members need clear goals and procedures to follow in a wide range of situations. Only people shown to be resilient under pressure for long periods and who have strong teamwork skills even in stressful, sleep-deprived conditions should be part of the crew.

But this is just a start. Two out of 135 space shuttle missions ended in disaster, both for unforeseen engineering problems, but none of them really faced the psychological tests that more perilous, more distant missions will have.

Humans love to explore. Its in our blood. But setting foot on the Red Planet in 20 or 30 years is a more daunting task than anything else ever attempted. To make sure our quest to explore Mars and more distant worlds continues, we have to keep examining not just the engineering challenges but the challenges of our own minds.

This article was originally published at Aeon and has been republished under Creative Commons.

Image Credit: NASA

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How to Optimize Your Headspace on a Mission to Mars - Singularity Hub

Comparing todays computers to their famous ancestors is a popular pastime.

As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing last year, the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) became a particularly juicy target. The analysis, of course, showed just how much more powerful the chips used in common smartphones are than the computers that got us to the moon. Not too shocking, but amazing nonetheless.

For fun, Forrest Heller, a software engineer at Apple who previously worked on Occipitals Structure 3D scanner, thought hed cast around for a different comparison. How would far more basic chips, say, the ones in USB-C chargers, compare to the AGC?

Heller took a deep and detailed look and came to a fairly startling conclusioneven these modest chips can easily go toe-to-toe with the computer that got us to the moon.

Lets start with the caveats.

No USB-C charger on the market was designed to survive space travel. Goes without saying, but hey. Also, Heller says he didnt dive into how many external devices the AGC supported, and hed have to do more digging to find out if his chosen chargers chip would satisfy Apollos needs (not to mention 1960s-era voltages might be too high for it). Finally, as is often the case in space-rated devices where the price of failure is high, the AGC had a lot of redundancy built in (it ran calculations three times). Heller decided to leave this redundancy out of his final conclusions (though he may return to it).

So, how do the two stack up?

Heller looked at three USB-C chargers and chips and ultimately chose the most powerful, the Anker PowerPort Atom PD 2 and its Cypress CYPD4225 chip, for his thought experiment. Given the decades separating one from the other, the comparison is not at all straightforward. Much of Hellers work is in making the conversion. (For the technically inclined and curious, be sure to read his post for a detailed blow-by-blow.)

Here are the highlights: Heller found the CPU in the Anker charger is 563 times faster than the Apollo 11 Guidance Computer. Which is impressive, but speed isnt all, Heller notes. NASA scientists opted for memory over speed. A small delay was worth the ability to load a bigger, more useful program. That is, the computers capability trumps speed.

And here, Heller found the two are a bit more comparable.

The Anker PowerPort Atom PD2 has a little over twice the RAM and can store up to 1.78 times more instructions than the AGC. That means that while no charger bought stock on Amazon is ever going to send astronauts to the moon, in theory, you could load an equivalent software package to perform the tasks required by the Apollo spacecraft.

All those caveats in mind, Heller concludes youd only need the computing power of four of these Anker USB-C chargersone for each of the three computers on the command and lunar modules and one for the computer riding the Saturn V boosterto get to the moon.

Now, this isnt to slander the Apollo Guidance Computer. Not at all. The AGC was amazing.

It was one of the first and most significant computers to use silicon integrated circuit chipsthe same basic technology behind the chips we use todayand was about the size of a few shoe boxes when computers were rooms packed with vacuum tubes. Without the AGC, no human pilot could have kept the Apollo spacecraft on course to the moon and back. Probably most incredible was how much it did with how little. You might say a USB-C charger is the opposite: Notable for how little it does with how much.

And thats really the point, isnt it?

Computers were rare and lovingly handcrafted back then; now theyre a commodity. Which is why you can put the equivalent of NASAs moonshot computer in a wall charger and sell it for $54.99. Its why 7 of the worlds top 10 public companies by market capitalization make a living navigating and adding to an ocean of computation, and Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet alone are worth almost $5 trillion on the open market.

So, due respect to the original. And with so much more power at our fingertips, lets remember the AGC and make the most of all that potential to do awe-inspiring work.

Image Credit: NASA

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Could a USB-C Charger's Chip Get You to the Moon? This Guy Did the Math so You Don't Have To - Singularity Hub

Editors note: The opinions in this article are the authors, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft News or Microsoft. MSN Travel Voices features first-person essays and stories from diverse points of view. Click hereto see more Voices content from MSN Lifestyle, Health and Travel.

Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastianpoured fuel on an alreadyfiery, ragingdebate this past week when he suggested passengers should first ask and receive permission from the person behind them beforeleaning backtheir seat.

The proper thing to do is if youre going to recline i somebody that you ask if its OK first, he said.

Earlier in the week, a videowent viralof an agitated American Airlines passengerpunching the seat andchewing out a fellow traveler for failing to do so.

Like chronic territorial feuds between warring tribes, the greatairlineseat space battles are not a recent phenomenon, though the intensity and frequency of them seem to be escalating.In fact, back in 2003, Ira Goldman, a former Senate aide, invented and began selling the Knee Defender a small device that hooks onto the back of the tray table and prevents the person in front of y

As its popularity began rising and tempers along with it, airlines took notice andprohibitedits use. So, like fireworks, its one of those rare items thats not illegal to buy but which youre technically not allowedto use.

Goldman has long defended the product, suggesting its use could result in something of a dtente in the skies.

It gives you the chance to be human beings, he said. Do you want the conversation to start before the laptop screen is cracked or after its cracked?

The Knee Defenderis adjustable andallows for seats to recline in degrees. Its not an all or nothing proposition.

Reaction to Bastians recommendationthis weekto negotiate space has run the gamut from hearty agreement to outraged defiance.

Civility and courtesy are always a good thing, especially when youre flying 40,000 feet up in the air, butthe suggestion ofDeltas chief and even Goldmans ingenious entrepreneurial fix areignoring the root of the problem.

In a desperate attempt to maximize revenue, airlines havefor decadesbeen shrinking both the width and pitch of seats. In the 1950s and 60s long considered the golden age of jet travel, the distance between seatswasas much as36 inches. Today, someare as close as 28 inches apart and as narrow as 17, down from 20 a few decades ago.

Industry executives justify thegreat shrinkage by pointing to the economic realitiesof the business, a claim thatsbuttressedby howfew of the airlines of my childhood still exist today. I have great memories ofwelcoming my dad homeat JFKscircularPan Am terminal or being mesmerized by the magical, futuristic red-carpeted building that once housed TWA. As a young man, I flew Eastern, America Westand Northwest Airlines.

Theyre all gone, and withthemtheir nice, comfortable seats not to mention the once standard meals even in coach. My boys didnt believe me when I told them I was served steak and eggs on my first cross country flight between New York and San Francisco back in 1984.

But how much profit is enough and how long before the companyfinally acknowledges that theyre treatingthe customer as cattle?It seems Deltas suggestion is a subtle way of admitting what we all know that the space between seats is now bordering on the ridiculous.

At 6-foot-4, Ive grown accustomed to being jammed into my seat. I try and rationalize the discomfort by just being grateful to fly at all. I think about the pioneers who labored across the rugged and ragged plains in wooden wagons, many of them dying along the way. What kind of wimp or privileged person am I to complain about my tight space when what took my forefathers five months still only takes me fivehours?

Yet, there is still something unsavory and troublesome about the great airplaneseatsqueeze, especially for those with a disability orsomeone whose sizealready makes traveling a challenge.

I think of a friend who has arthritis, a painful and debilitating condition thats exacerbated when hes confined to tight spaces.Its just not fair and its certainly not considerate.In an age of increasing accommodation, shouldnt industries be compelled to create products that benefit not burden the consumer?

Of course, thegreatseat debate is big business. Now, with most airlines, you dont just buy a ticket you have to also buy your seat and if you want more room, well, youre going to pay for it. Im a capitalist and I get it. Its just irritating and leaves me feeling increasingly fleeced.

Newtons third law is that for every action, theres a reaction and the foolishness of airlines to try and fit more people in the same space is literally and figuratively squeezing the customer to a breaking point.

This is going to sound self-righteous, butI gave up reclining my seatyears ago, a decision borne out of the old biblical adage to, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.Im also a bit like George McFly from Back to the Future, who famously said, I'mafraidI'm just notverygood at confrontations.

Wed all be a lot better off if the airline executives responsible for positioning the seats on airplanes would likewise follow suit.

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Give us more room, airlines! Forget permission to recline our seats - msnNOW

Whether were staring into the depths of a campfire or watching a Space Shuttle burn 500,000 gallons of fuel as it rises off the launchpad, mankinds obsession with fire is so innate we almost take it for granted. Yet fire has catalyzed the human races most significant innovations; its helped us survive and flourish.

At the same time, the path that took us from hunching around a lightning-struck tree for warmth to carrying lighters in our pockets has many reminders of fires volatilityfrom the epic scope of The Great Chicago Fire to the explosion of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon. Fire comes with a big fat warning sticker, but nonetheless, its mans most essential tool.

Almost every primitive culture has a story about how man came to harness fire, and many of these stories involvecuriouslypetty theft. From the famed Greek myth of Prometheus snatching fire from Zeus and handing it to man (thanks for that, bud, and sorry about the whole bird-eating-your-liver thing), to the Native American story of Rabbit stealing fire from the bloodthirsty Weasels, to the Polynesian legend of Maui taking fire from the birds during a fishing trip for his mother, our desire to control the element has always run up against our better instincts.

Without fireand later, without combustionthere would be no skyscrapers, air travel, International Space Station, bourbon, or medium-rare steaks.

The themes of thievery make sense. In the days of early man, fire was our most valuable possession. Sculptor Paul Manship summed up this sentiment in his art. Behind his famous statue of Prometheus in New York Citys Rockefeller Center, he paraphrased the Greek dramatist Aeschylus, noting that fire proved to mortals a means to mighty ends.

Without fireand later, without combustionthere would be no skyscrapers, air travel, International Space Station, bourbon, or medium-rare steaks. The element has unlocked and enabled some of the greatest industrial and technological achievements in human history.

Heritage ImagesGetty Images

Its impossible to know when the first fire was made, but we can speculate at its earliest major use: cooking, says Alan Rocke, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of the history of science and technology at Case Western Reserve University.

Cooking with heat broadened early mans palate by killing off potentially dangerous microbes in formerly unsafe foods. Fish and beef are at their juiciest and free of illness-causing bacteria at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Rabbit is safe at 160F; chicken at 165F. Fire tenderizes meat (pulled pork falls apart at 205F), but at 330F it also triggers the Maillard reaction (browning) to give steak a mouth-watering sear.

Find Your Fuel

Keep seasoned woodmeaning it's been air or kiln driednear the fireplace (a couple of days indoors should dry out most pieces). Wood with rough surfaces will catch easier than smooth wood. For tinder, gather two handfuls of twigs and break them so they resemble a No. 2 pencil in length and diameter. Half a section of newspaper or a grocery store mailer will work as kindling.

Shape Your Kindling

After making sure your chimney's damper is open, tear the newspaper into two-inch-wide lengths and rub the strips between your fingers so they separate into ribbons. Put the ribbons in the fireplace in a mound the size of a tennis ball. Rest some of your tinder on top of the mound and lean more tinder on those twigs to create a little hut around the paper.

Prime Your Chimney Fuel

In wintertime, cold air coming down your chimney can suppress a fire and push smoke into your house. "Priming the flue" reverses the draft. To do this, roll up a spare piece of newspaper, light one end like a torch, and stick it up your chimney for a few moments. The rising hot air will push the cold air out of the chimney, allowing smoke to escape.

Light It Up

Light the paper. As it ignites, lean larger pieces of tinder against the hut. After those catch, add a fuel log on top of the hut, being careful not to smother the flames. To help the wood catch, blow air across the bottom of the fire where the newspaper meets the surface of the fireplace. Don't have a fireplace tool set? Use sturdy metal kitchen tongs to move the wood around.

Harvard professor and primatologist Richard Wrangham, Ph.D., suggests that the invention of cooking fed evolution itself by unlocking energy-giving nutrients for our ancestors evolving brains and bodies.

In fact, Wrangham suggests that our digestive tracts evolved as a result of discovering cooking. Human guts are 56 percent small intestine and 17 percent colon, while those respective numbers for chimps are almost the opposite: 23 and 52 percent. Translation: Chimp guts are better at breaking down plant fibers and meat collagen than human ones. We need blenders, food processors, and sweet, sweet heat to help our bodies absorb food in a way our guts can handle, says Rocke.

Around 10,000 BCE, our cavemen ancestors began to ditch hunting and gathering in favor of the farming life, and our usage of fire diversified. We started baking, defending our land from predators (the flashpoint of a sabertooth-warding wooden torch is 572F), and firing pottery (clay particles fuse at 1,650F). You can do some things with bowls made from reeds, says Rocke, but to make containers useful for cooking, you need fire.

Hulton DeutschGetty Images

When wood reaches its flashpoint, the heat exorcises impurities like water vapor, sulfur compounds, and nitrogen compounds, leaving essentially pure carbon behindcharcoal. This substance burns hotter than normal wood, and throughout history, more heat has led to better tech.

The Hittites were some of the most prolific iron producers of the Bronze Age (33001200 BCE), and evidence suggests they were among the first ancient empires to discover that they could prevent their tools and weapons from rusting by forging steel from iron and charcoal. When charcoal fuses with iron ore, it acts as a reducing agent, attracting oxygen away from the metal. It also lowers irons melting point.

This lower heat threshold allowed the Hittites to produce more durable iron weapons on a mass scale. It also helped them gain trade leveragein the 13th century BCE, a Hittite king sent another ruler an iron dagger as appeasementand gave them a tactical edge over their bronze-bound opponents, including the mighty ancient Egyptians.

The invention of charcoal was a great asset to society because it enabled all these high-temperature processes, Rocke says. You can do some metallurgy without charcoal, but you cant make iron or steel, both of which require a blast furnace.

It isnt certain how the Hittites mass-produced malleable iron and steel, but archaeologists are confident that blast furnaces operated in China as early as the 5th century BCE. Blast furnaces liquefy metals at 3,000F. In ancient China, this meant the introduction of cast iron, the ultra-malleable, ultra-rust-resistant material the Western world has used in cannons, bridges, and, yup, the cast iron skillet in your kitchen that can withstand 2,000F.

BettmannGetty Images

No image captures the intersection of fire and modern industry better than a burning oil derricks column of flame. After Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859, people began to refine that oil over a fire and distill it into some of the tentpole resources of modern life: kerosene, diesel, and gasoline, the last of which could be boiled off and condensed between 104401F.

Early on, Americans used these resources mostly to illuminate our cities and homes, but in the mid-to-late 19th century, gasoline became fuel for a more adrenal, exciting purpose: helping us go far and go fast. The liquid-fuel internal-combustion engine burns a mixture of gasoline and air to create a combustion that expands gases inside the engine to push the pistons and rotate the crankshaft.

This simple fire-powered design became the basis of modern transport, from the Wright brothers plane at Kitty Hawk, to the refurbished Challenger 2, which topped 448 miles per hour and broke the land speed record in 2018, to the 2,300-ton diesel engines that power container ships through the Panama Canal today.

Gasoline had great advantages over electricity or gaseous fuels: energy density, weight, volume, Rocke says. You needed those differences if you were going to put your power plant [your fuel source] on a moving object.

In 1900, just 22 percent of American automobiles were powered by gas; but thanks to Henry Fords mass-production methods, the invention of the self-starting ignition in 1912, and our newfound need for speed, the internal-combustion engine gained supremacy among autos. Fire was powering us toward modern life.

This modernization put fire and combustion at the crossroads of practicality and danger once again. The early 1900s were fraught with fatal conflagrations. Chicagos Iroquois Theater fire in 1903 killed more than 600 people, and in 1910, the Big Blowup wildfire in Idaho, Washington, and Montana killed at least 85 people as it reduced 3 million acresan area about the size of Connecticutto ashes.

These fires prompted changes: The Iroquois fire led to the invention of the emergency exit panic bar for doors, and the Big Blowup led to the development of some prescribed-burn containment techniques. But they also served as reminders of the risks that come with implementing combustion in our everyday lives.

Harness the Power of Fire

Today, Rocke suggests the advances wrought by fire have ironically taken us past it. Many energy and power advances of the 20th century dont involve combustion: Nuclear energy relies on a physical reaction rather than a chemical one, and renewable energies like solar, wind, and water power skirt combustions literal explosiveness. We understand now there are costs of powering the world with fire, from deforestation to pollution to climate change. Going forward, we have to reconcile these downsides with fires awesome potential.

Because it is awesome. Fire sparks the reaction between aluminum and ammonium perchlorate that turns solid rocket fuel into the driving force of space travel (NASAs rocket boosters reach 5,000F during launch). When fire is used to distill alcohol (which evaporates at 173F), were treated to things like Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon and Blantons Original.

Every time you strike a match, the stroke of friction between the match head and the box turns the boxs red phosphorus to white, and it takes just 86F for white phosphorus to combust. Then you have fire at your fingertips.

Its hard not to stare at that little flame. Simple combustion still inspires us at a basic, primal level, whether were throwing another log on the fireplace or sitting around a backyard bonfire. As Rocke affirms: Fire is so elemental, it will never go away.

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Why Fire Is the Greatest Tool of All Time - Popular Mechanics

It's Valentine's Day, but you've probably had enough of Cupid by now. Love is great and all, but sometimes you just need a box of matches more than a matchmaker. Not every stock that sweeps you off your feet will be a winner, and I have three investments that I think will be heartbreakers.

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX),Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and Virgin Galactic(NYSE:SPCE) are three stocks that are flying high this year, but susceptible to selling off in the near future. Let's go over why these three market darlings may ultimately break your heart.

Image source: Getty Images.

Among the more unlikely stocks hitting new 52-week highs on Thursday is Himax Technologies, a designer of display drivers and other semiconductor products. The stock has nearly doubled this year, up 83% in 2020 after announcingbetter-than-expected preliminary financial resultslast month. The stock is making hearts go aflutter this week by actually posting those fourth-quarter results and issuing encouraging guidance.

Revenue for the fourth quarter clocked in at $174.9 million, declining 8% from a year earlier. A small gain in its small and medium display drivers segment was more than offset by a 22% plunge in large display drivers. Its non-display business also staged a year-over-year retreat. The excitement here is that business is actually growing sequentially, a big deal for a cyclical business like the semiconductor industry.

Guidance for the current quarter is even better. It sees an 8% to 18% year-over-year increase in the first quarter. It has historically posted a sequential top-line decline in the first quarter, but it's eyeing a 1% to 10% advance this time around during the seasonally sluggish period. The headwinds that it was warning about a few months ago are now tailwinds, with Himax eyeing positive momentum across its smartphone, tablet, and automotive display lines.

This all sounds like good news, but Himax has a habit of disappointing investors. The stock has only moved higher in one of the past six years. The only year in that time that it did move higher -- nearly doubling in 2017 the way it is right now -- it would go on to fall precipitously in each of the two following years.

This will probably be the most controversial of the three names on my heartbreaker list, but it's hard to justify the electric-car maker's stock more than tripling over the past six months. Revenue rose 2% inits latest quarter, and while it did see a 23% increase in the number of cars it delivered during the period it was basically consumers shifting to the cheaper Model 3 at the expense of the older and pricier S and X models.

The bullish narrative here is that Tesla should be valued more as a tech stock than a conventional automaker. Well, on that front, we're seeing ASPs (average selling prices) move lower given the product mix shift for a business that is low margin by tech standards.

I'm not bearish on Tesla. Analysts see revenue more than tripling within the next three years and I don't disagree with that. Wall Street pros see profits exploding skyward at this point, and I'm applauding. However, Tesla stock is a volatile beast. The effervescent bullishness for a company behind big-ticket products in an economy that can't be buoyant forever is a problem. Even bulls wouldn't be surprised if Tesla stock closes out the year below Thursday's $804 close. The median analyst price target is $506. The company is a long-term winner, but the same can't be said about the near-term prospects for the stock with its $153 billion enterprise value.

All three of these stocks are taking off this year, but Virgin Galactic is the only one that has more than doubled in 2020. Space tourism for the masses, for now, is just a billionaire's dream. True to its Virgin moniker, this is Sir Richard Branson's dream for space travel. He competes against other moneyed market icons Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) and Tesla's Elon Musk (SpaceX).

These are three pretty smart billionaires piloting these three pet projects, and since Virgin Galactic is the one venture that is now publicly traded, it's easy to see why space buffs with stars in their eyes are flocking to the stock. Branson hopes to start taking folks willing to shell out $250,000 on their first trip to the edge of space as soon as later this year.

Virgin Galactic dreams of a future of Earth-orbiting hotels, science labs, and transcontinental service, but folks are paying up just for the experience of going up to the edge of space -- joining the 50-mile high club to be technically considered an astronaut -- in a reusable vehicle. Hundreds of wealthy consumers have already booked with Virgin Galactic, but we're still decades, if not longer, away where this becomes anything other than a novelty. As the lone public play with a thin float, this is going to have more ups and downs than Avenue 5. Space travel is a gamble at this point, and it's why Virgin Galactic is a risky wager after soaring 105% so far this young year.Investing in IPOscan be risky, but this particular newbie is out of this world in more ways than one.

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3 Stocks That Will Only Break Your Heart - Motley Fool

Teletubbies creator Anne Wood

The real story

Wood grew up in a colliery village near County Durham during the Second World War. Despite not having much access to literature as a child, she self-published her own magazine, Books For Children, and founded the Federation Of Children's Books Groups, which caught the attention of TV producers.

A stint at Yorkshire Television and TV-AM saw her create her first show Rub-A-Dub-Tub before a change of management saw her set up her own production company, where she created the likes of Rosie And Jim.

Teletubbies came about when, during a trip stateside to try to break America, Wood and Tots TV puppeteer Andrew Davenport visited Washington's National Air And Space Museum and noticed that astronauts walking on the moon resembled giant babies. The idea was cemented when Wood's mother, who suffered from MS and was in a wheelchair, commented that there were so many domestic devices beeping while Wood had popped out to the shops and so realised, Thats the atmosphere that little kids are growing up in. The Teletubbies became "technological babies, living in a technological environment.

Since then, Wood has worked on other hit shows In The Night Garden and Twirlywoos, and is still developing ideas today at the age of 82.

The Hollywood pitch

The year is 1996 and technology is everywhere: picture commuters rushing around listening to Walkmans, the BBC launching one of its first websites to document the Olympic Games and school children playing with Tamagotchis under their desks. Meanwhile, after 20 years working in childrens TV, Anne Wood is juggling looking after her ill mother with managing her own production company and fighting the influx of American shows on British childrens TV. Space travel, tech and transatlantic media collide as Wood adapts to a changing world, but will it be enough to save the UK's children's programming from an American takeover?

Tagline

Time for Tubby bye-bye? She's only just getting started

Who would play Anne Wood?

"It would have to be someone with a bit of acerbic-ness about them. Meryl Streep, lets say," says Wood.

The real story

Over the course of his career, Keith Chapman has dreamed up two of the biggest children's TV shows of all time, Bob The Builder and Paw Patrol, the former making 5 billion since it was created and the latter doubling that figure in the past six years alone.

Describing his life as one big cartoon, Chapman was always drawing as a child and his first cartoons got published in a local newspaper when he was just 12 years old. He went on to study graphic illustration at art college, after which he went to work in advertising, before moving to work for the Muppets' creator, Jim Henson.

Every night, he'd go home and work on his own ideas, testing them out on his three young boys. The character they'd always want to hear more of was, of course, Bob, who Chapman dreamed up after he saw a JCB outside his flat in Wimbledon Village. He pitched the idea to HIT Entertainment, who optioned the show and turned it into the stop-frame classic we're all now familiar with. From beating Westlife to a Christmas No1 with Can We Fix It?" to shows at the O2, the success of Bob The Builder was unprecedented and gave Chapman the opportunity to start his own company, Chapman Entertainment, which created shows such as Rory The Racing Car and Fifi And The Flowertots.

Unfortunately, the company was one of many to be hit by the Great Recession and eventually had to close down, with the bank selling the rights to their properties to Dreamworks. Paw Patrol came about a few years later when Chapman was approached by toy company Spin Master to create a show based on emergency vehicles and since then it's become a worldwide success. The work doesn't stop there, though. Currently Chapman has about 15 projects in the works, ranging from adult cartoons to feature-length films.

The Hollywood pitch

Christmas No1s, sold-out shows at the O2, billions of pounds' worth of merchandise sales: Keith Chapman is at the top of his game, riding high on the success of his hit show Bob The Builder and his growing production company. But nothing lasts for ever. Can he pick up the pieces after he's hit by hard times during the recession? A tale of resilience and creativity, there's only one thing that save him: his imagination.

Tagline

Life is one big cartoon. How you draw it is up to you.

Who would play Keith Chapman?

Sometimes people say that look like Alec Baldwin," says Chapman. "I cant see it myself, but a few people have so maybe him. Of course, he wouldnt get the accent, so it would have to be a British actor: Gary Oldman, hes a brilliant actor. Hes got London roots so hell probably get the accent.

Born in Leeds but raised in Liverpool, Brenton's childhood was spent playing outside and watching shows such as Danger Mouse, Grange Hill, Crackerjack and Play Away. Like Chapman, he also went to art college, but followed that up with a stint at drama college, where he and a friend set up a theatre company to pay the bills, often staging shows for children.

Eventually, Brenton landed a gig presenting on Playbus, where he copresented with Iain Lauchlan, who would later become his business partner. This is also where he learnt to write and direct and the pair began to write and perform in pantomimes in Coventry.

Their Bafta-winning show Tweenies was born when the duo got wind that the BBC had invited companies to pitch ideas for a follow-up from Teletubbies for a slightly older audience. While waiting in the wings at a production of Cinderella, ready to take the stage as an ugly step sister, he took his chance and asked the then director of BBC Children's, Roy Thompson, if he and Lauchlan could pitch an idea. The pair had already been creating a series of videos called Fun Song Factory, so this was the natural next step. Thompson sent them a brief and the pair got to work creating ideas until they won the slot. It was the Tweenies' first live tour that made the success of the show really sink in for Brenton. That year we sold more tickets than Robbie Williams and Britney Spears put together. It was huge.

The Hollywood pitch

Life as an aspiring young actor can be tough, but if you come at the industry from all directions, it might just let you in. Will Brenton becomes a multi-hyphenate long before millennials made it the norm, in a story that shows that determination and ingenuity can go a long way. Going from Coventry pantomimes to tours that sold more tickets than Robbie Williams and Britney Spears combined, Brenton's journey is far from conventional, but aren't those always the best kind of rides?

Tagline

Are you ready to play?

Who would play Will Brenton?

I asked my wife this and she said David Thewlis," says Brenton. "When I was still acting I was offered a part in a Yorkshire TV series called A Bit Of A Do, but I couldnt do it because I was doing a theatre show. The actor who ended up doing it was David Thewlis. It was his first TV part and it kicked everything off for him. He played it better than I would have done, but we were laughing about that, saying how it would be ironic if he would then one day play me in a movie.

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The British children's show creators worthy of the biopic treatment - British GQ

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A newly launched spacecraft promises to broaden our understanding of the sun. Called the "Solar Orbiter" or the "SolO" for short it left the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in central Florida Sunday, Feb. 9, at 11:03 p.m.

The new probe is part of an international collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Both parties contributed to its arsenal of scientific instruments. Some of these gadgets will remotely image the sun, its atmosphere and the materials it spews forth. Others are built to keep tabs on the spacecraft's immediate surroundings.

During the wee hours of Feb. 10, 2020, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany got a signal confirming that orbiter's onboard solar panels were functioning correctly. So begins a seven-year planned mission. To paraphrase Robert Frost, the orbiter is supposed to take the route less traveled.

All the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun on the same general plane (give or take a few degrees). Called the "ecliptic plane," it's like a giant invisible disc one that very nearly lines up with the sun's equator.

Most of our spacefaring devices are gravitationally confined to this plane. But the SolO is meant to escape it.

By exploiting the gravity of Earth and Venus, the probe will orbit the sun on a unique and tilted pathway. This unique trajectory will give the SolO 22 close approaches to the sun (as close as 26 million miles or 35.4 million kilometers to the sun), as well as bring it within the orbit of Mercury to study the sun's influence on space. It will also give SolO the chance to do something no craft has ever done before: Take pictures of the solar poles.

Just like Earth, the sun has a north and south pole. In 2018, the ESA used data from the Proba-2 satellite to try and determine what the northern pole looks like. But Proba-2 couldn't photograph this region directly. If all goes according to plan, SolO will do just that. Its first close pass by the sun will be in 2022 at about a third the distance from the sun to Earth.

"Up until Solar Orbiter, all solar imaging instruments have been within the ecliptic plane or very close to it," NASA scientist Russell Howard noted in a press statement. "Now, we'll be able to look down on the sun from above."

And that's just the beginning.

Another mission objective involves SolO partnering up with the Parker Solar Probe. Launched in 2018, this spacecraft is able to fly much closer to the sun than the new Solar Orbiter ever will.

Comparing the feedback from both probes ought to tell us a great deal about the mysterious phenomenon called solar wind. Any polar pictures the SolO gives us should provide relevant insights, too. The sun's polar regions probably have a big effect on its atmosphere as a whole along with the charged particle streams (i.e., "winds") it unleashes.

SolO's unique travel plans will put it in contact with intense heat and extreme coldness. The new probe is going to revolve around the sun in a very long, very narrow oval-shaped orbit. As it nears the star, things will get rather toasty.

That's why designers fitted the Solar Orbiter with a reflective heat shield coated in titanium foil. According to NASA, this shield can withstand temperatures as high as 970 degrees Fahrenheit (521 degrees Celsius). It's also got radiators designed to ventilate excess heat produced within the craft itself.

Engineers can't be too careful about these things, you know. Certainly not when space travel is involved.

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New Solar Orbiter Will Get the First Glimpse of the Sun's Poles - HowStuffWorks

Out of this world optical diagnostic technology that was - until a few years ago - only widely available in hospital eye departments will be available in Specsavers Coleraine.

Called OCT (optical coherence tomography), this eye health check is set to transform the industrys evaluation of a customers overall eye health on our high streets and is being rolled out across all Specsavers stores this month.

The innovation of OCT is pretty impressive, and testament to its credentials is the fact that NASA uses OCT technology on its International Space Station to measure the effect of space travel on the eye.

The OCT uses light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of the eye including the retina and optic nerve. A layered image is then created to allow the optometrist to view the deeper structures of the eye in more detail than ever before. From here, its future-gazing potential can then help detect preventable, sight-threating conditions up to four years earlier than a standard eye test.

These images are then stored, allowing the Specsavers team of optometrists to refer back to a customers results from their prior appointment and detect any subtle changes that can then be addressed.

Some of the conditions that can be picked up earlier and monitored with an OCT test include diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma. In some rarer cases, concerns relating to wider health issues like a brain tumour have been picked up thanks to the detailed scan.

Store director Judith Ball said: This is big news and we are proud to be part of a first nationwide roll out for the optical industry.

Our nationwide roll out of this innovation is one big step for mankind when it comes to accessing fantastic innovation and helping to preserve the nations eye health. To be able to bring this technology to our customers in Coleraine in the decade of 2020 feels extra poignant too.

To highlight the innovative new equipment revolutionising the high street, Specsavers has also launched a TV ad which sees an OCT machine floating alongside the Hubble Telescope in outer space.

To find out more about OCT or to book an appointment, visit the Diamond Coleraine, http://www.specsavers.co.uk or call 0287 032 6346

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For a sight test that is out of this world? You should be going to Specsavers Coleraine - Coleraine Times

Is time travel possible? Is time just an illusion that our brains merely believe to be moving forward in a linear fashion? According to proponents of the box universe theory, the answer to both of these questions is, simply, yes.

The box universe theory describes 'now' as an arbitrary place in time, and states that the past, future, and present all exist simultaneously.

RELATED: 5 ALTERNATIVES TO THE BIG BANG THEORY

Much in the same way that your current location doesn't exclude the existence of other locations, the box universe theory claims that being in the present doesn't mean the past and future aren't currently taking place.

We take a look at different versions of the theory and how this static traversable perception of spacetime means that space travel, in theory, is possible.

The block universe theory, as explained by Dr. Kristie Miller last year,positsthat our universe might be a giant four-dimensional block of spacetime, containing all the things that ever happened and will happen in our traditional perception of time.

Dr. Kristie Miller, who is the joint director for theCentre for Timeat the University of Sydney, explained the theory in a piece published by ABC Science.Miller describedhowall moments that exist are relative to each other within three spatial dimensions and a single time dimension.

The block universe theory is also known in some scientific circles as Eternalism, in which the past, present, and future all co-exist 'now'. This is opposed to Presentism, which states that the past doesn't exist anymore and is constantly disappearing thanks to that pesky notion of 'present' time.

According to Miller, hypothetically speaking, yes, it is possible. But there is one big caveat. We would have to figure out how to travel at a speed close to the speed of light, allowing us to use a wormhole as a shortcut to travel into another "location" in spacetime. This would be possible due to a phenomenon known as time dilation.

However, if we were to be able to create the technology to allow us to travel in time, we would not be able to affect our present by changing the past, Miller says. That's because the present exists at the same time as the past and is, therefore, inextricably linked. No need to worry about killing an insect in the past leading to a snowballing chain of events that would set off another world war then.

"If I travel to the past, I am part of the past. Importantly, I was always part of the past," Miller says. In other words, going to the past would simply mean that we are simply fulfilling pre-ordained actions that are already written out in the block that is spacetime.

The box universe does, of course, have its detractors, as Big Think points out.PhysicistLee Smolin, for example,wrotethat"The future is not now real and there can be no definite facts of the matter about the future."He alsoaddedat a 2017 conference that what is real is just "the process by which future events are generated out of present events."

The idea, if true, would also lend weight to the philosophical idea of Predeterminism, which states that everything is preordained and therefore an individual has no agency over the outcome of their life and may as well just let it run its course. Not a very 21st Century idea.

A counter to the association with Predeterminism is another theory, growing block-ism ridiculous name, I know which posits that the block of spacetime is actually a growing entity that can be changed. The past and the present always exist, but the future would be more of a changing entity.

So, could a preordained life be closely linked to our ability to be able to time travel? The truth is that we are nowhere near knowing this for sure. The box universe theory for the moment is just that, a theory. We'd need the very tall order of a time machine to test the hypothesis.

Knowing whether all of history is happening at the same time is something that may never, you guessed it, happen. On the other hand, it might be happening right now.

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Block Universe Theory: Is the Passing of Time an Illusion? - Interesting Engineering

NEW DELHI: Richard Branson-owned Virgin Group has reached out to transport minister Nitin Gadkari with a proposal to establish a hyperloop transportation system between New Delhi and Mumbai, after the Maharashtra government decided to shelve the companys proposed project in the state last month.

A source in the know told ET that Virgin Group has approached Gadkariwho is known for his openness to adopting new technologiesto develop a 1,300-km line between the national capital and Mumbai. Executives of the group are in India for the next two days and are meeting various stakeholders for the technology, the person said.

Hyperloop use magnets to levitate pods inside an airless tube, creating conditions in which the pods can shuttle people and freight at speeds of up to 1,200 km per hour.

Senior executives from the Virgin Group have met the transport minister to discuss this, the person cited earlier told ET. The talks are at a very preliminary stage and they may submit a formal proposal to Gadkari.

ET could not contact the Virgin Group immediately for an official comment.

Speaking at a public event here on Thursday, Gadkari also mentioned that he had met investors earlier in the day and discussed a bullet train-like project.

Virgin Hyperloop Ones proposed Pune-Mumbai link project was okayed by the BJP government in the state last year. The first phase of the plan entailed an 11.8 km-long track. The project would have needed up to $10 billion in investment and up in 2.5 years to be completed. Last month, the Uddhav Thackarey-led state government decided against implementing it amid doubts about its capsule technology, which is not yet operational anywhere in the world.

We do not have the capacity to experiment with hyperloop. We will concentrate on other modes of transport and, in the meantime, if that technology develops more with successful trials abroad, we can think about it, Maharashtras deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had said in a recent statement.

An official ET spoke with said it may be visibly impossible to develop a 1,300 km-long line at this point when not even 1 km is operational anywhere in the world. The official did not wish to be identified.

Billionaire entrepreneur Bransons diversified conglomerate Virgin Group has interests in aviation, hospitality, music, telecom and space travel.

Commenting on the development, Virgin Hyperloop One spokesperson said Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) is committed to India and the State of Maharashtra. We are actively engaging with the Maharashtra Government as per the standard due process for the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project. When we came to India we had a vision to connect all Tier One cities in under 2 hours. Delhi-Mumbai is a part of that national vision, but our focus remains on moving forward with the Mumbai-Pune project to the satisfaction of all concerned stakeholders.

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Virgin Group reaches out to Nitin Gadkari for hyperloop - Economic Times

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania will present a lecture about the challenges of human travel to Mars by Jim Pawelczyk, Ph.D. titled What Price a Martian? Human Limits to Exploring the Red Planet on Wednesday, February 19, at 6 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 2303. The special lecture is free and open to the public.

Pawelczyk, associate professor of physiology, kinesiology, and medicine at Penn State University and a former NASA astronaut, will explain current plans for human planetary exploration and highlight knowledge gaps and opportunities for human biologists to help reach the most audacious destination that humankind has ever contemplated, a trip to Mars.

A human trip to Martian orbit is expected to be possible in the late 2020s, followed by landing operations between 2030 and 2040. The 30-month mission would expose humans to reduced loading; heavy, high-energy, ionizing radiation; confinement; and environmental conditions far outside the Earths.

Pawelczyks current research focuses on blood pressure regulation and how disuse atrophy affects regulation. Problems with moment-to-moment regulation of blood pressure lead to orthostatic intolerance, an inability to maintain adequate blood flow to the brain that affects as many as 500,000 Americans. The condition is routinely observed following spaceflight, which Pawelczyk has studied as a NASA-funded investigator for the past six years.

In 1995, he was selected as a payload specialist for the Neurolab space shuttle mission and flew aboard STS-90 on the space shuttle Columbia in April and May of 1998. He logged 16 days and 6.4 million miles in space, circling the earth 256 times and conducting neuroscience.

Pawelczyk earned bachelors degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Rochester in 1982, a masters degree in physiology from Penn State University in 1985, and a doctoral degree in biology from the University of North Texas in 1989. In 1995, he joined the faculty at Penn State.

Pawelczyk assists the formation of U.S. space life sciences strategy. He has testified before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space and is an active member of the NASA Advisory Councils Research Subcommittee for Human Exploration, the National Research Councils Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, and the Institute of Medicines Committee on Aerospace Medicine and Extreme Environments.

Planning for the event is being done by the Department of Exercise Science and the lecture is sponsored by the Dean of the College of Science and Technology.

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Vacation on Mars? NASA astronaut talks space travel at Bloomsburg University - NorthcentralPa.com

It turns out that, even in space, freshly baked chocolate-chip cookiessmell incredible.

Recently, a batch of chocolate chip cookies the first food ever baked in space returned to Earth aboard aSpaceX Dragon capsule (three of the five cookies, which were baked one at a time, were returned to Earth). The cookies started out from the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel chain as Earth-made dough, which launched to the International Space Station along with the Zero G oven (the first oven designed to work in space) on Nov. 2, 2019.

Now, following the cookies' return, we have the final results from this delicious experiment.

Related:Space Food Evolution: How Astronaut Chow Has Changed (Photos)

So, first things first, the astronauts aboard the space station were able to smell the second, third, fourth and fifth cookies they baked, a press representative said in an email statement (the first cookie turned out underbaked and didn't cook long enough to emit an aroma). In space, even without gravity, smells travel via individual aroma molecules. In the microgravity environment aboard the space station, these molecules travel in whatever direction they are moved. (On Earth, the aroma molecules move in all directions due to random collisions with air molecules.)

Now, smelling the chocolate-chip cookies on the space station, where astronauts can eat only "space foods," you might assume that the spacefliers wouldn't be able to resist sneaking a bite of a freshly baked cookie. However, "while the brand's chocolate chip cookies were likely fit for consumption after they were baked on the ISS, additional testing is required before any food can be considered officially 'edible,'" the representative told Space.com in an email.

"But don't worry," the representative added, "astronauts aboard the ISS enjoyed special pre-baked DoubleTree chocolate-chip cookies that were sent up on Nov. 2, 2019!"

Related:DoubleTree Offers Limited Edition 'Cookies in Space' Tin

Before the cookie dough headed to the space station, there was speculation about how the dough would bake in microgravity. Would it puff up and bake into a sphere? Would it look like a regular cookie? Would the cookie take longer to bake? Would it take less time?

On Earth, the average cookie made with this DoubleTree chocolate-chip cookie dough took 16-18 minutes to bake in a convection oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius). The astronauts, who baked the first four cookies at 300 F and the fifth cookie at 325 F (165 C), were instructed to figure out exactly how long it would take to properly bake a cookie in space.

In baking the first cookie, they found that after 25 minutes it was underbaked. The second cookie only started to fill the station with its delicious aroma after a whopping 75 minutes in the oven.

The cookies that seemed to bake the best were the fourth and fifth cookies, which baked for 120 and 130 minutes, respectively, and were then left to cool outside the oven for 25 and 10 minutes, respectively.

So, were they spherical? Weird looking? Apparently not. The cookies looked just like cookies baked on Earth, according to a DoubleTree statement.

"Perfecting the baking process for our DoubleTree cookies took time, even on Earth, so we were excited to learn that our cookies appear to look and smell the same on the ISS as they do in our hotels," Shawn McAteer, the senior vice president and global head of DoubleTree by Hilton, said in the statement. "The innovation displayed throughout this experiment and emphasis on making long-duration space travel more hospitable underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring guests always have a comfortable stay, wherever they may travel."

Want to see the cookies for yourself? First, the cookies will undergo more testing, informing our understanding of how food bakes in microgravity so that future crewed missions might be more comfortable, according to the statement.

Then, after testing, the cookies are to be preserved and put on display. One of the cookies has also been offered as a donation to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where it is being considered for display in the collection.

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Houston, we have a bake-off! We finally know what happens when you bake cookies in space - Space.com