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]

The humanity!

"Oh, the humanity..."

Hindenburg Crash: The End of Airship Travel

On May 6, 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg exploded, filling the sky above Lakehurst, New Jersey, with smoke and fire. The massive airship's tail fell to the ground while its nose, hundreds of feet long, rose into the air like a breaching whale. It turned to ashes in less than a minute. Some passengers and crewmembers jumped dozens of feet to safety while others burned. Of 97 people aboard, 62 survived.

At the time, the Hindenburg was supposed to be ushering in a new age of airship travel. But the crash instead brought the age to an abrupt end, making way for the age of passenger airplanes.

The crash was the first massive technological disaster caught on film, and the scene became embedded in the public's consciousness. A horrified radio reporter's exclamation — "Oh, the humanity!" — has since become somewhat of a catchphrase. Speculation about the cause of the crash has been the subject of numerous books and movies.

https://www.livescience.com/58959-hindenburg-crash.html

-------------------------------
LZ-129 Hindenburg

LZ-129 Hindenburg was the first airliner to provide regularly-scheduled service between Europe and North America.

While the airship is better remembered for the fiery Hindenburg disaster of 1937 than for its many technological achievements, it was the fastest and most comfortable way to cross the Atlantic in its day.

https://www.airships.net/hindenburg/

A great source of information on the LZ-129.

-------------------------------

More information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg

 

[Samer]

"Oh, the humanity..."

Hindenburg Crash: The End of Airship Travel

On May 6, 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg exploded, filling the sky above Lakehurst, New Jersey, with smoke and fire. The massive airship's tail fell to the ground while its nose, hundreds of feet long, rose into the air like a breaching whale. It turned to ashes in less than a minute. Some passengers and crewmembers jumped dozens of feet to safety while others burned. Of 97 people aboard, 62 survived.

At the time, the Hindenburg was supposed to be ushering in a new age of airship travel. But the crash instead brought the age to an abrupt end, making way for the age of passenger airplanes.

The crash was the first massive technological disaster caught on film, and the scene became embedded in the public's consciousness. A horrified radio reporter's exclamation — "Oh, the humanity!" — has since become somewhat of a catchphrase. Speculation about the cause of the crash has been the subject of numerous books and movies.

https://www.livescience.com/58959-hindenburg-crash.html

-------------------------------
LZ-129 Hindenburg

LZ-129 Hindenburg was the first airliner to provide regularly-scheduled service between Europe and North America.

While the airship is better remembered for the fiery Hindenburg disaster of 1937 than for its many technological achievements, it was the fastest and most comfortable way to cross the Atlantic in its day.

https://www.airships.net/hindenburg/

A great source of information on the LZ-129.

-------------------------------

More information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg

But they dont use Hydrogen anymore?
Helium is where it’s at.
Humanity evolves.

 

[Samer]

But they dont use Hydrogen anymore?
Helium is where it’s at.
Humanity evolves.

Thanks for the “agree” @CraigD

Reading it, i feel could been portrayed as a dig to point.

You may be right; How the hell should i know?
I’m just saying, regards to topic... Helium reacts less...

But is Hydrogen the answer? Read some People swear by it. You started it with the metaophor.
Apparently, when i tell people Hydrogen combusts;
they say; “Well, so does Gasoline.”

 

[CraigD]

Thanks for the “agree” @CraigD

Reading it, i feel could been portrayed as a dig to point.

You may be right; How the hell should i know?
I’m just saying, regards to topic... Helium reacts less...

I'd actually be very happy to see the return of giant helium airships.

I know that AG Zeppelin were developing them about 20-years ago for passenger cruises and Boeing/NASA were looking into using them for transportation.

I have not heard much recently, but I'll look into it

 

[Samer]

I'd actually be very happy to see the return of giant helium airships.

I know that AG Zeppelin were developing them about 20-years ago for passenger cruises and Boeing/NASA were looking into using them for transportation.

I have not heard much recently, but I'll look into it

i meant fuel... Replace gasoline. Sustainable. Cheap.

A poorman’s Tesla

Here in U.S. it couldnt be tamed... Despite a lot & cheap.
I believe all the car companies killed Hydrogen cars,
BEFORE Tesla took off — Maybe bias of that blimp may have contributed... Idc really, i’m more Tesla fan

I dont care if Teslas dont have that “new car smell”
Bring on technology (Sorry, Hydrogen lost to Lithium Ion

 

[CraigD]

How airships could return to our crowded skies

Airships lost out to conventional aircraft after a series of disastrous crashes. But now safer technology could be the key to their return.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191107-how-airships-could-return-to-our-crowded-skies

---------------------------------

NASA Seeks Comments on Possible Airship Challenge

Nov 25, 2014

NASA is considering issuing a challenge for developing stratospheric airships that can break records for duration of flight at high altitudes.

Airships aren't just powered balloon-like vehicles that hover above sporting events. Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are floating the idea that airships have potential for important scientific and commercial uses.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-seeks-comments-on-possible-airship-challenge/

------------------------

@Samer

 

[koolishman]

Amazing 4K space videos from NASA.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/ultra-high-definition-video-gallery

 

[CraigD]

Amazing 4K space videos from NASA.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/ultra-high-definition-video-gallery

What an amazing view!

I really feel for Jim Lovell. He spent years of his life training to land on the Moon but missed his chance because of the Apollo 13 accident.

Lovell had previously flown on Gemini 7 in 1965 and Gemini 12 in 1966.

In 1968 he piloted Apollo 8 on the first orbit of the Moon, and then commanded the 1970 Apollo 13 Lunar landing mission which infamously aborted en route, circled around the Moon and returned safely to Earth.

So close yet so far.

Still, he got to see the Moon close-up, twice!

Lovell reads a newspaper account of his safe return!

 

[koolishman]

As the planet warms faster, scientists study controversial ways to lower temperatures

A team at Harvard University this summer plans to conduct the first of a series of highly controversial tests of what’s known as solar geoengineering, a way to reduce global warming by spreading particles in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space.

If an advisory board authorizes them to proceed, the scientists plan to travel in June to a remote part of northern Sweden, where they’ll launch a giant balloon into the stratosphere to test whether they can adequately maneuver an instrument-filled gondola suspended below. If all goes well, the team later this year plans for the first time to inject a small amount of calcium carbonate — a common substance found in rocks — into the atmosphere to better understand how the chemical compound might be used to moderate temperatures on the ground.

Long considered too risky, solar geoengineering is now being more seriously considered as the threat of climate change grows more dire. But critics say such a test, which would spread a few pounds of the particles about 12 miles above ground, would set a dangerous precedent and open a door to more radical experiments that could ultimately cause grave harm to the planet.

 

[Cannuck]

As the planet warms faster, scientists study controversial ways to lower temperatures

Long considered too risky, solar geoengineering is now being more seriously considered as the threat of climate change grows more dire. But critics say such a test, which would spread a few pounds of the particles about 12 miles above ground, would set a dangerous precedent and open a door to more radical experiments that could ultimately cause grave harm to the planet.

It's been said, 'be careful what you wish for'. Global Warming may lead to Global Cooling (Ice Age) if too aggressive counter-measures are taken (or non at all).

 

[koolishman]

Humans could move to this floating asteroid belt colony in the next 15 years, astrophysicist says


Now more than ever, space agencies and starry-eyed billionaires have their minds fixed on finding a new home for humanity beyond Earth's orbit. Mars is an obvious candidate, given its relatively close proximity, 24-hour day/night cycle and CO2-rich atmosphere. However, there's a school of spacefaring thought that suggests colonizing the surface of another planet — any planet — is more trouble than it's worth.

Now, a new paper published Jan. 6 date to the preprint database arXiv offers a creative counter-proposal: Ditch the Red Planet, and build a gargantuan floating habitat around the dwarf planet Ceres, instead.

In the paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, astrophysicist Pekka Janhunen of the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki describes his vision of a "megasatellite" of thousands of cylindrical spacecrafts, all linked together inside a disk-shaped frame that permanently orbits Ceres — the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Each of these cylindrical habitats could accommodate upwards of 50,000 people, support an artificial atmosphere and generate an Earth-like gravity through the centrifugal force of its own rotation, Janhunen wrote. (This general idea, first proposed in the 1970s, is known as an O'Neill cylinder).

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.07487.pdf

 

[koolishman]

Using 100-million-year-old fossils and gravitational-wave science to predict Earth's future climate

A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used findings from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change.

The research, published in the journal Climate of the Past, is a unique collaboration between palaeontologists, astrophysicists and mathematicians seeking to improve the accuracy of a palaeo-thermometer, which can use fossil evidence of climate change to predict what is likely to happen to the Earth in coming decades.

Professor Ilya Mandel, from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), and colleagues, studied biomarkers left behind by tiny single-cell organisms called archaea in the distant past, including the Cretaceous period and the Eocene.

Marine archaea in our modern oceans produce compounds called Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (GDGTs). The ratios of different types of GDGTs they produce depend on the local sea temperature at the site of formation.

When preserved in ancient marine sediments, the measured abundances of GDGTs have the potential to provide a geological record of long-term planetary surface temperatures.

 

[koolishman]

The magnetic fields swirling within the Whirlpool galaxy

Messier objects are some of the most imaged objects in the universe. In part that's because many of them are so visibly appealing. A good example of that is the Whirlpool galaxy, M51, which recently received an even more dramatic visual representation with a new photo released by NASA. In it, the magnetic fields that are holding the galaxy together and tearing it apart at the same time are clearly visible. And it is even more stunning to look at.

The photos were a composite from NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) mission, and were presented to the American Astronomical Society at its 237th meeting last week. Astronomers have long known about the magnetic fields in some parts of the galaxy, but SOFIA's High-Resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC+) filled in the chaotic scene around the galaxy's outer reaches.

 

[koolishman]

Scientists Are Figuring Out Why Some People Can 'Hear' The Voices of The Dead

Scientists have identified the traits that may make a person more likely to claim they hear the voices of the dead.

According to new research, a predisposition to high levels of absorption in tasks, unusual auditory experiences in childhood, and a high susceptibility to auditory hallucinations all occur more strongly in self-described clairaudient mediums than the general population.

The Spiritualists on the whole had their first auditory experience young, at an average age of 21.7 years, and reported a high level of absorption. That's a term that describes total immersion in mental tasks and activities or altered states, and how effective the individual is at tuning out the world around them.

In addition, they reported that they were more prone to hallucination-like experiences. The researchers noted that they hadn't usually heard of Spiritualism prior to their experiences; rather, they had come across it while looking for answers.

 

[koolishman]

Take the best naps, with science

Where to take a nap

We’ll come right out and say it: Nothing beats your bed.

Your brain picks up on where you generally spend time sleeping, and it will eventually start to link your presence in those locations to drowsiness. That means if you nap on the sofa, you might associate it with rest and doze off when you don’t actually want to do so, says Deirdre Conroy, who leads the behavioral sleep medicine clinic at the University of Michigan. Napping in bed might even might even improve your regular sleep, as it helps reinforce the fact that it’s a place for shut-eye.

How to make your nap comfortable

Comfort is somewhat subjective, but there are still some guidelines you should follow: Keep the room dark, cool, and free of unfamiliar background noise.

Shutting out light, whether it’s with curtains or an eye mask, helps because light interferes with the natural production of melatonin—a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Lowering the temperature lulls us into sleep because our bodies naturally slow down when we cool off, which is the same reason people often fall asleep before they freeze to death, Pelayo says.

 

[koolishman]

Saudi Arabia announces a 170km urban belt connecting cities with no cars and streets

Saudi Arabia has announced plans of a 170km linear belt connecting AI-enabled smart cities to be developed in the country’s cross border city of Neom. Titled THE LINE, the project is to be built around nature with no cars and roads in its scheme and is expected to be one of the most challenging infrastructure projects in the world.

Designed as ‘a revolution in urban living’ and ‘a blueprint for how people and planet can coexist in harmony’, THE LINE will be a city of million residents with no cars, streets and carbon emissions. The project was recently unveiled by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman.

 

[koolishman]

Feeling fit? A little more sweat could still help your heart

Terence Dwyer at the University of Oxford, UK, and his colleagues studied 90,211 people who agreed to wear a lightweight motion sensor that collected data on their physical activity for 7 days. The participants were followed up for a median of 5 years, during which time 3,617 were diagnosed with heart disease.

Across all genders, there was a direct, inverse relationship between amount of physical activity and heart-disease risk. The authors found no upper limit on the benefits accrued from increasing exercise.

The most dedicated exercisers fared better than all participants who did less physical activity, even those who engaged in relatively large amounts themselves.

 

[koolishman]

A Surprise in a 50 Million-Year-Old Assassin Bug Fossil: Its Genitals

Scientists were surprised to find the insect’s preserved penis, which suggests it was an unknown species.

The exclusive club of fossilized phalluses has a new member.

The latest addition is the sexual organ of a 50-million-year-old assassin bug. Some well-placed sediments and the protective powers of a prehistoric jock strap preserved his penis, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Papers in Paleontology.

The exquisite preservation of the fossil, which represents an undescribed species, is “extraordinary,” said Daniel Swanson, an entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the paper’s lead author. Running about the length of an aspirin tablet from head to bum, the bug would have been full of soft innards and “easy to squish,” he said. And yet, it persevered, delicate genital tissues and all.

 

[koolishman]

Hypersonic Superweapons Are a Mirage, New Analysis Says

President Trump has bragged about his “super-dupers,” even referring to the planned weapon as “hydrosonic,” a brand of electric toothbrush. Last year, his budget asked the Pentagon to spend $3.2 billion on hypersonic arms research, up $600 million from the previous year’s request. And as President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes command of the nation’s military, he will have to consider whether to sustain the defense work undertaken in the Trump years.

Now, independent experts have studied the technical performance of the planned weapon and concluded that its advertised features are more illusory than real. Their analysis is to be published this week in Science & Global Security.

In an interview, David Wright, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an author of the new analysis, called the superweapon a mirage.


“There’re lots of claims and not many numbers,” he said. “If you put in the numbers, you find that the claims are nonsense.”

 

[CraigD]

China satellite photos reveal their latest sophisticated aircraft carrier

Beijing’s “accelerated” aircraft-carrier building program is bearing fruit – with new satellite photos revealing its first fully combat-capable vessel racing towards completion.

“2021 is a year full of expectations, including the Type 003 aircraft carrier and also the H-20 bomber. It is time for our technological development to bear fruit,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled Global Times declares.

“Judging from the current construction status, China’s Type 003 aircraft carrier could be only a few months away from its launch before the end of 2021, and it could enter naval service around 2025”.

Commercial satellite and open-source acquired photographs appear to bear this out.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...r/news-story/fae2ca338341bb71bf12d2ebebf8d254