June 23, 2021

A Big Step Forward

The Astronomy, Technology, and Space Science News Podcast.
SpaceTime Series 24 Episode 71
*Another step in understanding the difference between matter and antimatter
Physicists using the world’s largest atom smasher the Large Hadron Collider at CERN...

The Astronomy, Technology, and Space Science News Podcast.
SpaceTime Series 24 Episode 71
*Another step in understanding the difference between matter and antimatter
Physicists using the world’s largest atom smasher the Large Hadron Collider at CERN have for the first time measured a difference in mass between matter and antimatter.
*Volcanic activity on Venus
An international team of researchers has found that some of the oldest terrain on Venus, known as tesserae, have layering consistent with volcanic activity.
*Scientists develop a model of the Milky Way’s central black hole
Astronomers using new observations have developed a model of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy.
*The Science Report
How COVID-19 virus invades the deepest parts of your lungs.
Half the world’s rivers running dry at least once a year.
A new species of large prehistoric croc that once roamed south-east Queensland.
New ultra-high-density hard drives that store ten times more data.
Alex on Tech: Microsoft’s new Windows 11.
For more from the SpaceTime team please visit our websites. Links at: https://linktr.ee/biteszHQ

 

 

The Astronomy, Space, Technology & Science News Podcast.

Transcript

[00:00:00] This is space time series 24, episode 71 for broadcast from the 23rd of June, 2021. Coming up on space time. Another step in understanding the differences between matter and anti-matter volcanic activity on Venus and scientist of OPA model of the Milky way central black hole. All that and more coming up on space time.

Welcome to space time with steward, Gary.

Physicists using the world's largest Adam smash at the large Hadron Collider at CERN head for the first time measured a difference in mass between matter and antimatter versions of a subatomic particle caught a D zero Meson. The authors [00:01:00] measured a difference in the mass between the two types of  of 10 to the minus 38 grams.

The findings reported in the journal, physical review letters and on the prepress physics website, archive.org represent a major milestone in efforts that determined how  can flip into its Addy particle state, and back again. This extraordinarily precise measurement was made by researchers with the LHCB collaboration located at one of four cathedral size detectors spaced around the 27 kilometer, large Hadron Collider ring located beneath the franca Swiss sporter mesons are made up of fundamental particles called quarks and contain one Quoc and one anti Quoc.

The anti-medic counterpart to the quark. The  consists of a charm quark and an up auntie. Well, it's, antiparticle the  consists of a charm Eddie quark and an  D zero mesons I one of only four [00:02:00] known particles in the standard model of particle physics that can turn or oscillate into their anti-matter particles, which are identical to their medic counterparts.

In most ways, the other three are the Kaeser amaze on and two types of BMEs. In the strange world of quantum physics, just as Schrodinger's cat can be here and gone at the same time, the D zero particle can be itself and its Addy particle at the same time. This quantum superposition results in two particles each with their own mass, a lighter and a heavier D Meson.

Now, technically it's D one and D two. It's this superposition, which allows the D zero to oscillate into its Addie particle. The Deezer particles were produced in proton proton collisions at the large Hadron Collider and travel on average for just a few millimeters before transforming or decaying into other particles.

It was data collected during the second run of the large Hadron Collider, which allowed researchers from the university of Oxford to measure a difference in the mass between the [00:03:00] two particle times. By comparing the Deezer particles that decay after traveling a short distance with those that travel a little bit further, the elite CB collaboration is measured.

The key quantity that controls the speed of the  isolation into Addy D zero. The difference in mass between the heavier and lighter D particles and that result cross the five Sigma level of statistical significance required to claim a new discovery in pike or physics. Then your observations of this mass difference will allow physicist to do into whether these transitions are caused by unknown particles, beyond the standard model, the foundation, underlying sciences, understanding of the universe.

If these new yet to be discovered, particles exist, they could increase the average spirit of the oscillation or the difference between the sped of the matter to Addy matter isolation and that of the anti-matter to matter oscillation. If observed such a difference could shed light on why the university's met up in tally of matter, even though equal amounts of matter and antimatter would have been created in [00:04:00] the big bang 13.82 billion years ago, anti-matter has the opposite electrical charge of matter.

So the anti-medic counterpart to the positively charged proton is the negatively charged anti-proton and the anti-medic had a part of the negatively charged. Electron is the positively charged positive. The problem is matter and Addy matter, annihilate each other when they come into contact. So the universe should have annihilated itself in a sudden blue flash of gamma rays virtually as soon as it came into existence, yet, clearly that didn't happen.

We now live in a universe composed mostly of matter, rather than anti-male. Chris packs from the LHCB collaboration explains the significance of the new result. Well, the basic fundamental particles of nature, they have a matter version and an anti-matter version. And what we do here at lax and be one of our specialties is looking at the difference in properties between matter.

And anti-matter now the result that we've released [00:05:00] today is looking at a particle called a diesel hero, which contains charm charming up arc and. Anti matter equivalent of this, the anti diesel. And what we find is that this, every particle can oscillate into yeah. And tomato equivalent by some fascinating , Cameron's the rate at which this oscillation between the  and the Deezer robot happens depends on a tiny mass difference between particles.

This tiny mass difference is 10 to the minus 38 grams. Zero followed by 37 zeros, one gram. And it's this tiny number which is controlling the rate of oscillations between the DSA zero and the DSA robot. Now, actually this is controlled by some really fascinating quantum mechanics. And what's really happening is that we have a state, which is a mixture of D zero and [00:06:00] D zero bar.

We have this, which is a mixture of D zero and D zero bar. And when we open the box at a later time, Maybe we see a DCO, maybe we see a Deezer robot. So it's a really fascinating result that we have today, but it's also a window for the future because we want to use this to be able to study differences between these arrows and Deezer Abbas between matter and anti-matter.

And we can study these differences between anti-matter and matter using this, using these oscillations that we've observed today. That's crisper. From the LHCB collaboration, the large Hadron Collider LHC is located at CERN, the European organization for nuclear research. It's part of a large complex of particle accelerators synchrotrons and other high energy laboratory.

Packets of protons or other subatomic particles are accelerated to within 99.9999%. The split [00:07:00] of light in opposite directions in two particles lines around the large Hadron Collider ring. Got it. Cryogenically cooled superconducting magnets. The beam lines can intersect at any of the four particle detectors colliding the particle packets at 13 terror, electron volts, creating the sorts of conditions, pressures, and temperatures that occurred just after the big bang.

In physics and electron volt is a basic unit of particle energy. The amount of energy lost or gained by a single electron accelerating from risk through an electrical potential difference of one volt in a vacuum, which is 1.602 by 10 to the minus 19 jewel by comparison energy from visible light ranges from about two to three electron volts.

And thanks to Albert Einstein's famous mass energy equivalence equation. Energy goes mass times the speed of light squared or equals MC squared as well as being a unit of energy. And electron volt is also a unit of mass in physics and astronomy giving [00:08:00] 5.61 times 10 to the 35 electron volts to the kilogram.

This space time. Still the calm, volcanic activity on Venus and scientist of Albany new model for the Milky way, central black hole, all that, and more still to come on. Space time.

Scientists have found that some of the oldest terrain on Venus known as tesserae have layering consistent with volcanic activity, the finding could provide new insights into the enigmatic planets geological history. Tesserae had tectonically deformed regions on the surface of Venus that are often more elevated than the surrounding landscape.

They thought to be the Minutian equivalent of continents on earth. They comprise about 7% of the planet surface and are always the [00:09:00] oldest feature in their immediate surroundings standing to around 750 million years. The new research reported in the journal of geology suggest that a significant portion of these tesserae have striations consistent with layering.

The study's lead author associate professor Paul Bern from North Carolina state university says Tessa air island made up of volcanic rocks or their counterparts earth, continental crust. But he says the layering found on some Tessera simply isn't consistent with a continental crust explanation. Bern and colleagues analyzed images of Venus.

The surface from this is 1989 Magellan mission, which used radar image, 98% of the planet through its stance atmosphere. Scientists had been steady. Venuses tesserae formation for decades at the layering of the tesserae. Hasn't previously been recognized as widespread. And according to bird that Larry would not be possible.

If the tesserae were portions of continental crust on earth, continental crust is composed mainly of [00:10:00] granite and igneous rock formed when tectonic plates move and water is subducted from the surface, but granite doesn't form layers. If there is continental crust on Venus that it's below this visible layer.

And aside from volcanic activity, the only other way to make layered rock is through sedimentary deposits like sandstone or limestone. But the problem is there's nowhere on Venus today with these types of rocks could form the surface of Venus 470 degrees. Celsius is hot enough to melt lead with 99 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level on earth.

So the evidence right now points to the sun portions of the tesserae being made up of laid volcanic rock, similar to that found on earth. The study is helping to shed light on Venus's complicated geological history. This spacetime still the comm scientists develop a new model of the Milky way central black hole.

And later in the science report, paleontologist identify a new species of [00:11:00] large prehistoric crocodile at once Rome Southeastern Queensland. Oh, that and much more still to come. Um, space time

astronomist using new observations has developed a new model of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky way. Galaxy. Most, if not all galaxies contain a central supermassive black hole, millions to billions of times the mess of the sun located some 27,000 light years away. With 4.3 million times, the mass of the sun Sagittarius a star.

The Milky way supermassive black hole is tiny by cosmic standards, but it's the biggest monster in our galaxy. However it remained shrouded from our viewpoint on earth, by avail of dense fields and thick [00:12:00] clouds of gas and dust. And that means understanding the structure of the environment around Sagittarius.

A star is based on very limited observations. Now, astronomy is using x-ray infrared and submillimeter radio wavelengths have paid through these cosmic curtains to develop a simple physical model of Sagittarius, a star. It shows material flowing into a dense plasma of electrons at its vehicle region with a strong magnetic field around the black hole and the subsequent compression and expansion of the hot gas producing infrared and sub-millimeter emissions.

While scattering is producing powerful. X-rays. The findings reported on the prepress physics website, archive.org, and in the astrophysical journal can explain most of the features of Sagittarius ACE does variability and the correlations between the x-ray infrared and sub-millimeter radio emissions.

When feeding supermassive black holes are surrounded by swirling a creation disks of superheated material stars and clouds of [00:13:00] gas gravitationally drawn in from the surrounding area. This material is crashed and ripped the part of the subatomic level, releasing massive amounts of energy, which radiates out across the electromagnetic spectrum before the remains past the black holes event, horizon a sort of point of no return beyond which material falls forever in the black hole singularity, a place of infinite density and zero volume or gravity.

So strong, not even light can escape. And science is understanding of the laws of physics breaks down. On the other hand, when they're not feeding black holes become quiescent and visible. Since the 1950s astronomers have detected faint radio emissions emanating from Sagittarius a star. In fact, that's how it was first detected.

Then in 1984 scientists monitoring the black hole began noticing variable infrared x-ray and submillimeter radio wavelengths, occasionally flaring. And that suggests Sagittarius a star is a creating some material, although at a [00:14:00] very low rate, probably just a few hundreds of an earth mass per year. Still by monitoring the variability.

These emissions astronomers have been able to measure the dimensions of the region. Based on the time it takes light to travel across it. Some of these flares will be measured to double in strength and less than 47 seconds. So that's the time period corresponding to the diameter of the black holes event.

Horizon the findings agree with size differences made by other means using radio and near infrared interferometry. To reach their conclusions. Astronomers at the Harvard Smithsonian center for astrophysics used observations from NASA Spitzer infrared space telescope together with simultaneous readings from NASA's Chandra x-ray space telescope in the submillimeter array over several decades that have Albers statistics, muddle of the relative timing of the flaring events and the frequency and duration of variability at each of the different wavelength.

They found that the variable emission seems to predominantly originate from a region about twice the size of the event [00:15:00] horizon. I've also concluded that the same related physical activity is often producing moddable events, seen at different wavelengths. The quantitative model also implies the presence of a dense plasma of electrons along with a modestly strong magnetic field.

But the authors admit there's still a lot of questions left unanswered, including the origins of the strongest infrared flares and the reason for the long time scale of variability seen in the submillimeter wavelength. This is space time.

And Tom out of take another brief, look at some of the other stories making use in science this week with the science. Your research shows that when you inhale isolated Corona virus particles, more than 65% of the deadly aerosols or reach the very deepest regions of your lungs, the findings reported in the journal, physics of fluids suggest that treatments for the [00:16:00] virus need to target the deeper airways rather than just the surface.

Well, earliest studies have shown how the virus travels through the operator ways, including the nose, mouth, and throat. This is the first study to examine how it flows through the lower lungs. The authors also found that more of the virus reaches the right lung than the left, especially the right upper and right lower lobes.

That's due to the highly asymmetrical anatomical structure of the lungs and the way air flows through the different loads. The world health organization. Now estimates over 8 million people have been killed by the COVID 19 Corona virus with almost 4 million confirmed fatalities and almost 180 million people infected since the deadly disease.

First spread out China and you study his father that at least half of all the world's rivers are running dry. At least once a year. The findings reported in the journal nature show that river flow eruption is more common than previously thought. Researchers modeled the world's rivers predicting that [00:17:00] 51 to 60% of them have intimate and flows.

It suggests that nearly all Australian rivers flow irregularly, except in areas of the west coast of Tasmania, while new Zealand's rivers tend to flow all year round. And you species of large prehistoric crocodile that roam Southeastern Queensland's waterways millions of years ago. It's been documented by paleontologists with a university of Queensland Gunga Marandoo.

Manila is based on an 80 centimeter, long partial skull and earth in the darling downs in the 19th century. The name comes from the local Aboriginal language with a genus name. Gunga Marandoo means river boss. While the species name Manila means whole head. I referenced to muscle anchoring apertures in the skull.

The findings published in the journal. Scientific reports suggest the seven meter long crocodile fossil is between two and 5 million years old. And you study claims that ultra high density hard drives made with [00:18:00] graphene can store 10 times more data compared to existing carbon-based technologies.

Hard-drives contain two major components, platters, and a recording head data's written on the platters using the magnetic recording head, which moves rapidly above them as they spin the space between the head and platter is continually decreasing to enable higher density. Currently carbon-based overcoats.

These used to protect the platters from mechanical damage and corrosion occupy a significant part of the spacing and new findings reported in the journal. Nature communications shows that you can replace the carbon-based overcoats with one to four layers of graphing. This enabled both increased data storage and provided a twofold reduction in friction and a 2.5 times reduction in corrosion and wear resistance.

Microsoft's new windows 11 operating system. Our first test of the beta version of iOS 15 and Telstra now blocking 13 million scam calls a month. [00:19:00] With details on these stories and more we're joined by technology editor, Alex how're of Roy from it wide, bam, Coles just increase in volume and they claim to be from government departments that claim to be from Amazon or eBay, or whether they're trying any trick in the book.

I mean, it's a numbers game. It's just like with spam as the reason why people still receive spam is because sadly enough, people are. Responding to spam and buying things from spam. And so if that people can be caught by a phone call texts a few. Yeah. I used to get these all the time. I found the, uh, the best way to deal with them is to ask them to hold on for a minute and then just carry on doing your work.

This is all part of Telstra's cleanup initiatives. And interestingly, only three months ago, they were blocking. In a hostile number that was associated millions a day. And it was, you know, six and a half million, three months ago. And you know, Telstra is actually put up five things to watch [00:20:00] for, to protect yourself against spam calls.

Obviously you gotta be very careful, you know, even though it might look like it's coming from a legitimate business or government organization, it might even have the correct number. Those sorts of things can be spoofed. And if somebody is trying to. Pressuring you and say that it seems like it's urgent or also that's a big, big red flag.

And if you really are concerned that some government popping these out to you, don't accept the number that they're giving you on the phone. Look up the phone number on their website. I mean, grab the old fashioned phone book. If you still have one somewhere and ring that organization directly from the publicly available number, also ringing.

We have time with the dialogue on the weekend or late at night, somebody trying to ring you repeatedly from, from an unknown number or purported to be from a trusted brand. And obviously if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't, you know, if more people just went by that last golden rule alone, a lot of people would be much less in danger of being scammed.

What I always do is I ask them to hold and I'll be with them in just a sec. Then I go on and do whatever I have to do. And every now and then you'll hear this. Hello in the [00:21:00] background. Another trick is if they ring you and ask you, is there something wrong with your computer? You say, I don't have a computer and you'll see how quickly the hang up.

Also, if you ask them, is it, is it, we know it's windows, then you say, well, I've got a Mac.

It's not the public video. I've been actually surprised. It seems to be quite stable, but yeah. The initial beta is, I guess I like that when I have the further betas with more features, switched on, things can go a bit wobbly. I mean, you can actually have the release version of an operating system. Still have bugs that needs to be urgently fixed with a dot oh, dot one, where a, you know, 15, but one for example, but I've been enjoying how you can have multiple tabs open in the safari browser.

And instead of seeing a vertical carousel, you actually see tile. So you see the, the browsers are little browse, windows, little small tiles. Now the address by instead of being at the top, it's now at the bottom where you might be, and if you tap on it, the browse of have, does go to the top. The interesting thing you can do now [00:22:00] is when you move your thumb up on the screen to move the page, the little tab window comes back at the bottom and you can actually swipe left and right on that tab window to go through the different tabs you have open.

So it makes it much easier to go through a bunch of different tabs. You have open, but that's just one. Many features that are out there. I've been playing with the new version of spotlight. I've just looked at the moment. There's only so many things you can do cause I'm not using it on my primary phone, but that's fine.

It's been good. And I noticed when I come back to my, I was 14 that I missed some of these little features, especially in the browser, which has Western a lot of time. So I think as long as the. Well, and truly squished by the time of launch. I think everyone will be very happy with iOS 10 and with iPad, I was 16.

I was playing with the ability to swipe up from the bottom right hand corner with the stylist and up pops a little nuts. And also you can put the widgets now anywhere on the iPad home screens. Whereas before you were only allowed to have them on left hand. It's I was 14 that allowed you to put widgets anywhere on the iPhone screen.

It's come a year later, the iPad this week, [00:23:00] Microsoft, uh, planning to launch the next version of windows at the moment. It's all still rumors, but it seems to be a very strong rumor that windows 11 will be the name already beat. Uh, windows 11 has leaked. We're not sure whether they're new versions, all the versions, the windows 11, 16, it'd be very similar to the windows.

10 Microsoft was going to launch with this dual screen laptop. That version of windows has been canned and the jewel screen laptop hasn't made an appearance yet, but the stop button now opens up from the middle of the screen. And the icons at the bottom in the past are now centered, which is a bit like what they have in the Mac report.

So you can move the start menu back to the left-hand side, where it's been for a long time. Windows will. Reportedly. And there are sounds, you can listen to one line. We'll have a stop sound again. Windows 10 got rid of that. So when is live, we'll bring it back. But the biggest and most juiciest rumor of all is that windows 11 will allow you to run Android apps directly as part of the system.

Now that's not confirmed. The case get, you can already use the potty Android emulators, like blue specks and others to run Android apps on your windows device. And if you [00:24:00] have Samsung device and you have your phone plugging, you can run Android apps that way. But if Android apps come natively to windows that will give windows the library for that 2 million phone and various Android tablet apps that it can run.

It's all yet to be confirmed. It will be confirmed whether or not windows 11 will be available immediately, or whether we will come in the future is yet to be seen. Presumably it's a free upgrade, but it's also interesting because Microsoft said that windows 10 will be the last time that ever gets to windows.

And it would just be a every six months it'd be an update. So obviously the idea of that one when style that has opened the window to getting some fresh air and the idea there are people have had is windows 11. We'll find out very shortly how true all of that. From ity.com

[00:25:00] and that's the show for now. Space-time is available every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through apple podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher, Google podcasts. PocketCasts Spotify outcast, Amazon music bites.com. SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast, download provider and from space-time with Stewart, gary.com space times also broadcast through the national science foundation on science own radio and on both iHeart, radio and tune in.

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Your window on the universe. You've been listening to space-time with Stewart, Gary. This has been another quality podcast production from bitesz.com

 

Alex Zaharov-ReuttProfile Photo

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Technology Editor

Alex Zaharov-Reutt is iTWire's Technology Editor is one of Australia’s best-known technology journalists and consumer tech experts, Alex has appeared in his capacity as technology expert on all of Australia’s free-to-air and pay TV networks on all the major news and current affairs programs, on commercial and public radio, and technology, lifestyle and reality TV shows.