fromagesfondus
Science
The Littlest Big Bang
By Abby Seiff Posted on 5.7.2008 10 CommentsThe device is a cylinder a bit smaller than a pinky finger, filled with helium and cooled to just above absolute zero. Inside, a young universe—or something very much like one—evolves. As the helium sloshes about, it mimics a process that may have powered our own universe a few moments after the big bang. And once the fluid settles down, the little whirlpools that remain may be akin to the defects in early spacetime that ultimately gave rise to galaxies, stars and planets.
138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Innovation Challenges
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
.jpg)
February 2012: The Future of Fun
Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
- Archive Gallery: Board Games Weren't Always Fun
- The PopSci Flash Arcade
- Gallery: The Best Way to Unbuild a Dam
- This Week in the Future, February 6-10, 2012
- The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- Do-It-Yourself Projects That Deliver Hours of Play
- A Smartphone That Detects Whether Its User Is Depressed
- Six Inventors Visualize the Ultimate Toy
- PopSci Primer: The German-Style Board Game Revolution
Most Emailed
- This Week in the Future, February 6-10, 2012
- Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- Do-It-Yourself Projects That Deliver Hours of Play
- A Smartphone That Detects Whether Its User Is Depressed
- Six Inventors Visualize the Ultimate Toy
- PopSci Primer: The German-Style Board Game Revolution
- Future of Fun Tagpage Redirect
- Archive Gallery: Board Games Weren't Always Fun
- Archive Gallery: Board Games Weren't Always Fun
Most Commented
- Video: A New 'Smart Bullet' Deploys Fins and Guides Itself to a Laser-Designated Target
- Russian Scientists Drilling into "Alien" Antarctic Lake Vostok Fall Silent
- Mitt Romney: The Uncanny Candidate?
- 10-Year-Old Accidentally Creates New Molecule in Science Class
- Translucent Blue Spheres Rain Down in the UK, Mystifying Meteorologists
- Should Scientists Be Held Legally Responsible for Their Results?
- Hilarious "Theory of Everything" Paper Provokes Kerfuffle
- FYI: Do Animals Dream?
- New Climate Change Culprit: Chilean Man Stealing Glaciers to Put In Cocktails
- How D-Dalus Flies Like Nothing Else
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
