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]

What?

Australia does not exist?

Where did I land back in 2013? That city with that Opera house and majestic bridge and harbour? It is all a hoax?

@koolishman did you enjoy your time in Australia?
Did you do the tethered-climb over the TOP of the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

Here's a long but interesting video using archival footage and interviews about the engineering history of the bridge. At the time it was the largest single span bridge in the world.

For those who have not seen it first hand, for scale here's a photograph of a huge four-engine Lancaster Bomber flying under the bridge in 1943.

More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge

 

[CraigD]

Glueball – A Particle Purely Made of Nuclear Force

Scientists from Vienna University believe they may have discovered the long-sought-after glueball, a particle composed of pure force.

For decades, scientists have been looking for so-called “glueballs”. Now it seems they have been found at last. A glueball is an exotic particle, made up entirely of gluons – the “sticky” particles that keep nuclear particles together. Glueballs are unstable and can only be detected indirectly, by analyzing their decay. This decay process, however, is not yet fully understood.

https://scitechdaily.com/glueball-a-particle-purely-made-of-nuclear-force/

More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glueball
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_particle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_particles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model

 

[koolishman]

@koolishman did you enjoy your time in Australia?
Did you do the tethered-climb over the TOP of the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

Here's a long but interesting video using archival footage and interviews about the engineering history of the bridge. At the time it was the largest single span bridge in the world.

For those who have not seen it first hand, for scale here's a photograph of a huge four-engine Lancaster Bomber flying under the bridge in 1943.

More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge

Yes, I did.

Sydney bridge is awesome. Was in a hurry and did not get into the bridge.

 

[CraigD]

400 million km within 163 days, China's Mars probe heads for red planet

China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 has traveled more than 400 million km by Sunday morning and is expected to enter Mars orbit next month, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). It was about 130 million km from Earth and about 8.3 million km from Mars.

According to the CNSA, the probe is functioning stably and is scheduled to slow down before entering Mars orbit in more than a month and preparing itself to land on the red planet.

https://english.cctv.com/2021/01/04/ARTI2T6AXv3hfoitYIk0KUNp210104.shtml

 

[CraigD]

“Staggering” –The Implications of Infinite Space

“If space is truly infinite,” observes Dan Hooper, head of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, in At the Edge of Time, “the implications are staggering. Within an infinite expanse of space, it would be hard to see any reason why there would not be an infinite number of galaxies, stars, and planets, and even an infinite number of intelligent or conscious beings, scattered throughout this limitless volume. That is the thing about infinity: it takes things that are otherwise very unlikely and makes them all inevitable.”

https://dailygalaxy.com/2019/12/staggering-the-implications-of-infinite-space-2019-most-popular/

---

A thought provoking read about infinity and our universes construction, but I don't agree with the hypothesis that space is infinite.

I've been led to believe that our universe started expanding with the Big Bang and is finite in size. I'm not a fan of the many-worlds interpretation which implies that there are many or an infinite number of universes.

Just my opinion.

 

[CraigD]

Life Discovered in Deep Ocean Sediments at Temperatures Above Water’s Boiling Point

An international research team that included three scientists from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has discovered single-celled microorganisms in a location where they didn’t expect to find them.

“Water boils on the (Earth’s) surface at 100 degrees Celsius, and we found organisms living in sediments at 120 degrees Celsius,” said URI Professor of Oceanography Arthur Spivack, who led the geochemistry efforts of the 2016 expedition organized by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and Germany’s MARUM–Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen. The study was carried out as part of the work of Expedition 370 of the International Ocean Discovery Program.

https://scitechdaily.com/life-disco...s-at-temperatures-above-waters-boiling-point/

 

[koolishman]

SpaceX Plans to ‘Catch’ Super Heavy Rockets With Launch Tower

Up until now, SpaceX rockets have always landed by deploying legs around the rocket as it returned to earth. If new remarks from Elon Musk are accurate, the company wants to get rid of that method to save weight. Future spacecraft may not sport legs at all.

“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load” doesn’t sound like the kind of statement that gets people hot and bothered, but context is everything, and an awful lot of SpaceX fans are excited about the idea. An equally large group of them, including the author, are a bit puzzled by it. It isn’t clear what it means to have the launch tower “catch” the Super Heavy. Launch towers don’t exactly fall down if you breathe on them, but I’ve never heard of using one directly to catch a rocket (even a depleted, first-stage rocket).

The implication seems to be that the rocket bears its own weight directly on the grid fins and that the “catch” is more about lining up the rocket with the launch arm in a way that allows them to interlink again, as opposed to using the launch arm to somehow brake or control the Super Heavy as it descends.

 

[koolishman]

How Much Longer Until the Core of the Earth Runs Out of Fuel?

To determine how much nuclear fuel remains in the Earth, the researchers use advanced sensors to detect some of the tiniest subatomic particles known to science—geoneutrinos. Geoneutrino particles are the byproducts generated from nuclear reactions that take place within stars, supernovae, black holes, and human-made nuclear reactors.

Detecting how much fuel is left
Detecting antineutrino particles is an immensely difficult task. Massive detectors the size of a small office building are buried over 0.6 miles (a kilometer) down into the Earth's crust. The depth may seem like overkill; however, it is necessary to create a shield from cosmic rays that can result in false positives.

In operation, the detector can detect antineutrinos when they collide with hydrogen atoms inside the apparatus. After the collision, two bright flashes can be detected, unequivocally announcing the event.

By counting the number of collisions, scientists can determine the number of uranium and thorium atoms that remain inside of our planet.

Unfortunately, the detectors KamLAND in Japan and Borexino in Italy only detect about 16 events per year, making the process painstakingly slow. However, with three new detectors projected to come online in 2020 — the SNO+ detector in Canada and the Jinping and JUNO detectors in China — researchers expect more than 500 more detected events per year.

“Once we collect three years of antineutrino data from all five detectors, we are confident that we will have developed an accurate fuel gauge for the Earth and be able to calculate the amount of remaining fuel inside Earth,” said McDonough.

 

[Sutruk]

Life Discovered in Deep Ocean Sediments at Temperatures Above Water’s Boiling Point

An international research team that included three scientists from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has discovered single-celled microorganisms in a location where they didn’t expect to find them.

“Water boils on the (Earth’s) surface at 100 degrees Celsius, and we found organisms living in sediments at 120 degrees Celsius,” said URI Professor of Oceanography Arthur Spivack, who led the geochemistry efforts of the 2016 expedition organized by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and Germany’s MARUM–Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen. The study was carried out as part of the work of Expedition 370 of the International Ocean Discovery Program.

https://scitechdaily.com/life-disco...s-at-temperatures-above-waters-boiling-point/

120 degrees Celsius? Hold my beer... 400 degrees Celsius here

How to survive at 400 degrees C

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/how-to-survive-at-400-degrees-c/3001998.article

"The Riftia tubeworm makes its home next to hydrothermal vents - living at temperatures ranging from freezing to a volcanic 400 degrees Celsius, and managing without a digestive system."

 

[CraigD]

SpaceX Plans to ‘Catch’ Super Heavy Rockets With Launch Tower

Up until now, SpaceX rockets have always landed by deploying legs around the rocket as it returned to earth. If new remarks from Elon Musk are accurate, the company wants to get rid of that method to save weight. Future spacecraft may not sport legs at all.

“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load” doesn’t sound like the kind of statement that gets people hot and bothered, but context is everything, and an awful lot of SpaceX fans are excited about the idea. An equally large group of them, including the author, are a bit puzzled by it. It isn’t clear what it means to have the launch tower “catch” the Super Heavy. Launch towers don’t exactly fall down if you breathe on them, but I’ve never heard of using one directly to catch a rocket (even a depleted, first-stage rocket).

The implication seems to be that the rocket bears its own weight directly on the grid fins and that the “catch” is more about lining up the rocket with the launch arm in a way that allows them to interlink again, as opposed to using the launch arm to somehow brake or control the Super Heavy as it descends.

My first thought on this is a technique that was tried with the Ryan X-13 Verti-Jet in 1957, where the aircraft latches onto a tower. The problem back then was that the pilot couldn't see where he was going. Space-X could easily overcome this now.

Fast forward to 03:20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_X-13_Vertijet

 

[Cannuck]

My first thought on this is a technique that was tried with the Ryan X-13 Verti-Jet in 1957, where the aircraft latches onto a tower. The problem back then was that the pilot couldn't see where he was going. Space-X could easily overcome this now.

Fast forward to 03:20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_X-13_Vertijet

After a number of repetitive manouvers like shown above (when supended), using machine learning, computer guided control and autopilot, the spacecraft wouldn't require manual operation to attach to the tower. I'm sure there are even simpler ways to dock nowadays using self-guided return-home programming.

 

[Cal2]

I've actually only just heard about the 'Australia isn't a real country' conspiracy, but perhaps that's because I've been hoodwinked all my life about living in a fake country.

I once had a fortune teller tell me she saw Australia in my future. Therefore, even though going there hasn't happened yet (if ever), I know Australia is a real country.

 

[CraigD]

SpaceX Plans to ‘Catch’ Super Heavy Rockets With Launch Tower

Up until now, SpaceX rockets have always landed by deploying legs around the rocket as it returned to earth. If new remarks from Elon Musk are accurate, the company wants to get rid of that method to save weight. Future spacecraft may not sport legs at all.

“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load” doesn’t sound like the kind of statement that gets people hot and bothered, but context is everything, and an awful lot of SpaceX fans are excited about the idea. An equally large group of them, including the author, are a bit puzzled by it. It isn’t clear what it means to have the launch tower “catch” the Super Heavy. Launch towers don’t exactly fall down if you breathe on them, but I’ve never heard of using one directly to catch a rocket (even a depleted, first-stage rocket).

The implication seems to be that the rocket bears its own weight directly on the grid fins and that the “catch” is more about lining up the rocket with the launch arm in a way that allows them to interlink again, as opposed to using the launch arm to somehow brake or control the Super Heavy as it descends.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1345436609848684550

 

[CraigD]

Jupiter Is Bigger Than Some Stars, So Why Didn't We Get a Second Sun?

The smallest known main-sequence star in the Milky Way galaxy is a real pixie of a thing.
It's called EBLM J0555-57Ab, a red dwarf 600 light-years away. With a mean radius of around 59,000 kilometres, it's just a smidge bigger than Saturn. That makes it the tiniest known star to support hydrogen fusion in its core, the process that keeps stars burning until they run out of fuel.

https://www.sciencealert.com/why-isn-t-jupiter-a-star

 

[Cal2]

• SpaceX Axiom Space-1: Axiom Space and SpaceX plan to send tourists to the ISS in late 2021 using a Dragon 2 spacecraft.
• Space Adventures Crew Dragon mission: Space Adventures and SpaceX plan to send up to four tourists to low Earth orbit for a few days in late 2021 or early 2022.

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

Nothing against Musk, but I don't really see him as (truly) being about 'space for humanity'. But maybe I'm wrong.

Speaking of space tourism and space for humanity: https://www.spaceforhumanity.org/

I think they were one of those who was wanting to buy my spaceforhumanity/com. But I'm saving it for now, in case I want to use it as a possible challenge of some type for my gamechangex and forhumanity projects.

 

[koolishman]

Largest canyon in the solar system revealed in stunning new images

It's nearly 10 times as long as the Grand Canyon, and three times as deep. But how did it form?

About 87 million miles (140 million kilometers) above the Grand Canyon, an even larger, grander abyss cuts through the gut of the Red Planet. Known as Valles Marineris, this system of deep, vast canyons runs more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) along the Martian equator, spanning nearly a quarter of the planet's circumference. This gash in the bedrock of Mars is nearly 10 times as long as Earth's Grand Canyon and three times deeper, making it the single largest canyon in the solar system — and, according to ongoing research from the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson, one of the most mysterious.

https://www.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_034132_1750

 

[koolishman]

Synchronized violin players reveal uniqueness of human networks

An unusual experiment involving 16 violinists trying to synchronize their playing while wearing noise-canceling headphones yielded some intriguing results, according to an August 2020 paper published in Nature Communications. The study concluded that human networks are fundamentally different from other networks in terms of synchronized behavior because of our decision-making ability. That could lead to better models for complex human behavior, with applications in such diverse areas as economics, epidemiology, politics, traffic management, and the spread of misinformation.

The participating violinists donned noise-canceling headphones and began playing the same musical phrase on repeat, without looking at or listening to the other players. They could only rely on what they heard through the headphones, which were connected to a computer system. The researchers then introduced intermittent delays in signals between coupled violinists, varying the delays and the combinations of violinists. It's called a "frustrated situation," and most network models assume that in such a frustrated state, each node will attempt to find a middle ground between all the various inputs.

Instead, Fridman et al. found that the players reacted by adjusting their playing, quickening or slowing their tempo to better synchronize with their fellow violinists. "Human networks behave differently than any other network we've ever measured," Fridman told The Jerusalem Post. "In a state of frustration, they don't look for a 'middle,' but ignore one of the inputs. This is a critical phenomenon that is changing the dynamics of the network. Human networks are able to change their inner structure in order to reach a better solution than what's possible in existing models."

Video.

 

[koolishman]

Surprising news: Drylands are not getting drier

A new study shows the importance of long-term soil moisture changes and associated soil moisture-atmosphere feedbacks in future predictions of water availability in drylands. The researchers identified a long-term soil moisture regulation of atmospheric circulation and moisture transport that largely ameliorates the potential decline of future water availability in drylands, beyond that expected in the absence of soil moisture feedbacks.

 

[koolishman]

NASA Showcases Stunning Images Of Global Climate Change.

Some really telling photographs of how climate change is affecting us.

 

[koolishman]

Five asteroids are set to fly past the planet tomorrow — two of them are bigger than the Eiffel Tower

• Five asteroids are set to make a close approach to Earth tomorrow, on January 6.
• Two of the asteroids — 2016 CO247 and 2008 AF4 — are bigger than the Eiffel Tower.
• Even the smallest of the five asteroids, 2021 AJ, is travelling fast enough to release as much energy as the Hiroshima bomb blast if it were to crash into the planet.

Asteroids that will make a close approach to Earth on January 6:
Asteroid Time (GMT) Average diameter Speed (kilometres per hour)
2021 AC 03:27 73.5 metres 50,652 kmph
2016 CO247 04:09 340 metres 60,228 kmph
2021 AJ 11:38 19.5 metres 45,648 kmph
2018 KP1 13:21 41 metres 15,948 kmph
332446 (2008 AF4) 21:52 495 metres 39,564 kmph

 

[CraigD]

Five asteroids are set to fly past the planet tomorrow — two of them are bigger than the Eiffel Tower

• Five asteroids are set to make a close approach to Earth tomorrow, on January 6.
• Two of the asteroids — 2016 CO247 and 2008 AF4 — are bigger than the Eiffel Tower.
• Even the smallest of the five asteroids, 2021 AJ, is travelling fast enough to release as much energy as the Hiroshima bomb blast if it were to crash into the planet.

Asteroids that will make a close approach to Earth on January 6:
Asteroid Time (GMT) Average diameter Speed (kilometres per hour)
2021 AC 03:27 73.5 metres 50,652 kmph
2016 CO247 04:09 340 metres 60,228 kmph
2021 AJ 11:38 19.5 metres 45,648 kmph
2018 KP1 13:21 41 metres 15,948 kmph
332446 (2008 AF4) 21:52 495 metres 39,564 kmph

I think the first four-digits of the assigned name refers to the year they were first catalogued(?)

 

[CraigD]

Chemical Analysis of a Black Spot in a Diary Sheds New Light on Legendary Polar Explorer’s Final Hours

The Denmark Expedition set out to explore unknown Inuit land in 1906. Three members died.

Chemical analysis of a black spot in a diary sheds new light on the destiny and tragic death of legendary Inuit polar expedition member Jørgen Brønlund in Northeast Greenland in 1907.

https://scitechdaily.com/chemical-a...ght-on-legendary-polar-explorers-final-hours/

 

[CraigD]

Rutgers engineers’ invention can become color-changing ‘artificial muscle’

Inspired by the color-changing skin of cuttlefish, octopuses and squids, Rutgers engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light, becomes “artificial muscle” and may lead to new military camouflage, soft robotics and flexible displays.

The engineers also developed a 3D-printed stretchy material that can reveal colors when light changes, according to their study in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

https://www.miragenews.com/3d-printed-smart-gel-changes-shape-when-exposed-to-light/

 

[CraigD]

Astronomers Find a Beautiful 6-Planet System in Almost Perfect Orbital Harmony

By now, we have discovered hundreds of stars with multiple planets orbiting them scattered throughout the galaxy. Each one is unique, but a system orbiting the star HD 158259, 88 light-years away, is truly special. The star itself is about the same mass and a little larger than the Sun - a minority in our exoplanet hunts. It's orbited by six planets: a super-Earth and five mini-Neptunes.

After monitoring it for seven years, astronomers have discovered that all six of those planets are orbiting HD 158259 in almost perfect orbital resonance. This discovery could help us to better understand the mechanisms of planetary system formation, and how they end up in the configurations we see.

https://www.sciencealert.com/astron...anet-system-in-almost-perfect-orbital-harmony

 

[CraigD]

Astronomers set a new Record and Find the Farthest Galaxy. Its Light Took 13.4 Billion Years to Reach us


Thanks to new research by an international team of astronomers, the oldest and most distant galaxy observed in our Universe to date (GN-z11) has been identified!

https://www.universetoday.com/14950...ts-light-took-13-4-billion-years-to-reach-us/