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!

 

[CraigD]

China launches first module of new space station

China has launched a key module of a new permanent space station, the latest in Beijing's increasingly ambitious space program.

The Tianhe module - which contains living quarters for crew members - was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on a Long March-5B rocket.

China hopes to have the new station operational by 2022.

The only space station currently in orbit is the International Space Station, from which China is excluded.

China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. It was only in 2003 that it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US.

So far, China has sent two previous space stations into orbit. The Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 were trial stations though, allowing only relatively short stays for astronauts.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56924370?piano-modal

That Long March-5B Y2 that China launched last week is set to make an uncontrolled re-entry.

A Chinese rocket will make an uncontrolled reentry in the coming days

Recently China launched a Long March-5B Y2 rocket into space that carried its first space station module into orbit. While China hailed the launch as completely successful, it turns out something has gone wrong. The 21-ton core stage of the rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere in the next few days.

Authorities say the rocket is expected to fall back to the Earth in the next few days. Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks objects orbiting the Earth, said that it’s unacceptable to let an object reenter uncontrolled by current standards. He also pointed out that since 1990 nothing over 10 tons has been deliberately left in orbit in an uncontrolled manner. The Chinese rocket measures 100 feet long and 16 feet wide.

https://www.slashgear.com/a-chinese...ntrolled-reentry-in-the-coming-days-02671222/

Reminds me of when Skylab crashed into Australia in 1979. As a kid I was fearful it was going to crash through the roof of my bedroom, but missed me by about 1000km. LOL.

 

[CraigD]

How crowdfunding campaigners market illness to capture the attention of potential donors

Liam’s* crowdfunding campaign page is direct: his “sole purpose is to survive”.

Before his diagnosis with inoperable brain cancer, Liam was a “healthy, fitness and sports minded 44-year-old, [who gave] his time and skills away freely by being a regular at charity events, fundraising for a number of organisations and more recently sponsoring amateur athletes”.

Holly, Liam’s friend, caregiver and now crowdfunding campaign manager, appeals to the crowd: “It’s time for us to come together and help this amazing man out.”

This narrative may be familiar — it provides a window into the high-stakes world of medical crowdfunding. In our new research, we explore who the people behind these campaigns are and how they work to capture the crowd’s attention in a competitive environment.

Read on...

https://theconversation.com/how-cro...ture-the-attention-of-potential-donors-159197

 

[CraigD]

Next time you see a butterfly, treasure the memory: scientists raise alarm on these 26 species

It might sound like an 18th century fashion statement, but the “pale imperial hairstreak” is, actually, an extravagant butterfly. This pale blue (male) or white (female) butterfly was once widespread, found in old growth brigalow woodlands that covered 14 million hectares across Queensland and News South Wales.

But since the 1950s, over 90% of brigalow woodlands have been cleared, and much of the remainder is in small degraded and weed infested patches. And with it, the butterfly numbers have dropped dramatically.

In fact, our new study has found it has a 42% chance of extinction within 20 years.

It isn’t alone. Our team of 28 scientists identified the top 26 Australian butterfly species and subspecies at greatest risk of extinction. We also estimated the probability that they will be lost within 20-years.

Without concerted new conservation effort, we’ll not only lose unique elements of Australia’s nature, but also the important ecosystem services these butterflies provide, such as pollination.

Read on...

https://theconversation.com/next-ti...ntists-raise-alarm-on-these-26-species-159798

 

[CraigD]

Meet 5 of Australia’s tiniest mammals, who tread a tightrope between life and death every night

Australia has a rich diversity of mammals, with around 320 native, land-based species, 87% of which are found here and nowhere else. Many of these mammals are secretive, only active at night, and small, weighing less than one kilogram.

Mammals are “endotherms”, which means they must generate their own heat and maintain the temperature within a narrow range. This requires a lot of food.

For small mammals, which have a high surface area to volume ratio, the energetic cost is even higher. This makes them particularly prone to heat gain and loss, putting them in peril every night.

So how on earth do they cope?

Well, there are some advantages to being small. It’s harder to be seen by predators, and there are more places to hide. If the soil type is right, there’s no shortage of cracks and holes to slip into.

Such habitats not only keep small mammals concealed from predators during the day and parts of the night, but the temperature and humidity is also more stable underground, which means they expend less energy in maintaining body temperature.

To further conserve energy, many small mammals will also enter “torpor” — an inactive period that slows down their energy-burning metabolism. Torpor is like a mini hibernation that typically lasts for hours, rather than days.

For small mammals — prone to losing heat and needing to catch and eat up to half their body weight in food each night — having some periods of down-time during energy-conserving torpor can mean the difference between life and death.

Read on...

https://theconversation.com/meet-5-...ope-between-life-and-death-every-night-159239

 

[koolishman]

World-first imaging probe searches for cancer with lasers and sound

Scientists at the University of Nottingham have developed a first-of-its-kind imaging sensor designed to be deployed inside the human body to build 3D maps of cellular structures. The prototype device, which combines lasers and sound waves in an optical fiber no thicker than a human hair, could be used in conjunction with standard endoscopes to reveal abnormalities in cells indicative of cancer.

Described as a world-first, the fiber-optic ultrasonic probe developed by the University of Nottingham team was dreamt up as a clinical solution to some of the shortcomings around cellular imaging. This currently requires large and complex scientific instruments in research labs, and also often involves fluorescent labels made with chemicals that can pose a risk to human cells in large enough doses.

The imaging sensor features a pair of lasers, one of which is converted into high-frequency sound particles called phonons by a metal layer in the tip of the fiber. These phonons are pumped into the surrounding tissue, which causes a scattering of the sound waves that then collide with the second laser. By analyzing these collisions, the system can visually recreate the shape of the traveling sound wave, which can reveal useful characteristics about the cells it has passed through.

 

[koolishman]

Ingenuity: mission extended

So successful is tiny Mars helicopter Ingenuity that NASA’s decided to extend its mission.

But it turned out that there were precious few differences between flying on Mars and the engineers’ expectations.

In its first three flights, the helicopter demonstrated that it could rise, hover, fly, track its elevation to within a centimetre, and land safely at precisely the designated position. “All in all, it’s really a great-performing vehicle,” says Bob Balaram, the helicopter’s chief engineer.

What that means is that the Perseverance rover team is suddenly gifted with a functional helicopter that might actually be able to carry out aerial reconnaissance.

To test that, the helicopter’s fourth flight last Saturday (AEDT) saw it airborne for 117 seconds, flying 133 metres out and back, and taking about 60 black-and-white and 5 colour images along the way.

These, Aung says, will be used to make 3D maps of the surrounding terrain—maps that can be used to find another safe landing zone for the fifth flight.

 

[koolishman]

Do snakes have ears?

Ears are typically made up of three major parts. The outer ear focuses sound on the eardrum, which separates the outer ear from the middle ear. The middle ear contains three bones that transmit sound from the eardrum to the inner ear via vibrations. The inner ear turns these vibrations into nerve impulses that travel to the brain.

Snakes lack both an outer ear and middle ear, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of Experimental Biology. However, they have one middle ear bone that connects the inner ear to the jaw. This enables snakes to hear vibrations, such as a predator creeping closer on the forest floor. However, they're not as proficient at hearing sounds transmitted through the air.


Due to this ear setup, snakes hear only a narrow range of frequencies. They can hear low frequencies but not high frequencies, because those sounds are mostly transmitted through the air. For example, royal pythons are best at hearing frequencies between 80 and160 Hertz, according to the 2012 study. For comparison, the normal human frequency range is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, according to "Neuroscience" (Sinauer Associates, Inc. 2001).

"If you were swimming and went underwater, and somebody standing next to the pool shouted to you, you would hear them," Ruane said. "You might not be able to make out the details ... That's sort of what snakes are hearing at higher frequencies."

 

[koolishman]

It's all coming back now...my brain hurts

I've actually haggled over prices in the Kazbah (Morocco), and in small villages (China) when I couldn't speak the local language ...using an abacus, lol

Interesting.

In my case, they all had calculators and we just punched in numbers back and forth before agreeing.

 

[koolishman]

How to keep a skipping stone on a steady path across water

The physics that allows spinning stones to skip across the surface of water has been thoroughly analysed by Jie Tang at Southwest Jiaotong University in China and colleagues. The team used theoretical models and simple experiments to identify three key factors underlying the process and their findings could lead to important insights into the dynamics of aircraft and spacecraft that land on water.

To verify their model’s predictions, the team did a simple experiment involving a spinning aluminium disk, fitted with a navigation module to measure its spin and trajectory during flight. Their setup enabled a tight control over the disk’s speed, rate of spin, and angle of approach to the water’s surface. Through a series of experiments, the team then measured how variations in each of these values affected the disk’s skipping dynamics.

From the results of their analysis, the researchers identified three key factors underlying these dynamics. The first factor is related to the upward acceleration of the disk – determined by its velocity and angle of approach to the water. If this value is over 4 g (four times the gravitational acceleration) the disk will skip. Yet at 3.8 g, the disk will instead “surf”, skimming along the water’s surface at an oscillating angle, but not bouncing.

The second factor is related to how the gyro effect can guarantee the stability of the disk’s angle of approach to the water, creating more favourable conditions for continuous bouncing. The third factor is that the direction of the disk’s trajectory reflects a combination of gyro and Magnus effects. For spin rates lower than 18 rotations per second, the Magnus effect will dominate, and the disk will veer off to the left or right, depending on its direction of spin. Yet above this rate, the gyro effect will dominate, and the disk will continue in a straight path.

 

[CraigD]

How to keep a skipping stone on a steady path across water

The physics that allows spinning stones to skip across the surface of water has been thoroughly analysed by Jie Tang at Southwest Jiaotong University in China and colleagues. The team used theoretical models and simple experiments to identify three key factors underlying the process and their findings could lead to important insights into the dynamics of aircraft and spacecraft that land on water.

To verify their model’s predictions, the team did a simple experiment involving a spinning aluminium disk, fitted with a navigation module to measure its spin and trajectory during flight. Their setup enabled a tight control over the disk’s speed, rate of spin, and angle of approach to the water’s surface. Through a series of experiments, the team then measured how variations in each of these values affected the disk’s skipping dynamics.

From the results of their analysis, the researchers identified three key factors underlying these dynamics. The first factor is related to the upward acceleration of the disk – determined by its velocity and angle of approach to the water. If this value is over 4 g (four times the gravitational acceleration) the disk will skip. Yet at 3.8 g, the disk will instead “surf”, skimming along the water’s surface at an oscillating angle, but not bouncing.

The second factor is related to how the gyro effect can guarantee the stability of the disk’s angle of approach to the water, creating more favourable conditions for continuous bouncing. The third factor is that the direction of the disk’s trajectory reflects a combination of gyro and Magnus effects. For spin rates lower than 18 rotations per second, the Magnus effect will dominate, and the disk will veer off to the left or right, depending on its direction of spin. Yet above this rate, the gyro effect will dominate, and the disk will continue in a straight path.

Barnes Wallis did a lot of similar experiments during the war when he was designing the bouncing bomb that 617 Squadron RAF Lancasters (the Dam Busters) attacked the german dams with during Operation Chastise in May 1943.

He got the idea from skipping stones across the water, then built a catapult and skipped marbles across a pool. His early experiments looked at the speed and height of release vs angle and backspin.

617 Squadron RAF Lancasters testing the "Upkeep" mine/ torpedo bomb in 1943

It was also developed as an anti-shipping spherical bomb called Highball.

WWII Bouncing Bomb [Highball] Tests at Ashley Walk, New Forest 1943. The final clip shows a Mosquito testing a dummy bomb against the battleship HMS Malaya.

WWII Bouncing Bomb Tests at Ashley Walk, New Forest 1943 Code named 'Highball'. A type of 'Bouncing Bomb' designed by Dr Barnes Wallis. Spherical (ball like) in shape it was designed to be used against large ships. Two of these could be carried and deployed by a single De Havilland Mosquito aircraft. In 1943 the Ashley Walk Bombing Range in the north of the New Forest near Godshill was used as a test and training range for inert versions of the bomb. A target, No.3 Wall Target, was specifically constructed on the range for these tests.

 

[Cannuck]

It's interesting that you can haggle using an abacus.

Math really is the universal language!

I understand where you inherited your passion for aeronautics

What was also fascinating during my travels in the Atlas Mountains and Western Sahara was playing chess, while smoking hash from a hookah and drinking mint tea with the Beduoin in their djellaba. Man, those guys were really good, either that, or I was really stoned, lol.

Chess is another universal language.

Chinese chess is completely different, though I did get the hang of it, often enjoyed with Kung fu tea.

The term, Kung fu, reminds most people who hear it of the fighting martial arts sport. However, the most basic meaning of the words is related to the Chinese words for “art”, “skill”, and “effort.” Therefore, in the context of tea preparation, Kung fu means brewing tea with more effort and dedication so that a perfect cup of tea is created in a more artistic way.

Like Kung Fu as a type of Martial Arts, kung fu tea also focuses on the spirit and ideology behind it, which is how to become a better moral person. This can be reached by consciousness in movement as well as focusing oneself only on the brewing of tea. The idea is to become aware of the tea energy, or ‘cha qi’ so that the tea is properly experienced. Besides the aroma, taste, and appearance, it should also affect one’s mind and body.

 

[CraigD]

I understand where you inherited your passion for aeronautics

What was also fascinating during my travels in the Atlas Mountains was playing chess, while smoking hash from a hookah and drinking mint tea with the Beduoin in their djellaba. Man, those guys were really good, either that, or I was really stoned, lol.

Chess is another universal language.

Chinese chess is completely different, though I did get the hang of it, often enjoyed with Kung fu tea.

The term, Kung fu, reminds most people who hear it of the fighting martial arts sport. However, the most basic meaning of the words is related to the Chinese words for “art”, “skill”, and “effort.” Therefore, in the context of tea preparation, Kung fu means brewing tea with more effort and dedication so that a perfect cup of tea is created in a more artistic way.

Like Kung Fu as a type of Martial Arts, kung fu tea also focuses on the spirit and ideology behind it, which is how to become a better moral person. This can be reached by consciousness in movement as well as focusing oneself only on the brewing of tea. The idea is to become aware of the tea energy, or ‘cha qi’ so that the tea is properly experienced. Besides the aroma, taste, and appearance, it should also affect one’s mind and body.

I love chess. My grandfather taught me to play

EDIT: I had no idea there was a 'chinese chess'. Just looking into it now...

I've just started playing Go recently.

 

[Cannuck]

I love chess. My grandfather taught me to play

Chess is an art and a science. Remember when Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov? It was a turning point in history, the computer coming of age. I remember people saying it will never be done...little did they know.

Kasparov first played Deep Blue in 1996. The grandmaster was known for his unpredictable play, and he was able to defeat the computer by switching strategies mid-game. In 1997, Kasparov abandoned his swashbuckling style, taking more of a wait-and-see approach; this played in the computer’s favor and is commonly pointed to as the reason for his defeat.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/deep-blue-defeats-garry-kasparov-in-chess-match

 

[koolishman]

Barnes Wallis did a lot of similar experiments during the war when he was designing the bouncing bomb that 617 Squadron RAF Lancasters (the Dam Busters) attacked the german dams with during Operation Chastise in May 1943.

He got the idea from skipping stones across the water, then built a catapult and skipped marbles across a pool. His early experiments looked at the speed and height of release vs angle and backspin.

617 Squadron RAF Lancasters testing the "Upkeep" mine/ torpedo bomb in 1943

It was later developed as an anti-shipping spherical bomb called Highball.

WWII Bouncing Bomb [Highball] Tests at Ashley Walk, New Forest 1943

WWII Bouncing Bomb Tests at Ashley Walk, New Forest 1943 Code named 'Highball'. A type of 'Bouncing Bomb' designed by Dr Barnes Wallis. Spherical (ball like) in shape it was designed to be used against large ships. Two of these could be carried and deployed by a single De Havilland Mosquito aircraft. In 1943 the Ashley Walk Bombing Range in the north of the New Forest near Godshill was used as a test and training range for inert versions of the bomb. A target, No.3 Wall Target, was specifically constructed on the range for these tests.

Is this the bomb which bounced backwards from the main wall? I remember reading this long time ago.

 

[CraigD]

Is this the bomb which bounced backwards from the main wall? I remember reading this long time ago.

The backspin was initially used to give it more range when bouncing across the water, but during testing they realised that the backspin also had another effect:

Backspin was required so that the bomb, having bounced back off the dam would move back towards the surface as it sank due to the Magnus Effect. Close contact with the dam was necessary to obtain the maximum effectiveness from the explosive.
- Wikipedia (Upkeep)

EDIT:
Found a good article about the bouncing bomb tests here:
https://www.manstonhistory.org.uk/dambuster-bouncing-bomb-tests-at-reculver-and-manston/


Incidentally, in the movie The Dam Busters, Wallis says something to the effect that the British sailors at Trafalgar bounced cannon balls across the water at the enemy, and the French flag ship was sunk by a yorker (a cricket term for bowling at your feet). I'm not sure how true that is, but...

 

[CraigD]

Chess is an art and a science. Remember when Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov? It was a turning point in history, the computer coming of age. I remember people saying it will never be done...little did they know.

Kasparov first played Deep Blue in 1996. The grandmaster was known for his unpredictable play, and he was able to defeat the computer by switching strategies mid-game. In 1997, Kasparov abandoned his swashbuckling style, taking more of a wait-and-see approach; this played in the computer’s favor and is commonly pointed to as the reason for his defeat.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/deep-blue-defeats-garry-kasparov-in-chess-match

Yes, I remember that was a game changer!
It made headlines all around the world.

Didn't Kasparov lend his name to a series of chess computer boards years beforehand?
I always wanted one but couldn't afford it.

 

[koolishman]

Baidu launches China's first paid robotaxi service

Chinese technology giant Baidu has launched what is says is the country's first commercial robotaxi service, which will see its Apollo self-driving vehicles shuttle paying customers around Beijing's Shougang Park without a safety driver onboard. The move follows trials in the area last year, with the company hoping to expand to other cities across the country in the near future.

The launch of Baidu Apollo's robotaxi service comes after the extensive testing of the company's autonomous vehicles, which were given the green light for testing on Beijing's roads last year without a safety driver onboard. The company says these cars have now completed more than 10 million km (6.2 million miles) of road-testing, and is now taking what it sees as key steps towards commercialization.

 

[koolishman]

It's all coming back now...my brain hurts

I've actually haggled over prices in the Kazbah (Morocco), and in small villages (China) when I couldn't speak the local language ...using an abacus, lol

In Somalian cattle markets, negotiation is done silently via fingers covered in cloth. This sign language negotiation exists in India too.

https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=bildhaan

 

[koolishman]

Saturn Probe Data Reveal Impressive Depth of Titan’s Largest Sea

The moon’s massive pool of methane, ethane and nitrogen could potentially swallow skyscrapers

Saturn's moon Titan is the only known place in our solar system, other than Earth, where liquid lakes and seas persist on a world's surface. Scientists are fiercely curious about these features, and now new calculations plumb the impressive depths of Titan's largest sea, Kraken Mare—a frigid blend of methane, ethane and nitrogen.

The finding comes from a fresh analysis of radar scans performed by the Cassini probe as it passed haze-shrouded Titan in August 2014. Using the scans, researchers estimated the depth in a part of Kraken Mare where it was possible to detect a seafloor and in others where it was not. Where a bottom was found, in a large northern estuary, some signals bounced back from the surface while others penetrated the liquid and echoed off the seafloor, says planetary scientist Valerio Poggiali of Cornell University. The echoes indicated this part of the estuary is up to 85 meters deep, Poggiali and his colleagues report in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. But the central and western parts of the sea produced no seafloor echoes, suggesting that central Kraken Mare could be at least 100 meters deep—or even 300 or more.

 

[CraigD]

Yes, I remember that was a game changer!
It made headlines all around the world.

Didn't Kasparov lend his name to a series of chess computer boards years beforehand?
I always wanted one but couldn't afford it.

The SciSys/Saitek Kasparov boards appear to go back to the mid-80's or earlier.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...-saitek-kasparov-virtuoso-small-but-nice-1992

http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/saitek.html

https://www.chessprogramming.org/Saitek (info about SciSys company 1979-)



If you are going to promote the technology, be prepared to be beaten by it some day

 

[CraigD]

Saturn Probe Data Reveal Impressive Depth of Titan’s Largest Sea

The moon’s massive pool of methane, ethane and nitrogen could potentially swallow skyscrapers

Saturn's moon Titan is the only known place in our solar system, other than Earth, where liquid lakes and seas persist on a world's surface. Scientists are fiercely curious about these features, and now new calculations plumb the impressive depths of Titan's largest sea, Kraken Mare—a frigid blend of methane, ethane and nitrogen.

The finding comes from a fresh analysis of radar scans performed by the Cassini probe as it passed haze-shrouded Titan in August 2014. Using the scans, researchers estimated the depth in a part of Kraken Mare where it was possible to detect a seafloor and in others where it was not. Where a bottom was found, in a large northern estuary, some signals bounced back from the surface while others penetrated the liquid and echoed off the seafloor, says planetary scientist Valerio Poggiali of Cornell University. The echoes indicated this part of the estuary is up to 85 meters deep, Poggiali and his colleagues report in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. But the central and western parts of the sea produced no seafloor echoes, suggesting that central Kraken Mare could be at least 100 meters deep—or even 300 or more.

That map looks like western Europe!

 

[CraigD]

Chess vs Chinese Chess (Xiangqi)

I am a fan of both Chess and Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). In this video, I share my understanding of the difference between these two great games and deeper cultural reasons.

 

[Cannuck]

I also had the opportunity to play "Viking Chess" or "Hnefatafl" while in Scandinavia. It's a different variation, Hnefatafl simulates a Viking raid.

The 16 attackers are situated along the four sides of the board, each side representing a ship. The king and the 8 defenders are located in the middle of the board surrounded by enemies. The board is 9 x 9 spaces.

http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/Viking_Chess.pdf

 

[CraigD]

I also had the opportunity to play "Viking Chess" or "Hnefatafl" while in Scandinavia. It's a different variation, Hnefatafl simulates a Viking raid.

The 16 attackers are situated along the four sides of the board, each side representing a ship. The king and the 8 defenders are located in the middle of the board surrounded by enemies. The board is 9 x 9 spaces.

http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/Viking_Chess.pdf

That looks very interesting!

With the defender controlling the center of the board, I imagine that having only half the number of pieces would not be a huge disadvantage?

 

[Cannuck]

That looks very interesting!

With the defenders controlling the center of the board, I imagine that having only half the number of pieces would not be a huge disadvantage?

It's different, not an equal playing field for sure. It's more like attack and defend, the king must be surrounded on all sides to win. Instead of saying "check" you say "flight" when the king has the opportunity to escape.