Directed Panspermia:
Panspermia is the idea that microbial life is spread throughout the galaxy by hitching a ride on asteroids, comets and the like. Directed panspermia takes the concept one step further, suggesting an intelligent agent could be behind such events.
Double Slit Experiment:
The idea of shining a single photon of light through a metal sheet perforated with two holes hardly seems like an exciting experiment. However, the results have led to some of the most fascinating and troubling questions in modern science. The problem occurs when that photon hits the screen on the other end. If light was a particle the image on the screen would look one way (I won’t bore you with details). On the other hand, if light was a wave, the image on the screen would appear totally different. Einstein and others demonstrated that atoms and other particles can behave as either a wave or a particle depending on when and how you observe them. Furthermore, quantum theory also suggests that all possibilities for a particle’s trajectory exist simultaneously. It’s only when an observer tries to determine which of the slits the particle passes through that it collapses into a single, unambiguous path. The implication appears to be that the mere act of observing appears to affect the results. I’m sure Rupert Sheldrake might have a thing or two to say about that.
Quantum Entanglement:
Referred to by Einstein as spooky action at a distance, entanglement occurs when two particles share the same total quantum state or spin. Keeping the double slit experiment in mind, two entangled particles don’t have individually well-defined spins until one of them is measured. Once the first is measured as say “spin up” the second must automatically become “spin down” no matter how far away that second particle might be. While it might look spooky and in some ways nonsensical to us, it’s important to remember that human brains evolved to interact with the world that describes how big things behave (classical physics) and not the world of the very small (quantum physics). Of course, there is still a tremendous way to go and many physical limitations that remain intact, but it’s tempting to imagine how quantum entanglement might one day enable us to communicate or perhaps even travel faster than the speed of light.
Black Holes:
Black holes describe a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. First theorized in the 18th century by the Reverend John Michell, they were shown to be a consequence of Einstein’s theory of relativity in 1916. Incontrovertible proof of black holes was finally uncovered in 1971 with the discovery of Cygnus X-1 by the Uhuru X-ray satellite. More recently, supermassive black holes were discovered to exist at the center of most observable galaxies, including our own.
White Holes:
Are essentially the opposite of a black hole. While one has an escape velocity greater than the speed of light and attracts everything towards it, the other spews matter and energy outward. Of course, while still only a theoretical mathematical concept, the idea is a valid solution to the equations of General Relativity and is no less thought provoking. One such notion asks whether the existence of white holes might account for the big bang since both events involve a spontaneous outward explosion of matter and energy from a singular point in space. More startling still is the idea that white holes might connect to the other end of certain black holes, creating a bridge from one universe to another.
Alien plant life:
As described in the story, NASA scientists such as Nancy Kiang at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies have suggested that the dominant colors for photosynthesis on alien earth-like planets will differ based on the nature of the atmosphere, where light reaches the surface as well as the brightness of the planet’s star. The chlorophyll in most plants on Earth absorbs blue and red light and less green light. Therefore, chlorophyll appears green. But not all stars have the same light distribution as our sun, which would likely result in alien plant life adorned with striking fall colors.
Dark Energy:
Still largely unknown, scientists believe dark energy makes up 70% of the universe, with the remainder divided between dark matter (25%) and normal matter (5%). Since both dark matter and dark energy are invisible and currently beyond our ability to detect, scientists have needed to rely on observing their effects. For example, when calculating gravitational forces throughout the universe, it quickly became clear the amount of observable matter could not account for the readings. There simply wasn’t enough “stuff” to keep stars and galaxies from flying away from one another.
Similarly with dark energy, scientists are able to measure its presence indirectly. In 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding. But instead of slowing down due to gravity, as one might expect, the universe’s expansion is actually speeding up. But what is causing this? The current contender seems to be dark energy, but nobody has yet uncovered its true nature. As with much of what we’ve discussed so far, plenty more research remains to be done before we will know with any certainty.
Mysticism:
To one degree or another, nearly every one of us grapples with two fundamental questions: who am I and where do I come from? That insatiable curiosity has been channeled into areas like cosmology, biology, religion and more recently, tracing back our personal ancestry through take home DNA tests. And yet, each one of these represents but a single thread of inquiry, a means by which we have attempted to find answers to those two vexing questions.
In Extinction Crisis, I attributed that search to a modification inserted into all biological beings by advanced life forms, one that would only become fully active once the species developed the ability to reason. In real life, we still don't fully understand where that insatiable hunger comes from or even the source of the voice in our heads that poses the questions in the first place.
But rather than focusing on which of those threads holds the truth, it may be helpful to take a step back and view the tapestry as a whole. Perhaps there, hidden inside that swirling pattern as it was within Salzburg, we will find the answers we've all been searching for.
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