Word: wittens
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With his conclusions, Witten had inadvertently provided Ostriker with the agent he needed to produce the giant voids. "When I first saw Ed's paper, in 1985," Ostriker says, "it blew my mind." Reason: a vibrating, current- carrying loop is a radio transmitter, and if the current is large enough, the ultralow-frequency radio waves it emits will be incredibly powerful -- strong enough to push surrounding gases and dust incredible distances away from the loop. With Witten and Graduate Student Chris Thompson, Ostriker went to work calculating the effects of the waves. "Again and again," he says, "we thought...
Indeed, the theory could explain not only the large-scale structure of the universe but also the origin of galaxies and other puzzling celestial phenomena. It combines some of the most advanced ideas in astrophysics and elementary-particle physics, and joins the independent research of Ostriker and Physicist Edward Witten. The unifying element: the cosmic strings -- bizarre, hypothetical entities that are thinner than an atomic nucleus, as long as the universe is wide, and so dense that a mile-long segment would weigh as much as the earth...
...Edward Witten, who was studying the properties of cosmic strings. "I was looking at ways you might be able to observe these very thin objects at cosmological distances," he recalls, "and I discovered that they could be superconductors -- they would conduct electric current forever." If that was true, he figured, electric currents as large as 100 quintillion (100 followed by 18 zeros) amperes could be induced in the strings. These currents could in turn produce intense magnetic fields around the strings, and particles, like electrons, caught in the fields would glow. In fact, a radio- telescope image of the center...
...Tulsa jury chose a different interpretation. It sided with Guinn, and the court awarded her $390,000, more than the Collinsville congregation's entire proceeds for six years. "A wrong was made right," said a pleased Guinn. As for the church, Elder Roy Witten said, "If Marian were to come back tomorrow, we would welcome her with open arms and the angels in heaven would join with...
...Witten is a textbook illustration of a syndrome Harvard officials call one of the thorniest features of academic life today. The rising number of two-career marriages has caused personnel problems in many occupations, but in none more than in academia...