Cool Science Story Of The Day [Continuing Thread]

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

Physics - Element 115 Confirmed

Element 115 synthesized...

I am interested in the 'island of stability' for the super heavy ones.

What's in it for the rest of us? To me this seems like cosmology and finding all of those galaxies way out on the edge. Sure we develop lots of interesting control systems and detectors to find the really heavy elements/distant galaxies but what then?

Other than the myriad technological advancements required to discover "...the heaviest element" and "...the most distant galaxy", what does this pursuit get us?

For heavy elements - we can't do much chemistry beyond the f electrons. And as a metallurgist working with the actinides - there's some cool stuff happening there. But seriously, out there after 100? You'll never get enough in one place to do anything...

(grumpy metallurgist)

[M.D. Holloway]

I remeber reading about the concept of the 'island of stability' and that it was theorized that if you can get to element 120 then it becomes very stable and that if the compound is prented with a sufficaint amount of outside energy than space warping begins due it the fact that such a large atom develops very interesting gravitational properties.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

(grumpy metallurgist)

well now, iffn you was a materials scientists (like every other metallurgist nowadays), you'd be happy that us monkeys are out there pushing the envelope


that far out, basic research eventually turns into products -- for example, you can now buy quarks to eat (at least in parts of Europe)

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by RWebb

well now, iffn you was a materials scientists (like every other metallurgist nowadays), you'd be happy that us monkeys are out there pushing the envelope


that far out, basic research eventually turns into products -- for example, you can now buy quarks to eat (at least in parts of Europe)

Just back from the Los Alamos Smiths - good selection but no quarks. I'll put a note in to the manager. They claim they can get whatever we order...

[RWebb]

Muster Mark's Bakery has them in a three-pack.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

BBC News - Dark Matter: Experiment to shed light on dark particles

BBC News - LUX results: Dark matter hunt nears final phase

Cheers
JB

[IROC]

I drive past this place twice a day...

Monday, Nov. 4, is the 70th anniversary of the morning the Graphite Reactor -- then known as the "Clinton Pile" -- achieved a nuclear chain reaction for the first time. It was the initial major milestone for the facility designated X-10 to demonstrate the production of plutonium in a nuclear reactor.

The reactor was constructed with remarkable speed -- work had started only the preceding February -- cloaked in the now legendary secrecy of the Manhattan Project. The project was led by Enrico Fermi, who directed the small staff (by Manhattan Project standards) with his mixture of English and Italian. The staff included future Lab Director Emeritus Alvin Weinberg.

Tim Gawne, who occasionally combs the records looking for institutional history related documents related to his work, recently came across some documents relating to "critical reached." According to Tim:

"The reactor suddenly at 5 a.m. came to life showing signs of a self-sustaining chain reaction. As the story goes one was dispatched to wake Fermi to come and verify that they had reached criticality.

"There are theories surrounding why it went critical early. One is that the person on duty wanted it to go critical when they were there. There may be a more simple explanation -- a miscalculation.

"Initially, it was calculated long before the pile was finished that it would take in excess of 70 tons of fuel to bring the reactor to criticality. This was actually calculated by Alvin Weinberg. However closer to the moment it was surmised that it would take 35 tons of material. It actually only took 30.5 tons. So if you assume the average of 2.5 tons per hour you come closer to a more timely arrival of criticality -- after at least a breakfast of biscuits and gravy with a side of orange juice of around 7:30-8 a.m."

[GH85Carrera]

This is cool.

IBM Watson: The inside story of how the Jeopardy-winning supercomputer was born, and what it wants to do next - Feature - TechRepublic

[Hawkeye's-911T]

BBC News - Physicists probe urination 'splashback' problem

Cheers
JB

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Not a lot new of info in the article. I know some of you folks have expressed your thoughts & knowledge re: shale gas extraction. Do you think this has a whole lot of traction vis-à-vis the environmental concerns of fracking?

General Electric: we can clean up fracking with technology - Blue and Green Tomorrow

Cheers
JB

[RWebb]

Sure - that will help with one issue from fracking.

Other problems include leaks of methane (seal it!) and traffic/impacts in inhabited areas (directional drilling or buy them off)

[kach22i]

At 400,000 Years, Oldest Human DNA Yet Found Raises New Mysteries
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/science/at-400000-years-oldest-human-dna-yet-found-raises-new-mysteries.html?hp

[RWebb]

Synthetic Gasoline One Step Closer to Becoming Commercially Viable : Science : Nature World News

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Synthetic Gasoline One Step Closer to Becoming Commercially Viable : Science : Nature World News

If they can find a good source of Hydrogen to make syngas, why not stop there and just burn the hydrogen? No polution at all.

That pesky problem of finding cheap hydrogen is the stumbling block.

[imcarthur]

RF Safe-Stop shuts down car engines with radio pulse

"A British company has demonstrated a prototype device capable of stopping cars and other vehicles using a blast of electromagnetic waves.

The RF Safe-Stop uses radio frequency pulses to "confuse" a vehicle's electronic systems, cutting its engine.

E2V is one of several companies trying to bring such a product to market.

It said it believed the primary use would be as a non-lethal weapon for the military to defend sensitive locations from vehicles refusing to stop.

There has also been police interest."

Source: BBC

Ian

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

If they can find a good source of Hydrogen to make syngas, why not stop there and just burn the hydrogen? No polution at all.

That pesky problem of finding cheap hydrogen is the stumbling block.

You get lots of hydrogen when making methanol from biomass, but it is best to just continue with the methanol process and use the hydrogen to fuel the refinement. Gaseous fuels are hard to store enough of onboard. Hydrogen is pretty much the best fuel for a combustion engine, otherwise.

[RedBaron]

Will Lasers replace LEDS?

BMW Laser Headlights Slice Through the Dark - IEEE Spectrum

[Hawkeye's-911T]

BBC News - Dinosaur asteroid 'sent life to Mars'

[M.D. Holloway]

Scorpion sting gives desert mice pain-proof superpower - NBC News.com

Talk about turning the tables!

[john70t]

Originally Posted by RedBaron

Will Lasers replace LEDS?

(FIFY)
Will the BMW manufacturers of headlight lasers/halogens pay for for following egregious (and willfully-knowing) lawsuits, which will eventuallly happen after on-coming drivers are blinded in the USA?