[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Huge Democrat shift against Israel stuns CNN

McCarthy Was Right. They Lied About Everything.

How Romans Built Domes

My 7 day suspension on X was lifted today.

They Just Revealed EVERYTHING... [Project 2029]

Trump ACCUSED Of MASS EXECUTING Illegals By DUMPING Them In The Ocean

The Siege (1998)

Trump Admin To BAN Pride Rainbow Crosswalks, DoT Orders ALL Distractions REMOVED

Elon Musk Backing Thomas Massie Against Trump-AIPAC Challenger

Skateboarding Dog

Israel's Plans for Jordan

Daily Vitamin D Supplementation Slows Cellular Aging:

Hepatitis E Virus in Pork

Hospital Executives Arrested After Nurse Convicted of Killing Seven Newborns, Trying to Kill Eight More

The Explosion of Jewish Fatigue Syndrome

Tucker Carlson: RFK Jr's Mission to End Skyrocketing Autism, Declassifying Kennedy Files

Israel has killed 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, 2023

100m Americans live in areas with cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' in their water

Scientists discover cancer-fighting bacteria that "soak up" forever chemicals in the body

Israel limits entry of baby formula in Gaza as infants die of hunger

17 Ways mRNA Shots May CAUSE CANCER, According to Over 100 STUDIES

Report: Pentagon Halts Some Munitions Shipments To Ukraine Over Concerns That US Stockpiles Are Too Low

Locals Fear Demolitions as Israeli Troops Set Up New Base in Syrias Quneitra

Russian forces discover cache of Ukrainian chemical drone munitions FSB

Clarissa Ward: Gaza is what is turning people overseas against the US

What Parents Wish Their Children Could Grow Up Without

WHY SO MANY FOREIGN BASES IN AFRICA?

Trump called Candace Owens about Brigitte Macron's P*NIS?

New Mexico Is The Most-Dependent State On The Federal Govt, New Jersey The Least

"This Is The Next Level": AI-Powered "Digital Workers" Deployed At Major Bank To Work Alongside Humans


Science/Tech
See other Science/Tech Articles

Title: Hawking on the future of mankind
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9672000/9672233.stm
Published: Jan 6, 2012
Author: Stephen Hawking
Post Date: 2012-01-06 04:52:13 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 28

To mark his 70th birthday, physicist Professor Stephen Hawking answered a selection of questions from listeners to Radio 4's Today Programme.

Topics ranged from the origins of the universe to the prospects for extra terrestrial life and the impact on Einstein's theory of relativity should neutrinos be confirmed to travel faster than light.

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version

It seems clear that Professor Hawking believes we we will have to colonise space if we are to avoid catastrophe, but he is upbeat about the prospects for self-sustaining colonies on Mars and believes the human race will eventually spread out across the far reaches of the universe.

Finding intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, he says, would be the greatest scientific discovery ever, but he is not optimistic about the likely outcome.

ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE

1. Was there a "time" when there was "nothing"? - Roland, Lagos.

The origin of the universe can be explained by the laws of physics, without any need for miracles or Divine intervention.

These laws predict that the universe was spontaneously created out of nothing in a rapidly expanding state.

This is called inflation because it is like the way prices in the shops go up at an ever increasing rate.

Time is defined only with the universe, so it makes no sense to talk about time before the universe began, it would be like asking for a point south of the South Pole.

FASTER THAN LIGHT?

2. What will be the impact on Einstein's theory of relativity if the neutrino is confirmed to be able to travel faster than the speed of light? - David Pointon, Maidstone.

Einstein's theory of relativity predicts that nothing can travel faster than light.

Thus if the Opera experiment is correct, and neutrinos do travel faster than light, then relativity theory is wrong.

However, I don't believe the Opera results, because they disagree with the detection of neutrinos from supernova SN1987A.

MULTIPLE UNIVERSES?

3. Some people hypothesise that what we call the universe may only be one of many. Is there any conceivable way that we could ever detect and study other universes if they exist? Is it even falsifiable? - Toby North, Essex.

Our best bet for a theory of everything is M-theory.

One prediction of M-theory is that there are many different universes, with different values for the physical constants.

This might explain why the physical constants we measure seem fine-tuned to the values required for life to exist.

It is no surprise that we observe the physical constants to be finely-tuned.

If they weren't, we wouldn't be here to observe them.

One way of testing this would be to look for features in the cosmic microwave background radiation which would indicate the collision of another universe with ours in the distant past.

COLONISING SPACE

4. Do you think the human race will survive all potential disasters and eventually colonise the stars?- Matt Dotchon, Cardiff.

It is possible that the human race could become extinct, but it is not inevitable.

I think it is almost certain that a disaster such as nuclear war or global warming will befall the Earth within a thousand years.

It is essential that we colonize space.

I believe that we will eventually establish self-sustaining colonies on Mars and other bodies in the Solar System although probably not within the next 100 years.

I am optimistic that progress in science and technology will eventually enable humans to spread beyond the Solar System and out into the far reaches of the Universe.

ALIEN CONTACT

5. What do you think the impact will be on mankind if Kepler 22b does indeed support life?- CazCarpSnail via Twitter

The discovery of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe would be the biggest scientific discovery ever.

But it would be very risky to attempt to communicate with an alien civilization.

If aliens decided to visit us then the outcome might be similar to when Europeans arrived in the Americas.

That did not turn out well for the Native Americans.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  



[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]