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
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 This is Spacetime series 28 episode 60
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 19th of May
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 2025. Coming up on Spaceime, Gilmore
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Spac's Aerys orbital rocket launch
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 delayed, the discovery of possible
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 tectonic activity on Venus and a
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 billion-year-old asteroid impact in
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 Scotland sparks fresh questions about
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 life on Earth. All that and more coming
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 up on Spaceime.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 Welcome to Space Time with Stuart
00:00:31 --> 00:00:38 [Music]
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Garry. Gilmore Space has scrubbed the
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 maiden launch of its Aerys rocket by
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 several weeks following a series of
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 technical issues. The test flight, which
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 was to take place last Thursday, was
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 initially postponed for a day following
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 the discovery on Wednesday of a ground
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 systems glitch with an external power
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 supply on the launchpad. The company
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 spokesperson, communication chief
00:01:07 --> 00:01:08 Michelle Gilmore, says the issue was
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 detected during pre-flight systems
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 checks. She says the cause was
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 identified, but mission managers ran out
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 of time to implement the fix and fuel
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 the rocket in time to meet the Thursday
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 morning launch window. that forced the
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 scrub and the plan's second launch
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 attempt the following morning. But then
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 on Thursday evening, an unexpected issue
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 during final testing triggered the
00:01:29 --> 00:01:30 system that jettisonens the launch
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 vehicle's nose cone fairings, which then
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 fell to the ground. Company CEO Adam
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 Gilmore says no one was injured in the
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 incident, and initial checks have found
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 no damage to either the rocket or the
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 launchpad. A replacement set of nose
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 cone fairings are now being transported
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 to the Bow and Launch facility on the
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 northern Queensland coast from the
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 company's Gold Coast factory. Gilmore
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 says a full investigation into the cause
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 of the unexpected deployments now
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 underway and that could take up to 2
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 weeks, meaning the next launch attempt
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 is at least 3 weeks away. The 23 m tall
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 three-stage AIS rocket is designed to
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 launch small satellite payloads up to
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 200 kg into low Earth orbit. But the
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 maiden flight's only payload will be a
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 jar of the popular Australian toast
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 spread vegite. The 30tonon Aerys launch
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 vehicle uses a unique hybrid propulsion
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 system comprising a solid inert fuel and
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 a liquid oxidizer to provide oxygen for
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 the burn. Gilmore says the company hopes
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 to start commercial launches late next
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 year or early in
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 2027. Needless to say, we'll keep you
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 informed. This is spaceime.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 Still to come, the discovery of possible
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 tectonic activity on the planet Venus
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 and the billion-year-old asteroid impact
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 in Scotland that spark new questions
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 about life on Earth. All that and more
00:02:48 --> 00:02:55 still to come on Spaceime.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:03 [Music]
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 A new study claims that mysterious giant
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 quasy circular features on the surface
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 of the planet Venus may be evidence of a
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 new type of tectonic activity not found
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 on Earth. The findings reported in the
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 journal Science Advances are based on
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 archival data from NASA's Mellan mission
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 which launched to map Venus back in
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 1989. The authors say this ongoing
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 tectonic activity may still be deforming
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 the planet's surface
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 today. On Earth, the planet's surface is
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 continually being renewed by the
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 constant shifting and recycling of
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 massive sections of crust known as
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 tectonic plates. These float on top of a
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 partly molten convecting viscous mantle.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Venus doesn't have tectonic plates to
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 allow heat from deep inside the planet
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 to escape, but its surface is still
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 being deformed by molten material from
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 below. Seeking to better understand the
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 underlying processes driving these
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 defamations, scientists studied a type
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 of feature seen on Venus and not seen on
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 Earth known as corona. Ranging in size
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 from dozens to hundreds of kilometers
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 across, a corona is most often thought
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 to be the location where a plume of hot
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 buoyant material from the planet's deep
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 mantle is rising up and pushing against
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 the lithosphere above. The lithosphere
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 includes the planet's crust and the
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 uppermost part of its mantle. These
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 corona structures are usually oval with
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 a concentric fracture system surrounding
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 them and hundreds of corona are known to
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 exist on Venus. The new study details
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 recently discovered signs of activity
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 either at or beneath the surface which
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 is shaping many of Venus's corona
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 features that may not only provide a
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 unique window into Venus but also the
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 Earth's past. You see, Venus is often
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 described as Earth's sister planet.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 They're both about the same age and
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 size. They were both formed at the same
00:04:57 --> 00:04:58 time in the same part of the solar
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 system and out of the same materials
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 under similar conditions. But whereas
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Earth was able to evolve into an oasis
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 where life could exist, Venus developed
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 a runaway greenhouse effect. It has
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 surface temperatures of over 460° C.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 That's hot enough to melt lead.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 Atmospheric pressures on Venus are 100
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 times higher than what they are on
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Earth. And the atmosphere is a thick
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 poisonous carbon dioxide mixture pushed
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 down under a thick planetwide cloud
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 cover that acts as a pressure cooker.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 And those clouds rain sulfuric acid onto
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 the ground. Now, there is what looks
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 like snow on Venusian mountaintops. But
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 that snow isn't ice. It's metallic.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 Venus rotates slowly backwards compared
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 to most other planets in the solar
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 system with the sun rising in the west
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 and setting in the east. And at 245
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 Earth days, a Venian day is 20 Earth
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 days longer than a Venetian year. The
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 study's authors found their evidence for
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 Venus's weird tectonic activity within
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 data gathered by NASA's Mellan mission,
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 which orbited Venus during the 1990s and
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 gathered the most detailed gravity and
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 topography data on the planet available.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 The study's lead author, Gal Casioli
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 from the University of Maryland and
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 NASA's Godard Space Flight Center in
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 Green Belt, Maryland, says Karna are not
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 found on Earth today. However, they may
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 have existed on our planet when it was a
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 lot younger, a time before plate
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 tectonics became established here. She
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 says by combining gravity and topography
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 data, this research has provided a new
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 insight into the possible subsurface
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 processes which are currently shaping
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 the surface of Venus. As members of
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 NASA's upcoming Venus Veritas mission,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 Ciolian colleagues are especially
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 interested in the highresolution gravity
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 data the spacecraft will provide. Mellin
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 used its radar system to see through
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 Venus's thick cloud cover, mapping the
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 topography of its mountains and plains.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 And of the multitude of fascinating
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 geological features the spacecraft
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 mapped, corona were perhaps the most
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 enigmatic. Back then, it wasn't clear
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 how they formed. In the years since,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 however, scientists have found many
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 crona in locations where the planet's
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 lithosphere is especially thin and heat
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 flow is high. Over the years, people
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 have proposed different hypotheses to
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 try and explain how they formed. The
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 authors of this study developed a
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 sophisticated three-dimensional
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 geodnamic model to demonstrate various
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 formation scenarios for plume induced
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 crona and they then compared them with
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 the combined gravity topography data
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 from Melon. And the gravity data proved
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 crucial in helping detect less dense hot
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 and buoyant plumes under the surface.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 Information that couldn't be discerned
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 from topography data alone. Of the 75
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 cron studied, 52 appear to have buoyant
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 mantal material beneath them that's
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 likely driving tectonic processes. One
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 key process is subduction. On Earth, it
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 happens when the edge of one tectonic
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 plate is driven beneath an adjacent
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 plate. Friction between the plates can
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 generate earthquakes. And as the old
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 rocky material from one plate dives back
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 down into the hot mantle, that rock
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 melts and is then recycled back to the
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 surface through volcanic vents. But on
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 Venus, a different type of subduction is
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 thought to occur around the perimeter of
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 some Corona. In this scenario, as a
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 buoyant plume of hot rock in the mantle
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 pushes upwards into the lithosphere,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 surface material rises and spreads
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 outwards, colliding with surrounding
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 surface material and pushing that
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 material back down into the mantle.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 Another tectonic process known as
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 lithospheric dripping could also be
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 present. This involves dense
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 accumulations of comparatively cool
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 material which sinks from the
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 lithosphere down into the hotter mantle.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 The authors also identified several
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 places where a third process could be
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 taking place where a plume of hot mantle
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 rock beneath a thicker part of the
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 lithosphere is potentially driving the
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 volcanism above it. The research marks
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 the most recent instance of scientists
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 returning to Mellan data to find that
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 Venus exhibits geological processes that
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 are more earthlike than originally
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 thought. Recently, scientists were able
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 to spot erupting volcanoes on Venus,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 including vast lava flows that vented
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 from Matt Mons, Cifmons, and Steio in
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 radar images from the orbiter. While
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 those images provided direct evidence of
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 volcanic action on Venus, the authors of
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 this new study will need sharper
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 resolution in order to draw a more
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 complete picture about the tectonic
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 processes driving corona formation. And
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 the Veritas gravity maps of Venus will
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 boost that resolution by at least a
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 factor of two to four depending on the
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 location. That's a level of detail which
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 could revolutionize science's
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 understanding of Venus's geology and the
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 implications it has for early Earth.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:41 This is spacetime. Still to come, the
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 billion-year-old asteroid impact in
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 Scotland which has sparked new questions
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 about life on Earth. And later in the
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 science report, discovery of unexplained
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 communications equipment in Chinese-made
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 power inverters used in solar panels and
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 wind turbines. All that and more still
00:09:57 --> 00:10:01 to come on Spaceime.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:14 [Music]
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 Scientists dating a massive asteroid
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 impact zone in northwestern Scotland
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 have discovered that it actually struck
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 the Earth some 200 million years later
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 than what was originally thought. The
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 discovery reported in the journal
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 Geology not only rewrite Scotland's
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 geological history, but also alters
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 science's understanding of the evolution
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 of life on Earth. Previously believed to
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 have occurred 1.2 Two billion years ago,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 the impact created the stack fat member,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 a layer of rock that holds vital clues
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 about Earth's ancient past, including
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 how meteor and asteroid impacts may have
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 influenced the planet's environment and
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 life. The study's lead author Chris
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 Kirkland from Curtain University says
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 the key lay in tiny zirkon crystals
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 which acted as geological clocks.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 Kirkland and colleagues were able to
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 more accurately date the impact to 990
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 million years ago. He says these
00:11:04 --> 00:11:07 microscopic zirkon crystals recorded the
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 exact moment of impact with some even
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 transforming into an incredibly rare
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 mineral called reedite which only forms
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 under extreme pressures. Kirkland says
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 it provides undeniable proof that a
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 meteor strike did cause the stack far to
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 deposit. See when a meteor hits the
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 surface it potentially resets the atomic
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 clocks inside the ziron crystals. And
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 these broken time pieces are often
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 unable to be dated. But Kirtland and
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 colleagues developed a new model to
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 reconstruct when the disturbance
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 occurred, confirming the impact was 990
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 million years ago. And this revised
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 impact date occurred at around the same
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 time some of the earliest freshwater
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 ukariots began to appear on land.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 Ukariats are the ancient ancestors of
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 today's plants, animals, and fungi. And
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 so it's raising fascinating questions
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 about whether large impacts may have
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 influenced environmental conditions on
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 Earth in ways that affected early
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 ecosystems. See, understanding when
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 meteor impacts occur helps scientists
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 explore the potential influence on
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 Earth's environment and the expansion of
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 life beyond the oceans. Kirkland says
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 while the impact crater itself is yet to
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 be found, this study has collected
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 further clues that could finally reveal
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 its location. We don't know where the
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 crater itself is, but we've got these
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 fantastic sequence of rocks that tell us
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 about the impact, but we don't know
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 where the exact crater itself is.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 There's this classic sequence of geology
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 in Scotland known as the Toridan, and it
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 has this unit called the Spack Fat,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 which is an impact deposit, and it
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 contain shots minerals. So, we
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 definitely know it's formed by a big
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 impact. Unfortunately, we don't know
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 where the crater is yet. But the
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 sequence of rocks is really interesting
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 because it contains early ukarotes. So
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 those are early fossils of land life.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 Some of the first evidence of life on
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 the land out of the ocean. These are
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 cells that have got individual parts to
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 them. Yeah, that's absolutely right. So
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 what they look like in the rock record
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 are these kind of crusty surfaces within
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 the rock. So they're quite distinctive
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 and they've been recognized for a long
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 time. And because the impact is in the
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 sequence that contains these fossils.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 The impact has been used as a marker bed
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 to define the age of these fossils. But
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 by um using some new techniques here at
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 Curtain, we've redated the impact
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 deposit and shifted its age by uh 200
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 million years. So it's a it's a billion
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 year old impact now. And that really
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 helps us understand Scottish geology a
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 lot better, but also understand the
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 relationship potentially um how this
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 ancient ecosystem responded to a large
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 impact event and then and the
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 development of these fossils. Is this
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 telling us that this impact may have
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 allowed the acceleration of the spread
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 of ukarots because these are the uh life
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 forms that eventually led to animals and
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 plants and fungi. Yeah, that's exactly
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 right. Yeah, you know, we do find right
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 underneath where the impact deposit is,
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 there is some early kind of traces of
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 ukarotes. Um but after the impact
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 deposit, we find more evidence of these
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 ukarotes. Um, the reason this sequence
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 of rocks is so interesting is it's some
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 of the oldest unmet metamorphosed, so
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 uncooked rocks of this age that contain
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 these fossils on the planet. And the
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 other interesting um thing about these
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 rocks is they're an old sequence of
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 rivers and lakes. So this impact came
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 into this ecosystem, brought a lot of
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 energy with it, fractured the rock, set
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 up a whole load of chemical reactions,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 and then we've got this lovely record of
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 it preserved in Scotland of all those
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 processes happening. Without an impact
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 crater, how do you know that what you're
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 seeing was caused by a meteor impact?
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 Yeah, that's a great question. So by
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 looking carefully at the rocks and the
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 minerals they contain. So the sequence
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 of rocks within it contains some
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 diagnostic minerals within the
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 geologist's favorite mineral zirkon. So,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 we love zirkon because we can date it.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 And we'll get to how we do that in a
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 minute. But the crystals themselves have
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 been fractured and broken and
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 crystallize this new mineral called
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 reite. And the only way you can really
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 form reite is under extreme pressure
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 wave. So, it's pretty diagnostic of
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 having an extreme impact event. Both
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 raising the temperature and
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 recristallizing the existing material
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 that's there, but also developing these
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 shock features within the crystal. And
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 it's those individual little shock
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 features that we can date by using an
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 ion beam beam of oxygen ions and picking
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 out these individual little features
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 that are um you know smaller than the
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 width of a human hair. And those are the
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 individual features we can do it which
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 allows us to kind of refine the age and
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 hone right in on this 1 billiony old
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 impact. Zirkons have been wonderful for
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 geologists and astronomers and planetary
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 scientists because of how accurately
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 they're able to date events. What is it
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 about these zirkon crystals that make
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 them such good timekeepers? Yeah, so
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 it's a fantastic mineral. So zirkon when
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 it grows, it likes to incorporate a
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 little bit of uranium and uranium over
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 time changes to lead. So if we measure
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 the ratio of uranium to lead, that means
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 we've got this inbuilt stopwatch because
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 we know the conversion rate. Um the
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 other important point is when the
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 crystal grows, it doesn't like to
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 incorporate any lead to begin with. So
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 that means any lead that's present today
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 has come from the decay of uranium. So
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 that gives us our stopwatch, our clock.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:10 So if our zirkon gets modified, reset,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 redrone during the impact event, that
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 then allows us to make this direct
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 connection between a mineral timekeeper
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 and a mineral stopwatch and that actual
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 process that caused the shock
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 metamorphis and the shock deformation.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 And then we can link the two things. And
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 I take it zirkon's not easy to destroy
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 geologically. So, it's got to be a
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 really high pressure, high temperature
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 event to do that. Yeah, that's right.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 It's one of these wonderful minerals.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 You know, we can go to the outback of
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 Australia and look right back into the
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 deep time history of our planet using
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 the exact same crystal. These zirkon
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 crystals extend all the way back to tell
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 us about the form formative history of
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 our planet. But they also under extreme
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 events do change and do get modified.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 And those extreme events such as impact
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 we can date as well. So, we can date the
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 formation of the grain, but we can also
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 get extreme disturbance to the grain and
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 that's what makes it so useful. the fact
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 that you haven't found the impact crater
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 yet. What's that telling you? Yeah, I
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 think I think it's telling us something.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 I think it's probably telling us that if
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 we want to find the crater, we might
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 need to get our scuba gear on and go off
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 into the North Atlantic and look
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 underwater. Um, it isn't in the exposed
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 crust of Scotland as we know it today.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 It's probably somewhere offshore. And
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 there's been various suggestions about
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 somewhere in the water off to the west
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 of the Toridan, which is this beautiful
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 area. It's kind of a fantastic area to
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 go hill walking in. So, it's a real
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 pleasure to go there and do field work.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 How do you actually determine the zirkon
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 crystals age? I'm not talking about the
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 uranium to lead ratios. I'm talking
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 about the equipment used to to achieve
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 that. It starts off going in the field
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 and finding rocks and their relationship
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 through the geography and taking a
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 sample of rock and bringing it back to
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 the lab. And then that's when the the
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 hard work really begins. So, you got
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 your piece of rock and you need to get
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 your individual mineral grains out of
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 it. So, how do you do that? The
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 traditional way was to basically put
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 your rock in a big vice and crush it and
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 split out the grains. That doesn't work
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 too well for our um impact deformed
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 zircon because we want to be a little
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 bit more delicate with it. So um we've
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 got this technique where we basically
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 fire a lightning bolt at the rock and it
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 kind of breaks it along grain boundary.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 So you've got this rock and then you you
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 push a button and it basically lightning
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 bolt hits the rock and it turns to sand
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 essentially. Then you take that sand and
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 you put it into a heavy liquid. So in
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 the heavy liquid, the dense minerals
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 will um sink and the lighter minerals
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 will float. And that then gives us the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 ability to individually pick using a
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 pair of tweezers the um the grains out.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 So you make sure you haven't drunk
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 coffee for several weeks beforehand and
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 you're sitting with a microscope and a
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 pair of tweezers picking out these
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 individual grains probably up to about
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 200 microns in length. um you put them
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 into epoxy resin and then you polish the
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 epoxy resin and that gives us like a
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 cross-section through the grain and they
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 have these beautiful internal textures
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 like tree rings and those are the
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 textures that we can look at to
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 determine their growth process and then
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 we fire our ion beams and our laser
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 beams at the polished surface of these
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 individual little crystals. So that
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 that's the full technique. It's a
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 painstaking effort. It is. But um it's
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 so powerful because you know this this
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 same technique is the same technique we
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 use to understand the age of or deposit.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 It's the same technique that we use to
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 understand the generation of large
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 volumes of continental crust. It's the
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 same technique we use to date
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 archaeological artifacts. So, it's got a
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 whole range of different uses. And
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 really, by linking these individual
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 textures within the grains to geological
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 process, we can link it into the bigger
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 scientific picture of
00:19:24 --> 00:19:27 processes related to meteorite impacts
00:19:27 --> 00:19:29 and the well potentially even the
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 evolution of of life. So it's um it's
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 very powerful tool. Where does this
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 research go now? So I think a really
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 interesting thing that we've seen
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 recently, you know, we've dated a number
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 of different impact deposits. We've
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 dated some of the oldest impact deposits
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 in the Pilbur here in Western Australia
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 where we stretching all the way back to
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 about 3.5 billion years old. And now
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 we're looking at a much younger impact
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 in Scotland at 1 billion years. They
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 seem to be related to big changes in
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 Earth's evolution, not only the
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 biosphere, but also the atmosphere and
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 changing big climatic conditions as
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 well. What would be interesting is to
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 get much more accurate ages on craters
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 from around Earth, maybe even on the
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 moon and see if there's a periodicity or
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 a pattern to the frequency of when
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 impacts occur. I think that's important
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 because it provides a means of linking
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 geology to astrophysic. Um, so we then
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 would have a mechanism of, you know,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 linking these two sciences that look at
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 things on very different scales and kind
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 of joining them together and getting a
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 better holistic understanding of of our
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 planet, but also our planet's place
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 within the Milky Way itself. Have you
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 found any bits of the meteorite? Uh, no.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 No, we haven't. The closest we've
00:20:37 --> 00:20:40 basically got a shock deformed zircon
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 grains that link us back to that high
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 pressure shock wave and that extreme
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 that extreme temperature. Um, the
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 reality with most impactors is they're
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 completely vaporized. So the amount of
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 material remaining from them is so
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 small. It makes it really challenging to
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 find that. If you get lucky, you might
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 find a chemical signature, but it's it's
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 very challenging to do that. You say you
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 were able to work out whether ukariots
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 were were you able to see individual you
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 well not individual you were able to see
00:21:05 --> 00:21:08 individual mats of ukariots. Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 And um we haven't but there has been
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 other paleontologists who have actually
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 you know done a lot of detailed work and
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 gone all the way down to the individual
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 cell level. just being in the field, you
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 could actually see these these mats. So,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 as a someone who likes doing field
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 geology and looking at rocks, um yeah,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 you can see the stuff in the field, but
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 when you get back to the laboratory, you
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 know, that's when you can really start
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 taking it apart. And that's the
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 beautiful thing with geology and using
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 geocchemistry with that. You can link
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 observations on a whole range of scales,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 right? from, you know, the chemical and
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 isotopic side down to the elemental
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 scale all the way up through to the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 crystal scale, the size of an impact,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 but also then it's really nice to think
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 about the big picture like thinking
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 about impact events and if they're
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 periodic and that takes us back to, you
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 know, the size of the Milky Way and the
00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 solar system. That's what I like. That's
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 Professor Chris Kirkland from Curtain
00:21:57 --> 00:22:02 University and this is Spacetime.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:16 [Music]
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 And time now to take a brief look at
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 some of the other stories making news in
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 science this week with a science report.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 American energy officials have
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 discovered unexplained communications
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 equipment inside Chinese-made solar
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 panel and wind turbine power converters.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 The undocumented communications devices
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 were also found in Chinese inverters
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 used for batteries, for heat pumps,
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 cellular radios, and even electric
00:22:39 --> 00:22:42 vehicle charges. Now, while inverters
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 are built with communications devices to
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 allow remote access for updates and
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 maintenance, power companies usually
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 install firewalls to prevent direct
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 communications back to China. China
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 dominates the world renewables market
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 and the rogue communications devices
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 which are not listed in the product
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 documents could be used to bypass
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 firewalls and change the settings of an
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 inverter remotely. It could switch
00:23:04 --> 00:23:07 inverters off to destabilize power grids
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 and even damage energy infrastructure
00:23:09 --> 00:23:12 triggering widespread blackouts. An
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 ability that would be very useful for
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 Beijing in time of war. The Chinese
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 company Huawei, which is one of the
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 world's largest suppliers of inverters,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 has already been banned from supplying
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 equipment to Australia's national
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 broadband network. And the United States
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 has restricted Huawei's access to US
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 technology, including its 5G network,
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 accusing the company of activities
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 contrary to national
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 security. Scientists have for the first
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 time found the genes linked to
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 obsessivempulsive disorder, OCD. The
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 findings reported in the journal Nature
00:23:43 --> 00:23:46 Genetics identified 30 regions on the
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 human genome which are associated with
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 this debilitating yet often
00:23:49 --> 00:23:51 misunderstood mental health condition.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54 The research involved more than 50
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 people with OCD and 2 million people who
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 didn't have the condition. The authors
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 were able to pinpoint approximately 250
00:24:00 --> 00:24:03 genes which all played a role linked to
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 OCD.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 A new study has found that the origin of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 reptiles may be up to 40 million years
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 earlier than previously thought. The
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 findings reported in the journal Nature
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 are based on fossilized tracks uncovered
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 at an Australian fossil site. The
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 footprints belong to an amnia with
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 clawed feet, most probably a reptile
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 dating back around 350 million years
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 ago.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 A scientist in Canada with an interest
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 in the supernatural claims to have
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 uncovered parts of the brain that act as
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 some sort of psychic inhibitor which he
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 claims suppresses a person's natural
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 psychic telepathic and clairvoyant
00:24:40 --> 00:24:43 abilities. But Tim Menum from Australian
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 Skeptics says this amazing discovery if
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 true has so far failed to find any
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 support in the wider scientific
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 community. It's a story by researchers
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 in New Toronto who are looking into a
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 suggestion that something in the frontal
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 lobe actually blocks intuitive thinking
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 and that if they zap it through
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 something called repetitive transcranial
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 magnetic stimulation it will unblock the
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 blocker. it will sort of stop the block
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 of doing its job and therefore people
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 will be able to oh suddenly have the
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 sigh psychic abilities that they've
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 always had unleashed and then they can
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 start doing telekinetic things which is
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 moving stuff and the stuff they're
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 talking about moving is a random number
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 generator on a computer which is
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 interesting I don't know how you
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 actually physically interact with that
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 but never mind I can imagine doing a
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 dial a physical analog dial but I don't
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 know how you interfere with a digital
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 thing with your psychic abilities
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 problem is with this story if it was
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 interesting it' be great it it would be
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 fantastic a real breakthrough if it was
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 true it would be a real breakthrough The
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 trouble is, is it true? The only place
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 I've seen this reported is in a paper in
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 a publication that's one of those pay to
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 publish sort of journals. You give us, I
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 think, $35 US and we'll publish your
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 paper. We'll review it, of course, and
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 review the check. But we'll review the
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 paper and you'll get it in the magazine.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 So, that's the only place I've seen this
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 thing. Now, this should be a
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 breakthrough. This should be everywhere.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 And I've been asking, I'm in Australia,
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 so asking people in the US and in Canada
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 what this is about. And they're having
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 trouble finding this one down and
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 locating any more information about
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 this. Now I believe that the institution
00:26:03 --> 00:26:05 where the main researcher is located is
00:26:05 --> 00:26:08 called the Bayest Health Sciences. It's
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 part of a university I think which I
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 believe is true. It exists. The main
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 doctor is known for having leanings
00:26:13 --> 00:26:16 towards the sort of psychic abilities
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 and stuff. So it's probably not new to
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 him. You've got to prove first of all
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 that such abilities exist. That's been a
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25 very difficult thing to do convincingly.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:28 Been proven even though the skeptics
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 have huge rewards out anyone who can.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 Yeah. One stage of skeptics had about
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 $2.5 million going to anyone who can
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 prove her psychic ability and no one
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 has. The Australian skeptics have got
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 $100. The Americans have got
00:26:38 --> 00:26:41 $500 US. So there's a lot of money
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 out there that someone with true psychic
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 ability could then go and claim and then
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 they get the impromattor as a skeptic
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 but they haven't done it. Psychics are
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 actually very shy coming forward. Funny
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 enough, a lot of other people do
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 probably who definitely believe they can
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 do what they say. A lot of psychics,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 people who come to me seem to definitely
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 believe they have this psychic ability.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 that anyone under test so far under
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 proper tests scientifically controlled
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 tests no one's been able to win the
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 money from us or from any other
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 skeptical group it hasn't happened they
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 haven't been able to prove beyond doubt
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 that that they can actually do this even
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 close to doubt so yeah this person has
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12 learned to or show that they can unlock
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 this ability in people and that people
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 can then use their psychic ability to
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 move a random number generator that
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 therefore that they prove it so all you
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 have to do is zap everybody with RTMS I
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 think it is with this particular
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 treatment and you'll all be psychic if
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 That was true. If this could be done,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 the world will be different. It would be
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 a funny place. If you could really
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 literally unleash the psychic ability of
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 people, it would be a very interesting
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 world. If the only thing they can do is
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 is affect a digital random number
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 generator, you wonder how useful it's
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 going to be. And it's only it's only a
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 zero and a one that they're looking
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 at% chance anyway. Yeah. Yeah, that's
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 right. But if you get an 80%, you know,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 success rate, 90% rate where they all
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 come out zero. They all come out once or
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 they all come out as you want them to
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 come out. And as you said before, I want
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 this to be a one. Comes up a one.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:59 There's a lot of tests for a 50% result
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 by chance to try and make sure it's not
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 chance. Just because you may have gotten
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 five ones in a row doesn't mean it's
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 100%. It it still means a 50/50 chance,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 just that it's happened five times.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 That's right. This is called the Monte
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 Carlo effect. Yes. Where people believe
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 that if you go to a roulette wheel and
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 it comes out red five times in a row or
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 10 times in a row, it's going to be
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 black the next time. Not necessarily cuz
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 each turn of the dial is exactly has the
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 same odds to get that many together.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 Yes, it's unusual but it's not an
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 indication that things are going to
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 change. So you the Monte Carlo effect is
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 a common thing, a common issue with
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 gamblers. You think, well, it must
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 change. My luck must change. You know,
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 the turnouts can't be this way. Well,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:35 they can be because if one roll of the
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 dice 50/50 chance, the next roll of the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 dice is also a 50/50 chance. Each one is
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 independent. They don't affect each
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 other. And that's what the Monte Carlo
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 effect is supposed to be. Previous
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 events are influencing future events.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 Doesn't happen. Certainly not in
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 gambling. Probably won't happen with a
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 random number generator either. That's
00:28:50 --> 00:28:55 Tim Mindum from Australian
00:28:55 --> 00:29:08 [Music]
00:29:08 --> 00:29:11 Skeptics. And that's the show for now.
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