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CraigD

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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!
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Rocket Lab launches 30 satellites, recovers booster in reusability milestone

The "Return to Sender" mission broke new ground for Rocket Lab.

https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-launch-booster-recovery


If you are wondering about the little man towards the end of the footage, his name is Gnome Chompski and he is riding the kick booster into space before he performs a suicide dive back to Earth for charity.

Godspeed little man ('-')7

Congratulations New Zealand cousins!
 
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Researchers prove water has multiple liquid states

...an international team of researchers... has proved that water can exist in two different liquid states - a finding that can explain many of water's anomalous properties. "The possibility that water could exist in two different liquid states was proposed approximately 30 years ago, based on results obtained from computer simulations,"

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-multiple-liquid-states.html

 
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China rolls out Long March 5 rocket for Chang'e 5 moon sample-return mission launch

Humanity hasn't returned samples from the moon since 1976.

https://www.space.com/china-moon-sample-return-change-5-rollout


GKAJRG7N4kSh7VeHRkB8zH-1024-80.jpg.webp
 
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These plants seem like they’re trying to hide from people

A plant used in Chinese traditional medicine has evolved camouflage in heavily harvested areas

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plant-camouflage-people-china-traditional-medicine-fritillaria

"Fritillaria plants should be simple to spot.

But some Fritillaria are remarkably difficult to find, with living leaves and stems that are barely distinguishable from the gray or brown rocky background. Surprisingly, this plant camouflage seems to have evolved in response to people. Fritillaria delavayi from regions that experience greater harvesting pressure are more camouflaged than those from less harvested areas, researchers report November 20 in Current Biology."

“It’s a nice first step toward demonstrating that humans seem to be driving the very rapid evolution of camouflage in this species.”
 
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These plants seem like they’re trying to hide from people

A plant used in Chinese traditional medicine has evolved camouflage in heavily harvested areas

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plant-camouflage-people-china-traditional-medicine-fritillaria

"Fritillaria plants should be simple to spot.

But some Fritillaria are remarkably difficult to find, with living leaves and stems that are barely distinguishable from the gray or brown rocky background. Surprisingly, this plant camouflage seems to have evolved in response to people. Fritillaria delavayi from regions that experience greater harvesting pressure are more camouflaged than those from less harvested areas, researchers report November 20 in Current Biology."

“It’s a nice first step toward demonstrating that humans seem to be driving the very rapid evolution of camouflage in this species.”

That's the first step in protecting themselves. The next step will be offensive. How long will it take for them to start uprooting themselves, wandering around and hunting us down? ;)

Day-of-the-Triffids-1981-television-series-08.jpg
 
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Hidden world of bacteria and fungi discovered on Leonardo da Vinci's drawings

Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his elaborate, nuanced artworks and advanced technological ideas. But new research has revealed another level of complexity to his drawings: a hidden world of tiny life-forms on his artwork. The findings, the researchers said, could help build a microbiome "catalogue" for artwork.

https://www.livescience.com/da-vinci-drawings-microbiome.html


More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
 
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JVC Reveals Enterprise XR Headset with 120-degree FOV & 2.5K Resolution Per Eye

JVCKenwood is testing the XR waters with a new [prototype] headset for enterprise users which boasts a wide field of view (FOV) and 2.5k per-eye resolution. The project, which has been in development by JVC’s projector team since 2018, is mainly targeting the simulator market, however the company also sees it being used in the construction and medical fields.

https://www.roadtovr.com/jvc-enterprise-xr-120-fov-5k-resolution/
 
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Signs of Recent Volcanic Eruption on Mars Hint at Habitats for Life

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/science/mars-volcano-eruption.html

"Not thought to be volcanically active, Mars may have experienced an eruption just 53,000 years ago.

If it holds up to scrutiny, the discovery would have large implications for Mars. In geological terms, 53,000 years is the blink of an eye, suggesting Mars might well still be volcanically active now. It could also have big implications for the search for life on Mars.

Such volcanic activity could melt subsurface ice, providing a potential habitable environment for living things.

“To have life, you need energy, carbon, water and nutrients,” Dr. Anderson said. “And a volcanic system provides all of those.”
 
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New study questions whether first impressions matter as much as people think

The “primacy effect” is the formal name of this phenomenon. It has been defined as “the tendency to remember the first piece of information we encounter better than information presented later on.”

But what if the primacy effect turns out to be illusory, at least as it applies to our judgments of other people? A new paper suggests that this might be the case. The paper appeared on November 13 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.


https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1948550620969279?journalCode=sppa
 
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Sentinel-6: 'Dog kennel' satellite to measure sea-level rise

A satellite that will be critical to understanding of climate change will launch on Saturday from California.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will become the primary means of measuring the shape of the world's oceans.

Its data will track not only sea-level rise but reveal how the great mass of waters are moving around the globe.

Looking somewhat like a dog kennel, the sophisticated 1.3-tonne satellite is due to lift off from the Vandenberg base at 09:17 local time (17:17 GMT).

_115589657_global_sea_level_rise-nc.png

 
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This article is a very interesting (and long) look into the resurgence of smallpox in the 1970's, and the lessons that we can learn from this in today's Covid-19 world. Well worth a read.

‘It was a total invasion’: the virus that came back from the dead


In 1978, a photographer at a Birmingham lab fell ill with smallpox, prompting a race against time to prevent an epidemic. Does the outbreak carry lessons for Covid-19?

https://www.theguardian.com/science...vasion-the-virus-that-came-back-from-the-dead
 
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Scientists Discover Outer Space Isn't Pitch-Black After All

"Is space truly black?" says Tod Lauer, an astronomer with the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) in Arizona. He says if you could look at the night sky without stars, galaxies and everything else known to give off visible light, "does the universe itself put out a glow?"

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/18/936219170/scientists-discover-outer-space-isnt-pitch-black-after-all
More than knowing the color or the brightness (or darkness) of the space, is knowing of what is made the dark matter.
The most part of the universe is not made by stars, black holes or planets; the most part (85% of the universe) is fulfilled by dark matter.
And even more intriguing is knowing about the dark energy. Nobody knows where this energy come from or what makes this energy pushing the universe and expanding it to the infinite, accelerating its expansion everyday more and more.
 
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Dark matter

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

"Dark matter
is a form of matter theorized to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe and about a quarter of its total mass–energy density or about 2.241×10−27 kg/m3. Its presence is implied in a variety of astrophysical observations, including gravitational effects that cannot be explained by accepted theories of gravity unless more matter is present than can be observed via non-gravitational methods. For this reason, most experts think that dark matter is abundant in the universe and that it has had a strong influence on its structure and evolution. Dark matter is called dark because the unaccounted-for mass does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not absorb, reflect or emit electromagnetic radiation, and is therefore difficult to detect."

Dark energy

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

"In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. The first observational evidence for its existence came from supernovae measurements, which showed that the universe does not expand at a constant rate; rather, the expansion of the universe is accelerating.[1][2] Understanding the evolution of the universe requires knowledge of its starting conditions and its composition. Prior to these observations, the only forms of matter-energy known to exist were ordinary matter, antimatter, dark matter, and radiation. Measurements of the cosmic microwave background suggest the universe began in a hot Big Bang, from which general relativity explains its evolution and the subsequent large scale motion. Without introducing a new form of energy, there was no way to explain how an accelerating universe could be measured. Since the 1990s, dark energy has been the most accepted premise to account for the accelerated expansion. As of 2020, there are active areas of cosmology research aimed at understanding the fundamental nature of dark energy.[3]

Assuming that the lambda-CDM model of cosmology is correct, the best current measurements indicate that dark energy contributes 69% of the total energy in the present-day observable universe."
 
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The Insane Biology of: The Octopus

 
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The Physics of Materials at Minus 80 Degrees Celsius

Pfizer's new [Covid] vaccine has to be stored at extremely low temperatures. Here's how things work when it gets that cold.

https://www.wired.com/story/physics-of-materials-minus-80-degrees-celsius/

I've been working at those temperatures making plant extracts using dry ice and vacuum (developed a portable cryocannabis chamber). It works, but tricky to handle. Fortunately, I've got the gear and am used to the cold :xf.wink:

*edit - for instance, I was blasting around on my snowmobile today at -80* (wind chill factor)

windchill21.gif
 
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I've been working at those temperatures making plant extracts using dry ice and vacuum (developed a portable cryocannabis chamber). It works, but tricky to handle. Fortunately, I've got the gear and am used to the cold :xf.wink:

*edit - for instance, I was blasting around on my snowmobile today at -80* (wind chill factor)

windchill21.gif

I've been in minus 27C for very short periods of less than 10-minutes at a time (when it is +40C outside) without protective gear. It get very painful!
 
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I've been in minus 27C for very short periods of less than 10-minutes at a time (when it is +40C outside) without protective gear. It get very painful!

You get used to it, that's normal winter temperature around these parts, lol. Add wind speed and then it gets uncomfortable, lucky for heated handlebars (doing about 100KMH at -30C for short bursts is all I could tolerate)
 
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