By accidentally releasing exotic forms of matter in a particle accelerator, we risk destroying all Solar system.

Before the construction of the Large Hadron Collider from CERN, some scientists worried that particle collisions created by a high-energy accelerator could give rise to such nasty things as, or strapels (droplets of strange matter - a hypothetical form of matter, similar to ordinary, but composed of heavy strange quarks). These fears were shattered by the scientific community to smithereens and became nothing more than rumors spread by incompetent people, or attempts to stir up a sensation from scratch. In addition, a 2011 report published by the LHC Safety Assesment Group showed that particle collisions pose no danger.

Anders Sandberg, a researcher at the University of Oxford, believes that a particle accelerator is unlikely to lead to disaster, but notes that if strapels appear in any way, "it will be bad":

“Converting a planet like Mars into strange matter will release some of its rest mass in the form of radiation (and splashing straplets). Assuming the conversion takes an hour and releases 0.1% as radiation, the luminosity is 1.59 * 10 ^ 34 W, or 42 million more than the Sun's. Most of it will be heavy gamma rays. "

Oops. Obviously, the LHC is incapable of producing strange matter, but perhaps some future experiment, on Earth or in space, will. It has been suggested that strange matter exists under high pressure inside neutron stars... If we manage to create such conditions artificially, the end may come pretty soon.

A stellar engineering project won't go according to plan

We could destroy the solar system by seriously damaging or altering the sun during a stellar engineering project, or disrupting planetary dynamics in the process.

Some futurists speculate that future humans (or our posthuman descendants) may decide to complete any number of stellar engineering projects, including stellar economy. David Criswell of the University of Houston described stellar economy as an attempt to control the evolution and properties of a star, including extending its lifespan, extracting materials, or creating new stars. To slow down the burning of a star, thereby increasing its lifespan, stellar engineers of the future could rid it of its excess mass (large stars burn faster).

But the potential for a possible catastrophe is prohibitive. As well as plans for geoengineering projects here on Earth, stellar engineering projects can lead to a huge number of unforeseen consequences or provoke uncontrollable cascading effects. For example, attempts to remove the mass of the Sun can lead to strange and dangerous flares or life-threatening luminosity reduction. They can also have a significant impact on planetary orbits.

A failed attempt to turn Jupiter into a star

Some people think it would be nice to turn Jupiter into a kind of artificial star. But in an attempt to do this, we could destroy Jupiter itself, and with it life on Earth.

In an article in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, astrophysicist Martin Fogg suggested that we will turn Jupiter into a star as part of the first step in terraforming Galilean satellites. To this end, future humans will plant a tiny primordial black hole in Jupiter. The black hole must be ideally designed not to go beyond the Eddington limit (the point of equilibrium between the external force of radiation and the internal force of gravity). According to Fogg, this will create "enough energy to create effective temperatures on Europa and Ganymede to make them look like Earth and Mars, respectively."

Nice, if only something goes wrong. Everything will be fine at first, Sandberg said, but the black hole could grow and swallow Jupiter in a burst of radiation that sterilizes the entire solar system. Without life and with Jupiter in a black hole, complete confusion will reign in our surroundings.

Violation of the orbital dynamics of planets

When we start messing around with the location and masses of planets and other celestial bodies, we risk upsetting the fragile orbital balance in the solar system.

In reality, the orbital dynamics of our solar system is extremely fragile. It has been calculated that even the slightest disturbance can lead to chaotic and even potentially dangerous orbital movements. The reason is that planets are in resonance when any two periods are in simple numerical proportions (for example, Neptune and Pluto have an orbital resonance of 3: 1, since Pluto completes two full orbits for every three Neptune orbits).

As a result, two rotating bodies can influence each other, even if they are too far away. Frequent close conversions can cause smaller objects to destabilize and leave their orbit - and a chain reaction begins throughout the solar system.

Such chaotic resonances, however, can occur naturally, or we will provoke them by moving the sun and planets. As we have already noted, stellar engineering has such potential. The prospect of Mars moving into a potentially habitable zone, which would be disrupted by asteroids, could also disrupt orbital balance. On the other hand, if we build a Dyson sphere from the materials of Mercury and Venus, orbital dynamics can change in completely unpredictable ways. (or what remains of it) can be thrown out of the solar system, and the Earth will be dangerously close to large objects like Mars.

Poor warp drive maneuver

A spaceship would be cool, of course, but also incredibly dangerous. Any object like a planet at its destination will be subject to massive energy expenditure.

Also known as the Alcubierre drive, the warp drive can one day be activated by generating bubbles of negative energy around it. By expanding space and time behind the ship and squeezing in front of it, such an engine can accelerate the ship to speeds not limited by the speed of light.

Unfortunately, such an energy bubble has the potential to cause serious damage. In 2012, a team of scientists decided to calculate how much damage this type of engine could cause. Jason Major from Universe Today explains:

“Space is not a void between point A and point B ... no, it is full of particles that have mass (and which do not). Scientists have come to the conclusion that these particles can "roll" along the deformation bubble and concentrate in the regions in front of and behind the ship, as well as in the bubble itself.

When the Alcubierre-powered ship slows down at superluminal speed, the particles collected by the bubble are emitted in bursts of energy. The splash can be extremely energetic - enough to destroy something at its destination along the course of the ship.

"Any people at the destination," the scientists wrote, "will be lost by the explosion of gamma rays and high-energy particles due to the extreme blue displacement of the particles in the forward region."

The scientists also add that even with short trips, so much energy will be emitted that "you will completely destroy everything in front of you." And under this “everything” there may well be a whole planet. In addition, since the amount of this energy will depend on the length of the path, there is potentially no limit to the intensity of this energy. An arriving warp ship can do much more damage than just destroying a planet.

Problems with the artificial wormhole

Using wormholes to bypass the limitations of interstellar travel is great in theory, but we have to be very careful about breaking the space-time continuum.

Back in 2005, Iranian nuclear physicist Muhammad Mansuryar outlined a scheme for creating a traversable wormhole. By producing enough effective exotic matter, we could theoretically punch a hole in the cosmological fabric of spacetime and create a shortcut for the spacecraft.

Mansuryar's document does not indicate negative consequences, but Anders Sandberg speaks about them:

“First, wormhole throats require mass-energy (possibly negative) on the scale of a black hole of the same size. Second, creating time loops can cause virtual particles to become real and destroy a wormhole in the energy cascade. It will probably end badly for the environment. In addition, by placing one end of the wormhole in the Sun and the other somewhere else, you can move it, or irradiate the entire solar system.

The destruction of the sun will be bad for us all. And radiation, again, sterilizes our entire system.

Shkadov engine navigation error and disaster

If we want to move our solar system in the distant future, we risk completely destroying it.

In 1987, the Russian physicist Leonid Shkadov proposed the concept of a megastructure, the "Shkadov engine", which can literally take our solar system, along with all its filling, to the neighboring star system... In the future, this may allow us to abandon the old dying star in favor of a younger one.

The Shkadov engine is very simple in theory: it is just a colossal arcuate mirror with a concave side facing the Sun. Builders must place the mirror at an arbitrary distance, where the sun's gravitational pull will be balanced by the outgoing radiation pressure. The mirror will thus become a stable static companion in balance between the tug of gravity and the pressure of sunlight.

Solar radiation will bounce off the inner curved surface of the mirror back toward the Sun, propelling our star with its own light — the reflected energy will produce tiny thrust. This is how the Shkadov engine works, and humanity will go to conquer the galaxy together with the star.

What could go wrong? Yes all. We can miscalculate and scatter the solar system in space, or even collide with another star.

This raises an interesting question: if we develop the ability to travel between stars, we must understand how to control many small objects located in the far reaches of the solar system. We'll have to be careful. As Sandberg says, "By destabilizing the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud, we will have many comets that will fall on us."

Attracting evil aliens

If supporters of the search for extraterrestrial life achieve what they are looking for, we will successfully transmit messages into space, from which it will become clear where we are and what we are capable of. Of course, all aliens must be kind.

The return of mutated von Neumann probes

Let's say we send a fleet of exponentially self-replicating von Neumann probes to colonize our galaxy. If we assume that they are very poorly programmed or someone deliberately creates evolving probes, in the event of prolonged mutation, they can turn into something completely spiteful and unfriendly towards their creators.

Eventually, our smart ships will return to tear apart our solar system, suck up all our resources, or “kill all humans,” ending our interesting lives.

The interplanetary gray slime incident

Self-replicating space probes can also exist in much smaller sizes and be dangerous: exponentially replicating nanobots. The so-called "gray goo", when an uncontrolled swarm of nanorobots or macrobots will consume all planetary resources in order to create more copies, will not be limited to planet Earth. This slime can slip aboard a ship leaving a dying star system, or even appear in space as part of a megastructural project. Once in the solar system, it can turn everything into mush.

A riot of artificial superintelligence

One of the dangers of creating artificial superintelligence is the potential not only to destroy life on Earth, but also to spread into the solar system - and beyond.

Make the solar system useless

What can we achieve if we become extinct.

At the meeting with the directors of the libraries, licenses were issued to continue working activities, and certificates were issued. And also the opening of a large city library. Further, the mayor and his assistant went to Gotham High School. There, Oswald noticed a boy very similar to himself: the same thin, dark-haired, he sat at a distance from the rest of the guys. Deciding to talk to him, he found out that they are similar here, in their manners. Mayor gave useful advice which he learned from his bitter experience. - If someone offended you, come up from behind and push him down the stairs! Until that happens, go and meet someone. Boy holding a superman's toy in his hands shouting "Hurray!" ran to the guys. After high school, Jim's schedule included a break at the Iceberg Lounge. Gordon and Oswald invited Harvey with them, knowing how much he enjoyed such gatherings with alcohol and entertainment shows. The three of them sat down at one table. The waiter brought a bottle of expensive bourbon, sparkling with gold from the neon lights on the walls. Oswald watched the performance of girls in bright costumes. His eyelids closed slowly to the laughter of drunken Jim and Harvey. He drank a little, but half a glass was enough for him. After checking the time, Jim woke the Penguin and took him home in a taxi. Harvey went with them and all the way zealously indignant "you are like a mommy!" Jim, too, did not like the idea of \u200b\u200bconstantly patronizing Penguin as a little one, but despite this, he understood what loneliness meant. When he lost Li, loving her with all his heart, he wished her happiness, but it turned out to be his side. Now, somehow even in a fatherly way, he looked after Oswald, who was fighting for world peace. **** Six months before the end of Ed's term. The Cobblepot Estate. Morning. - Hey Jim! Where are we today? - Oswald was more joyful than ever in these one and a half years. - What's so funny? Jim asked, surprised. - Today is a wonderful day! Good news! He waved the envelope in front of Jim's face. - What is it? - We were allowed to see, Jim! - The penguin almost jumped for joy. In a grayish envelope, Gordon read that the court allowed one two-hour meeting. After a year and a half, this letter still came. The penguin no longer hoped for that. He and Ed were forbidden to have any contact. Oswald happily rushed around the house, collecting things and his favorite cupcakes for Nygma with a pattern in the form of a green question, filled with custard. Leaving a little earlier, Jim drove up the car. Jumping into it merrily, Gordon and Oswald set out on their way, Black Gates prison awaited them. After parking at the front gate, Penguin jerked to open the door. Jim grabbed his wrist. Oswald looked at him blankly. - Are you sure you want to go there? - Yes! Sure! Penguin exploded. - You will go there, and there will be no way back ... - Jim paused, - I just do not want to see your suffering again. The penguin, staring thoughtfully at the car dashboard, went limp. - I have been waiting for this moment for so long ... We have not seen each other for a year and a half and it is not known when we will see each other again. - In six months we will submit an application and he will be released! - Now Gordon was angry. - You are trying to dissuade me from meeting, but still brought me here. Why Jim? - Let at least one of us be happy! - a sad smile appeared on Jim's face. Oswald looked at Gordon with widening eyes. With a nod, the commissioner invited the mayor to leave. Taking his bag of things and slamming the door, Penguin got out of the car and walked towards the building, turning around and waving to Jim. **** Sitting in his cell, Nygma could not forgive himself for leaving Oswald alone, but he had no choice but that. And now, the moment has come that they both have been waiting for. Edward was taken to the meeting room. The penguin was trembling with the thought that now he would see Ed and hear his voice again in reality, and not in his head. Stopping at the post of transfer of things, he limped, hurried to meet him. Seeing a familiar face on the other side of the glass, the mystery man's heart beat faster, the blood boiled, burning the body. His loved one, his soul mate, a ray of the sun breaking through the clouds, stood in front of him and looked at him adoringly, pressing his fingertips to the cold glass. Edward wanted to run up and jump, breaking him into small pieces and taking Oswald into his tight, loving arms that made him breathless. But he did not show the appearance. He knew that if he didn't hold back now, it would be worse for both of them. His face expressed coldness and indifference. Picking up the phone, Ed heard: - Uh-uh! Hi Ed! The penguin blossomed like the rose that he once gave to Nigma. - Hello, Oswald. So we met. - there were sharp notes in Edward's voice. - What's the matter with you, Ed? I do not recognize you. - the smile slowly disappeared from the Penguin's face. He realized that something was wrong. - I'm glad you came. - And I'm glad! It is a pity that the letter came after so long! You have no idea how everything is ... - Oswald. Edward interrupted in a rude tone. - Could you take the bail? - W-what? - The penguin was seriously confused. - One who has lost everything cannot be bribed or intimidated, it is impossible to betray and injure, such a person does not obey anyone but himself! - Edward looked through the glass, standing up and taking his hand at the table. - How did you lose everything? - Penguin sincerely did not understand, looking at Ed with his bright blue eyes, - What happened to you ?! - What can destroy a ship but is afraid of the sun? Nygma continued to drive Oswald insane in the same rude tone. “Oh, no…” The king of Gotham realized that Ed wanted to tell him with his riddles. Iceberg. Cold ice in the middle of the ocean. That's what happened to him. Nygma with all his appearance showed Oswald that everything he felt for him was knocked out of him by the prison. Oswald's eyes filled with tears. Having told the Penguin with the help of a riddle that his feelings had cooled down, his heart was ready to burst out, his lips trembled, restraining a silent cry: “This is not so! Don't believe me, please! I love you! Soon we will be together and will be able to touch each other! " Edward behaved like this most unsinkable Iceberg. - You can't do that! - Osw whispered, - I do not believe, Ed ... The fragile body was shaking. - Ed! - He begged, - Please, tell me that it is not so! On the pale skin of a sunken face, wet traces of bitter drops appeared, which, falling on an old-fashioned jacket, left dark marks. - Your time is up. - I heard from behind. - Ed! Ask! Ed thrusting out his lower jaw forward, bit his upper lip and looking somewhere in the side, shed a tear. He diligently tried not to look in the direction of Oswald, who called him, so dear, close. Now they were separated by only two centimeters of transparent glass, into which the Penguin drummed with his thin long fingers. The guards took Penguin out to the street, where Jim was waiting for him. Oswald, coming out of the door, sat down on the steps and, shouting, punched his chest hard with his fist. Grasping the shocks of inked hair, he burst into tears. Will it never end ?! Couldn't there be more sunny moments in his life? Gordon, seeing this picture, took off his sunglasses. - Damn it! Putting the car on the alarm, he hurried to the Penguin. - Come on, let's go! He lifted him to his feet. - He could not! He doesn't care! I have seen! Jim, why did he do that ?! - hysterics engulfed Oswald, and a lump in his throat prevented him from explaining to Gordon what had happened. - Explain normally what he said? Jim was worried about the mayor's behavior. Will attacks of anger towards oneself again appear in the form of a suicide attempt? Jim knew that anything could happen. During the time that he was the right hand of the mayor instead of Edward Nygma, he took into account that he should always have a thermos with tea with lemon balm and mint with him. After drinking the fluttering Penguin, Jim finally heard an intelligible answer to his question. Then the question came to Oswald. And he was not entirely clear to Gordon. Osw suggested that he pretend to be Nigma for one night. The fact that Jim was shocked is to say nothing. He understood that the Penguin had already started moving. Slapping the mayor on the head, the commissioner laughed. - Jim, well, at least you don't reject me, please! Oswald whined. -No-no, no-no, no! You are definitely out of your mind! - Jim turned to hysterical laughter, looking at the disheveled Oswald standing in front of him. - Edward hasn’t even come out yet, and you are already shaking from one extreme to another! It's worth the wait and talk to him in private! I don't want to get involved in this! Oswald's eyes were once again full of tears. How much pain can you endure? He was tired ... So tired ... Oswald just wanted to live a normal life, he had enough trials. And, by the way, he could not disagree with Jim. He and Nigma had to meet and solve everything once and for all. ************ Nygma played the meeting with Oswald over and over in his head. He convinced himself that he was as strict with him as possible. It will be easier this way. It will be right. A package appeared in a small window in the door. Edward took it and began to sort things out, among which he found cupcakes. He took the one with the question near the faint red heart. There was only one such cupcake. After taking a bite, Ed saw something inside. It was a note. Unfolding it, he read “I love you !!! Every evening I come and wait in the park by the lake. I truly believe that one day I will not be alone there. Always yours, Oswald. " ************* Year and eleven months of Nigma's imprisonment. Jim is applying for early release on bail for Edward. After having a serious talk with Oswald, he convinced him that there was no need to rush from one extreme to another and just wait the remaining month. The bail with a tidy sum was accepted. Mixed feelings of bitterness in the mouth, burning in the stomach and weakness in the legs overwhelmed Oswald. His heart burst from his chest. Is that all? Nygma will be there! Truth? And he will not take the deposit! Never! ********** A month and a day later. The penguin came to the lake and stood by the fence peering into the water. In the reflection he saw himself and the bright blue sky bathed in the sun. Was there a cloud. Birds chirped in a peculiar dance. The warm wind ruffled her hair easily. - Oswald. A painfully familiar voice called to him. He turned carefully and could not believe his eyes. Nygma stood in front of him. In his green suit, he seemed taller than he really was. He smiled affectionately. - Ed !!! Oswald, in spite of the temple, ran up to Edward and hugged him tightly. Ed grabbed the Penguin's back with one hand, the other slid to the lower back. Osw dropped a couple of drops of water from his long eyelashes to the ground, pounding Nygma in the chest. He screamed through clenched teeth from the mental pain for the lost two years of his life. Nygma felt his legs give way. Sinking down, his knees rested on the cool ground. - Forgive me, Oswald ... I shouldn't have pretended when you came! Forgive me! I love you! Edward was kneeling before Oswald. His glasses were fogged up, and perspiration appeared on his forehead. He bowed his head. The penguin held him, holding him tighter, trying to lift him back to his feet. But, Ed was harder than he thought. - Please, get up! Ed obeyed. Getting down on one knee, he fished something out of his pocket and handed it to Oswald with a wry smile. He was very nervous. Accepting a square green box with the same bright green question, he opened his mouth almost breathlessly and said: - What is this? ... - You can't buy me, but you can steal in a moment, it's useless for one, but priceless for two? For the first time, the Penguin heard Ed's trembling voice. The answer in his head thundered with a volcanic explosion. He whispered: - Love ... Opening the box, he saw a beautiful gold ring with a large black stone. Osv nodded his head nervously. Nygma rose from his knees, hugging Oswald tightly to him. Their lips merged in a tender kiss ... Nothing could compare at this moment with feelings of joy, freedom and happiness. Simple human happiness. Two hearts found peace, harmony and love.

June 9, 2018 at 14:00

This spaceship will come closer to the Sun than everything that came before it, and will not melt

• Transfer

Scientists are hungry for data that can be obtained by getting closer to these potentially occurring explosions, as well as to a cascade of energy called "solar wind". With this data, they can test their hypotheses. In addition to understanding the temperature of the corona, data from these solar phenomena can help clarify poorly understood space weather that can wreak havoc on satellites and power lines on Earth.

Overall, the Parker Solar Probe is "the coolest and hottest mission under the Sun," Nicky Fox told reporters at a press preview of the spacecraft at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Fox is the scientific director of the solar probe project at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. She presented the mission as "the first encounter of humanity with a star", which is "extremely historical."

The first idea to reach the Sun with a spacecraft was born around 1958, even before NASA began work, she noted. But it took six decades for the technology to catch up with the dreams of scientists. Solar Probe Parker is the implementation of these ideas, armed with the mother of all heat shields.

Taking fire on myself

The surface of the spacecraft will survive the atrocious temperatures with a 11.4 cm thick carbon-composite shield covered with white ceramic. The outer white layer will allow the probe to reflect as much radiation as possible. On close approaches, the outer layer will encounter temperatures on the order of 1400 ° C. But what's underneath will maintain a much colder temperature of 315-371 ° C, according to lead engineer Betsy Kongdon.

The shield sits on a huge radiator built on a titanium frame. The structure will keep the spacecraft's payload in cool, dark shadow as it passes the Sun. In fact, the scientists and engineers who built the ship were more worried about keeping their scientific tools and equipment from freezing, rather than about the fact that they could melt during the mission. To avoid this, the tools are wrapped in thermal insulation and connected to solar-powered heaters. This will keep the instruments at a pleasant 28 ° C temperature.

Stellar energy

The solar panels that power these instruments - as well as other electronics on board - are housed in folding fenders that extend outward from under the radiator. These arrays are specially designed to withstand the heat when exposed to intense radiation using a special cooling system. The system includes a 4L water tank and a pump located inside the ship, which will pump cold water through the arrays, keeping them at operating temperature.

Also inside the ship are many communication devices and a small fuel tank that powers the thrusters. They will independently issue short pulses so as to keep the probe shield pointed exactly to the Sun at all times. If the probe deviates just one degree off course, some of the temperature-sensitive payload could be exposed to solar radiation, causing the ship to melt and collapse. But Fox assured us that the ship has a variety of belay systems to prevent this.

Stellar data

While the ship is busy not to melt and freeze, a set of scientific instruments will collect long-awaited solar data. According to Adam Szabo, chief of NASA's Heliospheric Physics Laboratory, there will be four types of data. The first is local measurements of the solar wind, so there is a set of instruments that measure particles, including protons, electrons, droplets of ionized helium, and traces of heavier elements. “Instruments measure their speed, temperature and quantity,” he told us.

The second set of instruments measures magnetic and electric fields, which can "radically complicate" the behavior of ions flying around. The third set tries to catch particles of the highest energies. And finally, there is a set of cameras that will photograph the plasma emanating from the corona at close range.

Star dates

These tools and the rest of the ship are currently undergoing final checks. At the end of March, scientists and engineers at Goddard Center performed final checks on the equipment inside the satellite before finally shutting it down. The satellite was then sent to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for further checks.

So far, the launch date for the probe is July 31, 2018. According to this schedule, it will fly past Venus at the end of September, and reach the corona in early November. Scientists expect the data to begin rolling out in March 2019, according to astrophysicist Nicky Viall.

With this data, “I think we can answer a lot of questions, and we get a whole bunch of new questions that we haven't even thought of yet,” Viall said.

The ship is supposed to make 24 orbits around the Sun in six years and 11 months, but Fox told us that the team expects the ship to be able to operate for a couple of years after that. When it eventually runs out of fuel, Parker's solar probe will remain in stable orbit, but will begin to tilt, exposing the sensitive equipment to the searing heat. After that, it will begin to fall apart into smaller and smaller pieces and become part of a cloud of dust.