1. What is the universe made of?

One

answer is: composed of those bright stars. But in recent decades, scientists have increasingly discovered that this answer is incorrect.

It is believed that the matter that makes up stars, planets,

—and of course us—or ordinary matter accounts for less than 5% of the total mass of the universe. They estimate that another 25% may be composed of particles that have not been discovered yet.

What about the remaining 70%?

Thought that might be

——the force that accelerates the expansion of the universe. What is the nature of

and

? Scientists are using accelerators and telescopes to find answers to these questions, and if they are found, the implications will surely be cosmic.

2. Are we the only ones in the universe?

45 years ago,

Folk

first launched the

exploration

plan—— Use a huge antenna (

) to receive the signal transmitted by

. 45 years later, astronomers' efforts are still continuing. However, even the largest "Phoenix" project to date has not found any wireless signals from

3. How does the interior of the earth work?

More than 40 years ago, a

revolution occurred.

Updated knowledge about the Earth itself. But questions about the internal structure of the Earth still follow pre-revolutionary knowledge. What scientists have done in the past 40 years is to further refine this egg model into crust,

and

. With the help of

increasingly advanced

imaging technology, scientists are studying the operation of the huge machine of the earth. But it may take half a century to set off another scientific revolution.

4. How hot will the global greenhouse become?

Although atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will certainly continue to increase during this century, and although this increase will certainly contribute to global warming, the extent of that warming remains less certain. Scientists generally believe that a doubling of carbon dioxide concentration this century will bring about a warming of 1.5°C to 4.5°C. But this is not precise enough. Scientists are developing new ones to try to make the numbers more convincing.

5. Can the laws of physics be unified?

An apple falling to the ground, a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky,

Uranium atoms in a reactor decaying while releasing energy, and super accelerators crushing protons: these phenomena represent four phenomena in nature.

The role of gravity,

, weak force and strong force. Everything in the universe

can be explained by these four kinds

. But scientists are not satisfied. Is it possible to unify these four forces into one? In the 1960s, physicists discovered that the weak force and

can be unified. They are different aspects of the same thing, collectively called the electroweak force. But can the other two forces be unified with it?

6. Under quantum uncertainty and non-locality, are there any deeper principles?

Quantum theory has been around for more than 100 years. It has produced convincing application results, but it has also brought about counter-intuition:

The uncertainty principle states that we cannot simultaneously Accurately obtain the momentum and position of an object. Non-locality allows the entangled states of two particles in the

state to collapse simultaneously, no matter how far apart they are. Einstein once said that although

it left a very deep impression on him, "an inner voice told me that it was not yet real."

7 , how far can we push chemical self-assembly?

In a sense,

is a group of people who like to invent the most, because they are always creating new types of molecules. Although today's

can create very complex chemical structures, can they make the job both simple and complex? In other words, let the "raw material" atoms "assemble" themselves into complex structures, just like the self-assembly characteristics displayed by life. There are already some examples of chemical self-assembly, such as making cell membrane-like bilayers

. But more advanced self-assembly, such as bottom-up manufacturing, remains a dream.

8. What are the limits of traditional computing?

Some things seem simple but are very complicated to solve. For example, if a person

wants to visit several connected cities, how can he achieve the shortest total distance? The increase in the number of cities would daunt even the most powerful electronic computers. In the 1940s, the father of computer science proposed the physical laws followed by the storage and transmission of information (existing in the form of bits). No traditional computer can surpass this law.

So, in terms of engineering, how powerful a computer can we ultimately make? However, non-traditional computers may not be subject to these limitations, such as those that have emerged in recent years

9. What is the biological basis of consciousness?

The French philosopher has a famous saying: "

". As can be seen, consciousness has been a topic of philosophical discussion for a long time. Modern science believes that consciousness emerges from the cooperation of billions of individuals in the brain. But this is still too general. Specifically, how does consciousness arise? In recent years, scientists have found methods and tools that allow for objective research on this most subjective and personal of things, and with the help of a large number of patients, scientists have been able to gain a glimpse into the mysteries of consciousness. In addition to figuring out exactly how consciousness works, scientists also want to know the answer to a deeper question: Why does it exist and how did it originate?

10. What controls organ regeneration?

Some creatures have extraordinary repair abilities: earthworms that have been severed can regrow half of their bodies, and

can rebuild damaged limbs... In comparison, human beings The regeneration ability seems to be a bit lacking. No one can regrow fingers, nor can the bones be used

. Of slight comfort is the liver. A partially removed liver can be restored to its original state. Scientists have found that animals that can regenerate organs restart their genetic programs when necessary and grow new organs.

So can humans use similar techniques to replace parts on their own under manual control?