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Shifting Ways of Science

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Interstellar. Credit: Paramount Pictures/ Warner Bros

If one falls into a black hole, what would one encounter? Well, from our recollection of the movie Interstellar—Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) ended up in a tesseract, a 4-dimensional object, via which he made it back to his own 3-D world—we would hope to plod out through a higher dimension, as if making a choice back into a familiar world. But there’s a catch—a lot of!

Tesseract is a 4-dimensional object (mathematical, so far! Helping us understand deep details in modern physics). The higher-dimension—via which Cooper connected to another Cooper (Murph, his daughter)—implies stacking of a zillion spacetime points on top of each other. Remember the bookshelf behind which Cooper stood? But accessing higher dimension also means that you be part of the higher-dimension; you be manifest as higher dimension.

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The first catch. There would be as many Coopers, both Coopers (father and daughter), as many as the innumerable book-shelfs, the books in them, and the watch that is relaying the message to the daughter. Anything as a 3-dimensional embodiment would be presented as all spacetime points up until the current one. All past spacetime points stacked up until then; that’s how Cooper accessed the past. In that higher-dimension he had all information timeline, that’s every “time” point—more accurately as Einstein had shown “spacetime”  point—arranged discretely, from his past to his current. That many “Coopers,” though accurately put, would have given a flustered set-up, demanding more questions, as well as the associated theoretical premise. All valid, that’s how science progresses. More answers we find, more questions become apparent. The movie, although fictional, relays various significant current theoretical understanding of how spacetime manifests and flows, and all the information inherently brings up new uncharted territory of questions.

All valid, that’s how science progresses. More answers we find, more questions become apparent.

We have come unimaginably far in scientific understanding of how the universe works, and operates. But never in the past had we as many conundrums rearing their heads as we have today. From black holes, dilemmas of event horizon, dark matter, dark energy to perpetually expanding universe, its origins and parallel forms, to the spacetime unifying principles, the picture that unifies gravity and quantum depiction, and what current theoretical understanding relay, especially the mathematical ones, like string theory and loop quantum gravity. All our findings to date must fall into a single unitary phenomenon. Our quest is how? Answers to our inquiries come with a package of additional set of questions, and off we march in all directions. Healthy feat!

We have come unimaginably far in scientific understanding of how the universe works, and operates. But never in the past we had as many conundrums rearing their heads as we have today.

Following a short stint at the Antibody Society, to scientific outreach their mission and goals, I landed myself in a specialized somewhat recently founded company Quantum-Si (Q-Si). My current interest in scientific communication and outreach is part of the reason how I got here. As Q-Si prepares to launch its first-of-a-kind protein sequencing instrument, a brief overview here would help us see how we navigate the current scientific quests and find answers to inquiries that would aid research and development. Q-Si technology stems from a multifaceted scientific endeavor that involves strategic developments of pixelated semi-conductor chip, which allows the parallel processing (thus the given name “Quantum;” although not a 100 % sure that’s where the name is coming from) of miniaturized wells to read individual peptides at an amino acid level resolution. Amino acid is a molecular building block of protein, and there are 20 different kinds of them. The technology combines customizations of chip, electrical circuitry, waveguide—as in fiber optics—laser pulsation, and fluorescent signals to read biophysical interaction. Multifaceted, because the single experiment subsumes fine fields of physics, engineering, biophysics, and if you want to see too far, mathematics, to follow a biological undertaking, or knowing something that could be of clinical relevance.

Multifaceted, because the single experiment subsumes fine fields of physics, engineering, biophysics, and if you want to see too far, mathematics, to follow a biological undertaking

Only a few decades earlier it wouldn’t have been possible to carry out something as complex that agglomerates and fine tunes discrete branches in science. But in the scientific landscape we have advanced to a level where the boundaries between specialized scientific fields are hazy. Soon after joining Q-Si, I have begun to realize how important it’s to have current awareness of all basic fields in order to not just carry out a given task, but also to appreciate the beauty that can be realized only when we see the integrated picture; not just a single aspect of it. To that end, I had reached out to a Physics magazine on my desire to shape a short note titled Teach Physics to Life Science Students. Will keep you posted on how that goes. But the point is in the current science landscape it’s imperative that we have a handle of basic understanding of all core areas in order to reach further, or even to appreciate the developments.

Colliding Black Holes, 1.3 Billion Light Years Away

The detection of gravitational waves, the existence of which Einstein had predicted in 1916, in 2015 was the landmark of ultra-precision measurement in scientific experimentation. The measurement entailed detecting a sub-atomic level length change that occurred due to the collision of two black holes 1.3 billion light years away, meaning time it took for light to reach us to tell that happenstance. An arduous scientific feat was achieved. Incredible!            

The measurement entailed detecting a sub-atomic level length change that occurred due to the collision of two black holes 1.3 billion light years away

Every scientific branch geometrically expands, collide and bump into each other, and eventually, if we continue to progress, inevitably unite into a solitary landscape or phenomenon.

See you soon again,

Neeti.

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The Show of Total Solar Eclipse, linking Mathematics in the Context

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MathFest_Talk_GraphicThe following post was published on Mathematical Correlations Blog (a little before the day of total solar eclipse), and thought of linking it here.

In keeping with the enthusiasm of the incoming total solar eclipse, I want to revive my presentation at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific annual meeting last year on this very topic The eclipse that changed the picture of the universe. Here is the abstract, and linked to it is its utube video (find in the widget area of the blog). I recorded the video after the talk, and so the discussion following the talk is missing in this video.

The Eclipse that Changed the Picture of the Universe

The distinguished total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, gave new window to the universe. That eclipse truly stood as Einstein favoring cosmic phenomenon, authenticating his general theory of relativity; that the spacetime is conformed via gravity, upending the hitherto upheld Newtonian picture—gravity as force between masses. The bending of light due to mass that the eclipse captured reformed our understanding: from spacetime dynamics to black holes to the recently detected gravitational waves. [Video]

My recent visit to Math Fest 2017 (Mathematical Association of America annual meeting) was interesting and inciting, and there will be opportunities to discuss the sessions in detail here. Following the meeting it occurred to me that there wasn’t a talk that addressed total solar eclipse, surely would have been captivating in the spirit of all the current anticipation of the show of 21st August. I could have brought up in my own talk. And yes, mathematics can very well be seen in the context. The dynamics of total solar eclipse lets us capture the mathematics of spacetime geometry; that we call Einstein’s general relativity in physics.

I have just uploaded my talk Exposing general audience to the voice of mathematics. Here is its abstract, and the video (find it in the widget area, just following the ASP talk).

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Exposing general audience to the voice of mathematics

Under the theme of “Pursuit of Truth” at Saint Louis University I tried to shape up a TEDx talk on the subject of mathematics. From my perspective there isn’t a better subject to address reality than mathematics. Catching me off-guard, a facilitator in the rehearsal round frustratingly snapped for not to be able to follow anything. I scrambled to revamp the talk starting with plain and basic, such as squared and cubed number depictions, then moving to formulations of reality—first simpler of classical mechanics then more complex renderings, such as Dirac equation—to notice the audience cheerfully draw in into the farther intricacies of mathematics as detailed as the expressions in general relativity and quantum field. Foundational concepts and fitting analogies seems to be the key to garner enthusiasm. [Video]

A few important resources on now past total solar eclipse: NASA; Being in the shadow; Great American Eclipse. And the very recommended Sun Moon Earth by Tyler Nordgren has been worth a read by many that embarked to soak in the eclipse show.

Replies and suggestions welcome.

Hope all had rich time absorbing the phenomenon of total solar eclipse!

Neeti.

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Total Solar Eclipse and the Picture of the Universe

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Few are aware of the imminent cosmic phenomenon that sweeps all across USA in its splendor and rarity—the wonder of total solar eclipse. August 21st of this year will mark its occurrence after a void of almost 100 years, when it had painted the entire nation in the year 1918 (In the year 1979 it touched a tiny spot in the northern USA before veering off northbound). The whole effort of this year’s annual ASP (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) meeting was to spread out the word, engage as many science followers as possible into the majesty of this celestial display; urge them on into once in a lifetime kind of show.

There were stimulating talks disseminating the scientific background, and the enormous efforts that have been put in to popularize, educate, and incite on the appearance and experience of a total solar eclipse itself. And the ASP plans to upload all the talks on their website, in the hope to spur on a wider enthusiasm and interest.  Here is some useful set of information to help you prepare and indulge if you feel interested: NASA (1), Being in the Shadow (2), Great American Eclipse (3).

I being an ardent proponent of the physical sciences indeed tuned in, and pitched my own take on the subject of total solar eclipse, and how this phenomenon has played a vital role in revealing the basic principles of how the universe structures and continues. So here is my talk—The Eclipse that Changed the Picture of the Universe—at the meeting, in case you feel inspired.

Total solar eclipse takes place when the earth, moon and sun together strike a perfect alignment such that the moon situated in the middle fully blocks out the sun for a brief moment in space and time, leaving out the halo of corona—the usually invisible sun’s outer atmosphere—a brilliant ring that glows from behind. For that brief period we remain under the shadow of the moon while the radiating corona flags the sun’s only identity in the sky. It is the only instance in time when although the sun is present in our view of the sky, its intense glare remains occluded. Albert Einstein around the year 1915 realized that this relatively rare instance gives us an astonishing window into the nature of reality. How? In the year 1915 Einstein had proposed—by his theory of general relativity—that spacetime conforms to the force of gravity. Simply, gravity gives geometry to the universe. And if this is true then matter bends light.

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An event of a total solar eclipse extends us a perfect window into which we can verify such bending of the light. The ultra bending of the light reaches a detection level only when caused by a massive cosmic body, such as sun. The bending of the light by the sun is ascertained by measuring the shifts in the positions of the background stars—the deflections of stars as the sun passes through (Picture 1). Measured in arcseconds—an extraordinarily miniscule amount—this deflection, however, would be impossible to pin down due the intense glare of sun on a usual day. The event of a total solar eclipse thus gives us a perfect window for studying sun’s gravitational field without being bedazzled by the blinding glow.

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The total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, became a legendary eclipse (Picture 2) that attested the bending of light by matter, theorized by Einstein. The discovery of spacetime curvation by the force of gravity led us to a bigger and finer picture of the universe: From the way the universe might have begun to the existence of black holes to theory of wormhole to the pulsation of gravitational waves, recently detected by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory).

The new picture emerged, and Einstein celebrated, by the mechanics of the natural grandeur.

Neeti.

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The Upcoming 2017 Solar Eclipse, Sweeping America on its Totality

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The simple mechanics of total solar eclipse exposes deep-seated fundamentals of spacetime. Total solar eclipse occurs in an event of earth, moon, and sun alignment such that moon fully blocks out the sun, casting its shadow on earth on the zone of totality. What remains on sky is sun’s corona shimmering behind the bulbous moon: Includes a rendering imaginatively known as diamond ring. On August 21, 2017 we will transit such a mesmerizing and momentous (literally!) event, and the eclipse experts, chasers and broadcasters have their bits and takes on this. Here are some genuine picks  (1, 2) for those interested in details, and here is an interactive map of the upcoming totality. This year the ASP (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) is holding its annual meeting just for the purpose of convening the ideas and topics around the wonder of total solar eclipse, particularly toward preparing the upcoming 2017 one. Those interested in cosmic magnificence, and like to partake in grasping the nature of reality, would truly benefit from the event.

As profound as the cosmic phenomenon itself is, total solar eclipse has been pivotal in our understanding of the way universe shapes and continues, and a linchpin in rubber stamping a revolutionary theory to be a truly authentic reality. On the May 29 of 1919, an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, Arthur Eddington, captured total solar eclipse on the island of Principe to validate Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. General relativity offered to blend gravity in the earlier picture of Einstein’s own special relativity, showing that gravity is the geometry of spacetime itself. The endeavor set out by Eddington and his team pinned the precise bending of light that occurs due to the presence of a massive body, in accordance with the principle of general relativity, thus fully endorsing Einstein’s Magnum Opus. Sun as a massive body too bends light that travel from distant stars, but we cannot verify such bending simply because sun’s intense glare blocks out the positions of distant stars. The shade of a total solar eclipse enables us to measure such deflections in the position of stars, as the sun observes its gravity.

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The ramifications of general relativity are wide and far reaching, many we are still trying to fathom: From the origin of the universe to the existence of black holes (remember the fascinating Interstellar Gargantua), the phenomenon of wormhole, the prodigiously expanding universe to speculations of dark matter and dark energy to the recent detection of gravitational waves that employed state of the art technological sensitivity (10-16 cm in 4 km). General relativity has stood a century of experimental verifications, one recent with the validation of gravitational waves by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), and some tests are still brewing that involve extraordinary precisions to further endorse general relativity, like appraising the contortions due to the black hole at the center of our galaxy or seeing the free fall of different materials in space missions.

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The theory has shown the way universe propels, but also made our lives efficient on a daily basis. General relativity is a part of GPS navigation that we employ every day. Two well crafted titles that shed light on this deeply enriching theory are 1) The Perfect Theory by Pedro Ferreira, and 2) Big Bang by Simon Singh.

The first real validation of general relativity was ticked by the 1919 total solar eclipse. I will be attending the ASP meeting, and in the context of total solar eclipse, I will be speaking on the fundamental architecture of spacetime that the general relativity imparted.

For those interested in cosmic mechanics, deeper universal structure, or just scientific outreach to a wider community, it will be a good venue to participate and connect.

See you soon,

Neeti.

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Proving it or Making Sense, Part II

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Scientific Argumentation and Universal Logic in understanding the Universe

Part II

We were talking about how the alignment of “proving it” and “making sense” goes haywire with descriptions of deeper orders of reality, at times so much so that only the scientist in us happens to stomach them, and part of us still crave for an overarching clearer picture—causing an ever greater rift between the scientific endeavors and seeing the all-encompassing picture of reality, where we also reside. The reality is one, scientifically or otherwise. Science in no way takes us to a hazy confounding zone, but to see a true order we have to look at the scientific data with a broader, overarching perspective.

It’s just that with prodigious scientific advancements intricate details seep in, and “making sense” starts to fall outside the boundaries of scientific endeavor: because now it involves “us” seeing it differently. Like the tangled issue of the beginning of time that I brought up in the last post. No matter what rationality, the beginning of the universe via black hole, or the time having no beginning or end, as we are now learning, glaring quandaries nudge us for clarity—like what banged in the big-bang, or what’s the true nature of this timeless space-time.

As quirky as it gets, the beginning of time, whether through black hole or big bang (the linked article in the previous post argues for black hole as an alternative scenario of big bang), in the end could only be as mysterious as a colorblind entity chewing over the beauty of a rainbow. In seeing the reality, the time having a beginning seems a graver scenario than the case of an overarching continuum that flows eternally—simply because the earlier case incites further perplexities. The obvious one is how the time itself emerges out of nowhere. Some other blatant questions.

Arriving at the reality might take boxing of all the inputs and thinking outside the box. I would again have to pass on saying more on this here for the sake of space and post, and for the sake of you reading the book Physical Laws of the Mathematical Universe: Who Are We? instead.

In the earlier post I brought up the other mystifying subject that is infiltrating the bounds of scientific understanding—the emergence of consciousness in the continuum of space-time. An indispensible description, if we are to see a full meaning in the picture that has sprung from centuries of research and contemplation. Here again though we are struck with the oddity of joining a clear empirical deduction, from cosmological and quantum physics, to an order that appears to be abstractly—the nature of consciousness. We are puzzled over sewing part-science part I-don’t-know-what together.
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I was looking forward to a recently held debate on the topic of Death contested between two teams of scientists, one arguing for the existence of life beyond death, and the other against. I happened not to watch the debate, but after finding out that the team against the idea won, I out of curiosity glanced bits of the video. You can watch it in Sean Carroll’s blog under the post Afterlife Aftermath. The neuroscientist who was trying to make his argument—upholding the existence of life beyond death—based on personal experience and neurological understanding belonged to the loser team [no pun intended]. The forlorn look of the neuroscientist was pitiful [not taking sides]. His struggle might have to do with our lack of scientific vocabulary to illustrate the subtleties of defining consciousness or our experiences, which could, in the end, provide a full picture of reality. The reality that science proves and we feel confounded about.

But in the end, in understanding the uttermost reality, the question of us or consciousness undeniably leads to the query of the truest nature of self. Read on Physical Laws of the Mathematical Universe: Who Are we?

Ultimately “making-sense” becomes foundational after certain threshold of “proving” is attained, for us to move forward, on scientific ground or otherwise. And basically it is “making sense,” at a common level, that not only authenticates but also translates the empirical doctrines.

All reasoning welcome,

Neeti.

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Proving it or Making Sense, Part 1

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Scientific Argumentation and Universal Logic in understanding the Universe

In the spirit of garnering enthusiasm for the just published book Physical Laws of the Mathematical Universe: Who Are We?, today we will try to sniff a little on what actually lies in the details of such an overarching theme of this title. I had written the following post a short while ago, but perhaps it just waited in the hard drive to be utilized today. The post is exceedingly fitting to our purpose today, which is to gain an overall sense of what this title truly imparts. And to meet that purpose, when relevant, I edit/extend the original post to accommodate the elements of this title. Here we go.

Proving it and making sense. Ideally, doing the first would inherently execute the other. Like Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Mass-energy conforms to the force of gravity. Sharp, brilliant, beautiful, fitting, and so much makes sense. Even though we do not directly see it, those who plunge to cogitate of it, visualize it perfectly well, and be thrilled with it—scientist, non-scientist, alike. But such is not the case with many other doctrines that stem to explain the reality of the universe. Even though these advanced theories are built upon rigorous foundations, and have stood firm against the test of decades of trials and verifications, when we sight at the universe directly face-to-face “making sense” part goes awry. “Making sense” falls apart from “proving it.”

The big topics that bring in the foundational details of the universe remain though clearly apparent on scientific footing, a little, sometimes a lot, obscure in reference to the way universe appears to us. Some such subjects are the beat of antimatter, the prodigious expansion of universe, the undulations of quantum world, and the deployment of symmetry in all aspects of nature. In the Physical Laws of the Mathematical Universe: Who Are We? we will acknowledge that many of the discrepancies between cosmic and quantum planes simply lurk because of our resistance in seeing an all-encompassing picture, a flow that subsumes all the elements of reality. Cosmic and quantum aren’t two different planes, just two ways of seeing the very same reality. They are in a perfect overlap, just that quantum covers more details—in fact all the details.

For now, let’s soak in a little in the two currently trending eerie topics—for which scientists and philosophers don’t like to mix.

One is the beginning of the universe: See how the experimental findings are formulated to expose a scheme at The black hole at the beginning of the universe, in which the universe crystallized from a black hole, and where the 3-dimensionality that we encounter is a holographic illusion, projected from a hidden 4-dimensional plane. Bizarre, but no way sham. This is in fact the most accurate description that we get from mathematically weaving the empirical observations into a single portraiture. Now it is becoming so advanced that “making sense,” in reference to the universe we are aware of, is getting out of hand. And I indeed am tempted to expand more on this, but we have to keep to the post size.

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The other side of the story, but along the same line is what we perceive of ourselves as? That might be a little skewed too. Both sides of the story are equally important, in order to decipher the truest texture, or to reconcile “proving it” and “making sense.” Indeed, I can already sense so many questions popped up in your mind, but if I begin to discuss all here, I would need 346 pages, and the book Physical Laws of the Mathematical Universe: Who Are We? will become redundant. Please feed your curiosity, and let your enthusiasm take you in a panorama where “proving it” and “making sense” become two sides of the very same coin.

The other mystifying subject that is infiltrating the bounds of scientific understanding is the reasoning of “consciousness,” or the emergence of consciousness in the continuum of space-time. But before I wear you out, I will stop here, and continue with this eerie topic in the following post.

See you all soon,

Neeti.

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