7 things science can't explain
Science has appeared for the need to answer people's questions. And it seems that most of the complex phenomena have been studied along and across, and the “very little” remains - to comprehend the nature of dark matter, to deal with the problem of quantum gravity, to solve the problem of space / time dimension, to understand what dark energy is ). However, there still remain simpler, it would seem, phenomena that scientists are not able to explain to the end.
What is glass?
Nobel laureate Warren Anderson once said: "The deepest and most interesting of the unresolved problems in the theory of a solid state lies in the nature of glass." And although the glass is known to mankind is not the first millennium, what is the reason for its unique mechanical properties, scientists still do not understand. From school lessons, we remember that glass is liquid, but is it? Scientists do not know exactly what the nature of the transition between the liquid or solid and vitreous phases and which physical processes lead to the basic properties of glass.
The process of glass formation cannot be explained using any of the current tools in solid-state physics, the many-particle theory, or the theory of liquids. In brief, liquid molten glass gradually becomes more and more viscous as it cools until it becomes hard. While in the formation of crystalline solids, such as graphite, atoms at one time form the usual periodic structures.
Glass behaves in such a way that it is not yet possible to describe it by equilibrium statistical mechanics.
Tarun Chitra, a molecular dynamics researcher, explains the organization of molecules in different substances using the example of dance. An ideal solid is like a slow dance, when two partners together with other couples move around their starting position on the dance floor. The perfect liquid is like a dating party when everyone tries to dance with everyone in the room. (this property is called ergodicity), while the average tempo with which everyone dances is about the same. Glass by this analogy is similar to dance, when a group of people is divided into smaller subgroups, and each one turns in its own round dance. You can change partners from your circle, and this dance happens forever.
Glass behaves in such a way that it is still impossible to describe it by equilibrium statistical mechanics. In particular, subexponential autocorrelations and the cross-correlation function of glass can be obtained by an infinite number of random processes. Up to a certain point, the system works more or less clearly and predictably, but if you watch it long enough, you begin to see how some features are better described by probability theory and random processes.
How does placebo work?
About placebo, or substances that have no obvious therapeutic properties, but have a positive effect on the body, has long been known. The placebo effect is based on psycho-emotional impact. But researchers have repeatedly argued that a placebo that does not have active substances can stimulate real physiological reactions, including changes in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as chemical activity in the brain. Placebo also helps relieve pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and even some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
How our psyche can affect health is still not completely clear, and scientists cannot reveal the mechanisms underlying physiological responses to placebo. It is obvious that in the effect many different aspects are woven, and the pacifier medications do not affect the source or cause of the disease. It has been established experimentally that the body's response varies depending on the method of placebo delivery.(when taking pills or injections). Also placebo give only the expected, that is known in advance, therapeutic effect. And the higher the expectations - the stronger the placebo effect. In addition, it is known that it can be enhanced with active verbal effects on the patient. The action of placebo are not all. More often placebo acts on extroverts, people with a high level of anxiety, suspiciousness, self-doubt.
In October 2013, a study was published demonstrating that the placebo effect is associated with an increase in brain alpha activity. Alpha waves occur in a relaxed state that looks like a light trance or meditation - that is, in the most inspired state. The placebo effect has a significant effect on the human nervous system in the spinal cord. But so far no one could describe the mechanism of its impact in detail.
What did the wow-signal from far space mean?
On August 15, 1977, one of the most mysterious events in the history of space exploration occurred. Dr. Jerry Eyman, while working on the Big Ear radio telescope within the framework of the SETI project, recorded a strong narrowband cosmic radio signal. Its characteristics (transmission band, signal-to-noise ratio) corresponded to those expected from a signal of extraterrestrial origin. Struck by this, Ayman scrolled the corresponding characters on the printout and signed "Wow!" In the margins. This signature gave the name of the signal.
The signal came from the sky in the constellation Sagittarius, about 2.5 degrees south of the star group Xi. However, after years of waiting for a repetition of something like that, nothing happened.
← That wow-sound
Scientists argue that if the signal was of extraterrestrial origin, the creatures that sent it should belong to a very, very advanced civilization. To send such a powerful signal requires at least a 2.2-gigawatt transmitter, which is much more powerful than any terrestrial one. For example, HAARP in Alaska, one of the most powerful in the world, is supposedly capable of transmitting a signal of up to 3,600 kW.
As one of the hypotheses explaining the signal power, it is assumed that the initially weak signal was significantly enhanced by the action of a gravitational lens; however, this still does not exclude the possibility of its artificial origin. Other researchers suggest the possibility of rotating a radiation source like a beacon, a periodic change in the frequency of a signal, or its frequency. There is also a version that the signal was sent from a moving alien spacecraft.
In 2012, to the 35th anniversary of the signal, the Arecibo Observatory sent a response from 10,000 coded tweets in the direction of the intended source. However, whether anyone received them is unknown. Until now, the wow-signal remains one of the main mysteries for astrophysicists.
Why are people divided into left-handers and right-handers?
Over the past 100 years, scientists have studied the problem quite well, why people mostly use one hand and why more often it’s just the right hand. However, there is no standard empirical testing for right-handers or left-handers, since scientists are not completely able to understand which mechanisms are involved in this process.
Scientists disagree on what percentage of humanity is right-handed and which is left-handed. In general, it is believed that most (from 70% to 95%) - right, minority (from 5% to 30%) - left-handers, there are also an indefinite number of people with the observed full symmetry. It has been proven that left-handedness and right-handedness are influenced by genes, but the exact "left-handed gene" has not yet been identified. There is evidence that social and cultural mechanisms can influence the propensity to use the right or left hand. The most characteristic example of this is how teachers retrained children, forcing them to switch from the left hand to the right hand while writing. At the same time at the moment more totalitarian societies have less left-handed people than more liberal societies.
We have only a general idea of the causes of right-handedness, and researchers have yet to understand everything in detail.
Some researchers talk about the "pathological" left-handedness associated with brain injuries during childbirth. In the 1860s, the French surgeon Paul Broca noted the relationship between the activity of the hands and the cerebral hemispheres. According to his theory, the halves of the brain are connected crosswise with the halves of the body. But at the moment it is known that these connections are not as simple as Brock described them. Studies conducted in the 70s showed that most left-handers have the same left hemispheric activity typical of all people. However, only part of the left-handers have different deviations from the norm.
Studying the problems of left-handedness and right-handedness of primates, scientists found that most animals in a separate population are either left-handers or right-handers. At the same time, individual monkeys often develop their individual preferences. As a result, we still have only a general idea of the causes of right-handedness, and the researchers only have to sort out in detail all the mechanisms for their formation.
How inanimate matter becomes alive?
In the scientific world today, the concept of biological evolution prevails, according to which the first life originated of itself from inorganic components as a result of physical and chemical processes. The theory of abiogenesis describes how living matter comes from inanimate matter. However, there are a lot of problems.
It is known that the main components of living matter are amino acids. But the probability of the accidental occurrence of a certain amino acid-nucleotide sequence corresponds to the probability that several thousand letters from the type-typed typographical font will be dropped from the roof of a skyscraper and will form into a certain page of Dostoevsky's novel. Abiogenesis in its classical form assumes that such a "drop font" occurred thousands of times - that is, as long as it took until it was formed into the required sequence. However, according to modern calculations, this would take much longer than the whole Universe exists.
At the same time, scientists continue to attempt to create an artificial living cell in the laboratory. A complete set of amino acids and nucleotides and the simplest bacterial cell still divides the abyss. Perhaps the first living cells were very different from those that we can observe now. Also, a large number of scientists support the hypothesis that the first living cells could get to our planet thanks to meteorites, comets and other extraterrestrial objects.
Why do we sleep?
We sleep 36% of our lives, but scientists cannot fully explain the nature of sleep. People are characterized by sleep, because it is embedded in our genes, but why this state appeared in the process of evolution and what are the advantages of sleep is a mystery.
Scientists have already found out that during sleep muscles grow faster, wounds heal better, and protein synthesis is accelerated. In other words, sleep helps the body replenish what it lost while awake. Recent studies have shown that during sleep our brains are cleared of toxins, and if a person interferes with this process (in other words, does not sleep), he increases the risk of neurological disorders. In addition, during the rest the communication between cells is weakened or disconnected in the brain - this is how we make room for new information. New synapses are generated in the brain, so lack of sleep threatens to reduce the ability to acquire, process and recall information.
During sleep, the brain often loses some of the episodes that happened to us during the day, and, according to researchers, this process helps strengthen our memory. Although the content of dreams is determined by real impressions, our consciousness in a dream is different from our consciousness in the waking period. In the dream, our world view is much more imaginative and emotional. We see various pictures, we worry about them, but we cannot properly comprehend them. Scientists believe that the synchronizing mechanisms prevailing in the sleepy brain, to a greater extent associated with the first signal system and the emotional sphere. But what are the dreams, can not be answered clearly yet.
Why do cats purr?
No one knows for sure why cats purr. Purring is different from many other sounds made by animals in that vocalization occurs throughout the entire breathing cycle. (and inhale and exhale). Once it was thought that the sound was produced due to the flow of blood passing through the inferior vena cava, but now most scientists agree that the larynx, laryngeal muscles and the neural oscillator are involved in the process of extracting sound.
Kittens learn to purr as soon as they are a couple of days old. Veterinarians suggest that their purring means something like the human words “mother,” “I'm fine,” or “I'm here.” These sounds help to strengthen the bonds between the kitten and its mother.
← Cat Purr
But when the kitten grows up, he also continues to purr, and many researchers are convinced that in adulthood this sound is associated with pleasure and joy. Sometimes cats purr when they are injured or sick. Dr. Elizabeth von Muggenthaler suggests that the purring and low-frequency vibrations that it produces are “natural self-healing mechanisms” and strengthen, heal wounds and relieve pain.
The voice feature of domestic cats is not unique. Other species of the cat family, such as lynx, cheetah and pumas, also purr. Although some big cats (lions, leopards, jaguars, tigers, snow leopards and smoky leopards) do not know how.
Photo: yellowpaul - stock.adobe.com, Hayati Kayhan - stock.adobe.com, Roman Sigaev - stock.adobe.com, Nino Cavalier - stock.adobe.com, Lili - stock.adobe.com
Material was first published on Look at Me
