discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

Hot Fire Engine Test for the Artemis Moon Rocket
NASA

#Artemis missions to the Moon. This will be the first time that all four RS-25 engines will be fired at once in order to simulate a launch, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust. Live coverage begins at 3:20 p.m. EST. Use the hashtag #AskNASA and your questions might be answered on air


It's not a developmental or test article, it's the flight article that will power Artemis-1 around the Moon

Nanodiamond sensors can act as both heat sources and thermometers



A team of scientists from Osaka University, the University of Queensland and the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering used tiny nanodiamonds coated with a heat-releasing polymer to probe the thermal properties of cells. When irradiated with light from a laser, the sensors acted both as heaters and thermometers, allowing the thermal conductivity of the interior of a cell to be calculated. This work may lead to a new set of heat-based treatments for killing bacteria or cancer cells.

https://phys.org/news/2021-01-nanodiamond-sensors-sources-thermometers.html

^^

Oh no... the engines were shut down in the first minute during the gimbal test sequence of NASA's Green Run Hot Fire test.


Waiting for more info as to why the engines didn't fire for the full 8-minutes.

Watch the video link above for the post-test briefing in 2-hours time.

Tech and domain related... Interesting stuff. Bit technical but for those who are into distributed domains and such a nice read.

https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-distributed-web-resolver/

UPDATE:

It looks like the issue was with engine number 4.

NASA will be working through the data over the next few days before they decide how to proceed.

I should point out that it is preferable to have these issues crop up during testing than during a flight.

As an example, the second Apollo A-type mission launch - the unmanned Apollo 6 [AS-502] launched in 1968 - did not go to plan. Two engines shut down, but the vehicles onboard guidance system was able to compensate by burning the second and third stages for a longer period of time. The rocket limped into orbit, but only just. Information learned from this flight was extremely valuable to the success of the following manned flights.

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Nice article and video attached to this article discusses what they know at this point.
https://www.space.com/nasa-sls-megarocket-artemis-1-engine-test-fire

... and just in from NASA:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/...-rocket-core-stage-for-artemis-i-moon-mission
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Keep up to date with the progress of the Artemis Program at ArtemisProgram.com

Air pollution will lead to mass migration, say experts after landmark ruling

Call for world leaders to act in wake of French extradition case that turned on environmental concerns.

Air pollution does not respect national boundaries and environmental degradation will lead to mass migration in the future, said a leading barrister in the wake of a landmark migration ruling, as experts warned that government action must be taken as a matter of urgency.

Sailesh Mehta, a barrister specialising in environmental cases, said: “The link between migration and environmental degradation is clear. As global warming makes parts of our planet uninhabitable, mass migration will become the norm. Air and water pollution do not respect national boundaries. We can stop a humanitarian and political crisis from becoming an existential one. But our leaders must act now.”

He added: “We have a right to breathe clean air. Governments and courts are beginning to recognise this fundamental human right. The problem is not just that of Bangladesh and the developing world. Air pollution contributes to around 200,000 deaths a year in the UK. One in four deaths worldwide can be linked to pollution.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...s-migration-say-experts-after-landmark-ruling

‘Ultrasound drill’ and nanodroplets break apart blood clots



A precision “ultrasound drill” combined with specially engineered nanodroplets could soon be used inside the body to break up stubborn, impenetrable blood clots – according to Leela Goel, Xiaoning Jiang and colleagues at North Carolina State University. The team has done in vitro experiments demonstrating the technique, which if approved for clinical trials, could lead to promising new treatments for dangerous forms of thrombosis.

https://physicsworld.com/a/ultrasound-drill-and-nanodroplets-break-apart-blood-clots/

Crosspost from another thread as it might be of interest to you following this thread:

How I hijacked the top-level domain of a sovereign state

Note: This issue has been resolved and the .cd ccTLD no longer sends NS delegations to the compromised domain.

TL;DR: Imagine what could happen if the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) of a sovereign state fell into the wrong hands. Here’s how I (@Almroot) bought the domain name used in the NS delegations for the ccTLD of the Democratic Republic of Congo (.cd) and temporarily took over 50% of all DNS traffic for the TLD that could have been exploited for MITM or other abuse.


https://labs.detectify.com/2021/01/15/how-i-hijacked-the-top-level-domain-of-a-sovereign-state/

Scientists in Tanzania show humans used tools 2 million years ago

Sometimes existing tool kits—containing, for instance, simple cutting and scraping flakes—allowed early humans to exploit new resources and thrive under changing conditions. As a species, humans are also characterized by the ability to swiftly use disrupted environments. And, as new research conducted at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge reveals, this adaptability was already apparent millions of years ago.

Our new study, published in Nature Communications, is the result of a true team and multidisciplinary effort. Principal investigators from Canada and Tanzania worked with partners in Africa, North America, and Europe to describe a large assemblage of stone tools, fossil bones, and chemical proxies from dental and plant materials. We also examined the microscopic bits of silica left behind by plants, ancient pollen, and airborne charcoal from natural fires retrieved from ancient riverbed and lake outcrops in the Serengeti plains.


Taken together, the data we gathered presents the earliest evidence for human activity in the Olduvai Gorge: about 2 million years ago. It also shows that early humans used a great diversity of habitats as they adjusted to constant change.


www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20176-2

DirkS said:

Crosspost from another thread as it might be of interest to you following this thread:

How I hijacked the top-level domain of a sovereign state

Note: This issue has been resolved and the .cd ccTLD no longer sends NS delegations to the compromised domain.

TL;DR: Imagine what could happen if the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) of a sovereign state fell into the wrong hands. Here’s how I (@Almroot) bought the domain name used in the NS delegations for the ccTLD of the Democratic Republic of Congo (.cd) and temporarily took over 50% of all DNS traffic for the TLD that could have been exploited for MITM or other abuse.


https://labs.detectify.com/2021/01/15/how-i-hijacked-the-top-level-domain-of-a-sovereign-state/

Click to expand...

I'm really impressed - it's great to see there are ethical hackers protecting NS delegation and other internet infrastructure to help keep the internet safe.

The author has been elected Security Expert of the Future 2015 by Symantec, is featured on Google Security Hall of Fame, and has helped organizations like Google, the UN and the US Air Force uncover web vulnerabilities.

Thanks for a very informative article

Edited.

PicturePhone: How Bell Telephone lost a half billion, but nearly created the internet


How Bell Telephone's PicturePhone, introduced in 1964, flopped yet nearly catalyzed the internet. Technically, it was an amazing achievement: Bell used the existing twisted-pair copper wire of the telephone network -- not broadband lines like today -- to produce black and white video on a screen about five inches square. And, amazingly for the time, it used a CCD-based-camera. It was meant to be the most revolutionary communication medium of the century, driving subscribers to purchase broadband lines, but failed miserably as a consumer product costing Bell a half billion dollars.

Nepali climbers make history with winter summit of K2 mountain



A team of 10 Nepali climbers has set a new world record by becoming the first to reach the summit of K2, the world's second highest mountain, in winter.

Mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, a member of the group, said they reached the peak at 17:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

Dozens of climbers have been on the 8,611m (28,251ft) mountain this winter hoping to achieve the same feat.

But one Spanish mountaineer has died after suffering a fall this weekend while descending.

K2, which is only 200m shorter than Everest, is part of the Karakoram Range that straddles the Pakistan-China border. One of only 14 mountains higher than 8,000m, it is widely considered the most demanding of all in winter.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55684149

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K2: First Winter Summit!

An all-Nepali team of 10 climbers became the first to reach the summit of K2 in winter this afternoon. Stepping onto the summit together at 5 pm local time (7am Eastern time, 12pm GMT), they claimed a historic first for the Nepali climbing community, as K2 had been the only 8,000m peak unclimbed in winter. The lead climbers waited for the rest to join them and they all reached the top together, singing Nepal’s national anthem.

All attention now focuses on the descent and the safe return of the climbers to the lower camps. We’ll keep you posted with further details as we receive them, especially when everyone is safely down. For now, it’s time to congratulate the team on this amazing first.

https://explorersweb.com/2021/01/16/k2-first-winter-summit/

UPDATED

Astronomers Have Discovered an Alien Planet With Three Suns

To us humans, a single Sun feels completely normal, but our Solar System is actually a weird outlier. Most stars in the Milky Way galaxy have at least one companion star. Now, in a system 1,800 light-years away, astronomers have finally confirmed a gas giant planet orbiting a star in a triple star system.

https://www.sciencealert.com/astronomers-have-found-a-gas-giant-planet-with-three-suns

Electric eels work together to zap prey

More than 200 years after the electric eel inspired the design of the first battery, it has been discovered that they can co-ordinate their "zaps".

Researchers working in the Amazon filmed eels gathering in packs to herd prey, then stunning them with a synchronised electric shock.

"It was really amazing - we thought these were solitary animals," said researcher Carlos David de Santana.

The discovery is published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55652672

CraigD said:

@DirkS, updated

Click to expand...

Ohw, I might have given the wrong impression by copying the blog post title although I deal with similar things I wasn't involved in this specific endeavour .

But you're right. If you follow/work with ethical hackers you will be surprised about the amount of security breachers they find. They make a big contribution to the general safety of the internet.

And it pays off. They're are plenty companies that will pay you decent money if you report vulnerabilities. It beats the blackhat side of hacking imo. Why do evil if you can do good and get rewarded right?

Studying Chaos Phenomena With One of the World’s Fastest Cameras

Because of the large role that chaotic systems play in the world around us, scientists and mathematicians have long sought to better understand them. Now, Caltech’s Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor in the Andrew and Peggy Cherng department of Medical Engineering, has developed a new tool that might help in this quest.

In the latest issue of Science Advances, Wang describes how he has used an ultrafast camera of his own design that recorded video at one billion frames per second to observe the movement of laser light in a chamber specially designed to induce chaotic reflections.

https://scitechdaily.com/studying-chaos-phenomena-with-one-of-the-worlds-fastest-cameras/

Northwestern synthetic biologists have made the most accurate movies ever of RNA during its folding process inside the cell. This is the first study to incorporate information from a technology platform that captures data as RNA is being made. The resulting movies could help researchers better understand this mysterious process, which is essential to all kingdoms of life.

Nikola Tesla and his inventions for Vibrational Medicine

People have been conditioned to resonate at different frequencies. It is apparent (at least to this observer) that the vibrational frequencies of the Earth's population have become unbalanced and distorted. It is no wonder we have had a disconnect with the Earth itself.



Alpha frequencies in the human brain are between 6 and 8 Hertz, the wave frequency in the human cavity resonates between 6 and 8 Hertz, all biological systems operate in the same frequency range. The human brain's alpha waves function in this range and the electrical resonance of the Earth is between 6 and 8 Hertz. Our entire biological system, the brain and the earth itself work on the same frequencies. If we can control that resonant system electronically, we can control the entire mental system of humankind. If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.
- Nikola Tesla

https://teslasmedicine.com/

SpaceX Hopes to Launch And Land Starship No. 9 This Week

SpaceX is preparing to rocket the latest prototype of its Starship spaceship thousands of feet into the air, then land it gently back on the ground.

If the company can pull off this tricky manoeuvre – cutting the rocket's engines back on as it plummets toward Earth, just in time to turn it upright, slow its fall, and steadily set down on a landing pad – it will be the first time a Starship vehicle has ventured so high and returned in one piece.

SpaceX appears to be targeting a Monday launch. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an airspace closure notice for a rocket launch from Boca Chica for that day from 8 am to 6 pm CST. The FAA issued similar notices for Tuesday and Wednesday – back-up dates in case weather or glitches cause SpaceX to delay the test flight.

Both airspace closure and local road closures are required for launch. The Cameron County judge has issued Boca Chica road-closure notices for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8 am to 5 pm CST.

https://www.sciencealert.com/spacex-hopes-to-launch-and-land-starship-no-9-on-monday

10 pieces of pandemic-inspired ‘clean tech’ that shaped CES 2021

The new virus-inspired tech to help you stay healthy at the world's biggest tech show.

Sanitizer tech was made for Las Vegas. Each January armies of tech denizens cruise from booth to booth. They touch everything, They shake hands. They stroke robots. No wonder that in 2021 pandemic-inspired sanitizing technology is dominating the first-ever virtual CES.

Just as Berlin’s IFA 2020 embraced social distancing, so CES 2021 reflected a vast and varied global industry’s effort to collectively pivot to socially useful innovations.

From Bluetooth masks, air purifiers and a ‘BioButton’ to touchless taps and disinfection lamps for desktops, hopefully we’ll look back and laugh at this year’s decidedly serious and sanitary tech. For now, rejoice in a tech industry that finally seems to be able to read the room.

https://www.techradar.com/au/news/10-ways-pandemic-inspired-clean-tech-dominated-ces-2021

CraigD said:

Jumping From Space! - Red Bull Space Dive - BBC

"I'm going home now"
The 4-minutes of the space to earth jump.

Click to expand...

How long would it take you to fall through Earth?

As a follow-up to my previous post, I thought it might be interesting to consider how long it might take to fall through the Earth.

Well, here's the answer:

Suppose you dug a tunnel through the center of Earth, jumped in, and let gravity pull you through. How long would it take you to reach the other side of the planet?

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/03/how-long-would-it-take-you-fall-through-earth

A curious observer’s guide to quantum mechanics, pt. 2: The particle melting pot

In which lasers do things that make absolutely no sense but give us great clocks.

Welcome back for our second guided walk into the quantum mechanical woods! Last week, we saw how particles move like waves and hit like particles and how a single particle takes multiple paths. While surprising, this is a well-explored area of quantum mechanics—it is on the paved nature path around the visitor’s center.

This week I’d like to get off the paved trail and go a bit deeper into the woods in order to talk about how particles meld and combine while in motion. This is a topic that is usually reserved for physics majors; it's rarely discussed in popular articles. But the payoff is understanding how precision lidar works and getting to see one of the great inventions making it out of the lab, the optical comb. So let's go get our (quantum) hiking boots a little dirty—it'll be worth it.

https://arstechnica.com/science/202...ntum-mechanics-pt-2-the-particle-melting-pot/

Scientists Investigate Spiritualist Mediums: Why Some People Report “Hearing the Dead”
Spiritualist mediums might be more prone to immersive mental activities and unusual auditory experiences early in life, according to new research.

This might explain why some people and not others eventually adopt spiritualist beliefs and engage in the practice of “hearing the dead,” the study led by Durham University found.

Mediums who “hear” spirits are said to be experiencing clairaudient communications, rather than clairvoyant (“seeing”) or clairsentient (“feeling” or “sensing”) communications.

The researchers conducted a survey of 65 clairaudient spiritualist mediums from the Spiritualists’ National Union and 143 members of the general population in the largest scientific study into the experiences of clairaudient mediums.

They found that these spiritualists have a proclivity for absorption — a trait linked to immersion in mental or imaginative activities or experience of altered states of consciousness.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists...iums-why-some-people-report-hearing-the-dead/