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apr08-offprint-clarke.pdf

Nature has devised numerous mechanisms by which the universe could become selfaware, and where humanity could spring forth from the ashes of ancient supernovæ and gaze back upon the  heavens to contemplate its origins. Astrophysical jets are one such mechanism. To an astronomer, a jet is a long, collimated, supersonic flow of gas emanating from a condensed object collapsing under its own weight. But to a forming star, a jet is the “arm” by which  angular momentum is removed from the rapidly rotating object, allowing it to evolve. Without this mechanism, the spin of a  protostar would prevent it from collapsing enough to trigger thermonuclear fusion, and we would not be here to talk about it. In this contribution, we introduce the reader to astrophysical jets, and discuss how supercomputing allows us to investigate the physics of these “hand-brakes of nature”.