Oldest material on Earth discovered

[BrilloPad]

And it is not WTFH's "jokes"....

Oldest material on Earth discovered - BBC News

[ladymuck]

Stars roaring to life? How so?

I don't believe there's much sound to be had in a vacuum and I am also given to believe that there can be no sound if there is nothing to detect it...

So, if something was detecting sound 7.5 billion years ago, who/what was it?

[jamesbrown]

I am also given to believe that there can be no sound if there is nothing to detect it...

It depends whether it's a tree.

[jamesbrown]

Have they benchmarked this against some of our more, er, distinguished members?

[original PM]

Stars roaring to life? How so?

I don't believe there's much sound to be had in a vacuum and I am also given to believe that there can be no sound if there is nothing to detect it...

So, if something was detecting sound 7.5 billion years ago, who/what was it?

Maybe 7.5 billion years ago the universe was smaller and so more dense thus possibly there is 'enough' of a medium for sound to propagate?

But probably not - I think the while roaring thing is a bit of poetic licence on behalf of the BBC.




Although as an aside apparently when people who have been deaf suddenly get to be able to hear they are surprised the sun does not make a noise....

[northernladuk]

They need to check the bottom of Admins wallet. I'm sure there is something older in there that hasn't been disturbed for eons.

[NotAllThere]

Stars roaring to life? How so?

I don't believe there's much sound to be had in a vacuum and I am also given to believe that there can be no sound if there is nothing to detect it...

So, if something was detecting sound 7.5 billion years ago, who/what was it?

Well... if you were in the photosphere, you'd very very briefly hear very loud noises.
I suspect the term is being used figuratively.

[Mordac]

Stars roaring to life? How so?

I don't believe there's much sound to be had in a vacuum and I am also given to believe that there can be no sound if there is nothing to detect it...

So, if something was detecting sound 7.5 billion years ago, who/what was it?

Bears farting in the woods?

[NotAllThere]

We perceive atmospheric pressure changes in a certain range as sound. Those atmospheric pressure changes are, essentially, sound. Using special tools we can detect those pressure changes even beyond what we can hear. So yes, sound does exist even if there's no-one to hear it.

A more interesting question is whether the quantum wave function collapses if there's no-one to observe it?

[DoctorStrangelove]

Wouldn't the particle be rather more likely to be the result of a stellar death?

As in a nova or a supernova?

That's when most of the metals* are produced from the primordial hydrogen, helium, & touch of lithium.


*Where "metals" are elements that are not H, He, or Li.