Master Of Puppets Im Pulling Your Strings

How big is the universe or what is a universe after all? Well, a web search on the definition did not say much about these. One site described it as all matter and energy in space. Then we must ask ourselves which method we should adopt to detect these ALL matter and energy/energies. For example, a bat can not see. To this creature, the universe would appear as its tactile senses and the ultrasound echoes (bats use echolocation) would allow it to perceive. It thus appears that our observation is not only limited to the gadgets we build, but also the degrees of freedom (dimensions) in which we are accustomed to. We can't visualize 7 or say 14 dimensions, can we? What if the universe consisted of many sub-universes containing as many or as few of these dimensions? We may try to conjecture the infiniteness of the universe in our own familiar dimensions in the form of the 'recursive' Klein bottle (picture on the left), or the Moebius strip.

Take the case of those working at the Chandra observatory. They can see through X-ray vision and see the universe at a completely different perspective. The picture of one x-ray galaxy is given here, for your reference. Thus you have infra-red, ultra-violet, radio-wave astronomy and many more. If you are bit observing, you'd note that all those modalities cited above used the electromagnetic spectrum; perhaps because light's (and all other electromagnetic waves) speed were the highest and possibly also because that we can not imagine any other type of constructs of the universe(s), since we are slave to our senses and the dimensions they restrict ourselves in. We have seen how quantum theory can wreck havoc with our classical thinking, by its killer 'superposition'; its time we greet the new kid on the block: String Theory. If you thought quantum theory was too much, then this one is for you. Watch this fabulous video. Do read the text and ponder over them. It suggests that we are floating in a three dimensional space, surrounded by membranes. Even if there is 'another universe' nearby, we could not reach out of our 'braneworld' and see or touch them. So check out this video. Enjoy the possible proximity with another universe (may be God's own) with in your own reach but don't try to reach out; for they can't see you!

By the way, I think, gravity waves are a good contender in this regard. They are supposed to travel at the speed of thought. Secondly, they pass through all matter unchanged, beating even light in this regard. When we develop better SQUID devices, we may be better able to explore the cosmos.

BTW, the title of this post has been taken from the Master of Puppets song by Metallica. Here 'Master of Puppets' refers to God, and Strings to String theory. Nothing serious!

Last modified: April 1, 2009
Reference: hyper-links, unless specifically mentioned

"Warm Ice" may help us achieve a Better Prosthesis

Lets face it. We have heard of "hot ice" and now we are discussing "warm ice", before even the cool shock of the former is yet to wear off.

Water is a fascinatingly strange molecule even though its molecular structure is apparently simple, consisting only of 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen atoms. We will restrict ourselves with the topics relevant here, rather than digressing about the properties of water, in general.

A planet, called GJ 436, situated some 3o light years away from earth, was speculated to contain "hot ice" in it. This Neptune sized exoplanet (extra solar planet) has a surface temperature of about 300 degrees Celsius (centigrade). At this temperature, water should exist in gaseous state. But the high pressure of the planet (due to its high density), let water remain in ice form. (for example, in a pressure cooker, water remains liquid at temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, due to high pressure inside the cooker).

Exploiting a principle of biophysics, researchers (Alexander Wissner-Gross and E. Kaxiras) at Harvard University, US, have shown it by computer simulation, that by covalently bonding sodium atoms to diamond (an allotrope of carbon), some nanoscale ice would form on its surface. The sodium atoms would allow dipole interactions to occur between adjacent water molecules. A frosty layer of about 2 nm (nanometer=one billionth of a meter) would form over the surface of diamond coating. Thus, while on one hand, you can take the advantage of diamond for its 'wear and tear' resistant properties (for which it is already being used in artificial implants like heart valves, joint replacement prostheses etc.), but also we stand a better chance to ward off any possible thrombus (clot) formation by virtue of the smoothness of the warm ice. This ice is called 'warm ice' since it remains in ice form at our warm body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. Diamond though corrosion resistant, is prone to induce or aggravate blood clotting and hence it is part of the therapeutic protocol that the patient continues taking anti clotting (blood thinning drugs: e.g. Warfarin, Ticlopidine) drugs to prevent any such calamity. Warm ice may, in future, simply make these anticoagulant drugs unnecessary.

Seems like a cool ending to a hot story!

Lithium: From Here To Eternity

The lightest metal on earth, Lithium, is an alkali metal. It is unique in many aspects. Like all alkali metals, it has a single electron in its outer shell and is highly reactive. It is one of the very few 'primordial elements', that were produced with in minutes after the Big Bang. It has given new life to the patients of manic depressive psychosis (MDP), while giving cosmologists a nightmare.

Australian psychiatrist, Cade has been credited with its pharmacotherapeutic application in MDP (bipolar illness), after he attributed its calming (tranquilizing) effect in his patients, to lithium. (Lithium salts were used for various purposes in the past). Since then, it is used to treat various illnesses including depression, cluster headaches, neutropenia and various other ailments apart from mania. The exact mechanism of its action is yet unknown, though many possible ways through which it may act, has been postulated. It has a narrow therapeutic index, meaning a slight excess of this drug could be fatal, necessitating its frequent blood level estimation in patients.

Cosmologists, on the other hand, were foxed about its discrepancy in its celestial distribution. They seem to find less of it, than they should, based on theoretical predictions. As has already been stated, it is one of the 'primordial elements' which was created in the dawn of creation of the universe. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), as this process of synthesis of elements from subatomic particles called, is in practice a lot different from the nucleosynthesis that occurs in our bodies. (Apart from lithium; hydrogen, deuterium and helium were also produced. Almost all other elements we see, or even have in our bodies, were created in the stars.) Recently, Andreas Korn of Uppsala University in Sweden and colleagues have discovered that stars gobble up lithium, which diffuses from its surface into its interior, where it is burnt up. Their discovery also confirmed theoretical cosmologists' predictions about this, long time ago. It also strengthened the BBN. Thus it seems, not only humans, but also stars ingest lithium alike.

Cosmic Mirror

You are walking tired and thirsty on an unforgiving desert. Water is not to be found anywhere near. Broken hearted, you suddenly seem to spot an oasis. You rub your eyes, pinch your skin, but yes it is an oasis indeed. Oh NO, its only a mirage, an illusion that played tricks on you. You are crestfallen!

A situation like above occurs quite commonly. Here, for example, the air in the immediate vicinity of the hot sands are much lighter in comparison to that of the above. Just as light bends, due to refraction (changes at the interface, due to differing refractive indices of the medium), when a ray of light is made to pass through water from air, it bends (one can see it using lasers or using a straight rod which appears bent). A similar situation occur in deserts and in very cold climates.

Objects having mass, distort the space time curvature just in a similar way an iron ball would do to a piece of cloth, whose four corners are tied to four poles. There would be an indentation in the middle of the cloth. If one releases a small ball at one of its corners, the ball will proceed towards the dent, in a spiral way. Encircling, it will finally end up in the center. This is what we call gravity, and orbits (paths, the ball traces) have been proposed so that the ball doesn't end up with the ball at the center.

Now imagine a black hole, a very massive and dense object, with such a strong gravitational pull, that even light can not escape its fatal attraction. Thus it it is invisible. The gravitational pull near its surface will be maximum, while the pull will fade out away from it, inversely proportional to the square of the distance (of measurement). Hence we can visualize a situation akin to the mirage illusion already stated. Near the black hole the gravity (space time curvature) is densest, whereas gravity away from it is less so. This reminds us the analogy of refraction we saw with respect to light (electro-magnetic radiation). Thus, you certainly can expect to find gravitational mirrors (total internal reflection) in black holes.

The black hole won't belch out any of its secrets, as theory of quantum gravity prohibits it: it will only show the observer's curious face in its own mirror. Could there be a Grand Unified Theory now? Or, how about combing your hair using this MIRROR?

Universe MUST Expand !

Lying idly under the starry night sky, atop the rooftop of my village home, is a rewarding experience for me. It seems to instill upon me it's vastness, the same awesome infinite which inspired many a philosophers' souls. I, like every little kids, was also spellbound at the beauty of the universe. Where did it end, I used to ask myself ( I still do now!). I reasoned that if it ended somewhere, then what/where is it's boundary and more importantly, what is that boundary wall? If it ends, then what lies beyond can NOT be a part of the universe. If there is one universe, which is more appealing (and less appalling than the multi-universe concept), then it automatically suggests that the universe is expanding, because a static universe would mean that it has an end.

Universe is thought to have been created 12-14 billion years ago from a cataclysmic event called the 'Big Bang'. NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) measures the heterogeneity (anisotropy) in the temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR). WMAP has determined how fast the universe is expanding. If you were curious about the oscillating 'cepheid variable stars' so far away from us, you may visit HubbleSite and may be see some videos there.

The occurrence of Big Bang may have been paraphrased by ancient religious scholars. Hindu sages' words ' tamaso ma jyotirgamaya' meaning from darkness (nothingness) to light (something); and 'let there be light' in Genesis, The Bible, are examples in point. What religion is doing on a science site can be understood when one considers what the great science fiction writer Isaac Assimov said: ""Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived."" Now, lets navigate from spirituality to the realms of 'science' again.

Albert Einstein proposed the cosmological constant (to his repugnance) to fit into the theory of general relativity to achieve a stationary universe. He was fiercely against an expanding universe and the general theory of relativity needed a stationary universe to operate. But he knew that all the matter would attract each other and the universe would finally collapse. To remedy this he invented an anti-gravity force called the cosmological constant or the dark energy. It is not to be confused with dark matter which is attractive. Later, it was found out that the universe did expand, going by the observation of the Hubble redshift (due to moving of celestial objects away from the observer).

The expansion of the universe and its infiniteness is hard to comprehend. Einstein suggested that the space time was curved and if one started a journey he would come back to where he started from. One of the way it may be looked upon is in the form of the Moebius strip. This strip seems apparently unending.

Now if the universe is unending, then which/what is it expanding into? Then do we have to accept the existence of multiple universes? It's too mind boggling. We can not even employ something faster than light to investigate; for Einstein won't allow us to break the speed of light. So expecting that we will live that long to receive and (analyze) billions of miles (SORRY light years) away would be even beyond our wildest imaginations.

I sincerely think that this puzzle will remain unresolved. Immortality may be achieved by the help of stem cells, cloning of organ systems and (re) transplantation thereof and various other techniques, but the nebulous universe will probably continue to give us the slip!

Modified: April 1, 2009