Dr. Dragon Issue #12

DR. DRAGON HSMSE’S MATH, SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE

The Same, Differemt Numbers String theory • AI • Big ‘‘Falcon’’ Rocket And much More!

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Dear Readers, Welcome to our Winter 2017-2018 issue! As our twelfth magazine, I am proud to introduce so many new writers and editors. We are continuously expanding our knowledge and strengthening our skills to keep readers passionate about the STEM fields. Shoutout to all our staff members for working so hard for this magazine. Much thanks to our editor-in-chief, Maisy Hoffman, and our designer-in-chief, Fatema Begum, without them, the publication of this magazine would have been impossible. I would also like thank our advisor, Mr. Choi, who supported us throughout this course. Thank you for reading our articles.

Mia Akhter, President

STAFF PRESIDENT

DESIGNER IN CHIEF

VICE-PRESIDENT

EDITOR IN CHIEF

TREASURER

EDITORS

MIA AKHTER

AFSANA RAHMAN ANGELA JIANG

MAISY HOFFMAN

SECRETARY

LISETTE PERES

MIN YI LIN LIAM SIMONCELLI ZELIE GOLDBERG LITTLE JASPER STEDMAN

FACULTY ADVISOR

SPECIAL THANKS

RONALD CHOI 2 1

FATEMA BEGUM

HSMSE PTA

WRITERS

MIA AKHTER MAISY HOFFMAN MIN YI LIN ZELIE GOLDBERG LITTLE SYEDA MAHAJABIN FATOU MBAYE LUKE NONAS-HUNTER LISETTE PERES AFSANA RAHMAN LIAM SIMONCELLI JASPER STEDMAN ROBERT TAYLOR

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Net Neutrality

Genome Editing

AFSANA RAHMAN

Time and Distance ROBERT TAYLOR

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Strings: stuff of everything

Hurricanes & The Dark Side Climate change of the universe LISETTE PERES

ZELIE GOLDBERG LITTLE

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LIAM SIMONCELLI

FATOU MBAYE

same, different Big “Falcon” numbers Rocket

MAISY HOFFMAN

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break the code MIN YI LIN

JASPER STEDMAN

Parallel Universes MIA AKHTER

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SYEDA MAHAJABIN 3 2

Dear Dr. Dragon,

I heard there are more than 5 senses? What are they?

Thanks, Marie Curie Good Question, Marie!

Many neuroscientists have expressed that humans have way more than 5 senses.

In fact, research suggests that we have between 22 and 33 different Senses!

A sense is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a faculty by which the body perceives an external stimulus.” This implies that a sense must be the detection of something happening outside of your body. For example, thermoception is the body’s ability to detect the temperature around it, and is crucial for making sure that you are not too hot or cold. We have also found that senses like thermoception, itch, pressure and nociception (the detection of pain), are different senses from touch. There are three kinds of pain receptors as well: cutaneous (skin), somatic (bones and joints), and visceral (body organs), which demonstrate that nociception is in fact a different sense from touch.

Another interesting sense is the detection of the passing of time. Studies have shown that this sense is particularly strong in young people. It seems as if the mecha-

nism for detecting the passage of time is a distributed system involving the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and basal ganglia, although long term time keeping seems to be monitored by the suprachiasmatic nuclei (responsible for the circadian rhythm).

There are also some senses that humans don’t have.

Bees can detect voltage, allowing for them to target the negative electric field coming from flowers. In addition, sharks have a substance known as Lorenzini jelly in the pores on their face, allowing them to detect the weak electric fields produced by their prey. This is known as electroreception. Additionally, some animals, such as pigeons, can detect magnetic fields. This is called Magnetoreception. This gives them an excellent sense of direction, as they can use the earth’s magnetic field to let them know where they are.

Our senses are an important part of daily life, as we have so many endeavors we could not accomplish without all the little things that influence the way we perceive the world.

Till next time, Dr. Dragon Cole, Brendan. “The Weirdest Senses Animals Have That You Don’t.” Wired, Conde Nast, 10 June 2016

If you would like to submit a question please visit this link: goo.gl/p288R9

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Net Neutrality Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers treat all bits of data equally. This makes the web an even playing field for all companies and services, and assure no website is processed differently than another. The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, wishes to change the laws protecting net neutrality, allowing internet service providers to control the data you recieve. Some claim that this would allow companies to provide their customers with free broadband when they use certain websites. For example, a promotional deal where the website Netflix is free for Verizon users (not the subscription plan for netflix), the actual cost of broadband from verizon. Others claim that net neutrality would allow companies to censor or block certain websites. Verizon could block Netflix and force users to switch to their own streaming service. This could create a web monopoly, and lower the power of consumers on web based services.

The FCC claims that removing net neutrality laws would benefit consumers by allowing internet providers to potentially increase internet speeds and promote certain websites. This would certainly help major internet providing companies and give them more power over the internet. This power could easily be used for good. For example, Verizon could decide to block all internet hate speech and make all their customers feel more welcome in the crueler sections of the web. Net neutrality has the potential to make the web a faster, safer place for customers of certain internet service providers.

However, net neutrality laws also benefit consumers and keep the internet balanced. Should the FCC and

internet service provider lobbyists have their way, businesses could shut down their competition and alter customers’ broadband speeds much more easily. An internet service provider could partner with a company like amazon to censor all competing online retail stores.

Creating a monopoly that could easily hurt consumers and destroy small businesses. Internet service companies would have dominance over the web. Any speech against the provider could easily be censored, and companies could become tyrants of the web. The internet is the modern world’s source of information, and information is power. While not inherently bad, removing net neutrality could easily get out of hand and give internet service providers far too much power.

Killing net neutrality is a dangerous thing, and it is likely that at least a few internet service providers will use their power to corrupt the free web, create monopolies, or worse. As consumers, we can fight this by supporting internet service providers who do not abuse their power. Corporations only have power because of the consumers support them, do not give these corporations power. The FCC is slowly rolling back all protections of net neutrality, so it is important to use your power as a member of the US and as a consumer of the internet to influence companies and fight for a better net.

- Liam Simoncelli Schatz, Amy. “What Net Neutrality Rules Mean for Consumers.” Recode, Recode, 12 Mar. 2015, www.recode. net/2015/3/12/11560166/what-net-neutrality-rulesmean-for-consumers.

THE NET iS DEAD.

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Genome Editing What makes us who we are? What creates the diverse life on Earth? What makes you different from a lobster or a flower? What do you have in common with the lobster and flower? The answer is just two words: deoxyribonucleic acid. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the recipe for life. Found in every living cell, this molecule of just four nitrogenous bases (Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine) held together in place by sugar-phosphate backbones, codes the genetic information to make you… you! The arrangement of the two nitrogenous base pairs: Adenine to Thymine, and Cytosine to Guanine, in varying lengths and orders, are known as genes. These genes code for the proteins― everything that you see in the organism. Genome editing, the process through which changes are made to modify these genes, can provide significant benefits to humans, from improving our food, saving endangered species, to treating or even possibly curing human illnesses and diseases.

How Does Gene-Editing Work?

Enzymes called ‘engineered nucleases’ make cuts at

designated DNA sequences to add, remove, or alter DNA in an organism. The engineering nucleases are made of two parts: one part guides the nucleases to a sequence of the DNA, and the other splices the DNA. After cutting the specified DNA sequence, the cell will start to repair the cut. By manipulating this repair process, one can create changes to the DNA in that location.

What Are Some Different Processes of Genome Editing?

Small DNA Changing

After the enzyme cuts the DNA, the cell will recognize the damage and join the ends of the DNA that has been cut together.

Removal of a DNA section After an enzyme cuts the DNA, the cell will recognize the damage and join the wrong ends of DNA together, removing the DNA in between the two cuts.

Insertion of DNA section After an enzyme cuts the DNA, a modified DNA sequence is introduced to the site of the cut. The cell uses this modified piece as instructions to repair the break. All of these processes cause a mutation in the DNA that will affect the function of that section.

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How are the processes carried out?

TALENs: Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases

Talens are also artificial enzymes that are generated by fusing Tal effectors (DNA binding protein) to a FoKi nuclease, similar to the nuclease of ZFNs. TALEN proteins can bind to each nitrogenous base. Once binded to a specific sequence, the FoKi nucleases then cut the DNA to modify the genes. On the downside, since a TAL is needed for each nucleotide, TALENs are larger and somewhat harder to deliver.

CRISPRS: Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats CRISPRs were first discovered in archaea (prokaryotic microbes) by Francisco Mojica, a scientist in Spain.

CRISPRs are part of the bacterial immune system, providing defense against viruses. They consist of genetic code that contains “spacer” sequences – pieces of genetic code from past invaders. This sequence serves as a genetic memory that helps the cell detect and destroy invaders when they return. The spacer sequences are written into short customizable RNA sequences capable of guiding cells to match sequences of DNA you want to edit. Once the RNA guides the CRISPR to a specific DNA sequence, CAS9, an enzyme produced by the CRISPR, attaches to the DNA and cuts it. Then researchers can remove and add existing genes to the desired location. It is the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way of editing DNA.

Recent Breakthroughs in Genome Editing Applications Using the CRISPR editing system, scientists have “cor-

rected” the MYBPC3 mutation in human embryos – a mutation that causes inherited heart conditions such as thickening of heart muscle, and insufficient blood pumping from the left ventricle of the heart. The embryos were only allowed to mature for three days after they were disaggregated. CRISPR has also been used to modify genes connected to the sterility of A. gambiae, the vector for malaria. If used widespread, A. gambiae populations can be reduced, and malaria can be suppressed. This gives hope for other vector-borne diseases, such as yellow fever, Zika, West Nile, and Lymes disease to be eradicated in the future.

Future Prospects and Limitations Though there is much hope for the CRISPR system (as

it is the most easy to use and cost-effective compared to TALENs and ZFNs), there is still a long way to go. Genome editing is still not that effective- in many studies only half of the populations received the desired changes. Mice has been used mostly as test subjects to disease models. By using CRISPR, disease models can be used on larger animals such as pigs and primates, giving much more accurate results that may soon be used for humans. However, many are fearful of the applications of this new technology as well. There are many arguments that it is unethical, due to the possibility of the usage of embryos for experiment, when there is a risk of harm. Moving such research to a clinical trial poses challenges and risks as well. How does one do this in an effective way, causing the least ecological harm? If humans are born genetically modified, did they just sign up to become part of a research trail for the rest of their life? Where does the line end for gene-editing? Where should it begin? And if all this does somehow happen successfully, is there now a chance for “designer babies” to be created, another “superhuman race”? Can this all pose a disaster for the human race?

For now, these questions have a long way to go before becoming relevant to the human population. Gene-editing, however, does have a future. It can cure many diseases, and in turn save countless lives. The American National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine issued a report in February 2017 giving support to human genome editing, but with many limitations. The advisory group endorsed gene-editing only to prevent babies from acquiring genes known to cause “serious diseases and disability,” and only when there is no “reasonable alternative.” The report provides clear guidelines for genetic research as well. There is still much to do to move forward. Yet, if proven to be successful, genome editing may serve to save countless lives in the future.

- Afsana Rahman Editing Our DNA with Molecular Scissors | Understanding Genetics. http://genetics.thetech.org/editing-our-dna-molecular-scissors. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.

“Genome Editing.” National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), https://www.genome.gov/27569222/ Genome-Editing. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.

Larson, Christina. “New Tools for Editing the Genome

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From: WhatIsEpigenetics.com

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TIME AND DISTANCE ≠ TIME AND SPACE Time and distance: the age-old problem of how to figure out where you are after leaving familiar surroundings.

In ancient times, the Greek mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy (c. AD 100 - c. 170) began to plot the lines of what we now call latitude and longitude on the maps he drew in the first atlas. The east-west zero-degree parallel, known as latitude, was plotted at the Equator by the observed scientific motions of the sun, moon, and planets passing directly overhead. The zero-degree line of longitude, also known as the prime meridian, goes north and south, and there are no scientific markers to place it at a specific location. Ptolemy therefore chose to put it through the Canary Islands.

Later mapmakers would place the prime meridian through the Azores, Rome, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, St. Petersburg, Pisa, Paris, and Philadelphia before it finally settled just outside London, in Greenwich, England.

In the 1800s, as Britain’s maritime power grew throughout the world, and industrial output expanded exponentially, transportation became critically important. This in turn required a standard time across England so the railroads could move people and goods in the most efficient manner. Thus it was the railroad system in Britain that forced a uniform time on the entire country and in the 1840s, by adopting Greenwich Mean Time, England became the first country to adopt one standard time. By 1855, most public clocks in England were set to Greenwich Mean Time, but some of these public clocks had two hands for the minutes, one for Greenwich Mean

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Time and another minute-hand for the local time!

When the concept of time zones evolved through increased communication, the starting point became Greenwich, and the International Date Line was set at 180 degrees from Greenwich, in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1884, the International Meridian Conference met in Washington, D.C., and established speculative time zones throughout the globe. Standard time was enacted into law in the USA with the 1918 Standard Time Act. In 1960, the International Radio Consultative Committee developed the idea of Coordinated Universal Time for every nation. By 1967, each country would eventually move from Greenwich Mean Time to Coordinated Universal Time. The difference between Greenwich Mean Time and Universal Coordinated Time is that GMT is arrived at by averaging noon in Greenwich throughout a whole year, and time zones throughout the world are based on being +x hours or -x hours to that average. As atomic clocks were invented, it became practical to use these because they are far more accurate than an average solar time.

Furthermore, because the earth’s and the sun’s movements are slightly i rregular, these atomic clocks can make corrections in leap seconds.

How does keeping track of time help you figure out where you are? Now we go back to those imaginary lines of longitude. To calculate approximately where they were in places they didn’t know, like the middle of the ocean, sailors relied on maps, log books, and charts made by previous explorers. They also relied on the empirical evidence of the temperature, length of the day, location of stars, height of the sun above

the horizon, and other such tools. Christopher Columbus followed this method, and took a generally straight path from Portugal to the Indies. If he could have overcome a scurvy and mutinous crew, along with America being in the way, he likely would have gotten there. During that time, however, experience and previous records only told one where he was relative to the equator. There was no reliable way to figure out how far from home you were on the northsouth axis until Englishman John Harrison invented the first accurate and portable marine chronometer in the 1760s.

How does a clock tell you where you are?

Well, if you can determine what time it is where you are, and you know the time at the known longitude of your home, you can then calculate the hour differential of the two locations into the geographic separation of distance. The clock from home tells you what time it is at that known location. By using instruments, such as a sextant, to calculate positions of the sun or stars, the local time can be determined. Since Earth takes twenty-four hours to complete one full revolution of 360 degrees, one hour marks 1/24th of a spin, or fifteen degrees of longitude. Each one hour time difference from home is a 15 degree difference in distance to where you are.

Crude as it seems with GPS and satellite images on our phones now, when accurate, reliable, and durable watches were first developed, our world began to shrink into the understandable and finite concepts of time and distance.

If it takes time to travel the distance to that little speck on the globe you want to get to, what is the relationship between time and space?

To all existing instruments and observable data, no matter what we are doing, we live our lives at a constant rate of precisely one second per second. Time can be interpreted in many ways, but once time is gone, it’s gone― just like all the Halloween candy my little brother collected and ate. But in contrast to

time, space is unconstrained. You can move about in it any way you want. For example, time connects Halloween to Halloween, but little brothers go Trick or Treating wherever the most and the best candy is. Yet space is not just an absence of candy after it’s been eaten, nor is space simply a relationship between the candy and the empty bag where it was kept.

Space is a physical thing because it bends, it ripples, and it expands. Einstein’s theory of general relativity asserts that when something has mass, it causes the gravity around it to distort and change. Think about your little brother tossing you a piece of candy because he generously gives you all the ones he does not like. He throws it to you, and instead of going in a straight line, the candy will bend around the mass of the bunk bed. Space ripples too, in the form of gravitational waves. If a sudden distortion of space happens, then that distortion will radiate out just like the water after tossing some Reese’s Pieces into a big puddle. The waves will start from where the candies hit the water and radiate out in every direction. The Big Bang Theory, the origin of our universe, argues that space has been continually expanding for the last 14 billion years. If your little brother took some candy and threw it into space, the candy would keep going on forever, as we understand time and as we understand space.

Time and distance are the medium of our existence on Earth.

But the relationship between time and space is less certain. Luckily we have science, and science is a pretty useful tool to help us figure out things we do not understand. There are crazy theories in science such as… there are germs so it’s a good idea to wash your hands, that the earth maybe― just maybe― might be round instead of flat, and that all matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. These and countless other theories have all evolved into hard science because humans create new tools that allow us to test, examine, and verify. This is what is happened with time and distance, and this is bound to happen with time and space.

- Robert Taylor Soble, Dava, “Longitude, The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time”, Penguin Books, New York, NY, USA, 1995.

Cham, Jorge; Whiteson, Daniel, “We Have No Idea”, Riverhead Books, NY, USA, 2017

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Strings: The Stuff of Everything 12 11

Science. Science is always changing, and as it does, so it changes the views of the world around it. We study science to understand how the world works, so naturally as we start to understand the world more, the way we perceive it changes as well. However, it is not only limited to the world around us, but the galaxy, then the universe around us as well. Understanding everything bit by bit is interesting, but why can we not understand it all with one simple theory? That is where string theory comes in. String theory is practically the theory of everything, as strings make up everything.

no mass at all and to be extremely weak compared to many other forces. In addition to gravitons and strings, string theory also mentions bosons and fermions. Fermions are subatomic particles such as protons, quarks, leptons, and more. Bosons are also subatomic particles, but they carry forces, which is one major reason they are different from fermions. These subatomic particles, fermions and bosons, allow the universe to remain observable. They wrap up all of the submicroscopic particles that are really major in string theory.

theory of strings. Not the strings you might use to knit with, but strings, tiny subatomic particles that are what people believe to be electrons, protons and neutrons.

It is in a general sense, how the universe and possible other ones work on the smallest level, and how strings interact with one another to shape the universe as we know it. There are many forms of string theory, but there are five most distinguishable: types I, IIA, IIB and two different heterotic forms.

still don’t know much. The theory is still being developed, and probably will be for a very long time, like the model of an atom. Only recently was the idea of six to twenty six dimensions further developed by a college professor and physicist. Understanding string theory may be the key to unlocking more in physics, science and our universe.

Requirements To understand string theory, anywhere between six and

“A New Picture of String Theory.” How Are String Theories Related?, superstringtheory.com/basics/basic6. html.

Ashish. “Why Is Thor’s Hammer So Difficult To Lift?”

Science ABC, Science ABC, 3 Nov. 2016, www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/gravitons-definition-theory-how-much-thor-hammer-mjolnir-weight.html.

Lincoln, Don. “What Are Gravitons?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 14 May 2014, www.pbs.org/ wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2014/05/what-are-gravitons/.

“The Physics of Everything: Understanding Superstring Theory.” Futurism, 15 June 2016, futurism.com/ brane-science-complex-notions-of-superstring-theory/.

Stockton, Nick. “String Theorys Weirdest Ideas Finally Make Sense-Thanks to VR.” Wired, Conde Nast, 7 June 2017.

Macroscopic View What exactly Strings are very interesting as they can be both open or closed loops, and that impacts what they do. The interisStringthis String Theory? actions between strings, gravitons, bosons, and fermitheory is on the surface what it sounds like, the ons shape the universe and its properties. However, we

twenty-six dimensions are needed. We already have 4 of these dimensions, but there are more than that according to string theory. String theory requires these solely for mathematical reasons. It also requires the mention of the space time continuum, as it includes the dimensions of space and time.

Submicroscopic View String theory also includes gravitons in addition to just

strings. Gravitons include both bosons and fermions.

Gravitons are particles that are hypothetical, and control functions of gravities. They are believed to have

- Fatou Mbaye

According to String Theory ”What appears to be empty space is actually a tumultuous ocean of strings vibrating at the precise frequencies that create the 4 dimensions you and I call height, width, depth and time.”

—Roy Williams 13 12

climate change And Hurricances Four powerful hurricanes just a few days between each other?

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck land in Rockport, Texas as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph. It was the first major hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Wilma in October, 2005.

It caused 90 fatalities and nearly $200 billion in damages. Harvey also produced more than 40 inches of rainfall in the course of 4 days, with the peak being 64 inches of rain, the average height of a woman in the U.S. (5 feet 4 inches). But there was still more to come, for just a few days after Harvey on August 30th, Hurricane Irma formed and became a category 5 hurricane with peak wind speeds of 185 mph that wreaked havoc all throughout the caribbean and the Florida keys. The total death count was 134 with about $64 billion in damages. Now two strong hurricanes back to back is bad, but that was not the end. The next powerful hurricane to strike was Hurricane Maria, which formed on September 6th, and was a category 5 storm with a peak wind speed of 175 mph.

Maria killed 129 people in the Caribbean. Soon after came Hurricane Jose, a category 4 hurricane that didn’t make landfall but had peak speeds of 155 mph. Now what do these numbers really mean? Category 4 and 5 hurricanes are listed to create “catastrophic damage.” According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.” This description is only for one hurricane, so imagine the damage caused by multiple. These especially impacted countries in the Caribbean, who don’t have much access to help, and who don’t have strong homes that could handle multiple hurricanes. As a result of this destruction, many of these people not only lost their loved ones, but also cannot return to their homes for weeks or possibly months.

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Four powerful hurricanes just a few days between each other? It cannot be a coincidence. Although there is not yet 100% agreement that climate change caused this wild weather, there is certainly a lot of evidence pointing that way. Let’s start with the facts. Climate change is a debatable topic among different groups, so getting people to agree upon this is not an easy task. With the Earth becoming warmer, the average surface temperature has risen 2 degrees fahrenheit in the last 2 centuries, with most of this occurring within the last 35 years.

This coincides with the rapid growth in population and increased use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, which are burned to produce electricity or to provide heat, release CO2 and other “greenhouse gases” which absorb heat in the atmosphere. An increase in these greenhouse gases allows for more heat to trapped inside of the earth, making it warmer.

The drastic increase in population has also allowed for this to happen.

With the population being 7.4 billion in contrast to 1.7 billion in 1900, the need for energy through fossil fuels has exponentially increased, as has the need for more space, which has lead to deforestation, and in a lesser extent the increase of the global temperature. The increased warmth also causes the melting polar caps, which have been melting at a rate of 13,500 square miles since 1979. Now this means that the ocean level has risen and the water in the ocean has gotten warmer.

Hurricanes use warm water as “fuel” which is why the hurricane season typically lasts through the summer/ fall in the atlantic. In order to understand this a simple comprehension of hurricanes is needed.

Hurricanes occur when a typical thunderstorm begins drawing up warm water, which in turn rises until it is cold enough that it condenses into rain and falls.

If the conditions are right, namely the atmosphere allows water to rise easily, the winds are generally blowing in just one direction, and this storm forms over the right part of the ocean where the warm water isn’t swept

away quickly, it will simply keep growing, forming a vortex as it’s steadily pushed along by the wind. A hurricane stalls out when the water cools enough that it won’t rise easily, or when it hits land. We are already seeing this rapid growth in storm intensity. For example, Hurricane Patricia had wind speeds of 215 mph back in 2015. If we compare it with the storms of this year, most had high wind speeds nearing Hurricane Patricia.

Another aspect of climate change and hurricanes is the rainfall. With a stronger hurricane we have massive rainfall that will only get larger. Meteorologist Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that, for Texas, predicted rainfall larger than 20 inches was 1% between the 1980’s and 1990’s. Now it’s up to 6%, and by the end of the century it will probably hit 18%. Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, believes that rainfall will increase by 5 to 10 percent due to climate change within the next few decades. This will cause flooding in the cities near the coast and possible submersion of cities once all the ice melts.

This will not get better. In fact, with the rate of global warmth today, it will only get worse. Current warming is projected to occur at a rate 10 times faster than any change over the last century, which already in itself is faster than anything seen in the past 65 million years.

If we get another hurricane season like we did this year, rainfall is not the only thing we should be worried about.

Another concern is the likely possibility of damages to human life and the economy. We have already had hundreds of casualties in the Caribbean and the U.S., and billions in damages due to hurricanes like Harvey and Irma. People who wish to ignore this will have to deal with these damages and casualties every summer and fall. Climate change is happening right now, and its effects spans across the human population. Measures must be placed to stop the rate that global warming is happening at, and ensure the safety of all people, especially the poor who live in the Caribbean. They got hit the hardest, with multiple hurricanes striking over the course of just a few days. Overall, the evidence supporting climate change is compelling and seems to have an effect on hurricanes now and in the future. However, without countries working together towards actively reducing greenhouse gas emission significantly, we might have to brace for warmer temperatures and more rain in our lifetime.

- Lisette Peres “Climate Change Evidence.” Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.

CNN, Meg Wagner, Amanda Wills and Emanuella Grinberg. “Irma’s Wrath: Live Updates.” CNN.

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Welcome to The Dark Side

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Imagine the universe. Stars, planets, galaxies, and other celestial bodies which fill the night sky probably come to mind. Well, it turns out these visible bodies, along with all the other visible mass in the universe, only make up a measly five percent. In that case, what is the other 95 percent? Two mysterious forces: dark matter and dark energy.

What is dark matter?

Dark matter is a particle with strong gravitational effects on the formation and orbit of astronomical bodies, including galaxies. Dark matter is not made of visible matter and does not emit or absorb light, which is the reason for its name. Normal matter is composed of particles known as Baryons, and are found with Baryon detectors. Dark matter is invisible to these detectors, which only reinforces that it is not regular matter.

Rather than Baryon detectors, gravitational lensing is used to find dark matter. As it is not visible, we can only detect it through its gravitational effects on astronomical bodies. According to scientist Emma Grocutt, “Gravitational lensing works... [as] an effect of Einstein’s theory of general relativity – simply put, mass bends light.” The gravitational fields of massive astronomical bodies extend far into space and cause light rays passing by to bend. The more massive the object, the stronger the field, and the more the light will bend. Dark matter still has mass, making it a prime target for gravitational lensing. Dark matter clusters around regular matter, with more dark matter around larger celestial bodies. The dark matter is about 6 times as massive as the galaxies themselves, and does most of the light distortion viewed by gravitational lensing.

ADarkfantastic discovery matter was stumbled upon in the 1930’s by Fritz

Zwicky, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology. At the time, he was observing the Coma Cluster, which consists of about one thousand galaxies. Because the galaxies in the Coma Cluster do not orbit a central heavy object like the Sun, they execute much more complicated orbits. Dr. Zwicky calculated both the mass of the Coma Cluster and its total light input, two numbers that generally go hand in hand.

He then compared the light output to mass ratio of the Coma Cluster with a similar ratio for the nearby Kapteyn stellar system, and found that the light output per unit mass for the Cluster was 100 times smaller than a single Kapteyn star. With this in mind, he figured there must be some sort of unaccounted for matter in the Coma Cluster that was adding to its mass, but not giving off light. He called it “dark matter.”

In the 1970’s, astronomers Vera Rubin Began and Kent Ford began a detailed study of the motion of stars in the Andromeda Galaxy. They measured the velocity of hydrogen clouds in and around the galaxy. They had expected to find that the hydrogen clouds outside the galaxy would orbit slower than the ones inside the galaxy. To their surprise, the hydrogen clouds outside of the galaxy were orbiting at the same velocity as the ones closer to the center. For this to be true, there must have been some form of gravitational pull on the hydrogen clouds besides the Andromeda Galaxy itself. The solution? Once again, dark matter.

What about dark energy?

There are about 5 times more dark matter in the uni-

verse than regular matter, but if that were not strange enough, there are about 2.5 times more dark energy in the universe than dark matter! So, what exactly is dark energy? Very little is known. What scientists do know is that dark energy plays a crucial role in the expansion of the universe, acting in a cosmic “tug of war” against dark matter. Dark matter holds galaxies together, while dark energy’s forces try to tear them apart. It’s thanks to dark energy that the expansion rate of the universe is speeding up.

In Soudan, Minnesota, research on dark matter is being conducted 2,431 feet below the surface in an abandoned mine, which has since been converted into a research facility called the Soudan National Laboratory. Underground experiments on dark matter can be conducted without having exposure to cosmic rays. One project currently in progress is called CDMS II, which stands for the “Second Cryogenic Dark Matter Search.” It uses super-sensitive semiconducting detectors in temperatures at absolute zero to look for the prime suspect for dark matter- a particle called a WIMP. WIMP stands for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, named for their lack of strong interactions with normal matter. However, because they only weakly interact with normal matter, it makes their detection rather difficult. The experiment is still in progress, so for now, dark matter, dark energy, and WIMPs will remain shrouded in mystery.

- Zelie Goldberg Little “Dark Energy, Dark Matter.” NASA, NASA, science. nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy.

Grocutt, Emma. “What Is Gravitational Lensing?”

What Is Gravitational Lensing?, CFHTLenS, www.cfhtlens.org/public/what-gravitational-lensing.

“Dark Matter and Dark Energy’s Role in the Universe.”

National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 10 Jan. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/ 17 16

The Same, Different Numbers No matter how far you zoom out, infinity will always be out of reach.

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Imagine a line of all the real numbers in existence. It stretches on forever in both directions, a consistent string of every number in existence. Imagine zooming out, and finding that the line looks the exact same.

No matter how far you look, the line is still the same, infinite length. Now look closer. You reach further into the line, ever closer to zero. And now you’re at such an infinitely small distance that every number for thousands of decimal places look the exact same.

But you can keep zooming in indefinitely, and there will be an infinite distance between each number nonetheless.

How can you ever reach two numbers that are next to each other?

Consider a venn diagram. In the set of natural numbers, there is an infinite quantity of numbers, starting from one and counting up. Now, just around this ring of natural numbers is the set of whole numbers. It’s the exact same, with the addition of the number zero.

Then, around that ring, there are the integers. This ring now includes all the opposites of the whole numbers. Around this ring, there are the rational numbers. These include a new, infinite slew of fractions and decimals. And even around this, there is a ring of real numbers, now including the irrational numbers, and the transcendentals. What comes next? There are the complex numbers, but that’s a different story entirely.

Now, we have the hyperreals.

The set of hyperreal numbers are defined as an addition to the set of real numbers to include both infinite and infinitesimal numbers. Infinite numbers, such as Aleph null ( N0 ), are numbers that are ultimately larger than any others. Infinitesimals are numbers that are infinitely small. A number x is an infinitesimal if and only if the absolute value of x is less than 1 divided by all integers. Essentially, an infinitesimal is the smallest possible positive number.

Let’s return to the infinite number line. These hyperreals can be found on the line in theory, but you will never truly reach them. No matter how far you zoom out, infinity will always be out of reach. Similarly, no matter how far you look closer into the line, the infinitesimals will be smaller, and closer to zero. Now, let’s look to the number 0. Zero is its own, solitary number. Right next to it is the number 0.000000…1. This

number seems different because of its “last digit.”

However, if it is a never ending series of zeroes, you will never actually reach the “final digit,” 1. You can never reach this digit because there is no “final digit.” The “final digit” is so infinitely, incomprehensibly far away that it can never be reached, and in turn will never exist. Therefore, it can be said that if these two numbers, 0 and 0.000000…1, are identical throughout, they are equal.

Furthermore, look at the number next to 0.000000…1, which could be 0.000000…2. Applying the same concept as with 0 and 0.000000…1, 0 and 0.000000…2 are once again equal. This also means that 0.000000…1 and 0.000000…2 are equal. In fact, extrapolating from here, any number 0.000000…n is equal to both 0 and any other number equal to 0. Whether n is 1 or 18 or 17839, these “final digits” will never be reached, and so do not truly have a value.

These numbers are therefore all unequivocally equal.

Knowing this, how is it possible to progress anywhere on a number line if there are infinite numbers “next to each other” that are all equal? On this scale, progress upon a number line is impossible. However, the infinitesimal scale is so far and infinitely tiny, that it is comparably paradoxical to the idea of counting to infinity. Ultimately, while not applicable to the practicality of the whole, rational, and real numbers, hyperreal numbers are a fascinating set of new numbers, which invite the re-imagining of the number scale as we know it.

- Maisy Hoffman Hart, Vi. “9.999... Reasons That .999... = 1.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=TINfzxSnnIE. Insall, Matt and Weisstein, Eric W. “Nonstandard Analysis.” From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/NonstandardAnalysis.html “Nonstandard Analysis and the Hyperreals.” Mathforum.org, mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/analysis_hyperreals.html.

Weisstein, Eric W. “Hyperreal Numbers Definition Math World.” From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HyperrealNumber. html Watkins, Thayer. “The Calculus of Infinitesimals.”

The Calculus of Infinitesimals, www.sjsu.edu/faculty/ watkins/infincalc.htm.

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Big “Falcon” Rocket To Mars and Beyond

You have probably heard of SpaceX. The space company was founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, with huge goals that many thought were impossible: becoming the first successful private space company, developing the first reusable orbital rocket, and landing humans on Mars. Despite critics and many years of failure, it finally achieved its first goal when it launched the Falcon 1 rocket into orbit in 2008. Since then, SpaceX has made incredible progress, becoming the only private company to fly resupply missions to the ISS, and creating the world’s first fully reusable orbital-class booster. The significance of the reusable Falcon 9 rocket is immense.

Rockets are very expensive, mostly because the stages (parts of the rocket) are dropped into the ocean during launch, so a new rocket must be built every time. By landing and reusing their rockets, SpaceX currently offers the absolute cheapest launch prices available, approximately $60 million, compared to $100 million at the low end of most other rockets.

SpaceX is driving their competitors out of business, as they launched 45% of all satellites in 2017.

With the Falcon Heavy coming into operation in 2018, they will have interplanetary capabilities. SpaceX is cornering the market on space travel, but its goal has never been money. SpaceX’s primary mission has always been to colonize the solar system, specifically Mars, and they have been making great progress. The key to their martian aspirations is their newest spacecraft, the BFR. At the 2017 International Astronautical Congress, Elon Musk unveiled the company’s plans for the spaceship, and the timeline.

The BFR is already being designed, and SpaceX will begin building it in mid 2018. By 2022, Musk plans to have two cargo BFRs sent to Mars to deliver infrastructure, prove the technology of the spacecraft, and to locate sources of water. In 2024, two cargo ships and two crewed ships will launched. This mission will have two goals: to bring the first humans to Mars and to begin construction of a fuel plant and colony. After the plant is constructed, the crew and cargo ships can refuel, launch back to earth, and begin shuttling supplies to the budding colony. The plan seems very ambitious, and though Musk has been known to push back deadlines, he has always surprised his critics with incredible success.

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BFR stands for Big ‘Falcon’ Rocket, although the middle initial is actually something far less appropriate.

The BFR was originally presented in 2016, and was set to be the absolute largest rocket ever built, but was only designed to travel to Mars. The new 2017 version announced at the IAC is a fair bit smaller, but vastly more practical, as it will be able to do far more than just go to Mars.

The BFR consists of two stages. The massive booster stage― consisting of 31 raptor engines producing 5,400 tons of force― will launch the whole rocket most of the way into orbit before detaching from the second stage and landing. The second stage, also referred to as the ship, carries the crew and cargo. It has its own set of 6 engines, and carries itself the rest of the way into orbit and beyond. The ship has a roomy interior space, a viewing area, several rooms, and two massive fuel tanks. The BFR will still be the largest rocket ever made, standing over 324 feet tall and weighing 4,400 tons. It will also be extremely functional. Musk has revealed that the spacecraft will be capable of transporting very large payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), landing on the Moon and returning on a single tank, landing on Mars after refueling in LEO, returning from Mars once refuelled on the surface, and even transporting people from one place on earth to any other location on earth in under an hour.

These human transport methods are known as Earthto-Orbit, Earth-to-Moon, Earth-to-Mars, and Earth-toEarth. The second has only been done 6 times. The last two have never been done.

The Big Falcon Rocket has an unprecedented task to accomplish along with many engineering challenges.

One challenge that all Mars missions will have to face is exposure to solar radiation in interplanetary space that Earth’s magnetic field protects us from. SpaceX has two ways to minimize exposure. The first is time.

The BFR technically has more than enough fuel to go to Mars, and it will use extra fuel to make the time spent in interplanetary space as short as possible.

Second, a small bunker in the middle of the ship will be used to protect the crew in the event of a solar storm. Another major engineering challenge for most spacecraft is re-entering an atmosphere. During reentry, the ship is moving so fast the air cannot flow around it, and it is compressed into a layer of plasma over 2000 degrees. This heat and stress could easily melt the spacecraft, so the body is covered in insulating panels to protect the ship. It is also very hard to keep stability during reentry, so two small winglets on either side of the ship will help to maintain control. Being a SpaceX rocket, the BFR ship will land only using its engines instead of parachutes.

The BFR ship has six Raptor engines, which are unique in their ability to reduce their thrust to just 20%. This will enable the engines to work together as efficiently as possible, and control its decent. The ship can also land on just three engines, so if any engines fail, the others can turn on and safely land. The final challenge facing the BFR’s ability to travel to Mars is the return trip. The BFR has nowhere near the fuel needed for a two way trip, so it will need to be refueled on Mars.

This type of mission is called In Situ Resource Utilization, or ISRU. The Raptor engines were specifically built for this mission, which is why they burn methane and liquid oxygen. The components of these fuels, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, are easily found on Mars in the form of H2O ice and CO2 in the air.

These molecules can most easily be processed into methane and pure oxygen. The fuel plant is the first piece of infrastructure that will be assembled on the surface.

Like the rest of his ventures, Elon Musk’s Mars plans have amassed many skeptics. There are many who believe that a Mars landing in the next decade is unrealistic. However, people also thought it would be impossible for a businessman with no experience in space travel to rival the largest aerospace corporations, but Musk did it. People thought it was ridiculous that a company could start from nothing and rival the biggest companies in the car industry without making any gas engines, but Musk’s company Tesla surpassed Ford and GM in 2017. Ultimately, even if SpaceX has to push back its deadline, which it likely will, Elon Musk does not accept failure, and never steps down from a challenge. When he says we will go to Mars in the next decades, he is to be believed.

- Jasper Stedman SpaceX. “Making Life Multiplanetary” Youtube, speech by Elon Musk, 29 Sept. 2017, Musk, Elon. “I Am Elon Musk, Ask Me Anything about BFR! • r/Space.”

Reddit, 14 Oct. 2017 SpaceX. 21 20

Multiverse: Physics or Philosophy?

These universes are also known as “infinite universes”, “parallel universes”, or “mathematical universes”.

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The theory of the multiverse (multiple universe) is the concept that a set of multiple possible universes, including ours, make up reality. These universes are also known as “infinite universes”, “parallel universes”, or “mathematical universes”. This concept was first introduced by Erwin Schrödinger when he suggested an equation, known as the Schrödinger equation, as an evidence of the existence of the multiverse in 1952.

cosmologists believe that it is highly unlikely to have been produced by the birth of the universe because it is mathematically difficult to explain. Some suggest that the cold spot is an optical illusion produced by a lack of intervening galaxies. However, it is possible that the cold spot was caused by a collision between our universe and another bubble universe.

Although scientists have no direct evidence for the existence of a multiverse, some theoretical models suggest the multiverse could solve some key riddles in physics, such as why the parameters of our universe have values that are exactly in the small range required for life to exist. Perhaps there are billions of other universes out there with all different possible values of these parameters, and ours happens to be the one with the needed values for life.

they do. If there is a multiverse, these quantities must be completely arbitrary, and scientists would have to start from the beginning and take the multiverse into account in their calculations. In fact, if the multiverse is believed to be made up of infinite universes, then scientists would never be able to find these fundamental quantities, as an infinite number of universes means an infinite number of ways in which basic laws of physics could be different.

Many physicists continue to argue over this theory.

After these realizations, the theory of the multiverse does not seem so great. After all, this could destroy the ultimate goal of physics. Perhaps the multiverse theory should stay in science fiction or philosophy.

There is one satisfying thing, however: if humans do live in a multiverse, then everyone has an alternate version of themselves, who may have already figured out this theory and perhaps won a nobel prize.

This case is considered the first Multiple universes have been “evidence” for the theory of theorized in cosmology, physics, multiverse. astronomy, religion, philosophy, Unfortunately, if there is a such a thing as the multiverse, scientists will never be able to reach the uland particularly in science timate goal of physics: understanding why our universe is the way it is. Physics tries to explain why fiction and fantasy. certain fundamental quantities, such as the speed of light and the mass of the electron, have the values

Some say the multiverse is a philosophical topic rather than scientific because it cannot be proven right or wrong by experimentation and shouldn’t be debated.

Scientist Paul Steinhardt argues that no experiment can rule out a theory if the theory provides for all possible outcomes. In 2007, Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg suggested that if the multiverse existed, “the hope of finding a rational explanation for the precise values of quark masses and other constants of the standard model that we observe in our Big Bang is doomed, for their values would be an accident of the particular part of the multiverse in which we live.”

The latest evidence that could favor the existence of the multiverse is a study by UK’s Royal Astronomical Society on a “cool patch of space seen in the radiation produced by the formation of the Universe more than 13 billion years ago.” The cold spot was first observed by a NASA satellite in 2004, and it was confirmed in 2013 by ESA’s Planck mission. Most astronomers and

- Mia Akhter Bucklin, Stephanie Margaret. “Is the Multiverse Physics, Philosophy, or Something Else

Entirely?” Astronomy.com, 18 Jan. 2017.

Clark, Stuart. “Multiverse: Have Astronomers Found Evidence of Parallel Universes?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 May 2017.

Davies, Paul. “A Brief History of the Multiverse.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11

Apr. 2003.

Moskowitz, Clara. “5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse.” Space.com, 7 Dec. 2012.

Woo, Marcus. “Why The Multiverse May Not Be Madness.” Science Friday, 27 Jan. 2017.

Zhang, Kristen. “Multiverse and Physics” BBC News.

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Encryption Communication is the most powerful tool known to humans and is the foundation of society. The method in which information is transferred has become faster, farther, and more reliable throughout human history.

With the rise of the Information Age and the invention of the internet, information is being exchanged at rates and quantities unthinkable just decades ago. Whether it’s googling cat photos, making a online payment, or sending a text message, these forms of communication are all done through manipulating electric signals of a modern technological device. Although easily overlooked and taken for granted, digital information is kept private without disturbance from pesky hackers thanks to internet security, or encryption.

Encryption helps to guard personal information such as bank accounts, social media, and even secrets of top government and military organizations. However, with rapid changes in technology and new developing fields such as quantum computing, it is a battle between hackers who seek to exploit current security systems and computer scientists who attempts to achieve a impenetrable wall of security. It is of utmost urgency to grasp the understanding of digital security in preparation for an Information Age where information molds the world.

“Whoever controls information controls the world.” -Artur Ekert, a professor at the University of Oxford.

Encryption is the foundation of internet security and is what allows secure and hidden information to be sent.

A classical scenario of this mechanism is the following: Alice and Bob want to send each other messages along a line of information without pesky Eve eavesdropping on what they have to say. Perhaps Alice is oblivious of Eve, and sends a message down the line. Eve is able to easily take that information and make a copy for herself. The ultimate question: how can Alice and Bob communicate without revealing their messages to Eve? The trick is to agree on a secret numerical key without Eve having a copy.

An early example of encryption goes back to the Nazi’s use of secret communication through the electromechanical Enigma machine. This technology allowed the Germans to have a significant advantage allowing German tank divisions, embassies, and submarines to send scrambled radio messages back and forth to Reich during WWII. Encrypted communication allowed for the sharing of information and heightened strategic decisions. Although this level of early encryption was un-

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scrambled by Alan Turing, a young British mathematician, this inspired later systems of encryption that were essentially complicated math puzzles.

Today’s encryption in softwares and websites allow companies to protect private information of their users, such as Facebook, the bank, and the government security system, all of which have far surpassed to that of the WWII period. The most common method of encryption today is known as PKC (Public Key Cryptographic) algorithm RSA, founded upon the difficulty of finding two prime factors of a very large number. Referring back to the scenario described above, Alice (the user) wants to communicate to Bob (the bank) without Eve (potential hacker) dropping in private information that is being sent between the 2 parties. Using the PKC system, Alice and Bob both have a Public key, that is assigned to each person and published in a open directory that can “lock” the intended message and a Private key that can “unlock” a message “locked” by its linked Public key. Locking and unlocking in this context means to scramble and blend a set of messages that makes it seem meaningless unless it is unscrambled. In order for Alice to communicate a encrypted message to Bob, she would use Bob’s Public key to encrypt the message, and then send it to him. Because only Bob has the according Private key to decode the encrypted message, even if Eve eavesdrops and makes a copy of the communicated message, she can not unscramble the message. Although Bob’s Public key can be looked up on the public directory, the Private key is kept top secret.

Using the RSA algorithm, the Private and Public key is simply a mathematical puzzle of one way functions that is easy to compute on every input but hard to invert given a random output. RSA takes advantage of how easy it is to create a Public key, being a large multiple of 2 prime numbers but how hard it is to deduct the 2 prime factors, being the Private key. To demonstrate, it is easy to solve that 21 has prime factors of 3 and 7, what about 147, or 567? The difficulty drastically increases exponentially as the numbers of digits in the Public key increases due to the nature of computer representation of numbers and binary. The current RSA system uses 2,048-bits of information, representing Private keys roughly 600 digits long. Being impractical for humans to factor such a large number, it also takes modern computing power around a decade to brute force these keys, checking every possible value before landing the correct one.

However, this will no longer be the case with the rapid exponential increase of computing power and newer specialized methods such as quantum computing and Shor’s Algorithm that can reduce that time to mere minutes.

The danger and need for more advanced security has inspired new encryption methods such as quantum cryptography to “fight quantum with quantum.” Classical computers uses bits, representing information through a series of 1s and 0s known as binary. Quantum computers use qubits made of photons, representing 1s, 0s, a combination of the two, or both states at the same time, thanks to superposition and quantum entanglement. Qubits are visually represented by a bloch sphere, with an arrow (its polarized direction) pointing up, down, left, or right. This is known as its electron spin. A horizontal observer will measure an up polarized direction as 0, down as 1, and vertical directions with a 50% chance of being either digit. Similarly, a vertical observer will measure a left polarized direction as 1, right as 0, and horizontal directions with a 50% chance of being either value. These weird properties allow for the creation of temporary keys, known as one time pads, to detect an eavesdropper.

BB84 is one such protocol that makes use of these quantum properties’ details. The server creates a random string of 1s and 0s that will be used for a key. They are then converted to qubits by randomly using a horizontal or vertical orientation and sent down the line to the user. Because the user doesn’t know the value of the qubits, the user guesses using either a horizon-

tal or vertical orientation to measure these qubits with a 50% chance of guessing correctly. The user and the server compare the orientation used to measure each qubit and throw out the mismatches. The remaining qubit values serve as a temporary key, used to scramble and unscramble transacted information. Even if the eavesdropper catches the qubits when it is being sent to the user, the eavesdropper does not know which orientation to measure the qubits. A wrong guess changes the value of the qubit, and marks a trace. Perhaps the eavesdropper could make a copy of the original qubits, which the user would not notice. However, this is impossible due to the laws of physics, as the No-Cloning Theorem states that qubits can not be copied if their values are not already known. Due to these inherent properties of quantum physics, it is impossible for an eavesdropper to obtain information without alerting the server and the user. Thus, BB84 creates an impenetrable wall of security guarded by the laws of physics.

With the rapid increase in usage and attachment to technology, more information is presented and kept in the digital world. Digital cryptography is essential to secure a safe environment for an increasingly digital society.

- Min Yi Lin Matthews, Owen. “How China is using quantum physics to take over the world and stop hackers.” Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2017.

How Public Key Cryptography (PKC) Works, livinginternet.com/i/is_crypt_pkc_work.htm.

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Hello, I am ARTIFICIAL Intelligence Who Are You? Have you ever wondered how Facebook recommends you posts or how Youtube recommends videos? It’s the work of AIs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a capacity to reason and learn displayed by computer systems.

AIs are able to learn and complete tasks that usually require human intelligence such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. AIs can use machine learning and deep learning to evolve. Machine learning enables AIs to develop their performance without humans teaching them their tasks, becoming especially helpful when AIs

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are used for tasks that humans are unable to explain, such as image recognition. Scientists don’t fully understand how the human brain recognizes a face and, therefore, can’t teach the skill to AIs. Machine learning allows AIs to expand their knowledge rapidly and perform exceptionally well in their tasks. Deep learning enables AIs to analyze large amounts of data and structure them in a “neural network.” AIs can also make connections between data points and suggest relevant information.

Facebook’s AI is one of the most famous examples of this technology today. It uses Torch, a form of software that utilizes deep learning to analyze data of users’ posts, likes, and shares to suggest new posts or place advertisements. The AI’s image recognition capability has considerably improved with the increase of artificial neurons. After analyzing millions of images, the AI was able to recognize objects such as dogs or cats.

It was also able to recognize speech. It can associate appropriate hashtags with any given sentence. These advancements improve the AI’s ability to recommend news, advertisements, posts, and friends that are relevant to the user. Suggestions that are tailored to each individual are more likely to be seen.

Recently, Facebook shut down an AI after it created its own language to communicate more efficiently.

While most assumed that Facebook panicked, the reality is that Facebook implemented a project to develop an AI with the ability to negotiate with humans and other bots. They wanted the AI to speak fluently and intelligently so humans wouldn’t realize they were speaking to a bot. Facebook tested the software by giving two agents a group of items to divide between each other.

To mimic real world negotiations, each item had a different value to the two agents and neither agent knew the other’s value of the items. When two bots were tested, they began speaking in codewords incomprehensible to humans. It was the researchers’ error because they didn’t program the robots to speak in comprehensible terms. Facebook shut down the AI because they intended to create software capable of negotiating with humans. However, AI technology is still improving, and this is simply another example of their remarkable learning ability.

AIs are advancing at an incredible rate and will continue to do so. The average rate of increase in the development of AIs is estimated to be 25% per year.

As AIs gain intelligence, they are used in a wider range of fields, usually undetected. In fact, most people use or interact with AIs without even realizing it! They are employed by companies such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. AIs have advanced significantly, and will continue to grow as technology progresses. The future will lead to a better understanding of more collaborative technology.

- Syeda Mahajabin Hof, Robert D. “Is Artificial Intelligence Finally Coming into Its Own?” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 29 Mar. 2016, www.technologyreview.com/s/513696/deep-learning/.

Hardy, Quentin. “Facebook Offers Artificial Intelligence Tech to Open Source Group.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2015, Levy, Steven. “Inside Facebook’s AI Machine | Backchannel.” Wired, Conde Nast, 7 Sept. 2017, www.wired.com/2017/02/inside-facebooks-ai-machine/.

Marr, Bernard. “4 Mind-Blowing Ways Facebook Uses Artificial Intelligence.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 Dec. 2016, McKay, Tom. “No, Facebook Did Not Panic and Shut Down an AI Program That Was Getting Dangerously Smart.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo.com, 31 July 2017, “The Business of Artificial Intelligence.” Harvard Business Review, 7 Aug. 2017, hbr.org/cover-story/2017/07/the-business-of-artificial-intelligence.

Looking to the Future

”The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race….It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”

—Stephen Hawking

“I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. I mean with artificial intelligence we’re summoning the demon.”

—Elon Musk

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KAKURO Puzzles

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Kakuro puzzles are like a cross between a crossword and a Sudoku puzzle.

Instead of letters, each block contains the digits 1 through 9. The same digit will never repeat within a word. If you add the digits in a word, the sum will be the number shown in the clue. Clues are shown on the left and right sides of “across” words, and on the top and bottom sides of “down” words.

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ISSUE #12

About Dr. Dragon Dr. Dragon is our school’s student produced magazine that focuses on math, science, and engineering. The mission of this magazine is to give HSMSE students the opportunity to take the school’s core subjects and explore subtopics that particularly interest them. Students on the magazine staff research and write about subjects of their choice. They are also involved with the production of the magazine, and learn about everything from design to fundraising and budgeting.

If you are an HSMSE student and want to contribute your thoughts, please talk to our officers or our faculty advisor, Mr. Choi.

Contact information: Dr. Dragon email: hsmsedrdragon@gmail.com Mr. Choi: RChoi@hsmse.org Also, you can read our previous magazines, and check the answers to crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles by visiting our website: sites.Google.com/site/hsmsedrdragon/

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Dragon All rights reserved. Published by Dr. Dragon No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission by the publisher.

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Crystal Bonds, Principal