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Our World Formed In A Bubble?
Interesting speculation by University of Chicago researchers that it's possible that our solar system might have formed within the dense shell of a bubble within a giant star.
(Stellar winds make bubbles inside material surrounding a giant star over eons)
... this conundrum can be resolved if the solar system was formed by a triggered star formation at the edge of a Wolf–Rayet (W–R) bubble. 26Al is produced during the evolution of the massive star, released in the wind during the W–R phase, and condenses into dust grains that are seen around W–R stars. The dust grains survive passage through the reverse shock and the low-density shocked wind, reach the dense shell swept-up by the bubble, detach from the decelerated wind, and are injected into the shell. Some portions of this shell subsequently collapse to form the dense cores that give rise to solar-type systems.Triggered Star Formation inside the Shell of a Wolf–Rayet Bubble as the Origin of the Solar System
Science fiction writers can't resist the image of the "island galaxy" or "bubble galaxy". For example, in his classic 1937 short story Fessenden's Worlds, early science fiction great Edmond Hamilton paints a picture of a miniature universe:
It consisted of two twelve-foot metal disks with grid-like surfaces, one on the floor and one on the ceiling directly over the other...Between the two disks, floating unsupported in the air, hung a cloud of tiny sparks of light. It looked like a swarm of minute golden bees, countless in number, and the swarm was lenticular in shape...
"Fessenden's eyes had been following my stupefied change of expression. He said calmly, "Yes, Bradley, it is true. That is a tiny, self-sustaining universe, with its own suns, nebulae and worlds. Everything in it, down to the atoms which compose it, is infinitely smaller in scale than our own. But it is a real universe, like our own."
(Read more about Hamilton's miniature universe)
Philip K. Dick had some fun with this idea in his 1953 short story The Trouble With Bubbles:
The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...Lora turned on the bubble. It glowed, winking into brilliance...
She increased the magnification, bringing the microscopic central planet into focus...
Again Lora increased the magnification. The central planet grew, showing a pale green ocean lapping faintly at a low shoreline.
(Read more about Phil Dick's Worldcraft bubble)
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Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
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'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1931
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'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1955.
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'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.' - Jack Williamson, 1933.
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'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.' Percy Greg, 1880.
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Current News
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
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'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
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'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
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'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
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'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'
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'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
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'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
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'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
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There are alternative names that are probably in the public domain by now.
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You be the judge.
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'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'
Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'
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''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'
Oh Great (Part 2), Fence-Climbing Robots
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