Technology Insight

They are the zestiest bits of matter in the universe. They can zing through space for millions of years at essentially the speed of light and with 100 million times the energy produced by the biggest particle accelerators on the earth, before crashing occasionally into Earth’s atmosphere and dying in a spray of microscopic fluff.

Since these ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, as they are known, were first glimpsed in 1963, physicists and astronomers have scratched their heads wondering where they came from and what gargantuan process could produce such energies — wondering, even, if they were real.

Now 370 scientists and engineers from 17 countries in a group known as the Pierre Auger Collaboration say they finally have evidence of a fitting answer: supermassive black holes that rumble at the hearts of many galaxies, crushing stars and gas out of existence and spewing jets of radiation and subatomic particles into intergalactic space.

Using a new array of cosmic ray detectors known as the Pierre Auger Observatory, which is spread over an area the size of Rhode Island near Malargüe, in the pampas of Argentina, the scientists traced some of the highest-energy cosmic rays back to the vicinities of nearby galaxies bubbling with black hole fireworks, so-called active galaxies.

This world map made of Spam looks tasty doesn’t it? After the proliferation of Spam as a ration by the US Army in WWII, this disgusting substance has invaded the rest of the planet as a standard source of meat. From the site, apparently “Spam’s diasporic nature is symbolic of America’s ongoing influence on many nations. S-P-A-M is M-A-P-S in reverse.”

Original link, [via]

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Here’s a nice idea of how not to lose your personal data along with your keys. We just wonder if now that it’s so easy to find your keys, will you remember where you put your car?

Gerry - creative findings - Original link, [via]

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