Can quantum entanglement survive a black hole?
#AskEthan
When one member of an entangled pair of particles falls into the black hole, is the entanglement broken?
And if not, is there any way to test and confirm its persistence?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics #quantum
Will anything persist when the Universe dies?
#AskEthan
The last star will burn out, the last black hole will decay, and entropy will reach its maximum: a heat death.
After all that, can any trace of our existence still persist?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #cosmology #fate #astro
Can we see the expanding Universe changing?
#AskEthan
We've measured the expanding Universe by looking at many objects at different distances and with different redshifts.
Here's how we'll measure it directly: with just one object over time.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #redshift
How long can the longest-lived star shine?
#AskEthan
It's been 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang, but the longest-lived stars will shine for many trillions of years.
How long do we have before the last survivor goes out?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #stars #future
How much damage could a cosmic ray do to a human?
#AskEthan
Cosmic rays come in all varieties of energy and speed, with the most energetic ones outstripping even LHC protons by a factor of millions.
What would happen if one hit you?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics #particle
Where are all the blueshifted galaxies?
#AskEthan
The Universe is expanding, sure.
Nearby, many galaxies are blueshifted, far away, few are, and beyond a certain distances, none are.
What does this imply, and how do we know?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astrophysics #astro #expanding
Why do gravitational lenses make crosses, not rings?
#AskEthan
When an observer, foreground mass, and a background light source all align, you get a gravitational lens.
You might expect Einstein rings, but more often you get crosses.
Here's why.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
What does “gravitationally bound” mean in the expanding Universe?
#AskEthan
Does the fabric of space expand, within the expanding Universe, in the location where you are?
It depends on if you're inside a bound structure or not. Here's what that means.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
Why is there no such thing as antigravity?
#AskEthan
In our Universe, everything that we know of experiences the influence of gravity.
But if there are antiparticles, why isn't there any antigravity?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #gravity #physics #astro
Why does something exist instead of nothing?
#AskEthan
We all know that the fact that the Universe exists has made a lot of people angry since the dawn of people.
But how did our Universe come to have "something" instead of nothing?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #quantum #physics #reality
Can stars form within the expanding Universe?
#AskEthan
The Universe, since the Big Bang, expands, cools, and gets less dense.
How is it possible for gravity to form stars in such a dilute environment?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astronomy #stars #cosmology
How do LLMs/chatbots impact students and cheating?
#AskEthan
Across all educational levels, students are outsourcing their assignments to LLMs like ChatGPT.
Except for the ones who care about growing their own minds, they're unlikely to stop.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#astro #physics #ed
Can we ever observe a proton decaying?
#AskEthan
As far as we experimentally know, the proton is a truly stable particle.
But theoretically, there are many motivations to search for proton decay.
Will we ever observe one in action?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #astro #particle #matter
What’s the point of exploring the Universe?
#AskEthan
With so much going on in the world and so many problems to solve, why should we be investing in exploring the Universe?
We must always remember.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics
Is there really a “dark side” of the Moon?
#AskEthan
The phrase "dark side of the Moon" used to refer to the Moon's unseen, away-facing side: the far side.
But there is a "dark side" after all, just not where you'd expect.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #moon
How can we better measure G, the gravitational constant?
#AskEthan
The universal gravitational constant, G, is one of the oldest fundamental constant of all, and yet, one of the least well-measured.
Can measuring it from space help?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #physics #astro
Can Weber bars detect gravitational waves?
#AskEthan
Starting with 2015's first gravitational wave detection, LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA have now seen hundreds of gravitational waves.
Could the original detector design, Weber bars, work today?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #physics #weber
Could evolving dark energy lead to a Big Crunch?
#AskEthan
It looks like dark energy *may* be evolving in our Universe, as recent DESI data suggests.
But implying that we're headed for a Big Crunch completely oversells what we know.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #darkenergy
Could the Universe have been expanding forever?
#AskEthan
The Universe is expanding today, and looks like it will do so forever.
But was it expanding eternally into the past as well?
Most physicists think "no," and this theorem explains why.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #physics #astro
Is the Hubble tension the same thing as dark energy?
#AskEthan
The Hubble tension is a big cosmic puzzle.
Dark energy might be evolving, and still remains mysterious.
But these two problems aren't the same.
Here's what makes them distinct.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #cosmology
How many generations of stars came before the Sun?
#AskEthan
There are three stellar populations: Population I, for Sun-like stars, Population II, for metal-poor stars, and Population III, for the first stars.
Does that mean we're a 3rd generation star?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
How and when will the Universe die?
#AskEthan
Ever since the discovery of dark energy, astronomers have been secure in predicting the heat death of our Universe.
But if dark energy is changing, as DESI data suggests, are all bets off?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #cosmology #astro
Where are we located relative to the Big Bang?
#AskEthan
The Big Bang didn't occur at a single location in space, but rather, everywhere at once.
If we assumed it was a big ka-boom, we'd be shockingly close to its origin point.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #bigbang #notanexplosion
@ashleybvigil.bsky.social Hey I don't know if you saw, but your last email to me got me thinking so hard you just became the latest #AskEthan!
What is the true purpose of scientific peer review?
#AskEthan
Passing peer review isn't "crossing the finish line" where every claim inside has now been verified to be correct.
Instead, it's "crossing the start line" by science's high standards.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#science #space
Where does cosmic dust come from?
#AskEthan
Of all the things that needed to arise to enable life in our Universe, the least appreciated is cosmic dust.
At last, astronomers have pinned down the primary source of its creation.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #dust #signal #noise
Could “positive geometry” unlock the theory of everything?
#AskEthan
Searches for a theory of everything have been challenging, to say the least.
Does positive geometry, bolstered by the discovery of the amplituhedron, offer a promising new road?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #math
Is dark energy no longer a cosmological constant?
#AskEthan
With CMB, supernova, and large-scale structure data all combined, a "vanilla" ΛCDM cosmology doesn't look right anymore.
Many favor evolving dark energy, but is that the right answer?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#physics #astro #space
Can “zero-point energy” power the world?
#AskEthan
The promise of "free energy" is always alluring, but usually violates the laws of physics in some way.
Could "zero-point energy" be the ultimate solution?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #energy #physics
Did life begin when the Universe was room temperature?
#AskEthan
Here on Earth, our planet has the right temperature for liquid water, enabling life.
In the very young Universe, space was that same temperature.
Could life have existed back then?
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro #life
