Why do we get the impression that time does not always flow in the same way? ● With a reptilian robot on Mars ● We have no idea how serious ocean pollution is

Why do we get the impression that time does not always flow in the same way?

It is unlikely that you have not at least occasionally felt that time is passing much faster than recently. You had more time for chores, you weren’t always running around, and the day didn’t seem to end as soon as it began. At least, that’s how we all feel. And then, isn’t it normal to wonder if time has run its course?

The answer to this question came from Etves Lorand University in Budapest, where three Hungarian researchers conducted a series of tests on several hundred volunteers. Volunteers were grouped by age: 4-5 years old, 9-10 years old and over 18 years old.

All of them were shown two clips with a fixed duration of one minute. The first featured intense scenes from the TV show, the kind that would keep you glued to the screen. The second monotonous, repetitive, action-free drama. Then the volunteers were asked to point to the longest of them.

Preschoolers said the first clip was longer. For them, more action means more attention, more things to remember, more stories. In contrast, young people and adults pointed to the second video. And this is almost 90%. why A plausible explanation, proposed by Hungarian specialists in their study in the journal Scientific Reports, is that from the age of 7 we begin to perceive time differently. More precisely, as a measurable unit, independent of the events with which it is connected.

And with age, we begin to rely more and more on the calculation of time. We turn it into loops. That’s why we look at the clock, that’s why we have schedules, programs, etc. The problem is that we do not have a brain capable of constantly monitoring the passage of time. And if his attention is distracted for one reason or another, he misses certain cycles. In a word, “time flies.”

Returning to the video example in the Hungarian researchers’ test, action-packed videos focused the brain so much as to distract it from the passage of time. In the boring, in its absence, people began to count the seconds, impatiently wait for the end, and thus the impression was created that time slowed down or flowed very slowly. The same is true if you are waiting for someone who is late. Time seems to go so damn hard.

It’s true that as we get older and have more and more things to distract us and occupy our minds, time seems to go by much faster than it did when we were children. In fact, it flows exactly the same. What makes a difference is only our perception of space/time. This is it.

With a reptilian robot on Mars

China is taking its role in the space race seriously and is not just focusing on building a future lunar base. The Chinese, for example, are working hard to create reliable robots that will allow them to study the Red Planet without changing the robot every few years or forcing future Martian colonists to run after it with hammers, sickles and other tools. it is still being repaired there.

For this, a team of engineers from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics proposed a completely new idea. Please, this is not completely new, because it was in nature millions of years before we appeared as a species. But it was here that the Chinese drew inspiration from nature, because it knows what it is doing.

This is how the prototype of the robot-reptile appeared, inspired by four-legged reptiles that live in rocky deserts. Created so far from 3D printed parts, the robot has proven to be extremely reliable and efficient, especially when climbing rocky surfaces and moving through deserts. Given the success of the tests, representatives of the Chinese Space Agency (CMSA) seem to be considering such a possibility. Namely, to use this type of robot in future Martian missions.

But. still a long way to go. Chinese engineers announced that now, after successful tests, they want to replace the 3D resin with much stronger and more durable materials. Then to provide the robot with a power source for its continuous power much more than the current lithium battery.

And one more thing, the Chinese still have to provide the robot with increased protective measures so that dust from the Martian air and soil does not interfere with the robot’s structure. But other times it worked perfectly for them. Either way, the way these guys move, he could be ready next year.

We have no idea how serious ocean pollution is

An international group of marine biologists says that killer whales, animals at the top of the food chain, are going through one of the most delicate moments of their existence. Scientists analyzed the carcasses of 12 whales that died in the North Pacific Ocean, and the results were a little grim.

Smooth whales have been known for some time to be among the most polluted marine mammals on the planet. It’s the flip side when you’re at the top of the food chain. Basically, you’re absorbing all the chemicals that are already affecting the life forms you’re consuming, that is, if you somehow managed to extract the chemicals from the ocean water.

This is why the liver and bones of killer whales contain some of the most harmful toxins, from carcinogens to the famous insecticide DDT. Biologists have just discovered several dozen other harmful chemicals, including nonylphenol 4, a chemical compound considered extremely toxic and found in wastewater, detergents, antioxidants, industrial oils, and more. and even worse is that this substance is extremely difficult to decompose in nature.

Now biologists also explain why 69% of killer whales can no longer perform their tasks. The problem is that the chemicals in question were recently discovered after tests that looked for their very possible existence. And no one knows how many more of them there may be in the ocean and sea waters, until no one knows. As the threatened authors also noted, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

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