Why Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin Is So Reviled

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September 02, 2021

Dear Reader, Does Jeff Bezos joyriding to space rub you the wrong way? Or do you think the criticism heaped on him is unfair? Chelsea Gohd delves into the controversy surrounding billionaires in space, and why one company—Blue Origin—gets most of the hatred, in our lead story. In other news, physicists have observed ions peeling off a surprising number of electrons by traveling through just a single layer of graphene—one sheet of carbon atoms. The researchers added on layers, one at a time, to see how many extra electrons the ions were able to grab, and discovered new details about the workings of these interactions, which last for just a quadrillionth of a second.

Clara Moskowitz @ClaraMoskowitz

Space Exploration Why Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin Is So Reviled Economic inequality, an indulgent trip to space and an ongoing legal battle with NASA are putting the space company in the hot seat By Chelsea Gohd,SPACE.com

Particle Physics Hidden Particle Interactions Exposed by Peeling Layers of Graphene Ions flowing through atom-thin stacks of carbon confirm classic theories but also yield new surprises By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Energy This Room Could Wirelessly Charge All Your Devices New technology delivers power to electronic devices in a test space By Sophie Bushwick

Mathematics Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past Mathematicians want to think their field is a meritocracy, but bias, harassment and exclusion persist By Rachel Crowell

Black Holes Singularities Can Exist Outside Black Holes--in Other Universes Recent work has shown how "naked singularities" might defy the cosmic censorship conjecture By Brendan Z. Foster

Quantum Computing How Quantum Computing Could Remake Chemistry It will bring molecular modeling to a new level of accuracy, reducing researchers' reliance on serendipity By Jeannette M. Garcia

Astronomy This Report Could Make or Break the Next 30 Years of U.S. Astronomy A battle for the future of American stargazing is about to begin—and the stakes are sky high By Lee Billings

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Space & Physics, Volume 4, Issue 4

QUOTE OF THE DAY "While these entrepreneurs are starting to take private citizens [to space], the passengers so far have been, by and large, extremely wealthy. That's raised questions about who ultimately is benefiting." Christian Davenport, author of "The Space Barons" and space reporter for The Washington Post

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FROM THE ARCHIVE The Difficult Birth of the "Many Worlds" Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics Hugh Everett, creator of this radical idea during a drunken debate more than 60 years ago, died before he could see his theory gain widespread popularity   By Adam Becker | March 2018

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