Twins In Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

Hey did you know that a set of twins has already visited space?  No?  Tis true.   Apart from its' "I didn't know that!" aspect, NASA is actually looking to document body / mind changes brought on by long duration space flight missions.  

From the Space.gov article:

• NASA's Human Research Program  will fund 10 short-term, first-of-its-kind investigations into the molecular, physiological and psychological effects of spaceflight in a continuous effort to reduce the health impacts of human space exploration. 

NASA's will fly veteran astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station for one year, beginning March 2015.   His identical twin brother, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, remains on Earth.

NASA will compare blood samples from Scott and Mark that will  during and after the one-year mission. Physiological and psychological testing also will be conducted on the brothers before, during and after the mission.

For complete NASA article click HERE

LSU professor resolves Einstein's twin paradox

Subhash Kak, Delaune Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at LSU, recently resolved the twin paradox, known as one of the most enduring puzzles of modern-day physics.

First suggested by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago, the paradox deals with the effects of time in the context of travel at near the speed of light. Einstein originally used the example of two clocks – one motionless, one in transit. He stated that, due to the laws of physics, clocks being transported near the speed of light would move more slowly than clocks that remained stationary.

In more recent times, the paradox has been described using the analogy of twins. If one twin is placed on a space shuttle and travels near the speed of light while the remaining twin remains earthbound, the unmoved twin would have aged dramatically compared to his interstellar sibling, according to the paradox.

If the twin aboard the spaceship went to the nearest star, which is 4.45 light years away at 86 percent of the speed of light, when he returned, he would have aged 5 years. But the earthbound twin would have aged more than 10 years!” said Kak.

Kak solved the paradox by incorporating a new principle within the relativity framework that defines motion not in relation to individual objects, such as the two twins with respect to each other, but in relation to distant stars. Using probabilistic relationships, Kak’s solution assumes that the universe has the same general properties no matter where one might be within it.