Category: Uncategorized

He’s at it again: he loves to be under blankets and pillows and gently thumped from above. View in LinkedIn

KARL R POPPER. “It is not my intention to raise any “what is” questions, such as “What is mind?” or “What is matter?”. (In fact the need to avoid “what is” questions will turn out to be one of my major points). It is still less of my intention to answer such questions. (That is, I am not offering what is sometimes called an “ontology”.) https://lnkd.in/dbkcDjD View in LinkedIn

THE BIG BANG AND MORE. “Theorists nonetheless ponder the possible existence of other kinds of atoms—not just additional elements yet undiscovered, but atoms built differently from the ones we know on Earth.” (Brilliant summary articles). https://lnkd.in/dqtx5yd View in LinkedIn

QUASARS. “Given the compact sizes of these inner regions (sub-parsec for a 108 M⊙ BH), variability induced by instabilities in the accretion flow, reprocessing of light, and dynamical evolution of the inner regions can be observed over a broad range of timescales from intra-hours to decades, providing observational constraints on these regions that are too small to be spatially resolved directly.” (M⊙ = unit of sun’s mass). https://lnkd.in/dEvc7DF View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this article on the genetics of an extraordinary and hugely successful evolutionary strategy that hijacks the host reproductive system. Parasites are known to manipulate host behavior in equally extraordinary ways, causing them to suicide in order to perpetuate the parasite; there seem few limits to how deeply life forms can be hacked, a sobering thought. https://lnkd.in/dXjWp9f View in LinkedIn

“THE INNER STRUCTURES of quasars (the accretion disk, the BLR, and the dust torus) are all within the sphere of influence of the SMBH, where the most important processes associated with accretion are occurring (e.g., winds and outflows, photoionization, chemical enrichment, dynamical evolution, etc.).” ( SMBH = supermassive black hole; BLR = broad emission line region). https://lnkd.in/dEvc7DF View in LinkedIn

GALACTIC REACH OF SIGNATURES. “The inner regions of quasars emit most of the luminosity of these accreting BHs, and produce copious diagnostic features in the observed rest-frame UV-infrared spectrum. The basic structure of quasars consists of an accretion disk surrounding the BH that produces the intense ionizing radiation needed to power the broad emission line region (BLR), the dust torus, and the narrow emission line region (NLR), which extends to galactic scales.” ( BH = black hole). https://lnkd.in/dEvc7DF View in LinkedIn

“QUASARS (luminous Active Galactic Nuclei, or AGN) are among the most luminous extragalactic objects in the Universe. Powered by rapid mass accretion onto the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of distant galaxies, quasars are beacons marking growing massive black holes (BH) and their host galaxies to the farthest reach of modern telescopes (e.g., a recently discovered quasar at z ∼ 7.5.” https://lnkd.in/dEvc7DF View in LinkedIn

POWER SOURCE. “Quasars discovered at z > 6 − 7 are powered by SMBHs up to 10(10)M⊙.” (M⊙ = unit of sun’s mass; SMBH = supermassive black holes). https://lnkd.in/devi4ZN View in LinkedIn

GROWING NUMBER. “More than 200 quasars have now been discovered at z>6.” https://lnkd.in/devi4ZN View in LinkedIn