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I have been deliberately avoiding the Dawkins diary (I enjoy his work but find him neither remarkable or horrible enough to warrant debate.)  But I have to say that information like this about our universe (anti-matter!!!) leave me baffled by those who feel "science" does not acknowledge or honor the absolute wonder and mystery of the universe and life and creation, who insist that to be the sovereign domain of "religion."

I don't know.  How can you read this stuff

The cloud itself is roughly 10,000 light-years across, and generates the energy of about 10,000 Suns. The cloud shines brightly in gamma rays due to a reaction governed by Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2. Negatively charged subatomic particles known as electrons collide with their antimatter counterparts, positively charged positrons. When electrons and positrons meet, they can annihilate one another and convert all of their mass into gamma rays with energies of 511,000 electron-volts (511 keV).

The antimatter cloud was discovered in the 1970s by gamma-ray detectors flown on balloons. Scientists have proposed a wide range of explanations for the origin of the antimatter, which is exceedingly rare in the cosmos. For years, many theories centered around radioactive elements produced in supernovae, prodigious stellar explosions. Others suggested that the positrons come from neutron stars, novae, or colliding stellar winds.

and wearily mew, "there just must be something more..."????


"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

by poemless on Thu Jan 10th, 2008 at 03:16:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
well the light from that has apparently been travelling for 14,000 years longer than the universe has existed according to some of the more extreme on the religious side. so it's proof that either that the deity provides entertainment for scientists, or is messing with us.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 10th, 2008 at 07:15:08 PM EST
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