Is a force field possible? In theory, there are several possibilities, such as warping space time, electric fields, directional lasers, a controllable plasma, a magnetic field, and others. We have all seen science fiction movies where a spaceship is protected by a forcefield that destroys enemy fire when it comes into contact. The recent movie […]
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What is the Fermi paradox? It is the fact that if life in the universe is so common, we should have found signs of it. Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist. He received a Nobel Prize for physics in 1938 and he was involved with the Manhattan Project in the Second World War. He died
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Watch on YouTube What will happen at the end of the universe? There will either be a Big Crunch, a Big Bounce, a Big Rip, or a Big Freeze. The universe is thought to be 13.7 billion years old. This has been calculated in two ways. The first way is to find the oldest stars
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Watch on YouTube Why is carbon-based life common? Because carbon can bond with many different elements to allow chemical reactions to happen. On our planet all living things contain carbon. There may be lifeforms on other planets that are made of different elements but on Earth, everything uses carbon in one way or another. Plants,
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What is the Great Attractor? It is the theorized gravitational center of our Milky Way Galaxy and 100,000 other galaxies. The universe is expanding at a rate of 2.2 million km per hour. All galaxies should therefore be moving at that speed, but it turns out we are not. Our Milky Way Galaxy is moving
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How long do black holes last? Black holes will slowly dissolve, but it will take far longer than the length of our universe, so it has never been observed. There are two ways that black holes form. The first way is when a star collapses. As stars die, they burn up all of their hydrogen,
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Is cryosleep possible? In theory, yes, but not for the length of time needed to travel anywhere decent in space. The idea behind cryosleep is to put astronauts into a state of suspended animation for the length of time it would take for them to reach wherever they are going. The advantages of this are
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How does an ion thruster work? It creates thrust by accelerating ions using electricity. An ion is a charged atom or molecule. Atoms always have an equal number of electrons and protons. Electrons have a negative charge and protons have a positive charge. Because there is an equal number of each, the charges balance themselves
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What was the last Apollo mission? The last Apollo mission was Apollo 17. The Apollo program stretched from 1967 until 1972. There was supposed to be an Apollo 18, 19, and 20 but they were all cancelled. The booster for Apollo 20 was repurposed to launch Skylab, America’s first space station into orbit. The decision
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Could Earth survive without the moon? The planet would survive, but the living organisms on it might have a harder time. The moon was probably formed when another protoplanet hit the young Earth, obliterating both and making the Earth and moon from the resultant mush. The moon began life at a distance of about 22,500
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