Maybe our big bang was just the best of the bunch
You report the hunt for possible black holes that predate the big bang, which could be evidence for repeated big bangs and a type of cyclical universe. Perhaps our own big bang is just one of many in a larger cosmos, but has been particularly successful in balancing inflation and gravitational collapse, expanding for so long that it now constitutes the greatest fraction of everything. Some of the black holes we observe could be failed big bangs, which have long ago collapsed back onto themselves(1 April, p 46).
Our dominant big bang would mask signals from other such events and give time for the rise of life forms able to consider such ideas and wonder at the delicate balance that has allowed their existence.
Prepare yourselves for a serving of quantum gravy (1)
Thank you for the guide to the mysteries of the quantum realm(8 April, p 36).
The chef at my local garden centre restaurant and I often deliberate on such matters across the counter, and last week we were discussing the relationship between quantum uncertainty and the basis of free will. The next server along the counter waited patiently for us to reach agreement that the universe consists of waves, particles, forces and uncertainty, then, keen to return us to the realities of lunch, said: “And gravy over everything?”
Perhaps our predecessors would have referred to this as the “ether”, from which mysterious entities could manifest themselves. Even in this piece, Jon Cartwright writes of “some residual photon-ness everywhere”. Particles appear when wave fields get excited, just as lumps appear in gravy.
Given the fascinating etymology of such terms as quarks and gluons, can I put in a bid for “gravy” as the next quantum term for fields that cover everything?
Prepare yourselves for a serving of quantum gravy (2)
Many thanks for the really clear guide to the quantum world. It was helpful to see all the key aspects and relationships together. Despite being a regular reader, some things were new to me, such as that gluons travel at the speed of light. The section on how forces work was also very useful. Plus, not a quantum cat in sight!
Another way to make things just right for life
Thomas Hertog recalls his and Stephen Hawking’s subtle explanation for why physical laws and parameters are “just right for life”, positing that they initially varied randomly over time. There is, however, a simpler explanation: that physics varies randomly over space. To be sure, the variations must be gradual over enormous distances. But in a sufficiently large or infinite universe, there will be regions where all the laws happen to be just right. We are, evidently, in such a region(25 March, p 38).
Only the young ones can save us now
A sustainable population without overconsumption has been advocated for decades, but with minimal effect. With significant pressure now exerted through the IPCC and environmentalists to change destructive lifestyles and industries, there is a chance that warnings may finally take effect. Tragically, it is likely that few people in high-income countries over 40, with set lifestyles and high consumption, will respond(25 March, p 27).
However, Greta Thunberg and other activists have shown it is possible to educate and motivate millions of young people to campaign for change, think carefully and moderate their lifestyles. Education of the world’s youth is thus the key, and perhaps the only hope.
On the drive to get us to ditch our gas boilers
I question the UK government pushing for us to ditch modern gas boilers to heat homes before the power system is truly green. The efficiency of my gas boiler is about 95 per cent, whereas if I use grid electricity to heat my home, the efficiency of a gas turbine to generate it is around 50 per cent(8 April, p 11).
Even allowing for current usage of renewables, my carbon footprint seems lower by staying with gas.
Less is more when it comes to the sweetness of cakes
I am unconvinced that biscuits and cakes made with a 2:1 ratio of sugar to fat are naturally “irresistible”. For years, we have made cakes at home using half or less than half the sugar recommended by standard recipes. Other flavours aren’t overpowered and the resulting taste is more complex and interesting. Shop-bought cakes now taste sickly and I normally avoid them in cafes because they are so sweet as to spoil my coffee(1 April, p 27).
I would suggest that the real reason shop-bought cakes contain so much sugar is to increase shelf life, thereby making more bucks for the shareholders.
Yet more explanations for the strange cave hand art (1)
The claim that hand stencils in Gargas cave, France, show a sign language is very unlikely 鈥� there is a more plausible explanation(18 March p 38).
One of the illustrations includes the anatomically tricky gesture of an extended little finger and an extended adjacent ring finger, while the next two fingers are folded down and the thumb is extended. Try it. And if you were signing, wouldn’t the appearance and disappearance of your thumb, not seen in the cave stencils, be a strong visual signal? Perhaps these are actually severed hands, with and without severed fingers. Body parts have been gathered as war trophies and as religious relics at other times throughout history.
Yet more explanations for the strange cave hand art (2)
The jury is still out concerning the meaning of the ancient hand stencils with missing or stunted fingers found in caves. I would like to suggest a new interpretation.
Previously, it has been shown that cave art is usually located in the most resonant parts of the cave. Could these stencils be an early form of musical notation? I believe the stencils exhibit the different techniques for playing some kind of flute. The missing digits aren’t mutilated fingers, but indicate whether to lift or put down a finger on an open hole while playing the instrument.