Despite sounding fantastical, antimatter is almost identical to matter except for its opposite charge and spin; it also explodes upon contact with matter. And it’s much closer to us than you think, being found in minuscule amounts on Earth. Potassium-40, a naturally occurring potassium isotope (variant), sometimes emits a positron (an anti-electron) when it decays. Potassium-40 is found in the humble banana — spitting out one positron roughly every 75 minutes — and even the human body, but the amount is so tiny that there isn’t cause for concern. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
