Quantum hypothesis is the hypothetical premise of present day material science that clarifies the nature and conduct of matter and vitality on the nuclear and subatomic level. The nature and conduct of matter and vitality at that level is once in a while alluded to as quantum material science and quantum mechanics.
Blood diamonds is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the recent civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and other nations have been given the label. The term conflict resource refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources.
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million square kilometres (5.4 million square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) in thickness which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C (−129 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive, including many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra.
Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") date back to antiquity, the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny first sighted a continental ice shelf in 1820. The continent, however, remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of resources, and isolation.
Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 countries; to date, 50 countries have signed the treaty. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations.
An Earth analog (also referred to as a Twin Earth, Earth Twin, Second
Earth, Alien Earth, Earth 2 or Earth-like planet) is another planet (or
world) with environmental conditions similar to those found on the
planet Earth.
The possibility is of particular interest to humans
as it is easily inferred that the more similar a planet is to Earth,
the more likely it is of sustaining Earth-like complex extraterrestrial
life and civilization. As such it has long been speculated and the
subject expressed in science, philosophy, science fiction and popular
culture. Advocates of space colonization have long sought an Earth
analog as a "second home" while advocates for space and survival would
regard such a planet as a potential "new home" for mankind.
Before
the scientific search for and study of extrasolar planets, the
possibility was argued through philosophy and science fiction. The
Mediocrity principle suggests that planets like the Earth should be
common in the universe, while the Rare Earth hypothesis suggests that
they are extremely rare. Philosophers have pointed out that the size of
the universe is such that a near identical planet must exist somewhere,
such theories include the philosophy of Multiverse and the Twin Earth
thought experiment.
Some scientific theories speculate that Earth
analogs may have existed in our Solar System in the past. In the
future, technology may be used by humans to artificially produce an
Earth analog. In theory, terraforming could potentially create such a
world. Multiverse theory suggests that an Earth analog could exist in
another universe or even be another version of the Earth itself in a
parallel universe.
On November 4, 2013, astronomers reported,
based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40
billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of sun-like
stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way Galaxy.11 billion
of these estimated planets may be orbiting sun-like stars. The
nearest such planet may be 12 light-years away, according to the
scientists.
Recent scientific findings have greatly
influenced the scope of the fields of astrobiology, models of planetary
habitability and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. NASA and
the SETI Institute have proposed categorising the increasing number of
Earth-like planets found using a measure called the Earth Similarity
Index (ESI) based on mass, radius and temperature. According to
this measure, the planet currently thought to be most similar to Earth
is Gliese 667C c (0.85). Findings have led scientists to report
theories of billions of Earth-size planets within the Milky Way alone.
