Month: July 2023

A second, in the infant universe right after the Big Bang, would take five of those of the present day universe before it passed, a new research has found, unlocking one of the Einstein’s expanding universe’s mysteries.
“Looking back to a time when the universe was just over a billion years old, we see time appearing to flow five times slower,” said lead author of the study, Geraint Lewis, University of Sydney, Australia.
“If you were there, in this infant universe, one second would seem like one second – but from our position, more than 12 billion years into the future, that early time appears to drag,” said Lewis.
While Einstein’s general theory of relativity says that the more distant the object being observed, such as an ancient universe, the slower it runs than the present day, peering back that far in time has proved elusive.
Examining details of 190 quasars, or hyperactive supermassive black holes at the centres of early galaxies, over two decades, the astronomers rolled back the time horizon to a tenth of its current stage and confirmed that the universe appeared to speed up as it aged. The study is published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
“Thanks to Einstein, we know that time and space are intertwined and, since the dawn of time in the singularity of the Big Bang, the universe has been expanding.
“This expansion of space means that our observations of the early universe should appear to be much slower than time flows today.
“In this paper, we have established that back to about a billion years after the Big Bang,” said Lewis. Lewis and team combined the observations from quasars taken at different colours, they were able to standardise the ‘ticking’ of each quasar.
Applying statistical analysis, they found the expansion of the universe imprinted on each quasar’s ticking. “With these exquisite data, we were able to chart the tick of the quasar clocks, revealing the influence of expanding space,” Lewis said.
Astronomers have previously established this slow-motion universe back to about half the universe’s age using supernovae, or massive exploding stars.
But while exceedingly bright, supernovae are difficult to observe at the immense distances needed to peer into the early universe.
“Where supernovae act like a single flash of light, making them easier to study, quasars are more complex, like an ongoing firework display.
“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,” said Lewis.
Source: PTI

The Indian Ocean harbors a colossal and enigmatic phenomenon known as the “Gravity Hole,” which scientists now suspect may be the remnants of an ancient sea that vanished millions of years ago, according to a recent study.
This groundbreaking research offers a possible explanation for the origins of the Earth’s most remarkable gravity anomaly, an immense depression hidden beneath the ocean’s surface. Known as the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL), this vast expanse spans over 2 million square miles and lies more than 600 miles beneath the Earth’s crust.
The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, proposes that the IOGL comprises slabs from the Tethys Ocean, a long-lost sea that plunged into the depths of the planet millions of years ago. The Tethys Ocean, which once separated the supercontinents of Gondwana and Laurasia, is believed to have perturbed the African Large Low Shear Velocity province, also known as the “African blob,” generating plumes beneath the Indian Ocean.
Lead author Debanjan Pal and Attreyee Ghosh explain, “These plumes, along with the mantle structure in the vicinity of the geoid low, are responsible for the formation of this negative geoid anomaly.”
Previous studies on the gravity anomaly focused solely on its present-day state, without delving into its origins. However, this new research utilized over a dozen computer models to provide insights into the ancient forces that shaped the IOGL.
Geophysicist Shijie Zhong expressed his fascination with this unique phenomenon, stating, “We like to talk about the positive gravity anomalies, such as the superplumes over Africa and the Pacific. But the geoid low in the Indian Ocean is one of the most profound gravitational anomalies on our planet.”
The Gravity Hole is estimated to have assumed its current form around 20 million years ago and is predicted to endure for millions more. Its intriguing nature has captivated scientists, shedding light on the geological history of the Indian Ocean and deepening our understanding of the complex forces at work beneath our planet’s surface. Source: HT

With Twitter already on the ropes, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg delivered another blow to Elon Musk on Wednesday, ramping up the tech billionaires’ rivalry with the launch of Instagram’s much-anticipated companion service Threads, a challenger to Twitter.
“Let’s do this. Welcome to Threads,” Zuckerberg wrote in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji. He said the app logged 2 million sign-ups in its first two hours.
Much like Twitter, the app features short text posts that users can like, re-post and reply to, although it does not include any direct message capabilities. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long, according to a Meta blog post.
It is available in more than 100 countries on both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, the blog post said.
Analysts said investors were salivating over the possibility that Threads’ ties to Instagram might give it a built-in user base and advertising apparatus. That could siphon ad dollars from Twitter at a time when the microblogging company’s new CEO is trying to revive its struggling business.
While Threads launched as a standalone app, users can log in using their Instagram credentials and follow the same accounts, potentially making it an easy addition to existing habits for Instagram’s more than 2 billion monthly active users.
Apple makes it super easy to switch from Android to iPhone
As more and more smartphone users continue to switch from Android to the iPhone ecosystem globally, including in India, it has now become super easy to get all your contacts, photos, videos and even WhatsApp content transferred to the iOS app.
One can start the Android to iOS switching process by downloading the ‘Move to iOS’ app on your Android phone.
It securely transfers your contacts, messages, WhatsApp content, photos, videos, email accounts and calendars from your Android phone to your iPhone.
Before you begin, on your Android device, make sure that Wi-Fi is turned on.
Plug your new iOS device and your Android device into power. Make sure that the content you’re moving, including what’s on your external Micro SD card, will fit on your new iOS device.
If you want to transfer your Chrome bookmarks, update to the latest version of Chrome on your Android device.
“Using the Move to iOS app, I transferred all my data to iPhone,” says Iska K.
For Chirag B, He used to play game with glitches on Android. “Now my experience is seamless,” he said after switching to an iPhone.
You can also trade in your current device for credit towards a new iPhone.