discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

[CraigD]

Post and discuss interesting articles & videos about science and technology.

You don't need to be an expert - just interested in the wonders of modern science, technology, and the history of these fields.

Please keep it rational, and post articles from reputable sources.
Try not to editorialise headlines and keep the copy to just a paragraph with a link to the original source. When quoting excerpts from articles, I think the best method is to italicise the copy, and include a link to the source.

Have some fun with your comments and discussions... just keep the sources legitimate.

Other threads:
The Break Room has a number of other popular threads, so there is no need to post material here that is better suited to these other threads:

- Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news
- Conspiracy Thread Free For All
- The *religious* discussion thread

Please enjoy!

 

[koolishman]

50 years ago, scientists suspected microbes flourished in clouds

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/50-years-ago-scientists-suspected-microbes-flourished-clouds

Excerpt from the November 14, 1970 issue of Science News

Clouds may be ecosystems — Science News, November 14, 1970

"Clouds in the sky may contain living microbial ecosystems…. [Research] determined that metabolic activity, in the form of CO2 uptake into organic material, occurred in [airborne] dust over a 24-hour period, whereas it did not occur in sterilized control dust."

Update

"The atmosphere is rich in microbial life. One census documented some 28,000 bacterial species in samples of water from clouds above a mountain in France, scientists reported in 2017. Research building over the last decade or so has supported the claim that some bacteria may indeed be metabolically active within their hazy abodes. One species of Bacillus, for example, eats sugar floating in the atmosphere to build a coating — perhaps to shield itself from ultraviolet radiation and low temperatures (SN: 2/7/15, p. 5). Some scientists suspect cloud bacteria contribute to Earth’s carbon and nitrogen cycles, and even influence weather (SN: 6/18/11, p. 12). The microbes can spur ice crystals to form, triggering rain and snow — and a ride back to Earth’s surface."

So, instead of Silver Iodide, we just need to spray bacteria from a plane for precipitation to happen.

 

[koolishman]

'We packed long underwear and never wore it': Arctic scientists shocked at warming

When the Arctic researchers Jacqueline Grebmeier and Lee Cooper made their annual scientific pilgrimage to frigid seas off Alaska last month, what they found was startling. Areas that were previously accessible at that time of the year only with an ice-breaking ship had become open, wavy water. “We packed our long underwear, and we never put it on,” Cooper said.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/13/arctic-melting-climate-change

I linked this a couple of pages back.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-2018-washes-up-in-ireland-as-polar-ice-melts

 

[Alop]

Links on top of links ..I’m asking how did we improve beyond Nikola Tesla ? Research and find the definition of improvement

 

[CraigD]

Nikola Tesla

Question, statement or random name dropping?

I'll do the hard work for you...


Nikola Tesla Explained In 16 Minutes

Nikola Tesla was a man ahead of his time. His advancements in electricity were radical, helping to usher in the modern age, with his influence seen in anything from X-rays to remote control. His World Wireless System had the potential to advance technology by nearly a century, while also providing free energy to the globe. Unlike so many of his era, Tesla did not work for financial gain, instead working to advance humanity. Perhaps it is not surprising that a man so far ahead of his time has only found his place in the 21st century, an age shaped by his technological brilliance.

NIKOLA TESLA [BBC documentary]

The Rise and Fall of Nikola Tesla and his Tower

The inventor’s vision of a global wireless-transmission tower proved to be his undoing.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-rise-and-fall-of-nikola-tesla-and-his-tower-11074324/



Nikola Tesla - Wikipedia article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

 

[koolishman]

Some male spiders tie up females before mating to avoid being eaten

Many male spiders engage in courtship rituals during mating, but some attack females instead and tie them up to avoid being eaten.

I suggest that late night internet access to spiders be strictly curtailed.

 

[CraigD]

I linked this a couple of pages back.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-2018-washes-up-in-ireland-as-polar-ice-melts

I had to laugh...

“When I saw it, first I thought it was a steel pipe of a ship, then I lifted it and saw there was engraving on it. I thought it was a bomb then,” McClory told the Donegal Daily. “When I saw the date on it I thought it could be somebody’s ashes, so I didn’t open it.”

I think fear of our modern world is destroying our inquisitive nature.

 

[Alop]

I had to laugh...

“When I saw it, first I thought it was a steel pipe of a ship, then I lifted it and saw there was engraving on it. I thought it was a bomb then,” McClory told the Donegal Daily. “When I saw the date on it I thought it could be somebody’s ashes, so I didn’t open it.”

I think fear of our modern world is destroying our inquisitive nature.

As they distorted nikola tesla ? & no it was not a random name drop

 

[koolishman]

As they distorted nikola tesla ? & no it was not a random name drop

What?

 

[Alop]

Nothing guy just Nikola Tesla

 

[CraigD]

Nothing guy just Nikola Tesla

LOL, without any context, I'm afraid it was just a random name drop. All good

 

[Alop]

LOL, without any context, I'm afraid it was just a random name drop. All good

I see I lit up this whole page with the name though

 

[koolishman]

Nothing guy just Nikola Tesla

He had a great impact on Electrical engineering, if that is what you meant.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nikola-tesla-inventor-extraordinary-life/

 

[CraigD]

He had a great impact on Electrical engineering, if that is what you meant.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nikola-tesla-inventor-extraordinary-life/

Yes, a real genius who didn't receive the recognition I think he deserved in his lifetime. Unfortunately in recent times his name has become a candle for conspiracy theorists and pseudo-science. I usually think twice before clicking on a social-media link with his name in it.

 

[Alop]

Cheers CraigD

 

[CraigD]

Some male spiders tie up females before mating to avoid being eaten

Many male spiders engage in courtship rituals during mating, but some attack females instead and tie them up to avoid being eaten.

I suggest that internet access to spiders be strictly curtailed.

But the web is a spiders natural habitat


They are also all over my local area... it's funnel-web spider season here in Sydney Australia!

https://www.news.com.au/national/ns...coming/video/03371add6204b7dfd84150f0e72eec0c

https://www.pestalert.com.au/spiders/

These five spiders are currently active around my garden and house!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missulena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider (currently living in my bedroom!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider

Welcome to Australia, where everything is trying to kill you.

 

[Alop]

It’s just nature

 

[koolishman]

But the web is a spiders natural habitat

They are also all over my local area... it's funnel-web spider season here in Sydney Australia!

https://www.news.com.au/national/ns...coming/video/03371add6204b7dfd84150f0e72eec0c

https://www.pestalert.com.au/spiders/

These five spiders are currently active around my garden and house!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missulena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider (currently living in my bedroom!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider

Welcome to Australia, where everything is trying to kill you.

Huntsman spider is the normal house spider, right? Seems to be XXL in size down under.

 

[CraigD]

The hunstman spider living in my bedroom is about 4-inches wide - I've seen much bigger. I almost caught him a few days ago but he's quick. I'll try and get a picture of him next time i see him. Mostly harmless, and he kills the other bugs.

Found this video... mine's a tad bigger.

 

[Alop]

CraigD about to start turning into a Spider-Man soon2be

 

[CraigD]

CraigD about to start turning into a Spider-Man soon2be

Snakes, spiders, they're all over Sydney.

I also got attacked by a bloody magpie last week - I usually befriend them with food and they are fine, but it's nesting season and this particular one has been attacking anyone who walks under its nest the last couple of weeks.


This man almost lost both eyes in a magpie attack a couple of weeks ago

Magpie swooping season

https://science.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/why-do-magpies-swoop-birds-eye-view-avian-attacks

https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/how-survive-magpie-swooping-season

https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/scienc.../23/magpie-swooping-an-australian-phenomenon/

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2002/07/04/2588235.htm

https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/magpies/swooping

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie

EDIT: @lock and @Corey
You're both Aussies. Have you been attacked by any native animals recently?

 

[koolishman]

Snakes, spiders, they're all over Sydney.

I also got attacked by a bloody magpie last week - I usually befriend them with food and they are fine, but it's nesting season and this particular one has been attacking anyone who walks under it's nest the last couple of weeks.

This man almost lost both eyes in a magpie attack a couple of weeks ago

Magpie swooping season

https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/how-survive-magpie-swooping-season

https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/scienc.../23/magpie-swooping-an-australian-phenomenon/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie

I watched some programs were which specifically on OZ creatures, On NATGEO may be. Horrifying.

Currently "Monster croc wrangler" is on.

 

[Alop]

Hey guys this was suppose to be a tech thread

 

[CraigD]

Hey guys this was suppose to be a tech thread

I've included links to science articles and studies concerning magpie attacks, and Australian spiders

 

[Alop]

Meanwhile CraigD swinging from tree to tree screaming “right right “

 

[CraigD]

I'd rather be attacked by birds than by their ancestors...


How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds

Modern birds appeared to emerge in a snap of evolutionary time. But new research illuminates the long series of evolutionary changes that made the transformation possible

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-became-birds/



The origin of birds

The discovery that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic was made possible by recently discovered fossils from China, South America, and other countries, as well as by looking at old museum specimens from new perspectives and with new methods.

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_06



Origin of Birds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_birds