This article covers the evidence which leads cosmologists to believe the Big Bang happened, deals with common objections to the theory, and discusses alternative models and questions that still remain to be answered.

Imagine a collision between two vastly different worlds: the geeky universe of The Big Bang Theory and the futuristic realm of cyberpunk. In this article, w ...

We've got a special episode for you today from our friends at Short Wave. We all think about the Big Bang as the moment when our universe—everything in existence—began right? Turns out, it's not quite that simple. Today when scientists talk about the Big Bang, they mean a period of time, closer to an era rather than a specific moment.

Short Wave host Regina Barber talks with two cosmologists about the cosmic microwave background, its implications for the universe's origins and the discovery that started it all.

This episode is part of Short Wave's Space Camp series; you can find more here: https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-3299/short-wave-space-camp

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In just 15 minutes, Ed Robertson wrote the theme song to one of the most successful sitcoms of the 21st century – and how that collaboration came to be happened just as fast.

The Milky Way may be home to strange black holes from the first moments of the universe, and the best candidates are the three closest black holes to Earth

Snakes saw a burst of adaptation about 128 million years ago that led to them exploding in diversity and evolving up to three times faster than lizards

'Where are the funny writers on Indian television and OTT platforms?''Where are the sitcoms?' asks Vanita Kohli Khandekar.

When something big and expensive fails, we usually hear about it in the headlines.  Recent examples include the launch failure of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory and the setback at CERN, apparently caused by a dry solder joint, that resulted in a 12-month delay in their search for the Higgs particle. 

When something small and cheap fails, it rarely makes the headlines.  Unless, of course, it causes something big and expensive to fail - like a particle accelerator, a satellite or perhaps a semiconductor company. 

In the semiconductor industry, we have built up a system of safeguards and checks to minimize the risk of failure.  We apply these checks throughout the design process, and as a series of sign off steps that precede manufacture. 

I would be interested to understand whether other industries - e.g. avionics or automotive - have built up a similar infrastructure of pre-manufacturing sign off checks.  Do they rely on modeling during design, pre-manufacturing sign off or a combination of both?  Is there anything that we can learn from other industries?  Is there anything that they can learn from us? 

Astronomers of the future won't have to take the Big Bang on faith. With careful measurements and clever analysis, they can find the subtle evidence outlining the history of the universe.

The post Astronomers in distant future might still deduce the Big Bang origin of the Universe appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The genomes of modern birds tell a story of how they emerged and evolved after the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs 66 million years […]

The post International team maps ‘big bang’ of bird evolution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How soon after the Big Bang could water have existed? Not right away, because water molecules contain oxygen and oxygen had to be formed in […]

The post Water may Have Been Abundant in First Billion Years after big bang appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The explosion detected in a galaxy 390 million light-years from Earth was 5 times more energetic than anything seen before, but it's no Big Bang.

Theoretical cosmologists spend much of their time perfecting what is now known as the 'Big Bang' theory. This concept originates from ideas percolating in the minds of scientists, theologians and astronomers down through the ages. However, much of what they consider as proof for the 'Big Bang' is dependent upon uncontrolled experimentation that is molded to meet their expectations.

We construct semiglobal singular spacetimes for the Einstein equations coupled to a massless scalar field. Consistent with the heuristic analysis of Belinskii, Khalatnikov, Lifshitz or BKL for this system, there are no oscillations due to the scalar field. (This is much simpler than the oscillatory BKL heuristics for the Einstein vacuum equations.) Prior results are due to Andersson and Rendall in the real analytic case, and Rodnianski and Speck in the smooth near-spatially-flat-FLRW case. Similar to Andersson and Rendall we give asymptotic data at the singularity, which we refer to as final data, but our construction is not limited to real analytic solutions. This paper is a test application of tools (a graded Lie algebra formulation of the Einstein equations and a filtration) intended for the more subtle vacuum case. We use homological algebra tools to construct a formal series solution, then symmetric hyperbolic energy estimates to construct a true solution well-approximated by truncations of the formal one. We conjecture that the image of the map from final data to initial data is an open set of anisotropic initial data.

Edward Witten talks about math and physics.

Have you ever wondered why the moon is always there next to Earth? How did it come into existence and what is its relation to the Earth?

Exotic primordial black holes born in the moments after the universe began could be the key to solving some of cosmology’s biggest problems… if only we can find them.

We can't find any trace of cosmic dark matter – perhaps because our models of the early universe are missing a crucial piece, says astrophysicist Dan Hooper

It certainly wasn’t big, and probably didn’t bang – and the surprises in the conventional story of the universe's origins don’t end there

It certainly wasn’t big, and probably didn’t bang – and the surprises in the conventional story of the universe's origins don’t end there

It's nice to see Penny and Leonard are still on good terms

Parsons stars in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix series, Hollywood

May the Fourth Be with You! Every year, the 4th of May is celebrated as Star Wars Day as a take on the pun around the catchphrase "May the force be with you". If you've ever watched The Big Bang Theory, you'd know that Sheldon, Lenard, Raj and Howard are some of the biggest Star Wars Fans and everything related to Star Wars gets them super excited.

Throughout the series, the four of them have constantly paid homage to Star Wars through catchphrase dialogues and special episodes. It's always more fun to celebrate something when you celebrate it with other fans especially loyal ones like our four physicists.

Here are 5 times 'The Big Bang Theory' paid homage to Star Wars that you must watch this Star Wars Day:

The Star Wars Gaming Marathon:

"Movies or Video Games? Or Board Games? Or trade-card games? Or Legos? Or dress-up? Or comic books? Or dramatic readings of novelizations? Yes, to All!" That's how excited Sheldon is in the episode "The Weekend Vortex" when he hears his friends want to have a 'Star Wars Marathon'. Showing their passion for Star Wars and the excitement for anything remotely related to it, the show intrigued all the fans of the series.

What to watch out for: Raj's diet plan when in a 48-hour lockdown

Force Awakens Audition

The episode features a special case scenario when Penny couldn't get her BIG Break and Lenard goes an extra mile to get her an ultimate Star Wars movie, which has him excited but makes Penny a little hesitant. Creating a joke around how Howard too applied for the role online, Lenard tries to make Penny feel better.

What to watch out for Howard's audition tape or more like embarrassment tape

James Earl Jones guest stars:

The episode features a special appearance by Mr. James Earl Jones who played the voice of the Darth Vader in Star Wars movies. Sheldon meets Mr. Earl Jones in a restaurant where he takes a liking to Sheldon and the two ends up embarking on a jam-packed night filled with ice cream, karaoke, and even a strip club. Don't we wish the same!

What to watch out for: Sheldon's wild ride on the giant wheel with James Earl Jones aka Mufasa

The opening night of the Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens:

With a special episode for the release of the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, the show takes an important twist in the romantic life of Amy and Sheldon. Simultaneously, Lenard, Raj and Howard have an extra ticket to the opening night of one of the biggest sequels in pop culture history. The excitement and the loyalty for the movie is something that will want you to join in the fun too!

What to watch out for: Sheldon's birthday present for Amy

Leonard and Sheldon drop by Skywalker Ranch to meet George Lucas:

Lenard and Sheldon are on their way to give a lecture at UC Berkeley and decide to make a pit spot in Star Wars director George Lucas' headquarters. Upon arrival, the security guard won't let them in – but, because only Star Wars can throw Sheldon into an illogical frenzy, that doesn't stop him from attempting to run in. The sheer determination with which they want to meet George Lucas will win your hearts.

What to watch out for: Penny vs Amy vs Raj in Ping-Pong competition for Howard's collector's 'Doctor Who Tardis'

That's not all Folks! Watch "The Proton Transmogrification" where Sheldon has an in-dream counselling session with Arthur Jeffries (Bob Newhart) aka Prof. Proton. Also, do not miss out on "The Bow Tie Asymmetry" where Amy's dream wedding becomes Sheldon's dream wedding when Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker officiates their wedding.

Tune in to Comedy Central on the 4th of May from 4 pm to 7 pm to watch 7 back to back episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Celebrate Star Wars Day with your favourite Geniuses.

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The 2019 Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, with a number of departing shows being recognized in their final seasons but not The Big Bang Theory.

The excitement leading up to the budget was almost feverish, but it turned out to be a staid affair in the end. Here's a round-up of some of the key provisions of Arun Jaitley’s maiden budget, presented in Parliament on 10 July.

The World Bank continues to push its agenda on water privatisation even though its much-heralded examples from recent years turned out to be such dismal failures. The result will destroy countless small farmers and hand over agriculture to the rich and corporations, says P Sainath.

Melissa and Winston Rauch also share three-year-old daughter, Sadie.

You'd think the Angry Nerd would be square in the targeting sights of The Big Bang Theory. You'd think he'd love the show. And yet…and yet….

Barker Library - QB991.B54 G6713 2018