How ignorant we are - NOT amateur radio

 As part of my University of the Third Age course in Cambridge I was studying great physicists. The take-away remark is just how little we know! 

For centuries great minds have tried hard to better understand the universe at macro and micro level, without really understanding it.

Quantum mechanics was only put forward a little over one hundred years ago. All we really know is that everything is stranger than we ever imagined.

I don't think our human brains are capable of fully comprehending this.

Next term I am studying "Computers, the Brain and AI".  Perhaps AI could help?

The other course (totally different!) was about the Balkans.

The Earth as a living organism? - NOT amateur radio

At first this seems a crazy idea. In some ways it is less so. Certainly it is worthy of some thought.

For a long time I have been puzzled by scale. The world of sub-atomic particles and the sheer vastness of the universe seem so remote from each other. I have often wondered if our concepts of space and time are wrong. Perhaps the universe (or some universes) are actually in what we perceive as the micro world?  What if every cell and atom in our body is a whole universe? We are used to thinking of things on the scale that we know.

See https://fancy4work.com/astrobiologists-say-planet-earth-itself-might-actually-be-an-intelligent-being-marie-2/

A quote from the article:

"Earth seems to be stuck at a stage called an “immature technosphere.” This is a scenario where technological activity has fully developed and taken root — yet it’s not yet harmoniously integrated with other systems, such as the physical environment. It is important to integrate these two spheres, for only when the biological and technological processes are in sync can we ensure productivity and human’s future on this planet."

Mind boggling - NOT amateur radio

 It is estimated the Milky Way galaxy (ours) has between 100-400 billion stars and probably at least as many planets. It is estimated there are 2 trillion galaxies in the visible universe. That is a huge number of stars! There are about 6-7 billion humans on earth. Intelligent life has existed on Earth for a very tiny fraction of the time life has existed here.

Yet, we are conscious of our existence at this moment on this planet and we would not be here if just one ancestor had done something different.

Truly mind boggling.

Mind boggling numbers - NOT amateur radio

 When we talk about the universe, the numbers are truly mind-blowing.

The Milky Way has an estimated 1000000000 stars and at least as many planets. It is estimated there could be 2000000000000 galaxies in the observable universe.

If there are just 2 intelligent civilisations in our galaxy, there could be 4000000000000 intelllgent civilisations in the observable universe!

My brain hurts! 😁 

Stars in the visible universe - NOT amateur radio

According to Google there are a huge number of stars in the visible universe. Estimates vary widely, but the number is extremely large. In our own galaxy the estimate is 100-400 billion stars! In the visible universe the estimate is 1 billion trillion! That is a huge, huge number!

And we are born at this moment on this little planet and after looking for nearly 60 years we have not found one single civilisation "out there". What happens when we die? Goodness only knows. What I do know is our brains are far too small to comprehend. Religions try to explain things, but their world views seem far too small.

The universe and life are real puzzles for mere humans.

The universal scale of things

http://images.4channel.org/f/src/589217_scale_of_universe_enhanced.swf

This quite wonderful website brings to life the scale of things in our incredible universe from the smallest strings and branes to the largest galaxies and nebulae in the cosmos. And we are somewhere in the middle of all this.  Zoom in both directions (smaller and larger) and be amazed.