Q&A 49: How Would We Drill Into Europa? And More...
In this week's questions show, I explain why I never get to the point, if we'll ever reach interstellar space, and how we'd get down below the ice sheet on Europa.
Q&A 49: How Would We Drill Into Europa? And More... (YouTube)
Comments (9)
As said in an earlier episode, "The actions of light and particles are dictated by probability." Is it possible that it's not probability that is determining how light acts but rather certainty? (Stay with me here) If light experiences no time, it would mean time breaks down at the speed of light, therefore couldn't this also mean it experiences all time? In the slit screen experiment, light would know whether to behave like a particle or a wave because it always does at that time. Light would be in a sense, all knowing and isn’t reactive to probability, rather, it is certain of how to behave because it’s always acted in a particular way at a particular time. Meaning, light lives a deterministic existence. Lol. Not sure if I was able to get this out in an understandable manner.
Hey Fraser. If you haven't already answered this, I have one for you. Why is no land visible in the SpaceX Rocketman Livefeed?
Thanks for your reply! I've since found images with land as well as seen some on the feed. I posted that, apparently, when he was over a large water mass. One Flat-Earther in the live feed comment kept saying "Still no land" trying to use that to discredit it, somehow. Made me start to seek out why. Thanks again @JTheory! ;)
Got another question for you, Fraser. In your most recent issue of what, to me, is Universe Today, somebody asked if Dark Matter might not be a particle at all and Ethan Siegel answered. Well, I gotta confess, Ethan got over my head pretty quick. But, it got me to thinking. So, I'll ask my own Dark Matter question. Might Dark Matter be kind of like the ocean that WE live in? That it permeates the Universe? (Yeah, I hear Ethan that the apparent distribution of it isn't "even", but hey, what the heck does THAT schmuck know compared to a genius like ME?!? ;~) Ok, seriously, might you and I be filled with Dark Matter because regular matter soaks it up like a sponge does water? And, the Dark Matter is what gives regular matter its gravitational force? A simple "yes" or "no" answer will suffice. Thanks.
Astronomers can map out the concentrations of dark matter across the Universe using gravitational lensing. Have you seen the cosmic web images? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74IsySs3RGU" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74IsySs3RGU</a>
Your ice drilling answer troubles me, Fraser. What if the re-forming ice freezes right up against the cable so that you can not lower it any further? Your nuclear reactor can blaze away for the next million years and maybe it will eventually heat up the reformed ice enough to let the cable pay out some more. But, then the whole process will repeat itself again, won't it? What am I missing here???
The cable is coiled up inside the drill so that it reels out from inside it. It's supposed to freeze behind it. They use this technology in Greenland and can go through the ice at about 10 meters per hour.
But Fraaaserrrr ... you’ve already told us the answer many times. Okay, you’ve got me. You know I’m going to tune in and listen anyway lol
Don't worry, it's only a quick response.