Stephen Hawking’s big bang gaps

Cosmologists are agreed that the universe began with a big bang 13.7 billion years ago. People naturally want to know what caused it. A simple answer is nothing: not because there was a mysterious state of nothing before the big bang, but because time itself began then - that is, there was no time “before” the big bang. The idea is by no means new. In the fifth century, St Augustine of Hippo wrote that “the universe was created with time and not in time”.

Religious people often feel tricked by this logic. They envisage a miracle-working God dwelling within the stream of time for all eternity and then, for some inscrutable reason, making a universe (perhaps in a spectacular explosion) at a specific moment in history.

That was not Augustine’s God, who transcended both space and time. Nor is it the God favoured by many contemporary theologians. In fact, they long ago coined a term for it - “god-of-the-gaps” - to deride the idea that when science leaves something out of account, then God should be invoked to plug the gap. The origin of life and the origin of consciousness are favourite loci for a god-of-the-gaps, but the origin of the universe is the perennial big gap.

In his new book, Stephen Hawking reiterates that there is no big gap in the scientific account of the big bang. The laws of physics can explain, he says, how a universe of space, time and matter could emerge spontaneously, without the need for God. And most cosmologists agree: we don’t need a god-of-the-gaps to make the big bang go bang. It can happen as part of a natural process. A much tougher problem now looms, however. What is the source of those ingenious laws that enable a universe to pop into being from nothing? Traditionally, scientists have supposed that the laws of physics were simply imprinted on the universe at its birth, like a maker’s mark. As to their origin, well, that was left unexplained.

In recent years, cosmologists have shifted position somewhat. If the origin of the universe was a law rather than a supernatural event, then the same laws could presumably operate to bring other universes into being. The favoured view now, and the one that Mr. Hawking shares, is that there were in fact many bangs, scattered through space and time, and many universes emerging therefrom, all perfectly naturally. The entire assemblage goes by the name of the multiverse.

Our universe is just one infinitesimal component amid this vast - probably infinite - multiverse, that itself had no origin in time. So according to this new cosmological theory, there was something before the big bang after all - a region of the multiverse pregnant with universe-sprouting potential.

A refinement of the multiverse scenario is that each new universe comes complete with its very own laws - or bylaws, to use the apt description of the cosmologist Martin Rees. Go to another universe, and you would find different bylaws applying. An appealing feature of variegated bylaws is that they explain why our particular universe is uncannily bio-friendly; change our bylaws just a little bit and life would probably be impossible. The fact that we observe a universe “fine-tuned” for life is then no surprise: the more numerous bio-hostile universes are sterile and so go unseen.

So is that the end of the story? Can the multiverse provide a complete and closed account of all physical existence? Not quite. The multiverse comes with a lot of baggage, such as an overarching space and time to host all those bangs, a universe-generating mechanism to trigger them, physical fields to populate the universes with material stuff, and a selection of forces to make things happen. Cosmologists embrace these features by envisaging sweeping “meta-laws” that pervade the multiverse and spawn specific bylaws on a universe-by-universe basis. The meta-laws themselves remain unexplained - eternal, immutable transcendent entities that just happen to exist and must simply be accepted as given. In that respect the meta-laws have a similar status to an unexplained transcendent god.

According to folklore the French physicist Pierre Laplace, when asked by Napoleon where God fitted into his mathematical account of the universe, replied: “I had no need of that hypothesis.” Although cosmology has advanced enormously since the time of Laplace, the situation remains the same: there is no compelling need for a supernatural being or prime mover to start the universe off. But when it comes to the laws that explain the big bang, we are in murkier waters.

Copyright: Guardian News & Media 2010

Keywords: Stephen Hawking, Big Bang theory, Martin Rees, Laplace

USB speakers set to get more out of laptops

Soon, music aficionados can use plug-in USB speakers that produce high-quality sound from the laptop without the need for mains power.

The tinny fizz produced by most laptops’ built-in speakers spoils the music quality because the USB port, from which they get their power, can supply only 2.5 watts. Now, the British firm NXT of Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, has come up with a USB-powered system that can deliver up to 15 watts to each speaker, reports New Scientist.

Although power from mains-powered units is held at around 32 volts, a USB 2.0 port can deliver no more than 5.25 volts to a device.

NXT chief executive James Lewis says that most of the time music is quiet enough to be reproduced satisfactorily by circuits running at just 1 volt. So NXT built its USB-powered amplifier to run at low voltage, but able to deliver higher voltages - and more power to the speakers.

This is done by tapping a pair of capacitors that store spare power from the USB during quiet passages. By pre-determining the music signal a couple of milliseconds ahead of the amplifier, the system determines exactly when to raise the voltage and unleash the stored power.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of using the dynamic reallocation of power for this type of application. It seems like a great idea,” said Andy Dowell, a director of Dolby Laboratories in the U.K. “People would love to get more oomph out of the PC speakers.”

Keywords: USB speakers, laptop speakers, Dolby Laboratories

ICC suspends three Pakistan players

The crisis in Pakistan cricket deepened on Thursday as three of its top players, captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over allegations of match-fixing saying that they had “arguable case to answer''.

Chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the ICC would do “whatever is necessary to maintain integrity in the sport.

Zero tolerance

“We will not tolerate any sort of corruption within cricket,” he told a crowded press conference with Sir Ronnie Flanagan, chief of ICC's anti-corruption unit, by his side.

He said the offences with which the players were charged carried “serious penalties'' including life bans.

Be decisive

“We must be decisive with such matters… The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport's integrity. While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant,'' he said.

Sir Ronnie said: “They (Butt, Asif and Amir) have a really arguable case to answer in our disciplinary arena but that is not the same as coming, in any sense, to a finding of guilt on their behalf.”

He said they should not be “pre-judged'' until found guilty.

14 days to reply

The players have been given 14 days to reply to charges including that of “alleged irregular behaviour'' during their Test match against England at Lord's last week.

Amir and Asif are accused of deliberately bowling no-balls with the knowledge of Butt as part of a “spot-fixing'' conspiracy masterminded by Mazhar Majeed, a “middleman'' for a betting syndicate.

Majeed was secretly filmed accepting £150,000 from an undercover journalist and predicting that Amir and Asif would bowl three no-balls at pre-determined times during the match.

He named Butt among the players involved in match-fixing.

The trio has already been dropped from the rest of Pakistan's England tour, though Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan insisted that they “voluntarily offered not to be included'' because of their “disturbed'' state of mind.

Police interrogation

The suspension came as Butt, Asif and Amir were further questioned by the police.

The interrogation, which took place under “caution'' at a north London police station, lasted several hours.

This was the second time they were questioned.

The players, however, insist that they are innocent and determined to clear their name.

They have been charged under “Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel” barred from playing until the case has been concluded.

Keywords: Spot-fixing, ICC

Ileana - Rana together

Rana gets lucky. In his very second film in Telugu, he is being paired up with top heroine Ileana. Puri Jagannadh who gave blockbuster Pokiri to Ileana has roped her in for his new film with Rana. Produced by Bujji, the movie goes to the sets from Saturday (September 3, 2010). Interestingly, Ileana has just walked out from Pawan Kalyan’s film - remake of Love Aaj Kal and signed this movie.

On the other hand, this Puri - Rana movie will have music by Bollywood composers Vishal - Sekhar who earlier worked for Venkatesh starrer Chintakayala Ravi.

Keywords : Rana, Puri Jagannadh, Ileana

Sony Set to Compete With iTunes

Sony Corp. announced on Wednesday a new digital-music service that would work on Internet-connected Sony TVs, Blu-ray disc players, PlayStation 3's and other devices, entering a competitive space currently dominated by Apple Inc.


Sony Europe's Fujio Nishida, above, said at a trade fair press conference that he expects Music Unlimited to 'change the way we all enjoy our digital music.'

The new music service, called Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, will allow consumers to stream millions of songs over the Internet to their devices. Qriocity is Sony's common platform over which it can deliver digital entertainment services such as video-on-demand or Music Unlimited to consumers through its Internet connected devices.

Music Unlimited, which allows users to stream from a library of music, differs from that of Apple, which sells music on a per title or album basis.

At a press conference at technology trade fair IFA in Berlin, Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, said consumers will have "no need to mange their music files."

"Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity will change the way we all enjoy our digital music," he added.

The service, which will also work on Sony computers as well as others, is slated to launch by the end of this year. The company plans to add support for the service on Sony portable devices in the future, Mr. Nishida said. Details such as pricing would be made available at a later date.

With the launch, Sony hopes to make up some lost ground to Apple, which has dominated the digital music market with its iPod and iPhone devices, as well as its iTunes music store. Apple is the biggest retailer of music in the world.

According to NPD Group Inc., Apple had a 70% share of U.S. digital music sales in the first quarter 2010. That's up from 69% a year earlier.


Sony also on Wednesday added a new line of digital e-readers with touch-screen abilities to its portfolio. Building from last year's line, Sony reduced the size and weight of the new line of readers, and made touch screens available across both products.

The new Reader Pocket Edition comes with a five-inch touch-screen and two gigabytes of onboard memory, and will retail for $179.

The new Reader Touch Edition, which will sell for $229, will be able to play MP3 files and comes with an expansion slot for an additional 32 gigs of memory. By comparison, Amazon.com Inc.'s cheapest Kindle e-reader sells for $139.

In addition to the U.S., Sony said the new line of readers would also be available in several European countries including the U.K, France, Germany and Austria.

In the U.S. only, Sony also introduced a wireless e-reader. The Reader Daily Edition will be able to wirelessly connect to Sony's e-book store through AT&T's 3G network. At $299, it will also have Wi-Fi and basic internet browsing capabilities

Exclusive: Krishnavamsi directs Ram Charan

Ram Charan okays his 5th film as lead hero. As his two films – Orange in the direction of Bommarillu Bhaskar and Merupu in the direction of Dharani – are in the final stages, he would be beginning another film. This time he will be acting under the direction of ace director Krishnavamsi. Megastar Chiranjeevi personally called on Krishnavamsi recently and he asked the director to make a film with his son. Krishnavamsi has already narrated a storyline and it was immediately green lit.

Ghanta Srinivasa Rao, an MLA belonging to Chiranjeevi’s Prajarajyam Party, would be producing it. The film will go to the sets in October.

Next Year..
On the other hand, Krishnavamsi's film with the trio of Akkineni stars - ANR, Nag and Chaitanya - has been pushed to next year. It will start once Krishnavamsi finishes this Ram Charan's movie.

Keywords : Ram Charan new movie, Krishna Vamsi.

Steve Jobs unveils upgraded AppleTV

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a new AppleTV device on Wednesday, saying that it would allow users to download and view an unprecedented variety of movies and TV shows.

The new device debuts four years after the company first introduced AppleTV, which Jobs acknowledged had not been a huge hit.

But Apple’s new push into providing TV and film content comes as rivals such as Google, Amazon, Sony and Netflix are all ramping up their efforts to provide streaming and downloadable content over the internet for viewing on televisions.

Sony announced earlier on Wednesday in Berlin that it would extend its Qriocity video-on-demand service to Europe soon.

Apple’s second generation device, priced at $99, offers viewers high-definition film rentals from all major Hollywood film studios at $4.99, and TV shows from ABC and FOX for 99 cents.

“We think the rest of the studios will see the light and get on board pretty fast,” Jobs said. The new AppleTV has a built-in power supply, HDMI, optical audio, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, all packed into a device that is a quarter of the size of the previous generation hardware.

“It’s a fourth the size,” Mr. Jobs said. “You can hold it in the palm of your hand.” Mr. Jobs made the announcement at a San Francisco event in which he also unveiled a new line of iPods, an updated operating system for Apple’s mobile devices and a new version of iTunes that included a social networking feature called Ping that allows users to follow artists and share content and postings with friends.

Mr. Jobs claimed that Apple has sold 275 million iPods to date, but called the revamped products “the biggest change in the iPod line-up ever.” The changes include a slimmer iPod touch that includes both front and rear-facing cameras, an improved display and an ever smaller version of the iPod shuffle and a new square version of the iPod nano that replaces the device’s iconic scroll wheel with a touch-screen controller.

Keywords: Steve Jobs, AppleTV