The meaning of life is the number 42

Recorded since ancient times, people have discussed, reflected and debated about the meaning of life. Then came Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where the number 42 is said to be the answer to the question.

Today, I am not here to elaborate on the answer, but there are some strange coincidences.

M + A + T + H = 42

13 + 1 + 20 + 8 = 42

PHYSICS is also MATH

No Physics No Life?

The cultural references were not there for show. After agreeing to have a computer model, our project did indeed shift into the mathematical side. Here, we observe the temperature, time and power with respect to the black holes. Given the mass of a black hole, its temperature, power and its evaporation time can be determined. This is exactly what the computer model requires users to input. A few reoccurring constants within the formulas are the:

• reduced Planck constant ≈ 1.054572 x 10^-34 J∙s

• speed of light in a vacuum ≈ 2.998 x 10^8 m/s

• Boltzmann constant ≈ 1.38065 x 10^-23 J/K

• Newtonian gravitational constant ≈ 6.67 x 10^-11 m^3/(kg∙s^2)

The following formula to calculate temperature indicates that mass is indirectly proportional to temperature. This means that as mass increases, temperature of the black hole decreases.

The next formula is for the power generated by a black hole. The power generated by a black hole is inversely proportional to the square of its mass. This means that as mass increases, power generated by the black hole decreases.

The evaporation time of a black hole is directly proportional to the cube of the original mass of the black hole. This means that as mass increases, evaporation time of the black hole increases.

The radius of a black hole is called the Schwarzschild radius and the mass is directly proportional to it. This means that as mass increases, radius of the black hole increases.

As we know from the physics curriculum, power is work divided by time. Thus, it can be derived that work is power multiplied by time. Substituting the power generated by a black hole formula and the evaporation time of a black hole formula into power and time will yield the joules of work a black hole is able to yield.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that the world energy consumption in 2012 is estimated to be 5.6 x 10^20 J. Through using the computer model, it is calculated that an 18 555 kg black hole is able to provide this much energy in its two year life span. Knowing this information, if human kind were to find black holes that exceed these qualities, our project may become a reality. Though the assumption is that there would be enough funding and technology advancement to implement the idea.

Personally, the most interesting part of making the program was the implementation of data visualization in the simulation – so a graph. Yes, it can generate a graph! With the entire calculator being based on theoretical equations, the generated graph for mass vs. energy output is linear as expected. Graphics continue to always be more time consuming than writing the actual code.

See if you can find the bonus within the program.

#Catherine