Sunday, 31 January 2021

Astronomers Just Saw the Biggest Boom Since the Big Bang


BRIGHT SIDE on Youtube talks about the Big Bang Theory. There are more recent discoveries concerning this space phenomenon.

There was an epic space explosion that scientists discovered in February 2020. Its size and power are certainly enormous even by cosmic standards. It would take 2.6 billion years to get to where this explosion occurred in space. Amazingly, this burst lasted 100 million years. That’s from today’s modern world to back all the way back to dinosaur times.

It seems that a black hole set off this space boom of epic proportions. This monster swallowed so much substance that it choked and shot out a bunch of plasma beams. They cut through space and formed a cosmic wasteland all around the site! It was thought to be the biggest explosion in the universe. But sooner or later, it seems, every record gets broken! See the most incredible, awe-inspiring, and unbelievable facts about space. You will be educated and entertained.

The history of the "The Big Bang theory" is interesting. The Big Bang theory is a cosmological model of the observable universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution. The model describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of extremely high density and high hot temperature, and offers a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of observed phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and large-scale structure.

Crucially, the theory is compatible with Hubble-LemaƮtre law - the observation that the farther away galaxies are, the faster they are moving away from Earth. Extrapolating this cosmic expansion backwards in time using the known laws of physics, the theory describes a high density state preceded by a singularity in which space and time lose meaning. There is no evidence of any phenomena prior to the singularity. Detailed measurements of the expansion rate of the universe place the Big Bang at around 13.8 billion years ago, which is thus considered the age of the universe.

After its initial expansion, the universe cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements (mostly hydrogen, with some helium and lithium) later coalesced through gravity, forming early stars and galaxies, the descendants of which are visible today. Besides these primordial building materials, astronomers observe the gravitational effects of an unknown dark matter surrounding galaxies. Most of the gravitational potential in the universe seems to be in this form, and the Big Bang theory and various observations indicate that this gravitational potential is not made of baryonic matter, such as normal atoms. Measurements of the redshifts of supernovae indicate that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, an observation attributed to dark energy's existence.

What is "Baryonic Matter"? In astronomy and cosmology, baryonic dark matter is dark matter composed of baryons. Only a small proportion of the dark matter in the universe is likely to be baryonic.

In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite subatomic particle which contains an odd number of valence quarks. Baryons belong to the hadron family of particles; hadrons are composed of quarks. Baryons are also classified as fermions because they have half-integer spin.

Friday, 29 January 2021

Canada: Ottawa announces flight suspensions, quarantine hotel stays


CBC News shows that Canada's major airlines have agreed to suspend flights to Mexico and the Caribbean as the federal government introduces new mandatory quarantine rules for passengers, such as hotel stays, as it tries to discourage international travel.

It seems that Ottawa isn't really banning non-essential travel. It is making it as inconvenient and expensive as possible. Now, in addition to existing requirements, returning travellers will need to quarantine in a hotel for three days at their own expense, at a likely cost of at least $2,000.

Coronavirus: Renters in Canada increasingly at risk of losing homes amid pandemic


Global News shows that the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated Canada's affordable housing crisis. 

While evictions were put on hold during the first wave in most provinces, when summer rolled around the ban was lifted and it led to a surge of online eviction hearings. 

Now, a growing number of renters are at risk of losing their homes. Farah Nasser looks at the unprecedented eviction crisis gaining momentum in this country.

Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee.

Moderna to delay vaccine shipments to Canada


CBC News shows that Canada's vaccination campaign is facing yet another hurdle in the race to inoculate people against the coronavirus Covid-19 with the announcement that Moderna will delay some shipments of its product next month.

Moderna is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It focuses on drug discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies based exclusively on messenger RNA. Moderna's technology platform inserts synthetic nucleoside-modified mRNA into human cells.

mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine. Many types of vaccines use a weakened or inactivated virus or part of a virus to trigger an immune response inside our body. However, instead of using the live virus that causes COVID-19, mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response. Once triggered, our body then makes antibodies. These antibodies help us fight the infection if the real virus does enter our body in the future.

Canada cancels all flights to Mexico, Caribbean


Global News shows the top story: Canada is warning those who are hoping for a March Break abroad that now is not the time. The federal government announced Friday it is tightening travel measures to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic and its highly infectious variants. Canada’s main airlines are suspending service to popular sun destinations, such as Mexico and the Caribbean, starting Sunday until April 30. Starting Feb. 3, international flights will also only be able to land in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal and in the coming weeks, there will be a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport for people returning to Canada, in addition to the test required before the flight. There are still major questions about how the changes will roll out. It seems that there is a hefty price you’ll pay if you insist on taking that trip.

Coronavirus Canada: Ontario to require testing at Toronto Pearson airport for arriving travellers


Global News shows that reacting to the Canadian federal government's new public health measures for international travellers, Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Friday said while he welcomes this change, he feels it doesn't start soon enough. As a result, Ontario is introducing a plan to combat virus variants and will require mandatory COVID-19 testing at Toronto Pearson International Airport for all passengers on arriving flights.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott says those who refuse to take a test will be issued a ticket.

The briefing came as Ontario reported 1,837 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the provincial total to 264,300.

Friday’s case count is lower than Thursday’s which saw 2,093 new infections. On Wednesday, 1,670 new cases were recorded and 1,740 on Tuesday.

The death toll in the province has risen to 6,072 as 58 more deaths were reported.

Thursday, 28 January 2021

GameStop stock sees price drops after restrictions put on trades


CBC News: The National shows that GameStop’s stock took a dive Thursday after the online brokerage used for many of the trades that made it the hottest stock of the week put severe restrictions in place. Investment funds lost billions when amateur traders came together online to push up certain stock prices, which regulators are looking to examine.

GameStop is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, United States, a suburb of Dallas, and operates 5,509 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe as of February 1, 2020. The company's retail stores primarily operate under the GameStop, EB Games, ThinkGeek, and Micromania-Zing brands.

In addition to retail stores, GameStop also owns Game Informer, a video game magazine.

(Not to be confused with GameSpot.)