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Bright knots constantly form and dissipate in the disk as magnetic fields wind and twist through the churning gas. Nearest the black hole, the gas orbits at close to the speed of light, while the outer portions spin a bit more slowly. This difference stretches and shears the bright knots, producing light and dark lanes in the disk.
Viewed from the side, the disk looks brighter on the left than it does on the right. Glowing gas on the left side of the disk moves toward us so fast that the effects of Einstein’s relativity give it a boost in brightness; the opposite happens on the right side, where gas moving away us becomes slightly dimmer. This asymmetry disappears when we see the disk exactly face on because, from that perspective, none of the material is moving along our line of sight.
Sometimes—when watching a good sci-fi movie or stuck in traffic or failing to brew a perfect cup of coffee—we lament the fact that we don’t have futuristic technology now. But fu ture tech may be closer than you think. It’s possible some of the things you wish for, like the following, have already been invented and are just waiting for mainstream popularity.
Mind-controlled prosthetics
Even when limbs have been amputated, the brain still behaves as if they are there. Harnessing signals from the brain through electrodes and remaining nerve endings (sometimes reenervated if needed), scientists have developed prosthetic limbs that respond to thought. "Bionic" arms are capable of picking up fragile objects without crushing them and of moving fingers individually. In 2012 a man climbed the stairs of Chicago’s Willis Tower using a mind-controlled prosthetic leg.
Private spaceflight
SpaceX, a private aerospace company formed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, in 2012 became the first private company to dock a spacecraft with the International Space Station. The company continued its partnership with NASA, winning a contract to develop a successor to the space shuttle. Other companies, such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, are pursuing ventures in so-called “space tourism.”
Virtual superstars
Lots of pop stars get described as “fake,” but none are as fake as Hatsune Miku, the Japanese virtual sensation. Miku began as a mascot of a computer music program called Vocaloid, and went on to generate such a fanbase that she became an entity unto herself. Using the program, fans created hundreds of songs for Miku to sing, and Miku videos proliferated on YouTube. In 2010 she gave her first of several live stage concerts, in holographic form.
Wearable electronics
E-textiles are a developing technology in which wearable fibers and electronics are woven together to create a flexible, wearable device. Labs have been developing wearables that light up using LED lights as well as clothes that respond to outside stimuli such as lighting conditions. One laboratory has even developed a keyboard “apron” that can be worn and used with any portable electronic device.
Laboratory-grown meat
Ethics aside, rearing farm animals is costly in terms of both money and land. Scientists have been exploring ways to grow animal tissue from stem cells in a laboratory without growing the rest of the animal. The process is still costly, but it could provide a path for animal protein consumption in a future troubled by climate change and urbanization.
Self-driving cars
Internet giant Google has been developing a self-driving car for several years. In 2012 they announced that in over 300,000 miles of driving by their automated fleet there had been no accidents—at the fault of the computer, that is. (Ironically, the few incidents that did occur were at the hands of human test operators of the self-driving cars or of other vehicles.) That same year, Nevada became the first state to issue special license plates for driverless vehicles.