Featured on Portsmouth Point: Remote Operations and Dark Matter

This week we are showcasing the work of two pupils that have joined us for Sixth Form this year from China. 

Ruby, who has joined us from Suzhou High School has written an article on Dark Matter and Ryan, who joined us from Xinghai Experimental Senior School has written about Remote Operations.

Dark Matter 
by Ruby, Year 12

The distance between the Sun and the Earth is 147.6 million km. In such a far distance, there are only two planets, Mercury and Venus between them. It is clear that the space is so empty.

However, is it really empty? Are there any other substances in Space? Because the core region of a spiral galaxy has the highest concentration of visible stars, astronomers assumed that most of the mass and gravity of a galaxy would also be concentrated toward its center. In that case, the farther a star is from the center, the slower its orbital speed is expected to be. Similarly, in our solar system, the outer planets move more slowly around the Sun than the inner ones. By observing how the orbital speed of stars depends on their distance from the center of a galaxy, astronomers, in principle, could calculate how the mass is distributed throughout the galaxy.

At first, when astronomers calculated the rotational velocity of stars in galaxies, they found that it did not decrease with increasing the distance from the center but remained constant with the closer ones. It contradicts the predictions based on Newtonian gravity. Therefore, astronomers thought there had to be an unseen matter in the regions of galaxies, known as dark matter.

Additionally, measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) offer key evidence. The CMB is the remnant radiation from the Big Bang, and its temperature fluctuations reflect the distribution of matter in the early universe. Precise measurements of the CMB reveal that about 27% of the universe’s total mass-energy is composed of dark matter, while ordinary matter accounts for only about 5%.

So, what is dark matter? It is a hypothetical form of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light or other electromagnetic radiation. However, scientists have not yet succeeded in directly detecting the dark matter particles. This is still a profound mystery.

_{Image credit: https://rubinobservatory.org/explore/science-goals/dark-matter}

Remote Operations Are Saving Our Lives
by Ryan, Year 12

With the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) being put into use, it provides an ideal network environment for remote operation. Through the combination of 5G technology and robotic operation system, doctors can remotely control the robotic surgery system in real time to perform precise surgery. This combination will greatly promote the optimal allocation of medical resources and promote the balanced development of medical resources in the world effectively.

In 2001, Marescaux for the first time in New York operated the ZEUS robot, which was 14 000 km away in France, through high-speed fiber optic cables to perform remote laparoscopic cholecystectomy for a 68-year-old female patient. The operation lasted 54 minutes, marking the first attempt to perform surgery on a human remotely.However, due to the exploration stage of 5G remote operations, there is still a long time to test its safety and effectiveness.

The remote operation system consists of 5G network equipment, including core network, transmission network and wireless access network. The remote surgery system mainly consists of remote and local doctor console, controlled end robotic operation platform, 3D electronic laparoscopic system and image platform. These things all have the characteristics of high-speed transmission, high definition and high reliability to ensure the integrity and accuracy of data during surgery. Internet Crash - The risks associated with an internet crash during a remote operation could have catastrophic consequences. And that is one of the reasons why only 5G can support this technology.

Compared to the traditional operations, remote operations have less bleeding, low incidence of postoperative complications, and relatively shorter hospitalization time.These advantages make remote operations more appealing to patients compared to traditional surgeries.

However, remote operation was originally designed to provide a platform for remote control of battlefield robots by medical doctors behind the battlefield and has since been popularized and applied to civilian use. With the continuous progress of science and technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the application of remote operation is more extensive. For example, in battlefield military rescue, emergency situations and areas with poor health resources and other scenarios. Of course, remote operations can offer those patients who live in some lonely areas best medical resource. Avoid patients losing their lives because no doctor can do the operations.

While 5G technology offers high-speed data transmission and low latency, surgeons are focused on ensuring the stability of the network to prevent surgical disruptions or delays that could negatively impact patient safety and surgical outcomes.

All in all, I think that 5G remote operation has broad application prospects and huge development potential, and with its continuous development and implementation, it is expected to significantly improve the quality of medical care in some areas and save more and more people’s lives.

_{Image credit: https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Remote-SurgeryTelesurgery.aspx}