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POPSThe Universe Before the Big Bang The core concept in Penrose's theory is the idea that in the very distant future the universe will in one sense become very similar to how it was at the Big Bang. Penrose says that "at these points the shape, or geometry, of the universe was and will be very smooth, in contrast to its current very jagged form. This continuity of shape, he maintains, will allow a transition from the end of the current aeon, when the universe will have expanded to become infinitely large, to the start of the next, when it once again becomes infinitesimally small and explodes outwards from the next big bang. Crucially, he says, the entropy at this transition stage will be extremely low, because black holes, which destroy all information that they suck in, evaporate as the universe expands and in so doing remove entropy from the universe."
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POPSBillion-Year Old "Black Widow" Pulsar Ripping Through Milky Way at 1 Million KPH The advanced age, very rapid rotation rate, and relatively low magnetic field of millisecond pulsars put them in a separate class from young pulsars, such as the Crab Nebula. Yet the Chandra data show that this billion-year-old rejuvenated pulsar is an extremely efficient generator of matter and antimatter particles, just like its younger cousins. The key is the rapid rotation of B1957+20. The Chandra result confirms the theory that even a relatively weakly magnetized neutron star can generate intense electromagnetic forces and accelerate particles to high energies to create a pulsar wind, if it is rotating rapidly enough.
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POPSThe Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World What makes the Voynich Manuscript of particular interest is that no one has yet been able to read it in full; the text is written in a code that some of the world’s greatest cryptographers and linguistics experts have failed to decipher. ..The manuscript measures 53/4 by 81/2 inches and is some 200 pages long. Its vellum leaves are covered with extraordinary flowing writing – extraordinary because its author has used a completely unknown alphabet.
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POPSAnti-Gay Ugandan Bill raises questions of human rights As activists within the country are speaking out, the proposed law has incited widespread international criticism. Despite the fact that anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has been stoked by US Evangelical leaders, dozens of American Christian leaders signed a joint statement (see PDF) condemning the law
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