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Missing Antimatter Explained?


Waspie_Dwarf

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Left-handed cosmic magnetic field could explain missing antimatter

The discovery of a 'left-handed' magnetic field that pervades the universe could help explain a long standing mystery – the absence of cosmic antimatter. A group of scientists, led by Prof. Tanmay Vachaspati from Arizona State University in the United States, with collaborators at Washington University and Nagoya University, announce their result in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Planets, stars, gas and dust are almost entirely made up of 'normal' matter of the kind we are familiar with on Earth. But theory predicts that there should be a similar amount of antimatter, like normal matter, but with the opposite charge. For example, an antielectron (called a positron) has the same mass as its conventional counterpart, but a positive rather than negative charge.

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In some way this is getting more and more strange. Besides all the other puzzle pieces that fit together to create a universe in which intelligent life may evolve, here is another piece that fits nicely.

The only piece that seems not to fit in a compliant way is dark energy. What contribution to the evolution of intelligent life does dark energy provide?

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What contribution to the evolution of intelligent life does dark energy provide?

You seem to be putting the cart before the horse here. Your post reads as if some how the universe must be designed for the evolution of intelligent life and that everything in it must contribute to that end gaol.

Unless you are taking this thread down the path of religious belief rather than science then clearly your question is a misguided one.

The universe is what it is. If we exclude religion then there is no scientific or logical reason to assume that the evolution of intelligent life was a goal or that everything within the universe must contribute to that goal.

Intelligent life in the universe is a consequence of the way the universe is, not the other way round. There is no reason to suppose that dark energy MUST contribute to the existence of intelligent life. All it need do, to be consistent with our existence, is not preclude the evolution of intelligent life.

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I'm just commenting on the aspects of the universe that are conducive to the natural evolution of intelligent life on planet earth. A left-handed cosmic magnetic field is another contrubuting factor.

My understanding is that the universe has not conspired to this purpose. I mentioned dark energy as a natural phenomenon that in my view does not contrubute to this evolution of intelligent life.

That's all i meant to say, that dark energy is not consistant with our existance. I think we could live without it. I'm not saying that all aspects of the universe must contribute to our existence. I'm just thinking about that so many aspects of the universe do contribute to our existence compared to those that do not.

Maybe dark energy is some proof that the universe is not biased toward the natural evolution of intelligent life.

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Maybe dark energy is some proof that the universe is not biased toward the natural evolution of intelligent life.

There are other things like asteroid striking earth . Solar flares , huge earthquakes etc which indicates universe does not treat life specifically.

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being completely ignorant... i always suspected something like this. It just seemed like the simplest explanation.

*

Edited by lightly
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I'm just commenting on the aspects of the universe that are conducive to the natural evolution of intelligent life on planet earth. A left-handed cosmic magnetic field is another contrubuting factor.

My understanding is that the universe has not conspired to this purpose. I mentioned dark energy as a natural phenomenon that in my view does not contrubute to this evolution of intelligent life.

That's all i meant to say, that dark energy is not consistant with our existance. I think we could live without it. I'm not saying that all aspects of the universe must contribute to our existence. I'm just thinking about that so many aspects of the universe do contribute to our existence compared to those that do not.

Maybe dark energy is some proof that the universe is not biased toward the natural evolution of intelligent life.

The universe is in no way biased toward the evolution of intelligent life.

Life is a means of energy redistribution. It could be argued intelligent life fairs better than less-intelligent in terms of survival. You can't put intelligence over other evolutionary adaptations like breathing air. Its just another one that has ensured our survival, and our survival means better redistribution of the sun's energy into the earth's open system.

Reductionist? Sure. But you're talking in very broad strokes here.

Edited by Emma_Acid
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Left handed ? Does this imply that there is a 'Right Handed' ? and how is the left and right differentiated apart in relative terms to us ? Is there a front and a back too ?

~ not too skid this down along the tracks of Yin and Yang ... but YinYang sure makes a lot more sense than Left or Right Handed ~

~

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Left handed ? Does this imply that there is a 'Right Handed' ? and how is the left and right differentiated apart in relative terms to us ? Is there a front and a back too ?

~ not too skid this down along the tracks of Yin and Yang ... but YinYang sure makes a lot more sense than Left or Right Handed ~

Chirality: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_%28physics%29

If this helps any. Helicity of a magnetic field I think would be its corkscrew like motion through space. A corkscrew can be either right- or left-handed. (I'm no expert!)

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The universe is in no way biased toward the evolution of intelligent life.

I'm not saying there is any premeditated bias, but since biological life is one result of the universe, the universe is neither biased against the evolution of biological life. I was just commenting on the properties of the universe that allow biological life to evolve.

No religious or creationist propaganda intended.

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Chirality: http://en.wikipedia....ality_(physics)

If this helps any. Helicity of a magnetic field I think would be its corkscrew like motion through space. A corkscrew can be either right- or left-handed. (I'm no expert!)

Thanks SMK ... still it depends on the relative point of reference doesn't it ? I mean what's a left and right corkscrew but a right and left corkscrew from the other direction ?

Or am I still trapped in a 2D diagram ...

~

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I'm not saying there is any premeditated bias, but since biological life is one result of the universe, the universe is neither biased against the evolution of biological life. I was just commenting on the properties of the universe that allow biological life to evolve.

No religious or creationist propaganda intended.

No I know. But there is a mistake to think that intelligence is somehow a step above other evolutionary factors. It isn't. There is no end goal of evolution, or indeed of the universe.

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Thanks SMK ... still it depends on the relative point of reference doesn't it ? I mean what's a left and right corkscrew but a right and left corkscrew from the other direction ?

Or am I still trapped in a 2D diagram ...

Generally yes, it is arbitrary.

Most of this (perhaps all of it) comes from something called the ``right hand rule'': If you wrap the fingers of your right hand in the direction of rotation, then you thumb points in the ``up'' direction.

Of course there is no physical reason for the ``right hand rule'', and if you want you can redefine all of physics in terms of a ``left hand rule'' if you want.

Directions become distinct for objects that are both moving and rotating: If an object is moving towards you, does it rotate counter-clockwise or clockwise?

We would call a counter-clockwise rotating object ``right-handed'', since the ``up'' direction of rotation (according to the ``right hand rule'') is the same as the direction of motion, and we would call a clockwise rotating object ``left-handed''.

But again, this all stems from an arbitrary rule; there are clearly two types of combined rotational+linear motion, but whether you call one ``left-handed'' or ``right-handed'' is just a matter of human convention and has no physical consequences.

******************

SMK: Are you talking about the anthropic principle?

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SMK: Are you talking about the anthropic principle?

I would say all the various anthropic principles are philosophy and not yet science. "We're here because the universe is the way it is" seems obvious to me. Why the universe is the way it is is a good question, though, and maybe thinking about the anthropic principle is helpful in this respect.

The thing is, all this is a sort of confirmation bias on our part. The foumulation of the questions we ask do not necessarily correspond to the the true nature of the universe. We create the universe in our own image in a sense. Our questions put a restraint on the nature of the univese due to the limits and character of human intelligence.

Perhaps some alien life with superior intelligence than ours would ask different questions and therefore have a different understanding of the nature of the universe than we do.

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