DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Cillian Murphy didn't just want to act like Oppenheimer. He asked science advisors to help him think like him, too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cillian Murphy plays the "father of the atomic bomb", J. Robert Oppenheimer, in the new film. Science advisors said Murphy asked questions about the theories to accurately portray his character. For his part, Thorne met Murphy virtually and talked with him about scientific theory broadly, and Oppenheimer the man, whom Thorne studied under at Princeton, personally. Saltzberg met Murphy while working with production designers to draft the equations written on the chalkboards throughout the movie. For his role as a physicist in the 2007 movie "Sunshine", Murphy met with scientists at CERN to prepare for the role.

Persons: Cillian Murphy, Robert Oppenheimer, Murphy, Oppenheimer, Kip Thorne, David Saltzberg, Thorne, Saltzberg, Murphy didn't, he's Organizations: Service, UCLA, Princeton, CERN, Guardian, Demand Entertainment Locations: Wall, Silicon, Hollywood

☆ The science you should understand before seeing 'Oppenheimer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fission vs. fusionWhile fission and fusion are both key components of nuclear technology, the two processes are very different — and central to the plot of "Oppenheimer." The hydrogen bomb — promoted by Lewis Strauss, a member of the US Atomic Energy Commission — relies on fusion, making it far more powerful than the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer led a group of physicists who advocated for the United States to export radioactive isotopes to researchers abroad. However, Strauss pushed back while serving as chair of the US Atomic Energy Commission, advocating for a US monopoly on the materials. He argued that exporting them would be the equivalent of sharing nuclear information, an act forbidden by the 1946 Atomic Energy Act.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, —, Earnest O, Lawrence, Radiochemists Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman, Lise Meitner, Lewis Strauss, Strauss Organizations: Manhattan, Service, US Atomic Energy, US Atomic Energy Commission, 1946, Energy Locations: Wall, Silicon, Berlin, United States

☆ The women behind the Manhattan Project that Nolan's new film 'Oppenheimer' completely ignored
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Nolan's "Oppenheimer" fails to highlight the women who helped make the Manhattan Project possible. Here are the stories of just six of the hundreds of women that made essential contributions to the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. Hornig first arrived at Los Alamos after Manhattan Project officials tapped her husband to join the effort. Los Alamos National LaboratoryCharlotte SerberCharlotte Serber first went to Los Alamos with her husband, a physicist, in 1942. Los Alamos National LaboratoryMaria Goeppert MayerTheoretical physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer contributed to the development of nuclear fission while working at Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, and visiting Los Alamos from time to time.

Persons: Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Lilli Hornig, Charlotte Serber, Nolan, Hornig, Lilli Hornig's, Alamos National Laboratory Charlotte, Serber, Charlotte Serber's, Alamos National Laboratory Floy Agnes, Naranjo Stroud, Lee Floy Agnes, Lee, — Lee, Louis Slotin, Joan Hinton Joan Hinton, Hinton, Harry Daghlian, Joan Hinton, Reuters Elizabeth Graves Elizabeth Graves, Graves, Henry Barschall, Elizabeth Graves, Alamos National Laboratory Maria Goeppert Mayer, Maria Goeppert Mayer, Sarah Lawrence, Mayer, Edward Teller, Sharon McGrayne, Marie Curie Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Manhattan Project, Trinity Test, Hornig, Alamos National Laboratory, Sun, University of New, University of Chicago, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, University of Wisconsin, Los Alamos, Trinity, New York Times, Reuters, US Department of Energy, Columbia University, Sarah, Sarah Lawrence College Locations: Wall, Silicon, Los Alamos , New Mexico, Los Alamos, United States, Berlin, Germany, New Mexico, Japan, Santa Fe, University of New Mexico, Santa Clara Pueblo, Hiroshima, Nagaski, China, Beijing, Alamos, Los, —

☆ 'Oppenheimer' fact v. fiction: A nuclear historian breaks down what the movie got right and wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

J. Robert Oppenheimer was an immensely complex figure, and the movie's based on a biography of him. Fact: Oppenheimer mocked Strauss about isotopesJ. Robert Oppenheimer testifies before the Senate in October 1945. Fact: A big thunderstorm delayed the Trinity TestOppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stands next to the test bomb in "Oppenheimer." If it weren't for the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer would likely be best known for bolstering theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Fiction: Oppenheimer consulted Einstein about Teller's calculations(L-R) Tom Conti as Albert Einstein and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer."

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Robert Oppenheimer, J, Alex Wellerstein, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin, Wellerstein, Niels Bohr wasn't, Patrick Blackett, Bird, Sherwin, Blackett, Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Bohr, Oppenheimer's, Cillian Murphy, Abraham Pais, Baudelaire, e.e, cummings, who's, Haakon Chevalier, Peter, Peter Oppenheimer, Kitty, Haakon, Barbara Chevalier, Robert, Perro, Werner Heisenberg, peppering Bohr, Heisenberg, Strauss, David Hill, Lewis Strauss, Dwight D, David Inglis, Inglis, I've, Arthur Compton, Trinity Test Oppenheimer, Jack Hubbard, Leslie Groves, Hubbard, Feynman, Richard Feynman, I'm, Groves, Robert Serber, David Bohm, Philip Morrison, Willis Lamb, Hitler, Hartland Snyder, Kip Thorne, John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, Penrose, Murphy, Trinity, there's, —, Karl T, Compton, Stimson, Henry Stimson, that's, Harry Truman, Wallenstein, Einstein, Tom Conti, Albert Einstein, Melinda Sue Gordon, Edward Teller, Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Bethe, Roger Robb, He's, Teller, Stanislaw Ulam, Gordon Dean, Charlotte Serber, Charlotte Serber's, she's, Serber Organizations: Service, Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Eisenhower's, Federation of American Scientists, Time, Atomic Energy Committee, Trinity Test, Trinity, Los, University of California, Clovis, National Security Research, Manhattan Project . National Security Research, FBI Locations: Wall, Silicon, England, Leiden, Holland, New Mexico, Perro Caliente, Los Pinos , New Mexico, Germany, Nazi, Denmark, Sweden, Los Alamos, Europe, Berkeley, Poland, Amarillo , Texas, Japan, Kyoto, Alamos

☆ Who’s Who in ‘Oppenheimer’: A Guide to the Real People and Events
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Christopher Kuo | More About Christopher Kuo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The premise of “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s biopic, is straightforward: tell the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb.” But, as with the director’s other movies, the execution is far from simple. Here’s a guide to help you keep track of the real-life characters and events of the movie. J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy)The American theoretical physicist (played by Cillian Murphy) spearheaded the development of the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project. Born in New York City in 1904, Oppenheimer spent his undergraduate years at Harvard before moving to Cambridge, England, for graduate work in physics. After receiving his doctorate in physics at a German university, Oppenheimer accepted professorships at the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Institute of Technology, helping to pioneer work in an American school of theoretical physics.

Persons: “ Oppenheimer, ” Christopher Nolan’s, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer, Patrick Blackett Organizations: Manhattan, Harvard, University of California, California Institute of Technology Locations: American, New York City, Cambridge, England, Berkeley

☆ Trump’s Legal Woes Mount as Trial Dates and Campaign Calendar Collide
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Charlie Savage | More About Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As former President Donald J. Trump campaigns for the White House while multiple criminal prosecutions against him play out, at least one thing is clear: Under the laws of physics, he cannot be in two places at once. Generally, criminal defendants must be present in the courtroom during their trials. Not only will that force Mr. Trump to step away from the campaign trail, possibly for weeks at a time, but the judges overseeing his trials must also jostle for position in sequencing dates. The collision course is raising extraordinary — and unprecedented — questions about the logistical, legal and political challenges of various trials unfolding against the backdrop of a presidential campaign. “The courts will have to decide how to balance the public interest in having expeditious trials against Trump’s interest and the public interest in his being able to campaign so that the democratic process works,” said Bruce Green, a Fordham University professor and former prosecutor.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, ”, Bruce Green, “ Organizations: Trump, White, Fordham University

☆ Why NASA's Artemis program is the only moon-return mission since Apollo to survive 2 successive US presidents and our best chance of actually returning humans to the lunar surface
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Mariel Borowitz | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Artemis program marks the first time since the Apollo program that an effort to send humans to the moon has been supported by two successive US presidents. Some, like Japan-based iSpace and US-based Astrobotic, are developing commercial lunar landers and have plans to eventually collect lunar resources, such as water or minerals. Just as the United States is leveraging commercial developments, the US is working with international partners, as well. The United States is also seeking international support for the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for responsible lunar exploration and development. It's worth noting that China's lunar program also emphasizes international engagement.

Persons: it's, Artemis, Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Wang Yaping, Gene Kim, Bill Nelson Organizations: Service, NASA, European Space Agency, SpaceX, Companies, Canadian Space Agency, United Nations, US Space Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Oracle, Military, Artemis Accords, United, United Arab Emirates, Lunar Research Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Japan, United States, Soviet, Europe, Canada, United Kingdom, Rwanda, Nigeria, United Arab, India, Russia, Sweden, France, Italy, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates

☆ What do we have to lose if Starlink satellites and others like them take over the night sky? Studying dark matter, observing distant galaxies, and finding signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts who spoke to Insider say radio astronomy helps us study dark matter and look for alien life. The Starlink satellites — chosen for their abundance in the sky compared to other low-orbit satellites — were observed using the Low-Frequency Array telescope in the Netherlands. Using the telescope, scientists detected frequencies from the Starlink satellites at 110 to 188 megahertz — a unit of measure used for electromagnetic waves. "We are not saying that right now that radio astronomy is doomed, and that we will not be able to do astronomy anymore. There is also the financial loss: Millions of dollars go into planning and building these massive radio telescopes over decades.

Persons: Elon, Vahe, Peroomian, Federico Di Vruno, Di Vruno, Jean, Luc Margot, we're, Margot, Musk Organizations: Elon Musk's, Service, Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy, Astrophysics, SpaceX, University of Southern, Federal Communications Commission, Iridium, Elon Musk Locations: Wall, Silicon, Netherlands, Europe, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

☆ Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic’s first private passenger spaceflight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The first Olympian and the first mother-daughter duo to venture to space will be aboard Virgin Galactic’s inaugural private astronaut mission in August. Virgin Galactic and commercial spaceflightThe flight window opens for the mission, dubbed Galactic 02, on August 10, and the launch will stream live on Virgin Galactic’s website. The announcement comes on the heels of the successful launch and landing of Virgin Galactic’s first commercial spaceflight on June 29. The passengers boarded the VSS Unity, attached to a massive aircraft called VMS Eve, at Virgin Galactic’s spaceport in New Mexico. VMS Eve took off like an airplane, delivering VSS Unity to a designated altitude.

Persons: Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers, ” Schahaff, Jon Goodwin, Goodwin, Parkinson’s, ” Goodwin, don’t, Beth Moses, Moses Organizations: CNN, Virgin Galactic’s, Space, Humanity, . Virgin Galactic, University of Aberdeen, Virgin Galactic, Virgin, Italian Air Force, VSS, VSS Unity Locations: Caribbean, Antigua, Scotland, New Mexico

☆ Kai Bird on Christopher Nolan's ‘Oppenheimer’ - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Kai Bird | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Oppenheimer took the occasion to explain to Einstein that he was going to be absent from the Institute for some weeks. He was being forced to defend himself in Washington, D.C., during a secret hearing against charges that he was a security risk, and perhaps even disloyal. “He loved America,” said Verna Hobson, his secretary who was a witness to the conversation, “and this love was as deep as his love of science.”“Einstein doesn’t understand,” Oppenheimer told Ms. Hobson. But as Einstein walked back into his office he told his assistant, nodding in the direction of Oppenheimer, “There goes a narr [fool].”Einstein was right. Oppenheimer was foolishly subjecting himself to a kangaroo court in which he was soon stripped of his security clearance and publicly humiliated.

Persons: J, Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Oppenheimer “, ” Oppenheimer demurred, “, ”, Verna Hobson, ” Oppenheimer, Hobson, ” Einstein, Oppenheimer’s Organizations: Institute for, Study, Institute, Washington , D.C, Atomic Energy Locations: Princeton, N.J, Germany, Washington ,, America

☆ Webb telescope spies most distant supermassive black hole ever recorded
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The James Webb Space Telescope has delivered yet another astounding discovery, spying an active supermassive black hole deeper into the universe than has ever been recorded. And scientists were perplexed to find just how small the celestial object’s central black hole measures. “This black hole clocks in at about 9 million solar masses,” according to a NASA news release. Into the CEERS 1019 galaxyThe relative smallness of the black hole at CEER 1019’s center is a mystery for scientists. The astronomical community is already pouring over data that could pinpoint other, more distant black holes.

Persons: James Webb, Webb, ” Rebecca Larson, Larson, It’s, We’re, Jeyhan, “ Webb, ”, Seiji Fujimoto Organizations: CNN, NASA, Sun, University of Texas, Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Physics, Rochester Institute of Technology, NASA Hubble, UT Austin, Austin Locations: Austin, New York

☆ Manhattan Project scientists hired Columbia University's football team to lug uranium into the physics lab on campus in the 1940s
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The development of nuclear weapons during World War II was codenamed the Manhattan Project. Nuclear fission experiments were conducted at Columbia University in the late 1930s and early 1940s. But most viewers may not know a surprising detail about the top-secret initiative, codenamed the Manhattan Project. According to a 1993 article about the Manhattan Project in the student publication The Columbia Spectator, the university's administration asked members of the football team, the Columbia Lions, to assist him. But according to The New York Times, the Manhattan Project employed 700 people at Columbia — including the unsuspecting Columbia Lions.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi's, Franklin D, Roosevelt, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Fermi, Enrico Fermi Organizations: Manhattan, Columbia University, Service, Uranium, Columbia, Manhattan Project, Columbia Spectator, Columbia Lions, Columbia University . Keystone, Pupin, The New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, United States, Columbia

☆ Small Town ‘Tradio’ and More: The Week in Reporter Reads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1973, a young man named Uri Geller appeared on one of the BBC’s most popular television shows, “The Dimbleby Talk-In,” and announced that the laws of Newtonian physics did not apply to him. A handsome 26-year-old Israeli, dressed casually and flanked by a pair of academics, Mr. Geller performed a series of bewildering feats using nothing more, he said, than his mind. Then he appeared to bend a fork simply by staring at it. Because at the core of his performance was a claim of boggling audacity: that these were not tricks. ◆ ◆ ◆Written and narrated by Andy Kifer

Persons: Uri Geller, “, ”, Geller, ◆, Andy Kifer

☆ The world's most-powerful AI model suddenly got 'lazier' and 'dumber.' A radical redesign of OpenAI's GPT-4 could be behind the decline in performance.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Lately, the giant AI model has become faster, but performance has declined. The world's most-powerful AI model has become, well, less powerful. It's considered the most-powerful AI model available broadly and is multimodal, which means it can understand images as well as text inputs. They think OpenAI is creating several smaller GPT-4 models that act similarly to the large model but are less expensive to run. This week, several AI experts posted what they claimed were details of GPT-4's architecture on Twitter.

Persons: OpenAI's, Peter Yang, I've, Frazier MacLeod, Christi Kennedy, OpenAI, ChatGPT, It's, Sharon Zhou, Theseus, Zhou, Yam, Semianalysis, George Hotz, Soumith Chintala, Oren Etzioni, Greg Brockman, " Brockman, Lilian Weng Organizations: Morning, Twitter, Roblox, Microsoft, Meta, Allen Institute, AI Locations: GPT

☆ Is A.I. the Greatest Technology Ever for Making Dumb Jokes?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Via Janelle Shane AI Weirdness Generated by A.I. Optimists cite scientific advances and other examples of human intelligence and machine intelligence augmenting each other, robots and people walking hand in hand toward the singularity. possibilities on a two-dimensional plot, where one axis runs from “machine stupidity” to “machine intelligence” and the other from “human stupidity to human intelligence.” Scientific leaps — like physicists’ developing A.I. Machine Intelligence, Human Stupidity Not just any A.I.-generated post deserves to be charted in the Funposting Zone. After all, the machines can keep improving, and human stupidity — the engine of many of history’s best jokes — isn’t going anywhere.

Persons: Overwatch, Spambots, ., Will Smith, Joe Rogan, Harry Potter, Balenciaga, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, ’, Janelle Shane, Janelle Shane ChatGPT’s, ChatGPT’s, Barack Obama’s, “, Arik Ahmed, Ahmed, ” Ahmed, ” Mr, Donald J, Joe ”, —, Pope Francis, I’d, ”, “ Will Smith, Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, ” —, I’m, Harry Potter ”, Mustard, Roddy Ricch, ChatGPT, DALL, Shane, Bing Organizations: A.I, Biology, Balenciaga, Adobe, . Machine Intelligence, Colorado State Fair, Heath, Microsoft Locations: Rome, Ancient Rome, Silicon, dystopia, Funposting, Reddit, Minecraft

☆ Christopher Nolan returns with latest blockbuster 'Oppenheimer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Alicia Powell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] 71st Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the new print of the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" presented as part of Cinema Classic - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 13, 2018 - Director Christopher Nolan poses. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File PhotoNEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Acclaimed film director Christopher Nolan turns his attention to J. Robert Oppenheimer for his new blockbuster movie, taking audiences back to when the American theoretical physicist oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. He oversaw the first atomic bomb detonation in the New Mexico desert, code-named "Trinity", before the weapons were used in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nolan is known for conceptual narratives and visual style in films like "Inception" "Tenet" and an instalment of the Batman film franchise. 'Oppenheimer' is kind of the amalgam of every Chris Nolan movie ever, all of which have been leading to a statement as kind of profound as this but it's still edge of your seat entertainment," Downey Jr. said.

Persons: Christopher Nolan, Stephane Mahe, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Kai Bird, Martin J, Sherwin, Oppenheimer, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Nolan, Murphy, ” Oppenheimer, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Tenet, Chris Nolan, Downey, Alicia Powell, Rollo Ross, Raissa Organizations: Cannes, Reuters, Los, Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Thomson Locations: Cannes, France, American, Los Alamos, New Mexico, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

☆ Mercedes Performance Improves After Adjustments to Its Racecar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ian Parkes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

After qualifying was finished for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in March, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, condemned his own car. “We got the physics wrong, and now we need to correct it,” Wolff said. “We gave it our best go, and now we need to regroup, sit down with the engineers and decide the development direction we want to pursue in order to win races. “We hit our targets, and that showed us that it is simply not good enough.”Weeks later, at the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes introduced an upgraded version of its W14 car. There was also a new floor and front suspension.

Persons: Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Red Bull, “, ” Wolff, ” Weeks, Mercedes Organizations: Prix, Mercedes, Monaco Locations: Bahrain

☆ A solar storm is due to hit Earth today, sparking stunning auroras. Here's how to see them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It should be relatively mild but could spark beautiful auroras visible from around the world. NOAA space weather prediction centerHead to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather website for the latest forecast to see if auroras are likely to be visible where you are. As the sun becomes more active, it is more likely to send solar storms our way. Flights are more likely to be rerouted or grounded in bad space weather, for instance, experts previously told Insider. In the meantime, our dependence on satellite infrastructure has increased, and our vulnerability to space weather has therefore increased," said Verscharen.

Persons: —, Daniel Verscharen, auroras, Igor Hoogerwerf, SANKA VIDANAGAMA, It's Organizations: Service, University College London, NOAA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Mount Cook National, Getty, Royal Photographic Society Locations: Europe, Michigan, Maine, New York, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Phoenix , Arizona, Aurora, Mount, Christchurch , New Zealand, AFP

☆ Opinion: Indiana Jones passes his mantle to the queen of millennial side-eye
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Yet for all his lack of tree trunk biceps, Indiana Jones was always vivacious: outrunning boulders, sparring countless Nazis, and sprinting across collapsing rope bridges. Thomas Kretschmann and Mads Mikkelsen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). Walt Disney PicturesIt’s a mantle-passing in every sense: From Jones to his younger relative, and from a Hollywood legend to the queen of millennial side-eye. Age, and its careworn figurehead Indiana Jones, is chastened. Join us on Twitter and FacebookSo much of the adrenaline of the original Indiana Jones trilogy derived from their massive, intricate sets and intensely choreographed scenes that these days are largely replaced by green screens.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, CNN — Harrison Ford isn’t, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, ”, he’s, “, Holly Thomas Holly Thomas Ford’s, Steven Spielberg’s, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, brawn, He’s, goddaughter Helena, Phoebe Waller, Archimedes, Thomas Kretschmann, Mads Mikkelsen, Jones, Waller, Helena, we’ve, ’ —, ’, there’s, Tom Cruise, Indiana, Ford, it’s Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, Indy, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel, Twitter, Indiana Jones Locations: London, “, Indiana

☆ This Bulgarian Writer’s Books Bend Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Thomas Rogers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The award has focused an international spotlight on Gospodinov, 55, but it also represents a coming-out moment for Bulgarian literature, which is little-known outside the country. Recently, several other Eastern European authors also received high-profile awards, including Nobel Prizes for Literature to Olga Tokarczuk, of Poland and Svetlana Alexievich, of Belarus. Gospodinov, who was soft-spoken and self-effacing in conversation, argued that surging global interest in Eastern European authors may be connected to a global climate increasingly shaped by nationalism and Russian aggression. His fiction often features fragmentary structures and uses elements of his own personal and family histories to explore lofty ideas about time. He is so famous in Bulgaria, the country’s culture minister once said that he would resign if the author told him to.

Persons: Olga Tokarczuk, Svetlana Alexievich, Gospodinov Locations: Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria

☆ Time appeared to move 5 times slower in the early days of the universe, scientists found
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new study found that time appeared to move five times slower in the early days of the universe. Scientists used quasars — enormously bright supermassive black holes — to arrive at their findings. The researchers used quasars — supermassive black holes that feed on gas and are among the brightest known celestial objects — to arrive at their finding. Quasars "are crucial to understanding the early universe," one astronomer said in 2018. Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, predicted that we live in an expanding universe, where time was slower in its early years, and now the researchers in this study observed that.

Persons: Albert Einstein's, —, Geraint Lewis, Albert Einstein Organizations: Service, Privacy, CNN, University of Sydney's School of Physics, Sydney Institute for Astronomy

☆ ‘Forever chemicals’ in water: Nearly half of the tap water in the US is contaminated with PFAS, government study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Almost half of the tap water in the United States is contaminated with chemicals known as “forever chemicals,” according to a study from the US Geological Survey. Experts say it’s important for people to understand their risk of exposure through tap water. Water filters may help somewhat if tap water is contaminated, and there are moves to regulate some PFAS chemicals in US drinking water. This US Geological Survey map shows the number of PFAS detected in tap water samples from select sites across the nation. In August 2023, the EPA said it is conducting the “most comprehensive monitoring effort for PFAS ever” at large and midsize public water systems and hundreds of small water systems.

Persons: Jamie DeWitt, There’s, ”, DeWitt, They’re, Graham Peaslee, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “, Peaslee, ” Peaslee Organizations: CNN, Geological Survey, National Institutes of Health, US Environmental Protection Agency, Survey, Eastern Seaboard, Environmental Health Sciences, Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Utilities, EPA, of Physics, University of Notre Dame, CNN Health Locations: United States, Great, Central, Southern California

British Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani inaugurated a wing technology plant in southwest England on Tuesday to help design and build wings that are longer, lighter, more slender and feature folding wingtips to fly more sustainably. Industry sources estimate Airbus is spending in the "high hundreds of millions" of dollars on Wing of Tomorrow. Partridge said Airbus was in talks with at least three suppliers to lower costs and weave parts more efficiently. That means we need to increase the span of the wing," Partridge said. Industry sources say Airbus could tap part of the research if it moves ahead with a potential stretch of the smaller A220.

Persons: Nusrat Ghani, Sue Partridge, Partridge, Joanna Plucinska, Tim Hepher, Mark Potter Organizations: Airbus, British Industry, Boeing, Concorde, Thomson Locations: FILTON, England, Filton, Paris

☆ The sun has produced a record number of sunspots — and it could mean power outages, grounded flights, and beautiful auroras
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists are paying close attention to this number because it can help predict if powerful solar flares may cause problems for Earth. Because we're seeing more sunspots than expected, we're likely to see a much stronger solar maximum than had been anticipated. A solar maximum is on its wayThe sun follows a solar cycle, whereby its activity grows and wanes approximately every 11 years. The latest solar cycle was particularly quiet and may have lulled us into a false sense of security, he added. Still, if the sun peaks at 200 sunspots, it will be far from the biggest solar maximum on record.

Persons: —, Auroras, Keith Strong, Mathew Owens, Owens Organizations: Service, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, NASA, Federal Aviation Administration, Riverton, Twitter, Royal Observatory, University of Reading Locations: North America, Central America, South America, Arizona, Riverton, Belgium

☆ Quasars reveal the early universe moved slower than it does now
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have peered into the early days of the universe, when it was about 1 billion years old, and discovered that things moved in slow motion compared with now. Unlocking what happened during the early days of the universe can help scientists tackle the biggest mysteries about its origin, how it evolved and what the future holds. “This expansion of space means that our observations of the early universe should appear to be much slower than time flows today. While very bright, supernovas become much harder to observe at greater distances from Earth, which means that astronomers needed another source that would be visible deeper in the early universe. “What we have done is unravel this firework display, showing that quasars, too, can be used as standard markers of time for the early universe.”

Persons: Albert Einstein’s, ”, Geraint Lewis, Einstein, ” Lewis, Brendon Brewer Organizations: CNN —, University of Sydney’s School of Physics, Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Auckland

Search resuls for: "Physics"

25 mentions found