Terence Witt continues his podcast lecture series by discussing relativity and quantum mechanics .

Every month author Terence Witt discusses a different physics topic. In August, Witt discussed cosmology . This included the application of his Null Physics theory . In September, the discussion turned to one of the most fascinating topics of physics: black holes . The author discussed their nature and composition.

This month, a new podcast premieres on www.ourundiscovereduniverse.com . The subject matter includes a discussion about Einstein’s special and general relativity. Witt answers questions such as what is the difference between special and general relativity as well as what aspects of general relativity are germane to the development of Null Physics.

The second topic is quantum mechanics. Witt details quantum mechanics and describes how his description of quantum phenomena differs from contemporary physics.

“I enjoy the podcast lecture series because they enable me to discuss topics I find fascinating and they give me a chance to respond to many readers’ questions,” said Witt.

The podcast premiered October 3 at www.ourundiscovereduniverse.com . It is also available for download at iTunes.com.

About Terence Witt
Terence Witt is the founder and former CEO of Witt Biomedical Corporation. He holds a BSEE from Oregon State University and lives in Florida. Our Undiscovered Universe: Introducing Null Physics is his first book. To read more about Terence Witt and his latest breakthroughs go to OurUndiscoveredUniverse.com .

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For many years astronomers have debated and speculated about the existence of intermediate mass black holes. Well an answer to the question may now be available. It looks as though one of these mysterious types of black holes has been discovered in one of the Milky Way’s globular clusters. However, this discovery may not have all the answers to the mystery.

For many years the only kinds of black holes that have been found are stellar sized ones and super massive ones. Stellar sized black holes form as a result of the death of a massive star and can range up to maybe 50 solar masses. Super massive black holes reside at the center of almost all galaxies and weigh millions if not billions of solar masses. But observations were lacking for any black holes in between these sizes.

Globular Clusters are dense formulations of stars that orbit in the outskirts of a galaxy. They reside in what is known as the halo of the galaxy. They tend to be very old and are generally no longer creating new stars. They are fairly common, we know of about 200 hundred that belong to the Milky Way.

So it was in the globular cluster known as Omega Centauri that this intermediate black hole is thought to reside. Omega Centauri is one of the largest and most massive clusters belonging to the Milky Way, and is about 17,000 light years from earth. Using NASA’s Hubble space telescope and the Gemini observatory in Chile astronomers were able to note that the stars at the center of the cluster were orbiting something with very fast speeds. These fast speeds and the absence of anything we can see suggests it is a black hole that the stars are orbiting. The astronomers then used theoretical models combined with this data to calculate the mass of this black hole at about 40,000 solar masses.

This is actually the second discovery of a medium sized black hole suggesting the first was not just a fluke and that they may be common. However, no theory currently exists to explain why they exist, that is, to explain how they could have formed. However, there existence might be important for the theory of how super massive black holes form. One of the current theories states that in an early galaxy a “seed” black hole would be needed of about this size. The black hole would feed to grow to super massive size.

However, one issue might be that Omega Centauri is not a normal globular cluster, and many theorize that it is actually the remnant of a dwarf galaxy that was gobbled up by the Milky Way. Models that compare data of galaxy mass with super massive black hole mass show that a dwarf galaxy like the one predicted for Omega Centauri would have had a black hole of this size. So this would suggest not that these intermediate black holes are the seeds for super massive ones but actually play the same role as the super massive ones on a smaller scale.

More of these intermediate sized black holes will need to be discovered before any questions about formation or purpose can be answered.

	LISTEN NOW: [audio:http://ourundiscovereduniverse.com/podcast/OUUpodcast_10012008.mp3]
	DOWNLOAD MP3 NOW: OUU Podcast #3: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

Welcome to the third in a series of podcasts that explore Null Physics as presented in the book, Our Undiscovered Universe, written by Scientist and Engineer, Terence Witt.

The topics of discussion today include the overview of Einstein’s general relativity and its relation to quantum mechanics and Null theory.

Also in Episode 3:

Also available on iTunes! Search “Null Physics” and Subscribe Now!

On October 6th the MESSENGER spacecraft will perform a Mercury flyby for the second time this year. MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space, Environment, GEochemistry and Ranging) will fly past Mercury at an altitude of 201 km while taking over 1200 images of the cratered surface.

The spacecraft made its first flyby on Jan 14th, during which it took over 1200 photos, and made several startling discoveries. Some of which demonstrated that the innermost planet is not as similar to the Earth’s Moon as once was believed. MESSENGER photographed craters which are very different from the craters on the Moon. For instance, the Caloris basin is a crater with a diameter of approximately 1545km. The floor of this crater has a surface which is more reflective than the material surrounding the crater. This is exactly opposite of the Moon, whose crater floors are darker than the surrounding material. MESSENGER also observed that Mercury’s magnetic field has changed since it was first observed by Mariner 10. MESSENGER also observed large cliffs which contain ancient faults, these faults act as a recording of the paleotectonics which occurred early in the planets history. MESSENGER also observed the mineral makeup of the planet’s surface, and discovered sodium and hydrogen in the planets exosphere.

On March 18th 2011 MESSENGER will enter Mercury’s orbit where it will gather data for an entire year. MESSENGER hopes to answer several questions. The first question: “Why is Mercury so dense?” Mercury has a density of 5.427g/cm3 which implies that the mass of mercury’s core accounts for 60% of the planets total mass. MESSENGER will gather mineralogical and compositional data to help determine why. Like on Earth, part of this core must be liquid if it is to have the dynamo necessary to generate a magnetic field.

Question 2: “What is the geologic history of Mercury?” MESSENGER will photograph and observe the planet in great detail in an attempt to better understand the processes which have shaped the planet. Specifically areas such as the faults observed on the large cliffs I described earlier. Because Mariner 10 was only able to observe 45% of the planet’s surface, MESSENGER is sure to discover more geologic splendors.

Question 3: “Is there water on Mercury?” Some of the permanently shadowed craters on Mercury’s poles contain a highly reflective material that could be ice. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, but it also has the largest daily temperature gradient of the terrestrial planets. Surface temperatures range from -83°C to 427°C, with the coldest temperatures recorded at the bottom of the polar craters.

MESSENGER will not begin collecting this exciting data for a couple more years, but it is sure to tease with some good photographs and interesting data while we wait. The second flyby is scheduled for next week and a third a third and final flyby is scheduled for September 28th 2009.