"There is something fascinating about science."

The following is from Congressman Rush Holt's newsletter:

In Life on the Mississippi Mark Twain wrote, "There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact."  He was being facetious, of course, extrapolating that the Mississippi River, if it continued to shorten by cutting new channels through its bends, would eventually be a mile and three quarters long from southern Illinois to New Orleans, but he was more right than he intended.  Science does offer marvelous extensions of understanding, far beyond a scientist's immediate observations.   Last week, scientists working at the South Pole announced new measurements of tiny variations in the radio noise in the deep sky that greatly advance our understanding of the origins of the universe. How could these subtle variations measured by a telescope pointed to different points of the sky tell scientists about the origin of the universe?

More than 80 years ago Edwin Hubble, an astronomer hired at the Carnegie Institution telescope on Mount Wilson, California, looking at cloudy nebulae determined that indeed they are clusters of stars, but vast clusters, vastly far away.  He determined they are galaxies like our own Milky Way, and he then concluded, wonder of wonders, that the universe is expanding: that every distant galaxy in the sky is speeding away from each other.  The realization that space itself is expanding led several scientists to postulate that a Big Bang had exploded the entire universe from a tiny point to its present almost-incredible size.  More and more evidence has amassed in support of the conjecture, especially evidence collected decades ago at Bell Labs in New Jersey that in every direction in the sky there is a faint, cold radio signal, the afterglow of the Big Bang.

For a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, according to the favorite theories, the universe briefly inflated at a rate far faster than the speed of light. Different parts of the universe, expanding so fast they were out of touch with each other, could inflate at different rates, and tiny fluctuations could grow so that galaxies, planets, and things on planets (us) could eventually form.  The variations in expansion rate also generated gravitational eaves.  As Princeton University's David Spergel points out, NASA's  COPE and WMAP satellites had already detected the density fluctuations.  This latest experiment reported the first detection of gravitational waves from the very early universe.  If confirmed by other scientists, this week’s discovery, which was sponsored in part by our tax dollars through the National Science Foundation, would represent our first physical evidence that such a rapid inflation actually happened.

Don't you find it a remarkable testament to the power of science that humans can, simply by looking closely at the sky, determine with high certainty what happened in the moments after the universe began?  These discoveries may seem esoteric now – but so too did research into electricity in the 18th century or radioactivity in the 19th.  Or who would have thought that magnetic techniques to deduce the shape and spin of unseen atomic nuclei would lead to MRI diagnoses of brain aneurysms or multiple sclerosis?  History shows that, when individuals and businesses and governments invest in scientific research, the payoffs are enormous both for our economy and for our understanding of the world.

Ways to Make Your Voice Heard

In order for me to do my job, it’s important that I hear from you. Please know that you can always send me an e-mail through my webpage or voice your opinions by calling me at 1-87-RUSH-HOLT.

If you visit my office, I or a member of my staff may be able to meet with you personally to hear your thoughts. I am glad to help you to make your voice heard: the House can provide, for instance, a sign-language interpreter if you or a member of your party can communicate better through American Sign Language.

If you come to Washington D.C., I hope you’ll also take advantage of the many tours I can help arrange of landmarks such as the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, and more. I especially recommend that you visit the Jefferson Building of the beautiful and interesting Library of Congress.

Working for You

In mid-January, I heard from an East Windsor man who thought the Social Security Administration had been underpaying his Social Security Disability benefits. He was right. He had recently suffered a major medical emergency and urgently needed the money. On his behalf, I reached out to the Social Security Administration’s payment center, and the man soon received a payment of $10,110 for wrongly withheld benefits.

Have you encountered a similar problem with the Social Security Administration, the IRS, a passport center, the VA, Medicare, or any other federal agency? If so, please call me at 1-87-RUSH-HOLT or send an e-mail. I’ll do all I can to address your problem.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress