2021-03-21 13:25
Imagining warp drives often conjures up scenes from Star Trek, where ships enter ‘warp speed’ accelerating up to and past the speed of light to zoom from one destination in the c… Read More
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Rationalising The Universe Blog
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Joseph and Mekhi lower the barriers to entry of science with explorations of the universe around us.
2021-02-21 16:23
This post is the second half in our Future of Humanity series. The post is not a traditional RTU-style piece but follows on logically from the previous, now focusing on the anthropogenic ris… Read More
2021-02-06 17:03
Today we are thinking towards the future of human civilisation and our ability, as a species, to play the long game. What are the risks that face our species and how could these risks be mit… Read More
2020-05-27 14:50
The Einstein equation encapsulates the nature of a spacetime. If we can solve this equation for a particular system we have at our disposal a full understanding of its initial state, as well… Read More
2019-12-04 17:41
I have been recounting the fantastic properties of black holes for a number of posts now, however I have not yet properly addressed one of the seemingly more mundane questions over their nat… Read More
2019-11-27 13:19
In our series of posts exploring black holes we have discussed the fantastical properties of their horizons, their reaction to perturbations and triumphant lack of hair, conjectured fuzzy na… Read More
2019-08-12 19:49
For an Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reach a state of perceived intelligence it first has to learn and adapt to its task. These tasks are normally quite specific, and lead to an AI that is… Read More
2019-03-12 08:23
It has been longer than I intended since my previous post, however the scientific cogs have still been whirring. I am extremely pleased to say that I will be moving back to theoretical physi… Read More
2019-02-05 20:25
Fuzzballs are believed by string theorists to be the true quantum description of black holes. Put forward by Samir Mathur of Ohio State University in 2002, fuzzballs are giant, compact star… Read More
2019-01-28 13:53
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), currently the world’s largest particle accelerator and playground to physicists at CERN, could be about to have its name challenged. On January 15th th… Read More
2019-01-23 08:47
Einstein’s theory of general relativity describes our universe as a four-dimensional spacetime. Three spatial dimensions that we observe in our everyday life plus that of time. The fun… Read More
2018-12-30 12:19
Einstein’s general relativity is hailed as being the supreme theory when it comes to describing the macroscopic world. However, mathematicians have a modified theory that could m… Read More
2018-11-27 12:55
For those you that like to dabble in the world of theoretical physics you may have heard this string of letters before; AdS/CFT. This stands for the mouthful; Anti-de-Sitter/Conformal Field… Read More
2018-11-04 15:31
Having just started my PhD in Astrophysics at UCL, I thought I would share a post with a brief overview of the area i’m now in, my first impressions of research life and the challenges… Read More
2018-10-23 20:25
When I first made the transition from studying as a full time pursuit to a part time guilty pleasure there were a lot of things I missed – being able to study in the daylight hours for… Read More
2018-07-30 14:32
Today I’m taking a break from physics to write on an idea somewhat linked to psychology, which of late I am getting more and more interested in thinking about. However it is also, as a… Read More
2018-06-17 17:36
Hello RTU readers. So today I’ll be writing about an idea that combines two of my favourite ideas in astrophysics; exoplanets and black holes. This post comes at an exciting time as I… Read More
2018-06-01 09:31
Today in the continuation of our series on Black Holes, you can find the previous two instalments (here and here) we go beyond the event horizon and discover that there exists a second, inne… Read More
2018-03-27 09:09
Let me clear up another mystery first – where have I been all this time? It’s not so much that I have been too busy to write, but have been embroiled in financial considerations… Read More
2018-03-23 14:17
Hello to those of you still reading despite the rather large hiatus RTU has been experiencing. To reiterate I am currently studying for my MSc degree in Theoretical Physics and with sev… Read More
2017-11-13 19:07
Hello RTU readers! Apologies for another extended silence. I am currently studying for a MSc degree in Theoretical Physics and it is consuming all my time (what else was to be expected I sup… Read More
2017-10-02 19:37
A brief post today explaining the motivations for and success of Quantum Field Theory. Here at RTU we’ve given you a fair bit of exposure to the quirks and eccentricities of the Quantu… Read More
2017-09-15 15:56
A long belated hello RTU followers. I hope everybody had an enjoyable summer break, apologies for our considerable silence lately, as well as the occasional holiday I have been spending time… Read More
2017-07-12 10:37
Good morning RTU followers. Today I want give you a very brief introduction to an integral part of Theoretical Physics – Group Theory. When studying for my MSc I knew I had to get my h… Read More
2017-07-04 09:09
A quick update
Hello to everyone still reading Rationalising The Universe! Let me apologies for my radio silence, things have been moving around quite quickly for me so let me explain why I… Read More
2017-06-20 09:08
Today’s post revisits one of my favourite themes in Theoretical Physics – time. In previous posts we’ve looked at the idea of the present and how the theory of Special Rela… Read More
2017-06-01 11:02
Hello RTU followers, happy start of summer and apologies for our inactivity as of late. In light of the bleakness of current affairs and state of the world we are finding ourselves in in 201… Read More
2017-05-09 09:35
A big thank you and welcome to all our followers who have joined us via our new Facebook page – this has proven a very popular platform. Anyone who wants to stay in touch this way… Read More
2017-05-03 08:49
Here at RTU we (mainly Joe) has written a lot about the interesting behaviour of the Quantum world. To play around in this world you need to follow a set of basic yet counter-intuitive… Read More
2017-04-25 11:33
In today’s post we’ll be presenting a go-to in every theoretical physicist’s toolkit, the thought experiment. I’ll present its pros and cons while giving a few exampl… Read More
2017-04-18 09:23
Hello RTU followers!
I was thinking over topics I had never written on, and one of the things that immediately sprung to mind was statistics. This may strike some as odd, since it lies… Read More
2017-04-12 15:14
Today’s post will be explaining the workings of the Event Horizon Telescope and the recent efforts to capture for the first time an image of the black hole at the center of our ga… Read More
2017-03-30 09:15
I have been meaning to write an opinion piece titled: Has a generation of theory been stolen by the strings? when it came to my attention we have never had a post outlining the bas… Read More
2017-03-21 09:46
The life of a star is brilliant, furious and explosive. Although the countless twinkles in the sky may look one and the same, their journeys vary considerably depending on their mass. Today… Read More
2017-03-16 10:37
Today we look to the future, focusing on how quantum mechanical phenomena can be harnessed to vastly increase our computing capabilities. Leaving aside quantum computing for a second –… Read More
2017-03-09 10:34
As with many features of particle physics, the science behind the neutrino is relatively contemporary. It was only in the 50’s that we first experimentally detected the particle and no… Read More
2017-03-03 11:57
Whether or not we have a free will is an age old question in philosophy – whether we are truly in control of our decisions and whether our future is an uncertainty, slowly carved out i… Read More
2017-02-23 11:16
I’m afraid this post isn’t about the best surf spots out there but a different type of waves, gravitational waves – big news for physicists in the last year. In 1… Read More
2017-02-20 10:40
Any true science fiction fan will immediately recognize the featured image to this post as The Matrix – the late 90s trilogy where humans are stuck living in a simulated reality, which… Read More
2017-02-13 10:45
I have previously authored a post on mathematical beauty, which as we know here at RTU is one of the purest forms a human can revel in. Today I intend to present an elegant piece of mathemat… Read More
2017-02-07 10:40
Today we have another post which falls into the realm of Philosophy of Science. An idea which makes us question our perception of reality, of our knowledge and consciousness. This is the sce… Read More
2017-01-31 09:45
Light travels in straight lines. We are taught this from a very young age – light will not wiggle its way through things, but travel in straight lines reflecting and refracting. Hopefu… Read More
2017-01-26 15:03
A snappy little post today, the science behind the spectacular display of the Aurora Borealis a.k.a Northern Lights. This mystical display of colours may be better left to childhood imaginat… Read More
2017-01-23 09:45
Today I intend to do a post explaining the different quantum numbers in simple terms. There is a good chance that in future posts will have a need to refer to quantum numbers – I… Read More
2017-01-19 10:59
Today we have a simple post which will break down Newton’s laws of motion so even the layman can understand them inside out (hopefully). Mathematical formula will be introduced, though… Read More
2017-01-17 09:45
My role on RTU is gradually trending towards considering the the very small, for which I make no protest. It is not so much that the relativistic universe does not fascinate me or that… Read More
2017-01-14 09:52
Today we follow on from the first in the series on Black Holes (#1 Falling In) and talk about how black holes aren’t thought to be that black after all with the idea of Hawking Radiati… Read More
2017-01-05 20:01
Recently we travelled to The Dark Side to learn about mysterious dark matter and dark energy, today we turn to another curious substance in our universe – antimatter. Antimatter’… Read More
2017-01-03 10:39
A note to my readers
I make a conscious effort to avoid arbitrary targets – it seems nonsensical to center your appreciation of a loved one on the 14th of February, to delay makin… Read More
2016-12-28 10:27
Before we start i’d just like to apologise for our low activity on Rationalising the Universe as of late – given the Christmas period we’ve both been rather busy with famil… Read More
2016-12-19 10:23
This post is written due as a follow up to my fleeting mention of symmetry breaking in my last post.
Symmetry is very simple when spoken of with regard to the geometric idea of placing… Read More
2016-12-13 09:45
On 14 March 2013, CERN announced the discovery of a particle with the qualities theorized by Peter Higgs (above) in the 1960s. The discovery of the Higgs boson was arguably the most signifi… Read More
2016-12-08 09:34
A shorter post today to break up what have been quite a series of length editions. So we’re about to talk about a concept fundamental to the subject of Physics and explain what it is … Read More
2016-12-04 13:10
Two months ago I posted on how the theory of Special Relativity refutes the idea of a flow of time or a universal present moment. You can read that post here.
Today as promised I put forward… Read More
2016-11-29 09:45
You may have read in the news recently that a 13 year old girl has won a case to allow her body to be cryogenically preserved.Cryogenics is something that feels like the prope… Read More
2016-11-24 12:41
This is the first in a short series on black holes and we start with the falling in.
Ever wondered what would happen if you had the nasty fate of falling into a black hole or what you would… Read More
2016-11-21 09:35
In Physics, most processes are time reversible. That might seem like a really strange concept, but it’s fairly easy if you consider the example of dropping a book. You convert gra… Read More
2016-11-17 10:24
Exoplanet – a planet which orbits a star outside the solar system
Prior to 1992 not a single exoplanet was known to exist. Now, here we sit 24 years later having discovered 3,537 exopl… Read More
2016-11-13 14:17
Rationalising the Universe was never set up as a facility to express opinion, unless in relation to the forefront of science and the perimeter of human knowledge. On the odd occasion&nb&hell…Read More
2016-11-09 14:36
A coincidence is generally considered (by the dictionary) to be some sort of event which happens without a causal connection. Hopefully diligent readers of this site have started to learn th… Read More
2016-11-06 13:19
Part I: The Question
The most simple questions that we can ask often turn out to be the biggest. Physicist Enrico Fermi is testament to this with his big ask ‘where is everyone?’… Read More
2016-11-04 09:03
Firstly a bit of blog news; on Wednesday Rationalising the Universe celebrated its first birthday – we have come far further in one year than I ever anticipated when I regist… Read More
2016-11-01 10:41
What is the basis of human belief regarding the existence of independent objects? When it comes to the sciences the basis is often that classic (yet often misused) word ‘proof’ … Read More
2016-10-26 18:06
Ego is the immediate dictate of human consciousness.
The year is 2005 and we are in the Persian republic of Iran. Doctors stand before a 32 year old gentlemen they fear might be barking mad… Read More
2016-10-20 16:30
This post won’t be as melancholy as the title may suggest; it forms part of my quest to acquire the basic ingredients of human existence. Mathematics is the unspoke… Read More
2016-10-18 23:46
Complexity is the study of the phenomena which emerge from a collection of interacting objects. The main idea behind a complex system is that the behaviour involved is such that the sum of i… Read More
2016-10-15 17:25
Schrödinger’s cat walks into a bar. And doesn’t.
There may be more than one way to skin a cat; but why are we skinning cats at all? The case of Schrödinger’s… Read More
2016-10-13 07:54
The multiverse – a key ingredient to many a sci-fi film, however the topic has now become a fairly serious area of thought in theoretical physics. The universe we know and live in is c… Read More
2016-10-08 11:00
Today we go on a journey to ancient Greece, and before us stands the hero of the Trojan war Achilles. Taking a break from his usual activities of slaying Trojans, Achilles has been enticed i… Read More
2016-10-06 16:05
Firstly a warm welcome to all new followers; we were fortunate enough to be featured on WordPress Discover recently which gave a wonderful flurry of new support. We endeavour to stay in touc… Read More
2016-10-03 07:50
A Persian mathematician and astronomer by the name of al-Khwarizimi (died 850AD) spent his career working in the House of Wisdom; a fantastic mathematician from which we derive the algorithm… Read More
2016-09-29 19:20
This week I have had the privilege to attend the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is by far the biggest annual meeting of all those involved in the Space Ind… Read More
2016-09-29 11:28
Today I talk about something fairly complicated; but of great interest to me and all of those on a quest to better understand this universe. That is the manifold; a wonderful topological con… Read More
2016-09-28 09:29
Muß es sein?
At times I can understand why it made sense to just say that an amazing being beyond our comprehension made the world in seven days; there are some things in the uni… Read More
2016-09-27 22:45
Today we move to the vast and wonderful field of cosmology. In cosmology a horizon is a dividing surface between regions that are in causal contact. If particles are in casual contact they c… Read More
2016-09-26 04:37
The probability wavefunction; a creature whose characteristics propose the existence of simultaneously dead and alive cats, observational dependent existence, and other hard to swallow quant… Read More
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