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  Ancient people saw auroras as messages from the gods, while modern science has linked them to electrified gas hurled by the sun. Now, a team of researchers is exploring plasma as a potential energy source for space travel. Dr. Ben Longmier and his team from the University of Michigan have designed a new type of rocket engine that promises faster and more efficient space travel. They are testing the rocket components by sending them aboard helium balloons to an altitude of 30 kilometers in the harsh environment above the North and South poles. The team aims to revolutionize space travel by tapping into the power of plasma, the fourth state of matter. Traditional chemical rockets, which have hardly changed in over a hundred years, are not very efficient. The heavier the payload, the more fuel a rocket needs to lift it into space. However, more fuel means more weight and more fuel needed. This limits the distance a spacecraft can travel. Ben's rockets promise greater fuel efficiency...

Is Time Travel Possible? Time travel, often depicted in science fiction, may not be as far-fetched as it seems. In fact, it is a scientific reality. By studying time travel, scientists are unraveling the deepest mysteries of the cosmos and learning more about the nature of our universe. Here's what we know: Time is something that can be bent and stretched, and we move through space-time, not just space or time. Motion through space is connected to motion through time, meaning that the faster we move through space, the slower we move through time. This phenomenon, called time dilation, has been tested and proven to be true. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity requires us to let go of our common sense ideas about what space and time are. Instead, we should think of reality as a four-dimensional place called space-time. People's personal time can run at different rates, and time passes differently for everyone. Scott Kelly, an astronaut who traveled to the International Spa...

  Supported By: Protocol Labs What does our future hold? "Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence..." - Helen Keller What does the future look like? How will the universe meet its end? We may never be truly certain. But science has begun to paint a stunning picture of how the future might unfold. Let's take a journey to the end of time. We will travel through time exponentially. Study Hack: Doubling Our Speed Every 5 Seconds The vision of the future will surely evolve as we probe for more clues. But one thing is clear: The universe has only just begun. 2019 [Anthropocene era] 2020 [Anthropocene era] 2021 [Anthropocene era] 2021 The Holocene has ended. [Anthropocene era] 2022 The Holocene has ended. [Anthropocene era] 2023 The Holocene has ended. [Anthropocene era] 2023 [Anthropocene era] What We Do Now Summary: It's important to take action now in order to adapt to the changing world and make a positive impact. In this fast-paced era, where everything is...

  This is the Navis III, an imaginary ship that can take you anywhere in the Milky Way. Its maiden voyage will take you on a tour of the wildest planets we have yet discovered. These worlds will give us a glimpse into how deep nature's imagination goes and create a map for future pioneers. As our journey to new worlds begins, we set sail for the closest alien planet, 40 trillion kilometers away. But the long road to our cosmic neighbor is paved with strange sights of its own. Past the distant orbit of Neptune, we slip into a no man's land of icy cosmic debris called the Kuiper Belt. This massive disc of frozen material contains hundreds of millions of icy scraps. Out here, among the scattered bits of rock and ice, live something strange... Haumea, a tumbling dwarf planet shaped like an egg. Haumea is not alone. There is a whole eccentric family of miniworlds lurking out here. Dwarf planets like Makemake and Gonggong, a red-tinted mini-Pluto with a thin atmosphere of methane. Th...

  In a vast galaxy with billions of planets existing for billions of years, there is no evidence of technological civilizations that existed before us. This is known as the Fermi Paradox, and it has many potential explanations. Some believe that we are among the first to overcome some evolutionary challenges while others believe that every civilization reaching our level of advancement destroys itself. The idea that interstellar space wants to murder us is the most concerning. The space between the stars in our galaxy is full of gas and dust grains which at relativistic speeds can become deadly. This is a potential dealbreaker for the future of our civilization as a galactic species. The average gas density of interstellar space is around 1 atom per cubic centimeter while the dust consists of silicate and carbonaceous molecules that have clumped together into grains with most of them being between a tenth to a few tenths of a micrometer across. Despite being sparse, even the smalle...

  It was a cold moonless night with a heavy mist in the air. As you crossed the road, a car came out of nowhere and an elderly stranger saved you from being hit, sacrificing their own life. They left behind an envelope addressed to you with a note that simply said "study physics." Following their advice, you become a celebrated physics professor and eventually invent a time machine. You use the time machine to go back in time and save your younger self from the car accident, but this story raises profound questions about time travel and paradoxes. The Bootstrap Paradox Who wrote the letter that saved your life? The older version of you simply takes the letter they had already been given as a teenager back in time. The letter seems to have no origin and is stuck in a time loop. The Restoration Paradox Does the letter age and become more worn and tattered each time it is taken back in time? This paradox questions the preservation of objects in time loops. The Exniello Paradox W...