Current Events / Science Report / Take That Gum Out Of Your Mouth!

ok ok... settle down in the back there...
You will be tested later on this material.



Astronomers have mapped the positions of vast, invisible isles of dark matter in the sky, within which normal "bright" matter galaxies are embedded like glittering gems. The three-dimensional map spans not only space, but also time, and stretches back to when the universe was only about half its present age.

Dark matter is a mysterious hypothetical substance that is thought not to interact with light photons and is thus invisible to current detection instruments.

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Not everyone is convinced that the new map reveals the presence of dark matter. Some skeptics think there is a good reason dark matter is invisible: It doesn't exist.

According to these scientists, an alternative explanation for the universe's mass discrepancy is that gravity does not operate equally in all parts of the universe, as is predicted by Newton and Einstein.

"The authors here converted their observed wiggles into matter density using Einsteinian formula," said HongSheng Zhao, a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in the UK, about the new map. "If we take a different formula, we would get somewhat different densities or clumps."

Zhao is an advocate of a theory of modified gravity called TeVeS, in which gravity is stronger in certain regions of space than others. In these gravity-boosted regions, gravitational lensing would work differently.

Until a dedicated mission is launched to measure the law of gravity in weak gravity environments, far away from the influence of the Sun and planets, such possibilities cannot be ruled out, Zhao said in an email interview.

"If the law does have a factor depending on the environment, then it could explain away much of dark matter," he said.

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Radio Frequencies Help Burn Salt Water



An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.

The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said.

The discovery is "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years," Roy said.

"This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere," Roy said. "Seeing it burn gives me the chills."

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Holy crap a video, this must be for real.


Ok, that's the bell. Before you all rush outta here like a freshly opened barrel of monkeys, let me just say, I'm proud of you.

I think we really learned something today.