Over the past 200 years, science has been able to answer a huge number of questions regarding nature and the laws that humankind is subject to. Today, people are exploring galaxies and atoms, creating machines that solve problems that a person cannot solve on his own. However, there are still quite a few questions that scientists cannot yet answer. These unsolved problems of modern science make scientists scratch their heads in puzzlement and make even more colossal efforts to find answers to their questions as soon as possible.
Theory of quantum gravity
Everyone knows Newton’s discovery of gravity. After this discovery, the world has changed significantly. The research of Albert Einstein, the great physicist, allowed us to take a fresh and deeper look at this phenomenon. Thanks to Einstein’s theory of gravity, mankind even managed to understand the phenomena associated with the curvature of light. However, scientists still have not been able to understand the work of subatomic particles, the principle of operation of which is based on the laws of quantum mechanics.
Today, there are several theories about quantum gravity, but so far none of them has been experimentally proven. Of course, solving this problem is unlikely to have a significant impact on human daily life, but perhaps it will help unravel the mysteries associated with black holes and time travel.
Universe expansion
Despite the fact that at present scientists already know quite a lot about the general structure of the Universe, there are still a huge number of questions related to its development, for example, what the Universe is made of .
Relatively recently, scientists discovered that our universe is constantly expanding, and the rate of its expansion is increasing. This gave them the idea that perhaps the expansion of the universe will be infinite. In this regard, the question arises: what causes the expansion of the Universe and why does its expansion rate increase?
Video about one of the unsolved problems of science – the expansion of the Universe
Turbulence in a liquid medium
Probably everyone knows that turbulence is a sudden shaking during a flight. However, in fluid mechanics this word has a completely different meaning. The occurrence of flight turbulence is explained by the meeting of two air bodies that move at different speeds. But it is still quite difficult for physicists to explain the phenomenon of turbulence in a liquid medium. Mathematicians are also quite puzzled by this problem.
Turbulence in a liquid environment surrounds a person everywhere. A classic example of such turbulence is the example of water flowing from a faucet, completely disintegrating into chaotic liquid particles that differ from the general flow. In nature, turbulence is a very common phenomenon, it occurs in various oceanic and geophysical flows.
Despite the huge number of experiments carried out, as a result of which some empirical data were obtained, a convincing theory of what exactly causes turbulence in liquids, how it is controlled, and how it is possible to streamline this chaos, has not yet been created.
Aging
The aging process is understood as a gradual violation and loss of important functions by the body, including the ability to regenerate and reproduce. When the body ages, it can no longer adapt so well to environmental conditions, it is much less resistant to injury and disease.
- The science that studies issues related to the aging of the body is called gerontology.
- The use of the term "aging" is possible when describing the process of destruction of any non-living system, for example, metal, as well as when describing the process of aging of the human body. Also, scientists have not yet found answers to the questions why plants age and what factors initiate the aging program.
The first attempt at a scientific explanation of such a process as aging was made in the second half of the 19th century by Weismann. He suggested that aging is a property that arose as a result of evolution. Weisman believed that organisms that do not age are not only not useful, but also harmful. Their death is necessary in order to make room for the young.
Currently, many scientists have put forward quite a lot of hypotheses about what causes aging in organisms, however, all theories have so far enjoyed limited success.
How do tardigrades survive?
Tardigrades are microorganisms that are quite common in nature. They inhabit all climatic zones and all continents, they can live at any height and in any conditions. Their extraordinary ability to survive haunts many scientists. It is curious that these first living organisms manage to survive even in the dangerous vacuum of space. So, several tardigrades were taken into orbit, where they were exposed to various types of cosmic radiation, but by the end of the experiment, almost all of them remained unharmed.
These organisms are not afraid of the boiling point of water, they survive at temperatures slightly above absolute zero. Tardigrades feel normal at a depth of 11 kilometers, in the Mariana Trench, calmly enduring its pressure.
Tardigrades are distinguished by their incredible ability to anhydrobiosis, that is, drying. In this state, there is an extreme slowdown in their metabolic activity. After drying, this creature practically stops its metabolic activity, and after gaining access to water, its original state is restored, and the tardigrade continues to live as if nothing had happened.
The study of this creature promises to yield interesting results. If cryonics is brought to life, their applications will be incredible. So, scientists claim that, having unraveled the secret of the survivability of the tardigrade, they will be able to create a spacesuit in which it will be possible to explore other planets, and the storage of medicines and pills will become possible at room temperature.
Astronomy, physics, biology, geology – these are the areas in which many scientists work. Thanks to their discoveries, new incredible theories appear, which seemed like science fiction a few decades ago and which, perhaps, will very soon make it possible to unravel some of the problems of science that have not been solved so far.