Hawking did not say black holes don’t exist
You’ve probably read lots of headlines proclaiming “Stephen Hawking says black holes don’t exist.” According to Popular Mechanics, this summary comes from a short paper Hawking submitted Jan. 22, titled “Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting for Black Holes.” The paper does mention the phrase “there are no black holes,” however, it is not the full story. The complete statement is “there are no black holes — in the sense of regimes from which light can’t escape to infinity. There are, however, apparent horizons which persist for a period of time.” Hawking is actually writing about things happening at the event horizon, the very edge of a black hole. Astrophysicists who understand this complex language consider the new paper “a Hawking op-ed.”
Obfuscation may end hacking
According to Daily Mail, a US researcher recently had a breakthrough in cryptography using obfuscation, which may prevent programs being hacked universally. Prof. Amit Sahai from the University of California created a system named “obfuscator,” which mixes random parts with files. Only people who run the program in a specific way can access the information correctly, for others, the code pieces would be meaningless. Actually, many companies have added some obfuscating features into their programs, but they have been bypassed eventually. The system by Sahai has been proved impenetrable so far. However, it still needs more work to make it commercial, since the system makes the program difficult to manage and analyze.
The best way to hold a hamburger
Imagine you are on a date in a burger restaurant. With just one bite, you spill sauce and salad all over your face and clothes. According to Kotaku, the embarrassment may be prevented by holding a burger in a different way. Three Japanese experts in mechanics, engineering, and dentistry spent four months for a perfect solution. They found that the burger can be held uniformly by holding the bottom using both thumbs and pinkies. The dental researcher also suggests warming the muscles in your mouth before eating a big hamburger by opening and closing it a few times. Go, try the new way of holding a hamburger to impress your lunch companion next time.
