To IN Finity.....and ....WTF!

ok ok, yes, that IS Buzz Lightyear and that is as far as I am going.

Now John posted this on fb and I see that it is from Gizmodo here

I really don't want to know the particulars because I suspect the nightmares might be damaging. But your more than welcome to research it on your own. Bon chance

Gamma Ray Explosion Blinds Swift

Long before our sun and planets formed and massive star collapsed to form a black hole. On June 21 of this year, the gamma ray burst from this explosion reached Earth and promptly raised havoc with several satellite systems including the Swift Observatory.

"Light" from the explosion was was 140 times brighter than the brightest steady source of X-rays currently known making this the most powerful source of x-rays ever recorded.

The burst was so bright that it temporarily blinded the Swift satellite.

The Telegraph via Dvice

Scientists Unraveling Catalyst of Supernovas

Astronomers have been using type 1a supernovas as a baseline for determining the expansion of the universe. So it becomes somewhat a sore spot when they have to admit that understanding how supernovas function or more to the point, what exactly "lights the fuse" of these titanic explosions.

Most astronomers feel that the mainstream explanation fills the bill best. From the Yahoo News article:

• Type 1a supernovae are formed when a white dwarf star -- the collapsed remnant of an old star -- becomes unstable after it exceeds its weight limit.

This instability could come from several different causes, like"

• the merging of two white dwarfs
• or accretion (of) material from a sun-like companion

Recent studies using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have results that suggest nearly all the supernovae studied came from two white dwarfs merging. Supernova through accretion should be approximately 50 times brighter in x-rays than actually observed. Further study needs to take place however to determine if this is indeed the case in all types of galaxies and not just elliptical.

Understanding how supernova work can go a long way to understanding dark matter and galaxy formation.

Complete Yahoo News article submitted by Tim Sayhill

X-ray and gamma-ray laser guns - coming soon.

A US researcher has discovered a way to generate X-ray and gamma-ray laser light without needing large energy input to begin with.

Since Einstein theorized laser light in 1917, it has been a given that it is impossible to generate laser light in the X-ray or gamma-ray range of the electromagnetic spectrum, due to the enormous energy required to to excite atoms to such high states.

"We do not have good sources of X-ray and gamma rays," said Kishor Kapale, an assistant professor of physics at Western Illinois University. Kapale's research, "Lasing Without Inversion: Counterintuitive Population Dynamics in the Transient Regime," published in the prestigious Physical Review Letters.

Kapale's study, however, demonstrates a novel method to manipulate the atoms in the sample so that even a small number of naturally existing high-energy atoms can cause laser light generation via lasing. In the process, an initially more populated ground (lowest energy) state becomes more populated with time. "This will allow the generation of X-ray and gamma-ray laser light without needing large energy input to begin with. " Kapale said.

What does one do with all those cheap xrays and gamma rays? Space opera afficionados will instantly see the possibility of a ray-projecting phaser-style sidearm, tuneable from nearly imperceptible discomfort to blasting-down-Godzilla strength, while more pacific futurists may visualize precise control of the behavior of quantum systems leading to progress in the important upcoming area of information processing known as quantum information (ansible and teleporter fans take note). Image source Stanford Linear Accelerator Center