Ask HN: The modern approach to research unknown materials
Hi experts,
Assuming we dig up some UAP inside of a large, deep cave. The material cannot be identified. What is the scientific approach to research and reverse engineer the material?
Assuming we dig up some UAP inside of a large, deep cave. The material cannot be identified. What is the scientific approach to research and reverse engineer the material?
In physics, you'd start with a mass spectrometer which would quickly tell you what the elemental composition was, along with more detail. Then more refined GCMS and other forms of mass spec, as well as some X-rays at your local synchrotron, will give you some more structural information. There's also neutrons and a few other things.
If you ground up your UAP and what came out wasn't at all analyzable with a mass spec ,xray spec, or neutrons, then you'd have armies of otherwise bored research scientists asking to try every single method. IE, if you find unobtanium, everybody will want to obtain your unobtainium.
Or maybe a way to make up different non-atom things out of subatomic particles and keep them stable?
So long as the new thing has some signature on some of our sensor technology we should probably be able to deduce what it is (this is sort of what particle physics folks have been doing for some time).
If we were presented with somethign truly novel like this it would be a "drop-everything, go all in on the science" while also sort of reflecting on how little we really know.