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wolram
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http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bpa/projects_cpu_plan.html
The Board on Physics and Astronomy proposes an assessment of an area of science at the intersection of physics and astronomy. The study will provide a broad vision that goes beyond traditional categories of space missions, laboratory studies, telescope observations, and accelerator experiments. It will focus on opportunities for breakthroughs in understanding the birth, evolution and destiny of the Universe, the laws that govern it, and even the nature of space and time. The assessment would encompass astrophysical and cosmological phenomena that give insight into fundamental physics and fundamental physics that is relevant to understanding the universe and the diversity objects within it. It will address opportunities to explore new science through (1) new techniques for observing phenomena in extreme environments and new regimes, (2) new applications of fundamental physics to modeling and simulating the origin, evolution, and fate of the universe, and (3) understanding fundamental physics by using space and the cosmos as a laboratory full of experiments that could never be implemented on the Earth.
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The CMBR story does not end with MAP and Planck. The radiation, in addition to being anisotropic in its intensity, must also have variations (as yet unobserved) in its polarization. Encoded in the polarization is information about gravitational waves that were also produced by inflation. If this key prediction can be confirmed, not only will it strengthen the case for inflation, but also it will reveal the energy scale associated with inflation as well as the details underlie inflation. This knowledge, in turn, could prove to be a key to understanding how inflation fits into the bigger picture and perhaps even a link to superstring theory and the unification of gravity with the other forces. Needless to say, the information found in the anisotropy and polarization of the CMBR could surprise us by falsifying inflation or some of the fine details, sending early Universe theoreticians back to their drawing boards.
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so what is the latest news from the board?
The Board on Physics and Astronomy proposes an assessment of an area of science at the intersection of physics and astronomy. The study will provide a broad vision that goes beyond traditional categories of space missions, laboratory studies, telescope observations, and accelerator experiments. It will focus on opportunities for breakthroughs in understanding the birth, evolution and destiny of the Universe, the laws that govern it, and even the nature of space and time. The assessment would encompass astrophysical and cosmological phenomena that give insight into fundamental physics and fundamental physics that is relevant to understanding the universe and the diversity objects within it. It will address opportunities to explore new science through (1) new techniques for observing phenomena in extreme environments and new regimes, (2) new applications of fundamental physics to modeling and simulating the origin, evolution, and fate of the universe, and (3) understanding fundamental physics by using space and the cosmos as a laboratory full of experiments that could never be implemented on the Earth.
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The CMBR story does not end with MAP and Planck. The radiation, in addition to being anisotropic in its intensity, must also have variations (as yet unobserved) in its polarization. Encoded in the polarization is information about gravitational waves that were also produced by inflation. If this key prediction can be confirmed, not only will it strengthen the case for inflation, but also it will reveal the energy scale associated with inflation as well as the details underlie inflation. This knowledge, in turn, could prove to be a key to understanding how inflation fits into the bigger picture and perhaps even a link to superstring theory and the unification of gravity with the other forces. Needless to say, the information found in the anisotropy and polarization of the CMBR could surprise us by falsifying inflation or some of the fine details, sending early Universe theoreticians back to their drawing boards.
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so what is the latest news from the board?
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