all sorts of things that we don't know anything about and just because it doesn't fit in our realm of experience doesn't mean it can't happen. To say that our limited experience is the only knowledge that counts is too arrogant to be believed.
And who is to say what the sun's fuel is hydrogen and helium? We have no way of knowing that it isn't some gas we have never heard of or imagined. Better to say our best educated guess is that it is hydrogen and helium.
And who is to say what the sun's fuel is hydrogen and helium? We have no way of knowing that it isn't some gas we have never heard of or imagined. Better to say our best educated guess is that it is hydrogen and helium.
The reason a new result in science is exciting is because it proves the existence of a postulated possibility. Hypotheses are one thing, empirical evidence is quite another. It's not a matter of arrogance not to assume something exists until proof is found; in fact, to act otherwise is irrational.
We know the sun's fuel is hydrogen and helium because we can analyze the spectrum of light it emits. Each element emits a very specific set of discrete spectral lines, and from the sun's spectrum (or that of any other star, for that matter), we can determine its composition. Interesting fact: helium was discovered in the sun's spectrum before it was ever observed on Earth.
So, it's extremely improbable that the sun's fuel would be made up of unknown elements. The basic elements follow an extremely well-known progression, and at this point we have the complete periodic table of "natural" elements, along with a few dozen "synthetic" elements that have been generated in laboratories. Hydrogen and helium are the lightest elements (their nuclei contain only one proton, and two protons + two neutrons, respectively), so they're the most abundant in the universe.
More Important Than Soccer: Completely new type of DNA discovered
02/12/2010 04:48:51 PM
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Wow. *NM*
02/12/2010 05:32:08 PM
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that is TOTALLY inappropriate
02/12/2010 04:58:47 PM
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Crazy awesome.
02/12/2010 05:07:49 PM
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So the movie Evolution was real!
02/12/2010 05:24:16 PM
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Dang. I thought it was naturally occurring. Missed the part where it was grown in a lab.
03/12/2010 02:16:16 AM
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I won't pretend I know enough about biology to understand the impact of this
02/12/2010 06:26:24 PM
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It's like finding a type of rock that eats laughter
02/12/2010 06:51:15 PM
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... without coming down and dealing with the nasty stomach cramps.
02/12/2010 09:49:06 PM
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I think I had an ex once that was made of arsenic. *NM*
02/12/2010 07:10:57 PM
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So, is it an alien?
02/12/2010 07:19:49 PM
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They haven't mentioned anything saying it's not from Earth, I think
02/12/2010 08:03:44 PM
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The bacteria in question is part of a known lineage
02/12/2010 08:07:34 PM
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see my note below
02/12/2010 08:13:35 PM
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Maybe
02/12/2010 08:23:16 PM
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So, apparently, this bacteria doesn't use arsneic for its DNA in its natural state?
02/12/2010 08:06:02 PM
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While awesome, it's a bit of a problem.
02/12/2010 09:04:22 PM
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True, but I'm not "looking for" anything in particular, so I just like it
*NM*
02/12/2010 11:09:21 PM
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Less cool a revelation than I was hoping, but certainly not a complete disappointment. *NM*
02/12/2010 10:35:33 PM
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I don't understand why this is such a big deal. It always seemed common sense to me that there are
02/12/2010 10:40:22 PM
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I think it just makes them happy that they can widen the parameters for life-sustaining planets. *NM*
02/12/2010 11:00:31 PM
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yah. it's one thing to theorize, another thing to find something to hold true.
02/12/2010 11:10:23 PM
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It's much more than an educated guess.
02/12/2010 11:59:18 PM
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You can't "know" from this distance.
03/12/2010 03:13:05 AM
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Why not?
03/12/2010 04:42:15 AM
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obviously you have not learned to look at the back label on the car
*NM*
04/12/2010 07:04:42 PM
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Yes, we can.
04/12/2010 06:04:48 PM
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The problem probably is with me.
04/12/2010 08:00:56 PM
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No, they aren't.
04/12/2010 10:01:25 PM
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Are you baiting me to bait you?
05/12/2010 06:41:49 AM
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I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:26:39 AM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:08:04 PM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:56:43 PM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
06/12/2010 03:15:37 AM
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I made my students watch the NASA channel for over two hours today
02/12/2010 11:11:40 PM
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