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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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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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Universe Needing to Inflate

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Universe Needing to Inflate

In the evolution of the universe there conceivably occurred an instance of prodigious expansion, so rapid that the universe’s once infinitely dense miniscule glob swiftly stretched—light years across in a fraction of a second. The incident is commonly referred to as inflation. As enigmatic as it may sound, the scenario of expeditious growth does have healthy outlooks to support of the way we envisage the universe based on scientific judgments.

Inflation explains why the universe we find ourselves in is flat; it explains away why the observable universe is constitutionally same whichever side we look, or is largely isotropic. First proposed by Alan Guth, the stunt of inflation further goes on to explain the unification of the two grand principles, general relativity and quantum mechanics. That is, the inflation exposes a way to realize that a gravitational wave is just a mere transfiguration of quantum fluctuation. That is why the conclusive detection of gravitational wave by BICEP2 (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2) was a much celebrated event, especially for scientific community, because it was a firsthand glimpse into the universe undergone inflation. Although several reports following the initial discovery wavered between optimistic and skeptical standpoints on having identified gravitational waves—we very likely saw it; no we didn’t; we probably did; no probably not—over all the observations do seem to provide a rational evidence for the beat of gravitational waves from the dawning cosmos, supporting the occurrence of inflation.

Here is the entertaining part. Methodical measurements suggest that this abrupt unfurling of the cosmos was rapider that the speed of the light itself. Truly intriguing: because the speed of light is the maximum attainable speed as per the well-credited Einstein’s special relativity. As delightful as it is to relish, when comes to explaining such an oddity we are struck with the quandary of seeing the space-time to have momentarily broken the rule by which it itself flows. From special relativity we know that the time dilates to accommodate speed, but in an instance of a speed surpassing the light how do we see the time as a part of space, in the usual texture of space-time?

In justifying a speed faster than that of light, where time still permeates the texture, we probably have just one way of seeing the picture—An order where the space-time doesn’t flow but manifests as discrete units. This is not something entirely new I am referring to here. It is suggested in Einstein’s special relativity that the speed of light is constant for all observers, and this basically means that two objects approaching with different speeds would both be seen at once—not the one with the higher velocity first. Thus, when it comes to the light-speed the space-time arena manifests. For velocities within the light-speed the time shifts—the higher the speed the lower the ticking of the time. In a possible event of surpassing light-speed the flow halts, and the manifestation transpires. In all the scenarios though, the time is indeed valued to be inextricably blended with the space.

Besides figuring out the dilemma of how exactly the inflation came about, the idea of inflation itself is truly insightful, and as stated above it does iron out two of the deepest mysteries of the cosmic plane: one that the universe is flat on all sides we see. But the cosmic structure appearing flat doesn’t necessarily mean it is flat. The geometrical appearance is a matter of perception. Encountering an object is an advent of electromagnetic radiation from that object impinging the eye, which doesn’t impart much information on how the space itself is structured. We can surely assign closeness and farness to an object but cannot refer with certainty whether the space-time is flat or infinitely curved, or even permanently shapeless.

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The cosmic isotropy that is supported by inflation, on the other hand, signifies the continuum of a single overarching tapestry from the initiation, billions of years ago, to our vision.

The full-length reality entails that the cosmic plane and quantum décor, Newtonian mechanics, Einstein relativities and particle fields all harmonize to announce a single continuum. And the   inflation once again gives us a way to see the metamorphosis of the minute quantum fluctuation to a gigantic gravitational wave—where seeing the unification of quantum and cosmic planes becomes conceivable.

But in the above schematic there is a slight glitch, which is to justify the continuum of the palpating “multiverse” that we make out from purely quantum studies. To overcome this perplexity it is proposed that different regions of the universe experienced their own separate growth (or inflation)—what we glance at is just one of those regions.

Seeing the cosmic and quantum structures as one field involves the principles of Einstein’s relativities, quantum field and how we perceive the universe directly, but I will end this post here, and leave the matter for the coming ones.

I will be back shortly.

Neeti

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