MOND vs. Dark Matter: A New Perspective on Cosmic Mysteries

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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This is Spacetime Series 28, episode 68


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for broadcast on the 6th of June,


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2025. Coming up on Spacetime,


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confirmation of modified Newtonian


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dynamics is a viable alternative to dark


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matter. A new study shows the Earth's


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core contains vast hidden gold reserves


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and looking for the chemistry of life on


00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.109
the Saturnian moon Titan. All that and


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more coming up on Spaceime.


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Welcome to Space Time with Stuart


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[Music]




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Garry. A new study has provided more


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evidence that the hypothesis of modified


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Newtonian dynamics or Mond could provide


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a plausible alternative to dark matter.


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Dark matter is one of the biggest


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mysteries in science today. It's a


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mysterious invisible substance which


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only interacts gravitationally with


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ordinary so-called barionic matter,


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providing the additional mass needed to,


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for example, stop galaxies from flinging


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apart as they revolve. And there's a lot


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of it making up over 85% of all the


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matter in the universe. And that's


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disturbing for science because it means


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less than 15% of the universe is made up


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of the stuff we know, the normal bionic


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matter, the stuff stars, planets,


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houses, trees, cars, cats, and people


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are made of. The problem is scientists


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have no idea what dark matter is. There


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are several subatomic candidates for it,


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but there's no proof. And that's where


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modified Newtonian dynamics or M comes


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in. Now, M is a theory that proposes a


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modified form of Newton's laws to


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account for the observed properties of


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galaxies. M was developed back in 1982


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by Israeli physicist Morai Mgrim. Mgrim


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noted that galaxy's rotational curve


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data, which seemed to show the galaxies


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contain more matter than is observed,


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could also be explained if the


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gravitational force experienced by a


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star in the outer regions of a galaxy


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decays more slowly than what's predicted


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by Newton's law of gravity. So modifies


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Newton's laws for extremely small


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accelerations which are common in


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galaxies and galaxy clusters and this


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provided a good fit for the rotational


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curve data while at the same time


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leaving the dynamics of say our solar


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system with its strong gravitational


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field intact. The new research reported


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in the astrophysical journal looked at


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wide binary stars with separations


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greater than 2,000 astronomical units


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which are interesting natural


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laboratories for allowing a direct probe


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of gravity at low acceleration. weaker


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than about 1 nanome/s squared. By the


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way, an astronomical unit, well, that's


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the average distance between the earth


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and the sun. About 150 million


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kilometers or 8.3 light minutes. And


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that's where the new method comes in.


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Astrophysicist Caillong Sha from Seong


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University has developed a new method of


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measuring gravity with all three


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components of the velocities of stars as


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a major improvement over existing


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statistical methods which rely on sky


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projected two-dimensional models. The


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new method derives directly the


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probability three-dimensional


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distribution of gravity between a


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distant pair of stars in a binary


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system. She says existing methods to


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infer gravity have the limitation that


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only the sky projected velocities are


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being used and so they have limitations


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in accounting for the uncertainties of


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factors including stellar masses to


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derive the probability distribution of a


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gravity parameter. This new method


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overcomes these limitations. Until now,


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the motions of wide binaries could only


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be measured in a sort of snapshot method


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observed only at a specific phase of


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orbital motion. That's because of the


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very long orbital periods of these


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binaries, which ideally should be


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observed for the full orbit. And that's


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where the new method comes in. It


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requires accurate values for a third


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velocity component, the line of sight or


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radial velocity. So only wide binaries


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with precisely measured radial


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velocities could be used. Now to test


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the model, Sheay looked at 300 wide


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binaries with relatively precise radial


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velocities which was selected from the


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European Space Ay's Guide Database 3


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release. Sheay found that for wide


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binaries whose stars orbit each other


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with an internal acceleration greater


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than about 10 nanome/s squared, the


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inferred gravity is precisely Newtonian.


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But for an internal acceleration lower


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than about 1 nanometer/s squared or a


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separation greater than about 2,000


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astronomical units, inferred gravity is


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actually about 40 to 50% stronger than


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Newton. The significance of this


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deviation is 4.2 sigma, meaning that


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standard gravity is outside the


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99.997% probability range and that just


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happens to match the predictions of


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Mond. Sheay says the findings are


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encouraging. Encouraging enough for


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further investigation.


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This is spaceime. Still to come, a new


00:04:49.440 --> 00:04:51.189
study shows that Earth's core would


00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.590
contain vast amounts of gold reserves


00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:55.510
and plans to look for the chemistry of


00:04:55.520 --> 00:04:58.150
life on Saturn's moon Titan. All that


00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.230
and more still to come on


00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:03.830
Spaceime. This episode of Spaceime is


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spacetime. And now it's back to our


00:06:42.470 --> 00:06:50.270
[Music]


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show. A new study has found that Earth's


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largest gold reserves aren't kept deep


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inside Fort Knox, but instead lie buried


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deep under 3,000 kilometers of solid


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rock. A report in the journal Nature


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suggests that over


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99.999% of Earth's stores of gold and


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other precious metals are locked away


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within Earth's metallic core and far


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beyond the reaches of humans. The


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findings are based on the discovery of


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traces of the precious metal ruinium in


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volcanic rocks on the islands of Hawaii


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that were literally blasted out from the


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Earth's core. Now, compared to Earth's


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rocky mantle, the metallic core contains


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a slightly higher abundance of a


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specific runinium isotope, RU 100.


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That's because part of the ruinium,


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which was locked in the Earth's core,


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together with gold and other precious


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metals when the planet formed 4.6


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billion years ago, came from a different


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source than the scarce amount contained


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in the Earth's mantle today. These


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differences in RU00 are so tiny that


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until now it was impossible to detect


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them. But a new test has now made it


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possible to resolve them. The unusually


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higher RU00 signal found in lavas on


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Earth's surface would have ultimately


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originated from the core mantle boundary


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region that's 3,000 km down. The studies


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authors Neils Mesling and Matias Wilbold


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from Gnham University say the results


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confirm that material in the Earth's


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core including gold and other precious


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metals are leaking into the planet's


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mantle above. The findings not only show


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that the Earth's core isn't as isolated


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as previously assumed, it also proves


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that huge volumes of superheated


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metallic material, several hundreds of


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quadrillion metric tons of rock


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originate from the core mantle boundary


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and then rise to the surface to form


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oceanic islands like Hawaii. The authors


00:08:28.400 --> 00:08:30.309
say these new findings are opening up an


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entirely new perspective on the


00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:34.230
evolution of the internal dynamics of


00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:38.310
our home planet. This is spaceime. Still


00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.230
to come, looking for the chemistry of


00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.870
life on the moon Titan. And later in the


00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:45.110
science report, a new study claims


00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.110
humans may have been making tools from


00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.910
whale bones as far back as 20,000 years


00:08:49.920 --> 00:08:52.630
ago. All that and more still to come on


00:08:52.640 --> 00:08:53.730
Spaceime.


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[Music]




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When it descends through the thick


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golden haze of Saturn's moon Titan,


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NASA's Dragonfly rotocraft will find an


00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.550
eerily similar Earthlike terrain. It'll


00:09:18.560 --> 00:09:20.630
see dunes wrapping around Titan's


00:09:20.640 --> 00:09:22.710
equator. There'll be clouds drifting


00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:25.269
across its skies. Rain will be drizzling


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down to the surface, forming rivers,


00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.509
which flow into canyons, streaming into


00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:32.389
lakes, and eventually seas. But not


00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.949
everything is as familiar as it seems.


00:09:34.959 --> 00:09:38.790
See, at - 180° C, the sandunes on Titan


00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:40.790
aren't silicut grains, but organic


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material. The rivers, lakes, and seas


00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:45.630
aren't water, but liquid methane and


00:09:45.640 --> 00:09:49.110
ethane. On Titan, water is frozen solid


00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.910
forming bedrock. Titan, you see, is a


00:09:51.920 --> 00:09:54.110
frigid world laden with organic


00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.030
molecules. Yet, Dragonfly, a car-sized


00:09:57.040 --> 00:09:59.030
rotocraft set to launch no earlier than


00:09:59.040 --> 00:10:01.509
2028, will explore this frigid world to


00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.269
potentially answer one of science's


00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:06.150
biggest questions. How did life begin?


00:10:06.160 --> 00:10:08.150
Now, I admit seeking answers about life


00:10:08.160 --> 00:10:10.310
in a place where it can't likely survive


00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.710
seems strange, but that's precisely the


00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.110
point. Dragonfly principal investigator


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ZB Turtle from the John's Hopkins


00:10:16.800 --> 00:10:18.470
Applied Physics Laboratory in Lurel,


00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.630
Maryland says Dragonfly isn't a mission


00:10:20.640 --> 00:10:23.350
to detect life. Instead, it's a mission


00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:24.710
to investigate the chemistry that came


00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:27.590
before biology here on Earth. On Titan,


00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.030
scientists can explore the chemical


00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:30.870
processes that may have led to life on


00:10:30.880 --> 00:10:32.630
Earth without life complicating the


00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:35.269
picture. See, on Earth, life has already


00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:36.949
reshaped everything, burying its


00:10:36.959 --> 00:10:39.470
chemical forebears deep beneath eons of


00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.829
evolution. Turtle says you need to go


00:10:41.839 --> 00:10:43.670
from a simple to complex form of


00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:45.790
chemistry before you can jump across to


00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:47.990
biology. But science doesn't know all


00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:49.750
the steps. And Titan will allow


00:10:49.760 --> 00:10:51.590
researchers to uncover at least some of


00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:53.670
them. In this way, I guess you can think


00:10:53.680 --> 00:10:55.430
of Titan as an untouched chemical


00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.030
laboratory where all the ingredients


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known for life, organics, liquid, water,


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and energy exist and have interacted in


00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.310
the past. What dragonfly will uncover


00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.949
will illuminate a past long since erased


00:11:06.959 --> 00:11:08.949
on Earth. And it will refine science's


00:11:08.959 --> 00:11:10.389
understanding of habitability and


00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:11.990
whether the chemistry that sparked life


00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.110
on Earth is actually a universal rule or


00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.590
a wondrous cosmic fluke that only


00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.630
happened once. Before NASA's Cassini


00:11:20.640 --> 00:11:22.069
Huygens's mission, researchers didn't


00:11:22.079 --> 00:11:24.430
know just how rich Titan is in organic


00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.870
molecules. Huygen mission data combined


00:11:26.880 --> 00:11:28.389
with laboratory experiments have


00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:30.630
revealed a molecular smores board.


00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:33.269
ethane, propane, acetylene, acetone,


00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.389
vinyl cyanide, benzene. These molecules


00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.389
all fall to the surface forming thick


00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.150
deposits on Titan's frozen water


00:11:40.160 --> 00:11:42.389
bedrock. And scientists believe life


00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:43.750
related chemistry could have started


00:11:43.760 --> 00:11:45.590
there if given some liquid water, such


00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:47.750
as from, say, an asteroid impact. And


00:11:47.760 --> 00:11:49.430
that's why scientists are looking at a


00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:51.670
specific location on Titan called Silk


00:11:51.680 --> 00:11:55.190
Crater, an 80 km wide impact site. It's


00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.670
a key dragonfly destination, not only


00:11:57.680 --> 00:11:59.110
because it's covered in organics, but


00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:00.790
also because it may have once had liquid


00:12:00.800 --> 00:12:03.190
water for an extended period of time.


00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.269
See, the impact that forms silk melted


00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.110
the frozen water bedrock, thereby


00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:08.949
creating a temporary pool of liquid


00:12:08.959 --> 00:12:10.550
water that could have remained liquid


00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:12.389
for hundreds of thousands of years under


00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:14.629
an insulating layer of ice. Sort of like


00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.949
winter ponds here on Earth. Now, if a


00:12:16.959 --> 00:12:18.710
natural antifreeze like ammonia were


00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:20.069
mixed in, the pool could have remained


00:12:20.079 --> 00:12:21.990
unfrozen even longer. blending water


00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.910
with organics and the impact of silicon,


00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:25.910
phosphorus, sulfur, and iron to form a


00:12:25.920 --> 00:12:28.389
primordial soup. For decades now,


00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.150
scientists have simulated Earth's early


00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:31.910
conditions, mixing water with simple


00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:34.069
organics to create a sort of prebiotic


00:12:34.079 --> 00:12:35.990
soup, and then jumpst starting reactions


00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.389
with an electrical shock. The problem is


00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:40.710
time. Most of these tests last weeks,


00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.269
maybe a few months or years at most. But


00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:45.350
the milk pools and Silk Crater could


00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:46.790
possibly have lasted for tens of


00:12:46.800 --> 00:12:48.870
thousands of years. Now, that's still


00:12:48.880 --> 00:12:50.389
shorter than the hundreds of millions of


00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:51.910
years it took for life to emerge on


00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.069
Earth, but potentially it's enough time


00:12:54.079 --> 00:12:56.470
for critical chemistry to occur. Thing


00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.150
is, we don't know how long it took for


00:12:58.160 --> 00:12:59.990
Earth life to be created because


00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.750
conditions had to stabilize and the


00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:03.910
chemistry itself needed time. But the


00:13:03.920 --> 00:13:05.829
models show that if you do toss Titan's


00:13:05.839 --> 00:13:07.670
organics into water, tens of thousands


00:13:07.680 --> 00:13:09.350
of years should be plenty of time for


00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:12.150
chemistry to happen. And Dragonfly will


00:13:12.160 --> 00:13:14.790
test that theory. Landing near silk,


00:13:14.800 --> 00:13:16.870
it'll fly from sight to sight, analyzing


00:13:16.880 --> 00:13:18.870
the surface chemistry to investigate the


00:13:18.880 --> 00:13:20.710
frozen remains of what could have been


00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:23.430
prebiotic chemistry in action. Dragonfly


00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.190
will use a mass spectrometer to search


00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.750
for indicators of complex chemistry. For


00:13:27.760 --> 00:13:29.590
example, on Earth, amino acids,


00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:31.190
fundamental to proteins, appear in


00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.829
specific patterns. A world without life


00:13:33.839 --> 00:13:35.590
would merely manufacture the simplest


00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.949
amino acids and form fewer complex ones.


00:13:38.959 --> 00:13:41.190
Now, generally, Titan isn't regarded as


00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.030
habitable. It's far too cold for the


00:13:43.040 --> 00:13:44.629
chemistry of life as we know it to


00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.710
occur. And there's no liquid water on


00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.310
the surface where the organics and


00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.110
likely energy sources exist. Still,


00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.870
scientists are assuming that if a place


00:13:52.880 --> 00:13:54.949
has life's ingredients and enough time,


00:13:54.959 --> 00:13:57.750
complex chemistry, eventually even life,


00:13:57.760 --> 00:13:58.509
could


00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.189
emerge. Now, if Titan proves otherwise,


00:14:01.199 --> 00:14:02.389
it could mean scientists have


00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.230
misunderstood something about how life


00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.310
began. And that means life would be a


00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.629
lot rarer than what we thought. But of


00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:10.310
course, they won't know unless they


00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.230
look. And that's where Dragonfly comes


00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:16.230
in. This report from NASA TV. Saturn's


00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.230
largest moon, Titan, has a thick


00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.870
atmosphere and a frozen surface rich in


00:14:20.880 --> 00:14:24.470
organic molecules. In 2034, a NASA


00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.550
mission called Dragonfly will arrive at


00:14:26.560 --> 00:14:29.189
Titan and study its chemical makeup.


00:14:29.199 --> 00:14:32.230
Dragonfly is a rocraft designed to visit


00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:36.110
multiple sites across the moon's varied


00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.790
terrain. At each new landing site on


00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:41.509
Titan's surface, Dragonfly uses a pulse


00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.990
neutron generator and onboard gammaray


00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:46.470
sensor to detect key elements such as


00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.110
carbon and hydrogen in organic materials


00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.310
or oxygen in water ice. Dragonfly


00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:54.230
determines if there are well-defined


00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.430
layers of these materials just below the


00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.949
lander. For a closer inspection,


00:14:58.959 --> 00:15:01.430
Dragonfly uses its drill to generate


00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:03.670
tailings from Titan's hard, frozen


00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:05.110
surface.


00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.949
These surface samples can then be


00:15:06.959 --> 00:15:08.870
ingested through the pneumatic system


00:15:08.880 --> 00:15:11.030
carried with Titan air into the chilled


00:15:11.040 --> 00:15:13.790
sample lines into the sample collection


00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:16.150
carousel. One of the carousel sample


00:15:16.160 --> 00:15:19.110
cups is placed in a pneumatic port. The


00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.110
cup captures the surface material from


00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.430
the cold air stream and transfers it to


00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:26.150
the chemical laboratory for measurement.


00:15:26.160 --> 00:15:28.230
Pulses from a laser release large


00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:29.910
organic molecules from the surface


00:15:29.920 --> 00:15:31.750
sample for analysis in the mass


00:15:31.760 --> 00:15:34.310
spectrometer. The mass spectrometer


00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:36.629
sorts molecules by mass and measures


00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.110
diagnostic fragments that tell dragonfly


00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.870
the kinds of chemical components that


00:15:40.880 --> 00:15:42.629
are present in the surface and whether


00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:44.829
there are molecules of prebiotic


00:15:44.839 --> 00:15:47.670
interest. For those potential prebiotic


00:15:47.680 --> 00:15:49.990
samples, a new cup is placed into an


00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.150
oven and heated to release molecules


00:15:52.160 --> 00:15:54.310
into a gas chromatograph where they are


00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.389
sorted for size and type before entering


00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.949
the mass spectrometer. This advanced


00:15:58.959 --> 00:16:01.030
separation of organic components


00:16:01.040 --> 00:16:03.350
includes isolating molecules with the


00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.110
same formula but different chyal


00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.670
arrangements or handedness. Having a


00:16:07.680 --> 00:16:09.430
preference for one-handedness over


00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.910
another is a key bio signature for life


00:16:11.920 --> 00:16:14.629
on Earth. When the chemical analysis is


00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:16.949
complete, Dragonfly may choose to take


00:16:16.959 --> 00:16:19.509
another surface sample or find a new


00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:29.990
location on Titan to investigate.


00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.390
This is


00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:46.749
[Music]


00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:49.110
spaceime. And time now to take another


00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:50.389
brief look at some of the other stories


00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.389
making news in science this week with a


00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.030
science report. A new study claims


00:16:55.040 --> 00:16:57.030
humans may have been making tools from


00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:59.629
well bones for at least the last 20,000


00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:01.990
years. The findings reported in the


00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.910
journal Nature Communications are based


00:17:03.920 --> 00:17:06.549
on an analysis of 83 bone tools and 90


00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.470
additional bones excavated from dig


00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:10.870
sites around Spain. The authors claimed


00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.630
that these objects could represent the


00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.350
earliest human use of whale remains. The


00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:17.429
bones came from at least five species of


00:17:17.439 --> 00:17:19.429
large whales, including sperm whales,


00:17:19.439 --> 00:17:21.590
fin whales, blue whales, and right or


00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:23.829
bowhead whales. Interestingly, a


00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:25.590
chemical analysis of the bones also


00:17:25.600 --> 00:17:26.949
showed that the feeding habits of the


00:17:26.959 --> 00:17:28.870
wells were slightly different from those


00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:30.750
species living


00:17:30.760 --> 00:17:33.029
today. Scientists have for the first


00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:35.510
time used a quantum computer to simulate


00:17:35.520 --> 00:17:37.830
the chemical dynamics of real compounds


00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:39.510
which could lead to new drugs and


00:17:39.520 --> 00:17:41.669
medical treatments. A report in the


00:17:41.679 --> 00:17:43.510
journal of the American Chemical Society


00:17:43.520 --> 00:17:45.350
claims the creation of new drugs or


00:17:45.360 --> 00:17:46.710
medical treatments are among the


00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:49.270
greatest promises of quantum computing.


00:17:49.280 --> 00:17:51.270
The research is a vital step towards


00:17:51.280 --> 00:17:53.270
modeling more complex molecules and


00:17:53.280 --> 00:17:55.190
designing bespoke chemicals that could


00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:57.350
lead to improved sunscreen or skin


00:17:57.360 --> 00:17:58.750
cancer


00:17:58.760 --> 00:18:01.029
treatments. A new study has found that


00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:03.190
biodiversity in Antarctic cells may be


00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.350
much greater than previously thought.


00:18:05.360 --> 00:18:07.350
The authors use DNA sequencing to


00:18:07.360 --> 00:18:09.029
measure biodiversity in some of the


00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.350
driest, coldest, and most nutrient poor


00:18:11.360 --> 00:18:13.510
soils weathered debris in front of a


00:18:13.520 --> 00:18:15.990
glacier in Antarctica. They found a


00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.350
range of previously unsuspect


00:18:17.360 --> 00:18:19.110
interactions between different organisms


00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:21.029
and these results imply that new


00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:22.870
mutually beneficial relationships play


00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:24.789
an essential role in shaping this


00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.870
system. A report in the journal


00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.029
Frontiers in Microbiology claims the


00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:30.870
findings indicate biodiversity in


00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.430
Arctica is far greater than previously


00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:36.630
thought. One of the most famous sea


00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:38.549
battles of the Second World War was the


00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.230
Battle of the Denmark Strait which


00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:43.110
occurred on the 24th of May 1941.


00:18:43.120 --> 00:18:44.630
It involved the British Royal Navy


00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:46.870
battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the


00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:49.750
battle cruiser HMS Hood. They fought the


00:18:49.760 --> 00:18:52.070
Nazi Cremarine battleship Bismar and the


00:18:52.080 --> 00:18:53.909
heavy cruiser Prince Ogans as they were


00:18:53.919 --> 00:18:55.270
attempting to break out of the North


00:18:55.280 --> 00:18:57.350
Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland


00:18:57.360 --> 00:18:59.110
in order to launch attacks on Allied


00:18:59.120 --> 00:19:01.750
merchant shipping. At the time, the Hood


00:19:01.760 --> 00:19:03.510
was celebrated as one of Britain's


00:19:03.520 --> 00:19:05.909
greatest all-time warships, a floating


00:19:05.919 --> 00:19:08.070
recruitment poster exemplifying the


00:19:08.080 --> 00:19:10.470
might of the Royal Navy. In fact, it had


00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.150
traveled the world, showing how


00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:15.029
Britannia ruled the seas. Yet, less than


00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:16.710
half an hour after intercepting and


00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.870
engaging Bismar, the Great Hood was


00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:21.390
sunk, going down in just 3 minutes with


00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.430
1,415 crew on board, only three of which


00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.789
survived. It was a massive blow to


00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.950
English pride at a time of war and a


00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.750
huge propaganda boost for the Nazis. And


00:19:31.760 --> 00:19:32.950
this is where this story gets


00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.870
interesting. It's claimed the news of


00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.029
the sinking of the hood was broken not


00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.190
by official channels, but by a Scottish


00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.190
medium, Helen Duncan, who was promptly


00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:42.549
arrested and charged with, of all


00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:44.310
things, witchcraft in order to keep a


00:19:44.320 --> 00:19:46.950
quiet. And as Tim Menum from Australian


00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.110
Skeptics explains, that brought her to


00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:51.190
the attention of no one less than Prime


00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.350
Minister Winston Churchill. And that


00:19:53.360 --> 00:19:55.190
resulted in the media beating up the


00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.830
story of Witty and Britain's last witch.


00:19:57.840 --> 00:19:59.270
Apparently, Winston Churchill, who was


00:19:59.280 --> 00:20:00.789
prime minister of Britain during the


00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.190
Second World War, wrote a memo to the


00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.870
courts here asking about why they were


00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.190
harassing a particular lady who was


00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:08.950
classed as a witch. Her name was Helen


00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.350
Duncan. She was born in the late 1800s,


00:20:11.360 --> 00:20:13.270
and she'd been around doing spiritual


00:20:13.280 --> 00:20:14.950
meetings, seances, that sort of stuff,


00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:16.789
calling up the dead. And during the war,


00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.470
she happened to mention to someone from


00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.950
the Admiraly a better ship sinking. Now,


00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.870
the details are a bit vague as to how


00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:24.789
much detail she had, but she said that a


00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.870
ship had just sunk and that the the


00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:28.549
person from the Adult said what phoned


00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:30.070
up and found out that no one had heard


00:20:30.080 --> 00:20:31.990
of it yet. That turned out to be true.


00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.590
Now, like a lot of stories, it might be


00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:35.110
embroidered a bit. But anyway, they


00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:37.270
charged her with the witchcraft act sort


00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:38.870
of designed to keep people like her off


00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:40.549
the streets. And then Churchill wrote an


00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:41.830
email saying, you know, what what are


00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:43.110
you doing about this witch? Why are you


00:20:43.120 --> 00:20:44.710
harassing this witch? Actually, what he


00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:46.149
was saying about why are you wasting


00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:48.470
court time on such a stupid little


00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:50.149
thing? and he called it obsolete tom


00:20:50.159 --> 00:20:51.909
foolery during this rather serious


00:20:51.919 --> 00:20:53.430
period of the second world war that she


00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:54.950
was fine actually she was put in prison


00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:56.470
for a short time when she got out she


00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:57.990
continued practicing for a bit but not


00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:59.909
that much longer the story was that she


00:20:59.919 --> 00:21:01.590
had a good reputation someone was saying


00:21:01.600 --> 00:21:03.190
that actually the court case gave her a


00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.870
better reputation of course a lot more


00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:06.950
business her family descendants are very


00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:08.470
much supportive of her but the story


00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:10.149
goes it's pretty much the people who


00:21:10.159 --> 00:21:11.669
went to see her who were convinced were


00:21:11.679 --> 00:21:13.190
from a mixture of backgrounds some of


00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:14.470
them pretty ordinary people some of them


00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:16.630
in high positions believed her others


00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.470
who had tested her didn't believe her a


00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.950
famous ghost hunter named Henry Price


00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:22.789
who was around that time in a lot of


00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:24.630
famous cases and he investigated her and


00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:26.070
he found out that she was his point of


00:21:26.080 --> 00:21:28.630
the issue was a shank. He was a a fake.


00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.230
Yeah, this this is a time when spiritual


00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.230
work case of she was listening to


00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:35.190
propaganda radio from the Germans and uh


00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:37.430
they boasted that the bismar had just


00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:39.750
sunk the hood and uh she started


00:21:39.760 --> 00:21:41.909
boasting about that herself and uh at


00:21:41.919 --> 00:21:43.750
that stage the admiral hadn't been told


00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:45.590
that the hood had been sunk and they


00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:46.870
wanted to know how she found out and


00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:48.230
there was no actual law they could


00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:49.830
charge her with so they dug up this


00:21:49.840 --> 00:21:52.149
thing from the what was it 1735 the


00:21:52.159 --> 00:21:53.990
witchcraft act that's right yeah a


00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.830
pretty old act it was actually still um


00:21:55.840 --> 00:21:57.750
in place in Australia too for a long


00:21:57.760 --> 00:21:59.830
time She was I think in one state was


00:21:59.840 --> 00:22:01.510
only taken out about 20 years ago. They


00:22:01.520 --> 00:22:02.710
thought it was a bit silly law. No one


00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:04.070
had ever been charged under it for a


00:22:04.080 --> 00:22:05.830
long time. The issue was where did she


00:22:05.840 --> 00:22:07.430
get her information from? Maybe she


00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:09.350
heard it from other sources, you know,


00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:10.950
German sources or whatever. Or maybe


00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.710
someone in the know told her before it


00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.630
became common knowledge. And you often


00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.830
wonder about some of these stories being


00:22:15.840 --> 00:22:17.110
a bit embroidered as far as the


00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:18.470
chronology goes, as far as, you know,


00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:19.830
what's the order of things, how much


00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:21.750
details should you give, etc. uh this


00:22:21.760 --> 00:22:23.110
thing about this story that came out


00:22:23.120 --> 00:22:24.789
recently. Winston Churchill got involved


00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.110
in this court case of this case against


00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:28.789
the witch. Not really true. He wrote an


00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:30.470
email. Probably took him about 3 minutes


00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:31.990
dictating it to somebody saying, you


00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.270
know, really don't you have more


00:22:33.280 --> 00:22:35.110
important things to do? And uh that was


00:22:35.120 --> 00:22:36.789
probably it. That's Tim Mendum from


00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.160
Australian Skeptics.


00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:53.430
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