May 19, 2025

Eris Rocket Launch Delays, Venus’s Tectonic Secrets, and Scotland’s Billion-Year-Old Impact

Eris Rocket Launch Delays, Venus’s Tectonic Secrets, and Scotland’s Billion-Year-Old Impact
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Eris Rocket Launch Delays, Venus’s Tectonic Secrets, and Scotland’s Billion-Year-Old Impact

This episode of SpaceTime covers a range of exciting topics, including the delayed launch of Gilmour Space's Eris rocket, groundbreaking discoveries on Venus, and a billion-year-old asteroid impact in Scotland that raises new questions about the evolution of life on Earth.

Eris Rocket Launch Delayed

Gilmour Space has postponed the maiden launch of its Eris orbital rocket due to technical issues encountered during pre-flight checks. The rocket, designed to carry small satellite payloads, will now face a delay of at least three weeks as the company investigates the unexpected deployment of the launch vehicle's nosecone fairings. We discuss the implications of this delay and what it means for future commercial launches.

Tectonic Activity on Venus

In a fascinating discovery, scientists have identified possible tectonic activity on Venus, based on data from NASA's Magellan mission. Researchers found evidence of unique geological features known as coronae, which may indicate ongoing deformation of the planet's surface due to molten material from below. This research not only enhances our understanding of Venus but also offers insights into Earth's geological history.

Ancient Asteroid Impact in Scotland

A recent study has revealed that a massive asteroid impact in Scotland occurred 990 million years ago, much later than previously thought. This discovery, based on dating tiny zircon crystals, suggests a connection between this impact event and the emergence of early freshwater eukaryotes on land. We delve into the implications of this revised timeline for our understanding of life on Earth and the environmental changes triggered by such impacts.

www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com ( https://www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com/)

✍️ Episode References

Science Advances

https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv ( https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv)

Journal of Geology

https://www.geosociety.org/publications/gsa/geo.asp ( https://www.geosociety.org/publications/gsa/geo.asp)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support ( https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .

00:00 This is Space Time Series 28, Episode 60 for broadcast on 19 May 2025

00:54 Gilmour Space's Eris rocket launch delayed

10:15 Possible tectonic activity discovered on Venus

18:45 Billion-year-old asteroid impact in Scotland raises questions about early life on Earth

25:00 Science report: Unexplained communications equipment found in Chinese-made solar panel inverters

Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/27196201?utm_source=youtube

00:00 - This is Space Time Series 28, Episode 60 for broadcast on 19 May 2025

00:54 - Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket launch delayed

10:15 - Possible tectonic activity discovered on Venus

18:45 - Billion-year-old asteroid impact in Scotland raises questions about early life on Earth

25:00 - Science report: Unexplained communications equipment found in Chinese-made solar panel inverters

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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This is Spacetime series 28 episode 60


00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:05.789
for broadcast on the 19th of May


00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:09.430
2025. Coming up on Spaceime, Gilmore


00:00:09.440 --> 00:00:11.430
Spac's Aerys orbital rocket launch


00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:13.749
delayed, the discovery of possible


00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:16.870
tectonic activity on Venus and a


00:00:16.880 --> 00:00:18.950
billion-year-old asteroid impact in


00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.590
Scotland sparks fresh questions about


00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:24.470
life on Earth. All that and more coming


00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.670
up on Spaceime.


00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:31.730
Welcome to Space Time with Stuart


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[Music]




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Garry. Gilmore Space has scrubbed the


00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:50.470
maiden launch of its Aerys rocket by


00:00:50.480 --> 00:00:52.150
several weeks following a series of


00:00:52.160 --> 00:00:54.709
technical issues. The test flight, which


00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:56.790
was to take place last Thursday, was


00:00:56.800 --> 00:00:58.790
initially postponed for a day following


00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:00.790
the discovery on Wednesday of a ground


00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:02.869
systems glitch with an external power


00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:05.270
supply on the launchpad. The company


00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.030
spokesperson, communication chief


00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:08.789
Michelle Gilmore, says the issue was


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detected during pre-flight systems


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checks. She says the cause was


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identified, but mission managers ran out


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of time to implement the fix and fuel


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the rocket in time to meet the Thursday


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morning launch window. that forced the


00:01:21.360 --> 00:01:23.030
scrub and the plan's second launch


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attempt the following morning. But then


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on Thursday evening, an unexpected issue


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during final testing triggered the


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system that jettisonens the launch


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vehicle's nose cone fairings, which then


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fell to the ground. Company CEO Adam


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Gilmore says no one was injured in the


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incident, and initial checks have found


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no damage to either the rocket or the


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launchpad. A replacement set of nose


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cone fairings are now being transported


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to the Bow and Launch facility on the


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northern Queensland coast from the


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company's Gold Coast factory. Gilmore


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says a full investigation into the cause


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of the unexpected deployments now


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underway and that could take up to 2


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weeks, meaning the next launch attempt


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is at least 3 weeks away. The 23 m tall


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three-stage AIS rocket is designed to


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launch small satellite payloads up to


00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.669
200 kg into low Earth orbit. But the


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maiden flight's only payload will be a


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jar of the popular Australian toast


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spread vegite. The 30tonon Aerys launch


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vehicle uses a unique hybrid propulsion


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system comprising a solid inert fuel and


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a liquid oxidizer to provide oxygen for


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the burn. Gilmore says the company hopes


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to start commercial launches late next


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year or early in


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2027. Needless to say, we'll keep you


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informed. This is spaceime.


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Still to come, the discovery of possible


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tectonic activity on the planet Venus


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and the billion-year-old asteroid impact


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in Scotland that spark new questions


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about life on Earth. All that and more


00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:55.100
still to come on Spaceime.


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[Music]




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A new study claims that mysterious giant


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quasy circular features on the surface


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of the planet Venus may be evidence of a


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new type of tectonic activity not found


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on Earth. The findings reported in the


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journal Science Advances are based on


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archival data from NASA's Mellan mission


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which launched to map Venus back in


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1989. The authors say this ongoing


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tectonic activity may still be deforming


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the planet's surface


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today. On Earth, the planet's surface is


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continually being renewed by the


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constant shifting and recycling of


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massive sections of crust known as


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tectonic plates. These float on top of a


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partly molten convecting viscous mantle.


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Venus doesn't have tectonic plates to


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allow heat from deep inside the planet


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to escape, but its surface is still


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being deformed by molten material from


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below. Seeking to better understand the


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underlying processes driving these


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defamations, scientists studied a type


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of feature seen on Venus and not seen on


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Earth known as corona. Ranging in size


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from dozens to hundreds of kilometers


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across, a corona is most often thought


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to be the location where a plume of hot


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buoyant material from the planet's deep


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mantle is rising up and pushing against


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the lithosphere above. The lithosphere


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includes the planet's crust and the


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uppermost part of its mantle. These


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corona structures are usually oval with


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a concentric fracture system surrounding


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them and hundreds of corona are known to


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exist on Venus. The new study details


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recently discovered signs of activity


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either at or beneath the surface which


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is shaping many of Venus's corona


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features that may not only provide a


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unique window into Venus but also the


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Earth's past. You see, Venus is often


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described as Earth's sister planet.


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They're both about the same age and


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size. They were both formed at the same


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time in the same part of the solar


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system and out of the same materials


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under similar conditions. But whereas


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Earth was able to evolve into an oasis


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where life could exist, Venus developed


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a runaway greenhouse effect. It has


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surface temperatures of over 460° C.


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That's hot enough to melt lead.


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Atmospheric pressures on Venus are 100


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times higher than what they are on


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Earth. And the atmosphere is a thick


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poisonous carbon dioxide mixture pushed


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down under a thick planetwide cloud


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cover that acts as a pressure cooker.


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And those clouds rain sulfuric acid onto


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the ground. Now, there is what looks


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like snow on Venusian mountaintops. But


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that snow isn't ice. It's metallic.


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Venus rotates slowly backwards compared


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to most other planets in the solar


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system with the sun rising in the west


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and setting in the east. And at 245


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Earth days, a Venian day is 20 Earth


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days longer than a Venetian year. The


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study's authors found their evidence for


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Venus's weird tectonic activity within


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data gathered by NASA's Mellan mission,


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which orbited Venus during the 1990s and


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gathered the most detailed gravity and


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topography data on the planet available.


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The study's lead author, Gal Casioli


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from the University of Maryland and


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NASA's Godard Space Flight Center in


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Green Belt, Maryland, says Karna are not


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found on Earth today. However, they may


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have existed on our planet when it was a


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lot younger, a time before plate


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tectonics became established here. She


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says by combining gravity and topography


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data, this research has provided a new


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insight into the possible subsurface


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processes which are currently shaping


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the surface of Venus. As members of


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NASA's upcoming Venus Veritas mission,


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Ciolian colleagues are especially


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interested in the highresolution gravity


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data the spacecraft will provide. Mellin


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used its radar system to see through


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Venus's thick cloud cover, mapping the


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topography of its mountains and plains.


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And of the multitude of fascinating


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geological features the spacecraft


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mapped, corona were perhaps the most


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enigmatic. Back then, it wasn't clear


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how they formed. In the years since,


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however, scientists have found many


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crona in locations where the planet's


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lithosphere is especially thin and heat


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flow is high. Over the years, people


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have proposed different hypotheses to


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try and explain how they formed. The


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authors of this study developed a


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sophisticated three-dimensional


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geodnamic model to demonstrate various


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formation scenarios for plume induced


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crona and they then compared them with


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the combined gravity topography data


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from Melon. And the gravity data proved


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crucial in helping detect less dense hot


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and buoyant plumes under the surface.


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Information that couldn't be discerned


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from topography data alone. Of the 75


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cron studied, 52 appear to have buoyant


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mantal material beneath them that's


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likely driving tectonic processes. One


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key process is subduction. On Earth, it


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happens when the edge of one tectonic


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plate is driven beneath an adjacent


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plate. Friction between the plates can


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generate earthquakes. And as the old


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rocky material from one plate dives back


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down into the hot mantle, that rock


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melts and is then recycled back to the


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surface through volcanic vents. But on


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Venus, a different type of subduction is


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thought to occur around the perimeter of


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some Corona. In this scenario, as a


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buoyant plume of hot rock in the mantle


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pushes upwards into the lithosphere,


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surface material rises and spreads


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outwards, colliding with surrounding


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surface material and pushing that


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material back down into the mantle.


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Another tectonic process known as


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lithospheric dripping could also be


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present. This involves dense


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accumulations of comparatively cool


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material which sinks from the


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lithosphere down into the hotter mantle.


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The authors also identified several


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places where a third process could be


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taking place where a plume of hot mantle


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rock beneath a thicker part of the


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lithosphere is potentially driving the


00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:48.710
volcanism above it. The research marks


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the most recent instance of scientists


00:08:50.640 --> 00:08:52.790
returning to Mellan data to find that


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Venus exhibits geological processes that


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are more earthlike than originally


00:08:56.560 --> 00:08:58.710
thought. Recently, scientists were able


00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:01.110
to spot erupting volcanoes on Venus,


00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.350
including vast lava flows that vented


00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.949
from Matt Mons, Cifmons, and Steio in


00:09:06.959 --> 00:09:09.430
radar images from the orbiter. While


00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.350
those images provided direct evidence of


00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.350
volcanic action on Venus, the authors of


00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:14.949
this new study will need sharper


00:09:14.959 --> 00:09:16.710
resolution in order to draw a more


00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:18.550
complete picture about the tectonic


00:09:18.560 --> 00:09:21.430
processes driving corona formation. And


00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:23.750
the Veritas gravity maps of Venus will


00:09:23.760 --> 00:09:25.750
boost that resolution by at least a


00:09:25.760 --> 00:09:27.790
factor of two to four depending on the


00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:30.389
location. That's a level of detail which


00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:31.910
could revolutionize science's


00:09:31.920 --> 00:09:34.150
understanding of Venus's geology and the


00:09:34.160 --> 00:09:37.829
implications it has for early Earth.


00:09:37.839 --> 00:09:41.350
This is spacetime. Still to come, the


00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.190
billion-year-old asteroid impact in


00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.030
Scotland which has sparked new questions


00:09:45.040 --> 00:09:47.269
about life on Earth. And later in the


00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.990
science report, discovery of unexplained


00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.550
communications equipment in Chinese-made


00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:55.190
power inverters used in solar panels and


00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:57.350
wind turbines. All that and more still


00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:01.840
to come on Spaceime.


00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:14.790
[Music]


00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:16.790
Scientists dating a massive asteroid


00:10:16.800 --> 00:10:18.870
impact zone in northwestern Scotland


00:10:18.880 --> 00:10:20.550
have discovered that it actually struck


00:10:20.560 --> 00:10:22.550
the Earth some 200 million years later


00:10:22.560 --> 00:10:24.710
than what was originally thought. The


00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.310
discovery reported in the journal


00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.470
Geology not only rewrite Scotland's


00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.630
geological history, but also alters


00:10:30.640 --> 00:10:32.630
science's understanding of the evolution


00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:35.190
of life on Earth. Previously believed to


00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.350
have occurred 1.2 Two billion years ago,


00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.509
the impact created the stack fat member,


00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.590
a layer of rock that holds vital clues


00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.750
about Earth's ancient past, including


00:10:43.760 --> 00:10:46.230
how meteor and asteroid impacts may have


00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:48.069
influenced the planet's environment and


00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:50.310
life. The study's lead author Chris


00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.389
Kirkland from Curtain University says


00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:55.190
the key lay in tiny zirkon crystals


00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.670
which acted as geological clocks.


00:10:57.680 --> 00:10:59.110
Kirkland and colleagues were able to


00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.990
more accurately date the impact to 990


00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.310
million years ago. He says these


00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.030
microscopic zirkon crystals recorded the


00:11:07.040 --> 00:11:09.350
exact moment of impact with some even


00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:10.949
transforming into an incredibly rare


00:11:10.959 --> 00:11:13.110
mineral called reedite which only forms


00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.750
under extreme pressures. Kirkland says


00:11:15.760 --> 00:11:17.990
it provides undeniable proof that a


00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.389
meteor strike did cause the stack far to


00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.790
deposit. See when a meteor hits the


00:11:22.800 --> 00:11:25.110
surface it potentially resets the atomic


00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.750
clocks inside the ziron crystals. And


00:11:27.760 --> 00:11:29.509
these broken time pieces are often


00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.910
unable to be dated. But Kirtland and


00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:33.350
colleagues developed a new model to


00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:34.790
reconstruct when the disturbance


00:11:34.800 --> 00:11:37.590
occurred, confirming the impact was 990


00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.230
million years ago. And this revised


00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.470
impact date occurred at around the same


00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:44.790
time some of the earliest freshwater


00:11:44.800 --> 00:11:47.430
ukariots began to appear on land.


00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.670
Ukariats are the ancient ancestors of


00:11:49.680 --> 00:11:52.470
today's plants, animals, and fungi. And


00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:54.550
so it's raising fascinating questions


00:11:54.560 --> 00:11:56.310
about whether large impacts may have


00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:57.990
influenced environmental conditions on


00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.430
Earth in ways that affected early


00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:02.710
ecosystems. See, understanding when


00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.790
meteor impacts occur helps scientists


00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:06.470
explore the potential influence on


00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.710
Earth's environment and the expansion of


00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.269
life beyond the oceans. Kirkland says


00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:13.269
while the impact crater itself is yet to


00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:14.949
be found, this study has collected


00:12:14.959 --> 00:12:17.110
further clues that could finally reveal


00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:18.949
its location. We don't know where the


00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:20.629
crater itself is, but we've got these


00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:23.030
fantastic sequence of rocks that tell us


00:12:23.040 --> 00:12:24.069
about the impact, but we don't know


00:12:24.079 --> 00:12:25.590
where the exact crater itself is.


00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:27.430
There's this classic sequence of geology


00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:29.829
in Scotland known as the Toridan, and it


00:12:29.839 --> 00:12:31.910
has this unit called the Spack Fat,


00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:33.750
which is an impact deposit, and it


00:12:33.760 --> 00:12:35.590
contain shots minerals. So, we


00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.190
definitely know it's formed by a big


00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:38.790
impact. Unfortunately, we don't know


00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:40.949
where the crater is yet. But the


00:12:40.959 --> 00:12:42.790
sequence of rocks is really interesting


00:12:42.800 --> 00:12:45.110
because it contains early ukarotes. So


00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.590
those are early fossils of land life.


00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.350
Some of the first evidence of life on


00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.030
the land out of the ocean. These are


00:12:51.040 --> 00:12:53.030
cells that have got individual parts to


00:12:53.040 --> 00:12:54.550
them. Yeah, that's absolutely right. So


00:12:54.560 --> 00:12:55.990
what they look like in the rock record


00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:57.910
are these kind of crusty surfaces within


00:12:57.920 --> 00:12:59.269
the rock. So they're quite distinctive


00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:00.710
and they've been recognized for a long


00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.190
time. And because the impact is in the


00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:04.710
sequence that contains these fossils.


00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.790
The impact has been used as a marker bed


00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:09.190
to define the age of these fossils. But


00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.269
by um using some new techniques here at


00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.269
Curtain, we've redated the impact


00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.829
deposit and shifted its age by uh 200


00:13:15.839 --> 00:13:17.509
million years. So it's a it's a billion


00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.750
year old impact now. And that really


00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:22.310
helps us understand Scottish geology a


00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:23.910
lot better, but also understand the


00:13:23.920 --> 00:13:26.150
relationship potentially um how this


00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:28.790
ancient ecosystem responded to a large


00:13:28.800 --> 00:13:30.389
impact event and then and the


00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:31.910
development of these fossils. Is this


00:13:31.920 --> 00:13:34.230
telling us that this impact may have


00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.230
allowed the acceleration of the spread


00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.550
of ukarots because these are the uh life


00:13:38.560 --> 00:13:40.949
forms that eventually led to animals and


00:13:40.959 --> 00:13:42.790
plants and fungi. Yeah, that's exactly


00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:45.269
right. Yeah, you know, we do find right


00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.509
underneath where the impact deposit is,


00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:49.350
there is some early kind of traces of


00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.710
ukarotes. Um but after the impact


00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:54.750
deposit, we find more evidence of these


00:13:54.760 --> 00:13:57.670
ukarotes. Um, the reason this sequence


00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:59.590
of rocks is so interesting is it's some


00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.069
of the oldest unmet metamorphosed, so


00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:05.110
uncooked rocks of this age that contain


00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.590
these fossils on the planet. And the


00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:09.670
other interesting um thing about these


00:14:09.680 --> 00:14:11.750
rocks is they're an old sequence of


00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:13.670
rivers and lakes. So this impact came


00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:15.750
into this ecosystem, brought a lot of


00:14:15.760 --> 00:14:17.829
energy with it, fractured the rock, set


00:14:17.839 --> 00:14:19.990
up a whole load of chemical reactions,


00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:21.590
and then we've got this lovely record of


00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:23.269
it preserved in Scotland of all those


00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.269
processes happening. Without an impact


00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.189
crater, how do you know that what you're


00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:29.269
seeing was caused by a meteor impact?


00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:31.509
Yeah, that's a great question. So by


00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.430
looking carefully at the rocks and the


00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:35.750
minerals they contain. So the sequence


00:14:35.760 --> 00:14:37.990
of rocks within it contains some


00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.750
diagnostic minerals within the


00:14:39.760 --> 00:14:41.670
geologist's favorite mineral zirkon. So,


00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:43.430
we love zirkon because we can date it.


00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:44.790
And we'll get to how we do that in a


00:14:44.800 --> 00:14:46.389
minute. But the crystals themselves have


00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.629
been fractured and broken and


00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:50.470
crystallize this new mineral called


00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.150
reite. And the only way you can really


00:14:52.160 --> 00:14:54.629
form reite is under extreme pressure


00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.710
wave. So, it's pretty diagnostic of


00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:58.710
having an extreme impact event. Both


00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:00.470
raising the temperature and


00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:02.870
recristallizing the existing material


00:15:02.880 --> 00:15:05.110
that's there, but also developing these


00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.030
shock features within the crystal. And


00:15:07.040 --> 00:15:08.790
it's those individual little shock


00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:11.189
features that we can date by using an


00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:13.750
ion beam beam of oxygen ions and picking


00:15:13.760 --> 00:15:15.509
out these individual little features


00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:17.189
that are um you know smaller than the


00:15:17.199 --> 00:15:18.790
width of a human hair. And those are the


00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:20.470
individual features we can do it which


00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:22.629
allows us to kind of refine the age and


00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.790
hone right in on this 1 billiony old


00:15:24.800 --> 00:15:26.790
impact. Zirkons have been wonderful for


00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:28.949
geologists and astronomers and planetary


00:15:28.959 --> 00:15:31.189
scientists because of how accurately


00:15:31.199 --> 00:15:33.750
they're able to date events. What is it


00:15:33.760 --> 00:15:35.430
about these zirkon crystals that make


00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.350
them such good timekeepers? Yeah, so


00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:40.069
it's a fantastic mineral. So zirkon when


00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:42.550
it grows, it likes to incorporate a


00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:45.269
little bit of uranium and uranium over


00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:47.189
time changes to lead. So if we measure


00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:49.189
the ratio of uranium to lead, that means


00:15:49.199 --> 00:15:51.189
we've got this inbuilt stopwatch because


00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:53.030
we know the conversion rate. Um the


00:15:53.040 --> 00:15:54.790
other important point is when the


00:15:54.800 --> 00:15:57.110
crystal grows, it doesn't like to


00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.350
incorporate any lead to begin with. So


00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.069
that means any lead that's present today


00:16:02.079 --> 00:16:04.069
has come from the decay of uranium. So


00:16:04.079 --> 00:16:06.470
that gives us our stopwatch, our clock.


00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.069
So if our zirkon gets modified, reset,


00:16:10.079 --> 00:16:12.470
redrone during the impact event, that


00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:14.230
then allows us to make this direct


00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:16.629
connection between a mineral timekeeper


00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.870
and a mineral stopwatch and that actual


00:16:18.880 --> 00:16:20.230
process that caused the shock


00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:21.910
metamorphis and the shock deformation.


00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:23.430
And then we can link the two things. And


00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.990
I take it zirkon's not easy to destroy


00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:27.910
geologically. So, it's got to be a


00:16:27.920 --> 00:16:29.910
really high pressure, high temperature


00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:31.430
event to do that. Yeah, that's right.


00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:33.269
It's one of these wonderful minerals.


00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:34.870
You know, we can go to the outback of


00:16:34.880 --> 00:16:36.470
Australia and look right back into the


00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:38.069
deep time history of our planet using


00:16:38.079 --> 00:16:39.910
the exact same crystal. These zirkon


00:16:39.920 --> 00:16:41.670
crystals extend all the way back to tell


00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:43.509
us about the form formative history of


00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.670
our planet. But they also under extreme


00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:47.829
events do change and do get modified.


00:16:47.839 --> 00:16:49.590
And those extreme events such as impact


00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:51.350
we can date as well. So, we can date the


00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:52.949
formation of the grain, but we can also


00:16:52.959 --> 00:16:54.790
get extreme disturbance to the grain and


00:16:54.800 --> 00:16:56.470
that's what makes it so useful. the fact


00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.230
that you haven't found the impact crater


00:16:58.240 --> 00:16:59.910
yet. What's that telling you? Yeah, I


00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:01.110
think I think it's telling us something.


00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:02.389
I think it's probably telling us that if


00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:03.670
we want to find the crater, we might


00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:05.990
need to get our scuba gear on and go off


00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.150
into the North Atlantic and look


00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:11.429
underwater. Um, it isn't in the exposed


00:17:11.439 --> 00:17:13.909
crust of Scotland as we know it today.


00:17:13.919 --> 00:17:15.590
It's probably somewhere offshore. And


00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:17.350
there's been various suggestions about


00:17:17.360 --> 00:17:19.669
somewhere in the water off to the west


00:17:19.679 --> 00:17:21.909
of the Toridan, which is this beautiful


00:17:21.919 --> 00:17:23.990
area. It's kind of a fantastic area to


00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.350
go hill walking in. So, it's a real


00:17:25.360 --> 00:17:26.789
pleasure to go there and do field work.


00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:28.710
How do you actually determine the zirkon


00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:30.950
crystals age? I'm not talking about the


00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:32.710
uranium to lead ratios. I'm talking


00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.950
about the equipment used to to achieve


00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:36.549
that. It starts off going in the field


00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.270
and finding rocks and their relationship


00:17:39.280 --> 00:17:41.110
through the geography and taking a


00:17:41.120 --> 00:17:42.390
sample of rock and bringing it back to


00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:43.830
the lab. And then that's when the the


00:17:43.840 --> 00:17:45.430
hard work really begins. So, you got


00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.630
your piece of rock and you need to get


00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:48.230
your individual mineral grains out of


00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:49.669
it. So, how do you do that? The


00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:51.270
traditional way was to basically put


00:17:51.280 --> 00:17:53.190
your rock in a big vice and crush it and


00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.350
split out the grains. That doesn't work


00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:58.310
too well for our um impact deformed


00:17:58.320 --> 00:17:59.590
zircon because we want to be a little


00:17:59.600 --> 00:18:01.430
bit more delicate with it. So um we've


00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:02.870
got this technique where we basically


00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.590
fire a lightning bolt at the rock and it


00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:07.510
kind of breaks it along grain boundary.


00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:09.190
So you've got this rock and then you you


00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.710
push a button and it basically lightning


00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.110
bolt hits the rock and it turns to sand


00:18:13.120 --> 00:18:14.549
essentially. Then you take that sand and


00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:16.230
you put it into a heavy liquid. So in


00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:17.909
the heavy liquid, the dense minerals


00:18:17.919 --> 00:18:20.150
will um sink and the lighter minerals


00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:21.669
will float. And that then gives us the


00:18:21.679 --> 00:18:23.590
ability to individually pick using a


00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:25.590
pair of tweezers the um the grains out.


00:18:25.600 --> 00:18:26.710
So you make sure you haven't drunk


00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.549
coffee for several weeks beforehand and


00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:29.990
you're sitting with a microscope and a


00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.430
pair of tweezers picking out these


00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.430
individual grains probably up to about


00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.430
200 microns in length. um you put them


00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.350
into epoxy resin and then you polish the


00:18:37.360 --> 00:18:39.190
epoxy resin and that gives us like a


00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:40.630
cross-section through the grain and they


00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.470
have these beautiful internal textures


00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:44.150
like tree rings and those are the


00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:45.909
textures that we can look at to


00:18:45.919 --> 00:18:48.150
determine their growth process and then


00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.390
we fire our ion beams and our laser


00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:52.230
beams at the polished surface of these


00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.590
individual little crystals. So that


00:18:53.600 --> 00:18:54.870
that's the full technique. It's a


00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.270
painstaking effort. It is. But um it's


00:18:57.280 --> 00:18:59.430
so powerful because you know this this


00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:00.950
same technique is the same technique we


00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:03.029
use to understand the age of or deposit.


00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.870
It's the same technique that we use to


00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.990
understand the generation of large


00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.070
volumes of continental crust. It's the


00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:12.310
same technique we use to date


00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:14.789
archaeological artifacts. So, it's got a


00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:16.549
whole range of different uses. And


00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.150
really, by linking these individual


00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:20.549
textures within the grains to geological


00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.950
process, we can link it into the bigger


00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:24.750
scientific picture of


00:19:24.760 --> 00:19:27.669
processes related to meteorite impacts


00:19:27.679 --> 00:19:29.750
and the well potentially even the


00:19:29.760 --> 00:19:32.230
evolution of of life. So it's um it's


00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:33.669
very powerful tool. Where does this


00:19:33.679 --> 00:19:36.470
research go now? So I think a really


00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.390
interesting thing that we've seen


00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.230
recently, you know, we've dated a number


00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:41.830
of different impact deposits. We've


00:19:41.840 --> 00:19:43.830
dated some of the oldest impact deposits


00:19:43.840 --> 00:19:45.909
in the Pilbur here in Western Australia


00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:47.990
where we stretching all the way back to


00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.150
about 3.5 billion years old. And now


00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.750
we're looking at a much younger impact


00:19:51.760 --> 00:19:53.350
in Scotland at 1 billion years. They


00:19:53.360 --> 00:19:56.230
seem to be related to big changes in


00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.230
Earth's evolution, not only the


00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:00.310
biosphere, but also the atmosphere and


00:20:00.320 --> 00:20:02.390
changing big climatic conditions as


00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:04.549
well. What would be interesting is to


00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:07.510
get much more accurate ages on craters


00:20:07.520 --> 00:20:09.669
from around Earth, maybe even on the


00:20:09.679 --> 00:20:11.830
moon and see if there's a periodicity or


00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:14.390
a pattern to the frequency of when


00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.710
impacts occur. I think that's important


00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:18.470
because it provides a means of linking


00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.870
geology to astrophysic. Um, so we then


00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:22.150
would have a mechanism of, you know,


00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.070
linking these two sciences that look at


00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:25.909
things on very different scales and kind


00:20:25.919 --> 00:20:27.350
of joining them together and getting a


00:20:27.360 --> 00:20:29.270
better holistic understanding of of our


00:20:29.280 --> 00:20:30.950
planet, but also our planet's place


00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.270
within the Milky Way itself. Have you


00:20:33.280 --> 00:20:35.669
found any bits of the meteorite? Uh, no.


00:20:35.679 --> 00:20:37.430
No, we haven't. The closest we've


00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.149
basically got a shock deformed zircon


00:20:40.159 --> 00:20:42.149
grains that link us back to that high


00:20:42.159 --> 00:20:43.909
pressure shock wave and that extreme


00:20:43.919 --> 00:20:45.830
that extreme temperature. Um, the


00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:47.669
reality with most impactors is they're


00:20:47.679 --> 00:20:49.510
completely vaporized. So the amount of


00:20:49.520 --> 00:20:51.430
material remaining from them is so


00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.430
small. It makes it really challenging to


00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.270
find that. If you get lucky, you might


00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:57.110
find a chemical signature, but it's it's


00:20:57.120 --> 00:20:59.029
very challenging to do that. You say you


00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.350
were able to work out whether ukariots


00:21:01.360 --> 00:21:03.750
were were you able to see individual you


00:21:03.760 --> 00:21:05.190
well not individual you were able to see


00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:08.390
individual mats of ukariots. Yeah. Yeah.


00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.870
And um we haven't but there has been


00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:12.549
other paleontologists who have actually


00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.390
you know done a lot of detailed work and


00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.909
gone all the way down to the individual


00:21:15.919 --> 00:21:17.830
cell level. just being in the field, you


00:21:17.840 --> 00:21:19.669
could actually see these these mats. So,


00:21:19.679 --> 00:21:21.510
as a someone who likes doing field


00:21:21.520 --> 00:21:23.270
geology and looking at rocks, um yeah,


00:21:23.280 --> 00:21:24.789
you can see the stuff in the field, but


00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.630
when you get back to the laboratory, you


00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:28.149
know, that's when you can really start


00:21:28.159 --> 00:21:29.669
taking it apart. And that's the


00:21:29.679 --> 00:21:31.669
beautiful thing with geology and using


00:21:31.679 --> 00:21:33.669
geocchemistry with that. You can link


00:21:33.679 --> 00:21:35.750
observations on a whole range of scales,


00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:37.350
right? from, you know, the chemical and


00:21:37.360 --> 00:21:39.669
isotopic side down to the elemental


00:21:39.679 --> 00:21:41.510
scale all the way up through to the


00:21:41.520 --> 00:21:43.430
crystal scale, the size of an impact,


00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.430
but also then it's really nice to think


00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:47.430
about the big picture like thinking


00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.430
about impact events and if they're


00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.029
periodic and that takes us back to, you


00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:52.470
know, the size of the Milky Way and the


00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:55.270
solar system. That's what I like. That's


00:21:55.280 --> 00:21:57.630
Professor Chris Kirkland from Curtain


00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:02.860
University and this is Spacetime.


00:22:02.870 --> 00:22:16.230
[Music]


00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.990
And time now to take a brief look at


00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.590
some of the other stories making news in


00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:22.710
science this week with a science report.


00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:24.310
American energy officials have


00:22:24.320 --> 00:22:26.149
discovered unexplained communications


00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:28.710
equipment inside Chinese-made solar


00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:31.430
panel and wind turbine power converters.


00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:33.669
The undocumented communications devices


00:22:33.679 --> 00:22:35.750
were also found in Chinese inverters


00:22:35.760 --> 00:22:37.669
used for batteries, for heat pumps,


00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:39.750
cellular radios, and even electric


00:22:39.760 --> 00:22:42.230
vehicle charges. Now, while inverters


00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.310
are built with communications devices to


00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:46.149
allow remote access for updates and


00:22:46.159 --> 00:22:47.830
maintenance, power companies usually


00:22:47.840 --> 00:22:49.750
install firewalls to prevent direct


00:22:49.760 --> 00:22:52.630
communications back to China. China


00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.110
dominates the world renewables market


00:22:55.120 --> 00:22:57.190
and the rogue communications devices


00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.710
which are not listed in the product


00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:00.789
documents could be used to bypass


00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.789
firewalls and change the settings of an


00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:04.549
inverter remotely. It could switch


00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:07.270
inverters off to destabilize power grids


00:23:07.280 --> 00:23:09.590
and even damage energy infrastructure


00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:12.149
triggering widespread blackouts. An


00:23:12.159 --> 00:23:13.990
ability that would be very useful for


00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.029
Beijing in time of war. The Chinese


00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:18.470
company Huawei, which is one of the


00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.310
world's largest suppliers of inverters,


00:23:20.320 --> 00:23:22.149
has already been banned from supplying


00:23:22.159 --> 00:23:23.750
equipment to Australia's national


00:23:23.760 --> 00:23:25.830
broadband network. And the United States


00:23:25.840 --> 00:23:28.070
has restricted Huawei's access to US


00:23:28.080 --> 00:23:30.549
technology, including its 5G network,


00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:32.230
accusing the company of activities


00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.510
contrary to national


00:23:34.520 --> 00:23:36.710
security. Scientists have for the first


00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:38.430
time found the genes linked to


00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.669
obsessivempulsive disorder, OCD. The


00:23:41.679 --> 00:23:43.590
findings reported in the journal Nature


00:23:43.600 --> 00:23:46.070
Genetics identified 30 regions on the


00:23:46.080 --> 00:23:47.830
human genome which are associated with


00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:49.270
this debilitating yet often


00:23:49.280 --> 00:23:51.750
misunderstood mental health condition.


00:23:51.760 --> 00:23:54.149
The research involved more than 50,000


00:23:54.159 --> 00:23:56.710
people with OCD and 2 million people who


00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.630
didn't have the condition. The authors


00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:00.950
were able to pinpoint approximately 250


00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:03.350
genes which all played a role linked to


00:24:03.360 --> 00:24:05.669
OCD.


00:24:05.679 --> 00:24:07.590
A new study has found that the origin of


00:24:07.600 --> 00:24:10.070
reptiles may be up to 40 million years


00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:12.630
earlier than previously thought. The


00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:14.630
findings reported in the journal Nature


00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:16.870
are based on fossilized tracks uncovered


00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.269
at an Australian fossil site. The


00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:21.110
footprints belong to an amnia with


00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:23.110
clawed feet, most probably a reptile


00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:25.430
dating back around 350 million years


00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:27.510
ago.


00:24:27.520 --> 00:24:29.430
A scientist in Canada with an interest


00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.350
in the supernatural claims to have


00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:33.669
uncovered parts of the brain that act as


00:24:33.679 --> 00:24:36.070
some sort of psychic inhibitor which he


00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:38.390
claims suppresses a person's natural


00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.510
psychic telepathic and clairvoyant


00:24:40.520 --> 00:24:43.110
abilities. But Tim Menum from Australian


00:24:43.120 --> 00:24:45.830
Skeptics says this amazing discovery if


00:24:45.840 --> 00:24:48.310
true has so far failed to find any


00:24:48.320 --> 00:24:50.230
support in the wider scientific


00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:52.310
community. It's a story by researchers


00:24:52.320 --> 00:24:54.549
in New Toronto who are looking into a


00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:56.149
suggestion that something in the frontal


00:24:56.159 --> 00:24:58.630
lobe actually blocks intuitive thinking


00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:00.310
and that if they zap it through


00:25:00.320 --> 00:25:02.630
something called repetitive transcranial


00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:04.950
magnetic stimulation it will unblock the


00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.789
blocker. it will sort of stop the block


00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:08.070
of doing its job and therefore people


00:25:08.080 --> 00:25:10.149
will be able to oh suddenly have the


00:25:10.159 --> 00:25:12.149
sigh psychic abilities that they've


00:25:12.159 --> 00:25:14.070
always had unleashed and then they can


00:25:14.080 --> 00:25:15.909
start doing telekinetic things which is


00:25:15.919 --> 00:25:17.110
moving stuff and the stuff they're


00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:18.710
talking about moving is a random number


00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:20.230
generator on a computer which is


00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:21.110
interesting I don't know how you


00:25:21.120 --> 00:25:22.470
actually physically interact with that


00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.070
but never mind I can imagine doing a


00:25:24.080 --> 00:25:25.990
dial a physical analog dial but I don't


00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:27.350
know how you interfere with a digital


00:25:27.360 --> 00:25:28.950
thing with your psychic abilities


00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:30.870
problem is with this story if it was


00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:32.630
interesting it' be great it it would be


00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:34.390
fantastic a real breakthrough if it was


00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:35.750
true it would be a real breakthrough The


00:25:35.760 --> 00:25:37.110
trouble is, is it true? The only place


00:25:37.120 --> 00:25:39.269
I've seen this reported is in a paper in


00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.350
a publication that's one of those pay to


00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.870
publish sort of journals. You give us, I


00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.269
think, $35,000 US and we'll publish your


00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:46.549
paper. We'll review it, of course, and


00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.070
review the check. But we'll review the


00:25:48.080 --> 00:25:49.909
paper and you'll get it in the magazine.


00:25:49.919 --> 00:25:51.430
So, that's the only place I've seen this


00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:52.390
thing. Now, this should be a


00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:53.909
breakthrough. This should be everywhere.


00:25:53.919 --> 00:25:55.669
And I've been asking, I'm in Australia,


00:25:55.679 --> 00:25:57.669
so asking people in the US and in Canada


00:25:57.679 --> 00:25:58.870
what this is about. And they're having


00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:00.070
trouble finding this one down and


00:26:00.080 --> 00:26:01.590
locating any more information about


00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:03.190
this. Now I believe that the institution


00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:05.590
where the main researcher is located is


00:26:05.600 --> 00:26:08.230
called the Bayest Health Sciences. It's


00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:09.669
part of a university I think which I


00:26:09.679 --> 00:26:11.669
believe is true. It exists. The main


00:26:11.679 --> 00:26:13.669
doctor is known for having leanings


00:26:13.679 --> 00:26:16.149
towards the sort of psychic abilities


00:26:16.159 --> 00:26:18.549
and stuff. So it's probably not new to


00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:20.149
him. You've got to prove first of all


00:26:20.159 --> 00:26:22.549
that such abilities exist. That's been a


00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.350
very difficult thing to do convincingly.


00:26:25.360 --> 00:26:28.310
Been proven even though the skeptics


00:26:28.320 --> 00:26:30.310
have huge rewards out anyone who can.


00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:31.669
Yeah. One stage of skeptics had about


00:26:31.679 --> 00:26:33.909
$2.5 million going to anyone who can


00:26:33.919 --> 00:26:35.590
prove her psychic ability and no one


00:26:35.600 --> 00:26:37.190
has. The Australian skeptics have got


00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.950
$100,000. The Americans have got


00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:41.029
$500,000 US. So there's a lot of money


00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:42.630
out there that someone with true psychic


00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:44.310
ability could then go and claim and then


00:26:44.320 --> 00:26:45.909
they get the impromattor as a skeptic


00:26:45.919 --> 00:26:47.510
but they haven't done it. Psychics are


00:26:47.520 --> 00:26:49.029
actually very shy coming forward. Funny


00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:50.310
enough, a lot of other people do


00:26:50.320 --> 00:26:51.830
probably who definitely believe they can


00:26:51.840 --> 00:26:53.990
do what they say. A lot of psychics,


00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:55.590
people who come to me seem to definitely


00:26:55.600 --> 00:26:57.110
believe they have this psychic ability.


00:26:57.120 --> 00:26:58.950
that anyone under test so far under


00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.630
proper tests scientifically controlled


00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:01.909
tests no one's been able to win the


00:27:01.919 --> 00:27:03.510
money from us or from any other


00:27:03.520 --> 00:27:05.190
skeptical group it hasn't happened they


00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:06.870
haven't been able to prove beyond doubt


00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:08.870
that that they can actually do this even


00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:10.870
close to doubt so yeah this person has


00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:12.789
learned to or show that they can unlock


00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:14.390
this ability in people and that people


00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.470
can then use their psychic ability to


00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:18.789
move a random number generator that


00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.470
therefore that they prove it so all you


00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.350
have to do is zap everybody with RTMS I


00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:24.950
think it is with this particular


00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.789
treatment and you'll all be psychic if


00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:28.549
That was true. If this could be done,


00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.470
the world will be different. It would be


00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.070
a funny place. If you could really


00:27:32.080 --> 00:27:34.230
literally unleash the psychic ability of


00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:35.590
people, it would be a very interesting


00:27:35.600 --> 00:27:37.350
world. If the only thing they can do is


00:27:37.360 --> 00:27:39.669
is affect a digital random number


00:27:39.679 --> 00:27:41.269
generator, you wonder how useful it's


00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.549
going to be. And it's only it's only a


00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:44.430
zero and a one that they're looking


00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:46.549
at% chance anyway. Yeah. Yeah, that's


00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:48.390
right. But if you get an 80%, you know,


00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:50.390
success rate, 90% rate where they all


00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:52.070
come out zero. They all come out once or


00:27:52.080 --> 00:27:53.430
they all come out as you want them to


00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:55.190
come out. And as you said before, I want


00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.950
this to be a one. Comes up a one.


00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:59.110
There's a lot of tests for a 50% result


00:27:59.120 --> 00:28:00.710
by chance to try and make sure it's not


00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:03.029
chance. Just because you may have gotten


00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:05.430
five ones in a row doesn't mean it's


00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:08.549
100%. It it still means a 50/50 chance,


00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.149
just that it's happened five times.


00:28:10.159 --> 00:28:11.590
That's right. This is called the Monte


00:28:11.600 --> 00:28:13.350
Carlo effect. Yes. Where people believe


00:28:13.360 --> 00:28:15.110
that if you go to a roulette wheel and


00:28:15.120 --> 00:28:17.190
it comes out red five times in a row or


00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.630
10 times in a row, it's going to be


00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:20.549
black the next time. Not necessarily cuz


00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:22.230
each turn of the dial is exactly has the


00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.990
same odds to get that many together.


00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:25.350
Yes, it's unusual but it's not an


00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:26.389
indication that things are going to


00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:28.230
change. So you the Monte Carlo effect is


00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.510
a common thing, a common issue with


00:28:29.520 --> 00:28:30.789
gamblers. You think, well, it must


00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:32.230
change. My luck must change. You know,


00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:33.830
the turnouts can't be this way. Well,


00:28:33.840 --> 00:28:35.590
they can be because if one roll of the


00:28:35.600 --> 00:28:37.590
dice 50/50 chance, the next roll of the


00:28:37.600 --> 00:28:39.830
dice is also a 50/50 chance. Each one is


00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:41.110
independent. They don't affect each


00:28:41.120 --> 00:28:42.710
other. And that's what the Monte Carlo


00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:44.149
effect is supposed to be. Previous


00:28:44.159 --> 00:28:46.470
events are influencing future events.


00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.990
Doesn't happen. Certainly not in


00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.190
gambling. Probably won't happen with a


00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.950
random number generator either. That's


00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:55.220
Tim Mindum from Australian


00:28:55.230 --> 00:29:08.110
[Music]


00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:11.430
Skeptics. And that's the show for now.


00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.350
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