News and Information
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| Chart of Electromagnetic Radiations from 1944, available in super hi-resolution thanks to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. |
Chart of Electromagnetic Radiations
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently released a high resolution image of a Chart of Electromagnetic Radiations from 1944. The chart depicts all the wavelengths of electromagnetic waves (light), their uses, and different electromagnetic properties and phenomenon, all in a gorgeous post World War II-style format. The best part about it is that the full size image is massive (10000 x 6958), so it will make a really cool desktop wallpaper on any resolution screen.
First Ever Mind Meld
This one is actually from the end of August, but didn't make it into the Honorable Mentions for August. Researchers at the University of Washington have created the first human brain to human brain connection, using electrodes to capture the thoughts of one individual and transfer them to another. In the experiment, one researcher wore a cap of electrodes, while the other, on the other side of campus, wearing noise-cancelling earbuds, was seated with a transcranial magnetic stimulation coil placed directly over his left motor cortex. When the first researcher thought about moving his hand (without actually moving it), the second researcher's hand moves. The movement is subtle and the technique in very coarse, but it is an amazing step towards interfacing the human brain with our technology other than the current terrible interface that uses our ridiculously slow limbs and eyes.
Nuclear Reactors in China Cost a Quarter of What They do in Europe
In support of a post I wrote a couple weeks ago, data came out that two European Pressurized Reactors being built in China will cost approximately $7.3 billion for both, while the cost estimates for the exact same reactors built in France and Finland have now surpassed $10.5 billion each. This means the exact same reactor, with the same safety features, same components, same layout, same personnel requirements, and same output, will cost one third as much to build in China than it does in Europe (and I could guess the United States if they ever build an EPR over here). This is why twenty-eight of the sixty-nine nuclear reactors currently under construction are being built in China.
Spray-on liquid glass, a nano-material made of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), is a new product currently undergoing trials in Turkey. As the old BASF commercials used to say, "We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better." This could not be more true of this stuff. Here is a list of some of the properties of liquid glass, which can be sprayed onto just about anything, and because of its very thin structure (100 nanometers), bonds to anything due to quantum forces:
- transparent
- non-toxic
- environmentally harmless
- flexible
- breathable
- water resistant
- UV resistant
- easily cleanable
- antimicrobial
Because of its very smooth surface, it is very difficult for bacteria to grow on its surface, meaning this is a great product for medical tools, food processing plants, public places, or even your smartphone. In tests at food processing plants in Germany, equipment coated with liquid glass needed only hot water to make them sterile, versus bleach for the non-coated equipment. In addition, the level of sterility was higher with the liquid glass-coated equipment, and maintained the sterility for months. In short, this stuff is going to be everywhere very soon. Other than the cost aspect which I have no idea about, there is literally no negative to coating a product with liquid glass. It will help products fight the spread of disease and protect them from water and sun damage, all while allowing the product to breathe and flex. Expect to see this everywhere very soon, though this may be one of those products that changes your life without you even being aware of it.
Astronomers Discover Densest Galaxy Ever
Fifty-four million light-years away, lies a galaxy, known as an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy, that is 15,000 times more dense than the Milky Way. To try and put that in perspective, the closest star to us, Alpha Centauri, is four light-years away, putting a one-way trip with current rocket technology in the tens to hundreds of thousands of years. In this galaxy, known affectionately as M60-UCD1, that same distance would be filled with around 10,000 stars. Half of the entire mass of the galaxy is located within eighty light-years of the center, which is occupied by what appears to be a super-massive black hole, some ten million times larger than the sun.
Scientists Use Crowdsourcing to Classify Over 300,000 Galaxies
As an addition to a post I wrote a little while ago about crowdsourcing science, astronomers have announced the success of another scientific crowdsourcing project, dubbed Galaxy Zoo and Galaxy Zoo 2. These projects looked to volunteers to classify galaxies, which has become far too difficult for scientists to keep up with due to all the new, large telescopes out there. In all, volunteers were able to correctly identify the galaxies presented due to an average of forty-four classifications per galaxy. If you want to get involved yourself, head over to Galaxy Zoo and get to work.
Chemical Composition of the Human Body
If you are a Breaking Bad fan, you may remember that one scene with Walt and Gretchen talking in some classroom in their college days talking about the composition of the human body. So what the heck are we made of anyway? As it turns out, mostly Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, and a handful of other chemicals. It is very interesting to break down an entire human being, full of thoughts, actions, accomplishments, relationships, and memories, into a pie chart of elements. It is truly amazing how the arrangement of chemicals can affect the resultant product so profoundly.
This is a really awesome discovery for Curiosity and for NASA. After decades of wondering if there is water on Mars, we can now definitively say "Yes." The water discovered is not free in a lake or ocean, but is bound up in the Martian soil, meaning it is not as easily recoverable as some would hope. Nonetheless, NASA estimates that around two percent of the weight of the Martian soil is water, meaning a cubic foot of soil heated up would produce around two pints of water. Not as much as on Earth for sure, but enough that future astronauts could use the Martian soil to produce potable water.
How to Destroy a Magnet
Ever wondered about how magnets are created and destroyed? This short video via One Minute Physics shows how you can turn a magnet non-magnetic by applying heat to it. It is one of those little interesting factoids, and makes for an interesting video.
Images and Graphics
Below is a few awesome images and graphics I came across in my normal perusing of the internet.
50 Years of Space Exploration
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| An interesting infographic depicting the solar system and all the missions sent to each body. |
Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Launch
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| On September 6th, 2013, the LADEE mission launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, providing this amazing 35 second exposure photograph, copyright Jeff Berkes. |
Apollo Mission Panoramas
The Lunar and Planetary Institute has a collection of really hi-res photos of the moon from the various Apollo missions. These images are pieced together from series of pictures of the surface and form some really gorgeous panoramics.
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| For those with a dual screen computer setup, these panoramics make some great desktop wallpapers. This is my current wallpaper at work. |
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