ACEIZE Tracking the current state of Science and Technology

John Singleton and Andrea Schmidt of Los Alamos National Laboratory are presenting research on the process behind pulsar light emission. This research will be presented at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Their research explains a new theory for understanding the data collected regarding pulsar light emissions. Their theory is that the rotating magnetic field of a pulsar create a faster than light current of charged particles. According to MSNBC, the fields create a current which causes positively charged atoms to move in one direction and negatively charged atoms to move in another direction. This wave movement is, in sum total, faster than light.

It sounds a little like electricity to me.

This video shows how the NuVinci CVP (continuously variable planetary) transmission works. The example video shows a bicycle transmission, but the patent holder Fallbrook Technologies claims that the technology would also work for cars, electric vehicles, wind turbines, farm equipment, etc.

At Ames Research Center in California NASA scientists have successfully created uracil in a laboratory environment. Creating a relatively simple organic compound such as uracil is an important step to understanding the formative process of more complex organic molecules according to Stefanie Milam, an astrochemist with NASA. The implication here being that NASA has observed more molecular organic complexity on a meteorite than simple building blocks such as uracil. A quick search revealed that various amino acids have been found on meteorites as well as other nucleobases such as uracil.

The uracil was created by taking a sample of ice laced with pyrimidine. This ice was then kept in an environment around -240 ° Fahrenheit (-207° C), high radiation, and a near vacuum. This environment was selected as an approximation of space-like conditions. The ice was also exposed to ultraviolet radiation. As the ice warmed, uracil was found within the sample.

Noah Sheldon posted a bunch of great photographs that he recently took of Bio-Sphere 2. Posted on BlogSpot. The bio dome is not doing well these days.

The Bio-Sphere 2 project holds a special place in my memory. It's one of the first science memories that I can remember. The Washington Post ran a big glossy article in their Sunday insert when I was in middle school. I was hooked. There was this huge building housing plants collected from all over the world, and a few lucky punters would be locked inside just to see what happened. And if it worked... the universe would be our oyster. At least that's how everything seemed to me when I was younger.

Unfortunately, the Bio-Sphere 2 project suffered problems early. Gasses were soon out of balance and the enclosure had to be opened up. None-the-less I found the whole project inspiring, and still do.

The lunar surface has been found to be a significant source of radiation. Cosmic radiation has been radiating the lunar soil for so long, that the soil itself has become radioactive. This information is based on measurements taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which show that the amount of measured radiation does not decrease closer to the moon's surface. It is expected that measured radiation would decrease as the moon itself blocks a larger portion of the incoming cosmic rays.

This means that radiation dosages on the lunar surface will be 30-40 percent higher than previously expected.

Xcor Aerospace, based in the Mojave desert of California, has been selected to provide launch services to Yecheon Astro Space Center in South Korea. Xcor will be flying the Lynx Mark II, a production model of the Lynx Mark I which is currently being tested.

The deal is subject to US government export licensing and approval.

The Japanese Space Agency, JAXA, has reported the discovery of a large vertical shaft on the moon. The hole is nearly circular, about 213 feet (65 meters) across with a depth of 262 to 289 feet (80-88 meters). JAXA's lunar probe, SELENE captured images of the giant hole. Junichi Haruyama led the team that analyzed the images and determined the approximate size.

The hole could one day be used to shield people and equipment from radiation. The discovery is further significant because of Heinlein's novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. In the novel humans worked and lived in caves on the moon. The lunar colonists were led in rebellion against their earth bound landlords by a giant computer named Adam Selene.

The golf cart sized Spirit Rover has been on Mars since January 2004. Six years later, Spirit and it's twin, Opportunity, have far exceeded their initial 90 day mission. But the Spirit rover is in trouble. The right front wheel was disabled in 2006. And now the back right wheel is stuck in sand and stalling. The back wheel has been stuck in the sand for 8 months. The wheel stalls have been complicating efforts to free the rover. Now that the rover has only 4 operable wheels, it may be stuck at it's current location until the beginning of the Martian winter. If that happens, the rover is not likely to recover.

Call a tow truck and a garage. Or a good buddy with some tools (Opportunity?). Aren't there tools on those things?

The gears in the video are about 380 microns across. (about 3 hairs). They are sitting in a pool of common soil bacteria, Bacillus subtilis. The bacteria have a tendency to swim and move about when in the presence of oxygen and nutrients. This swimming creates a random motion. The gears are harnessing that random motion to achieve 'directed motion'. The random movement of particles in a fluid is called Brownian motion. Hence this experiment is a demonstration the translation of Brownian motion into directed motion.

The Indian Space Research Organization has reported that they found the signature of organic compounds in the lunar surface. This finding following the collision and data gathering of ISRO's Nov, 2008 Moon Impact Probe. The organic compounds detected were carbon molecules in the presence of some other element such as Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, etc. These molecules can be formed under a wide variety of conditions and do not necessarily mean that life is present, or has ever been present. The organic compounds are essential building blocks for life, however.

Generally, the harsh conditions in space will break down more complex molecules such as organics. However, the MIP crashed into a frozen crater, the Shackleton Crater. The theory is that cold temperatures have a tendency to preserve these complex organic molecules.

NASA has also reported organic compounds on the moon. These were found during the lunar landings of the 1960's as well as with the LCROSS data from earlier this year.

Super Earths are planets that range from 2-10 earth masses. Several of these planets have been in the news lately, a result of the several ongoing research projects dedicated to looking for new planets outside of our solar system.

In the attached article, Leslie Mullen talks with Harvard astronomy professor Dimitar Sasselov regarding the potential superiority of these super earths for harboring alien life. Sasselov makes the assertion that a low mass planet like Earth is probably not the ideal place for life to take root and grow.

The lower mass of Earth has several drawbacks compared to super-earths:

GE will be supplying 338 2.5-megawatt wind turbines for a wind farm project at Shepherds Flat in North Central Oregon. Installation at Shepherds Flat will begin in 2010 and be completed in 2012. Once completed it will be an 845-megawatt wind farm. The project will supply power to Southern California Edison and 235,000 households in California. GE will be paid $1.4 billion for the turbines. An additional $600 million will be spent constructing roads and power lines for the project.

The total contract (minus infrastructure and maintenance) works out to $5957.45 per household for electricity. Including the new infrastructure, the cost comes to about $8310 per household. As part of the contract, GE will provide 10 years of maintenance on the turbines. They obviously expect each turbine to last at least that long without replacement. $8310 / 10 years / 12 month = Project cost: $71 per month per household.

This contract marks the first time that GE has sold their 2.5-megawatt wind turbines in the United States. Previously, the turbines have been installed in Europe and Asia.

Virgin Galactic unveiled SpaceShipTwo yesterday at the Mojave spaceport in California. I suppose this means that they are on target for their 2010 launch date.

Tuna. Fishing quotas are being cut as wild populations decline (a 1/3 decrease is scheduled next year for Atlantic Tuna). Monaco is pushing for Atlantic Tuna to be declared an endangered species. But people love tuna. We eats lots of it. I, myself, have several tuna sandwiches each week. The Japanese? They really love it. Japan consumes 80% of the world's tuna.

Science, you have been challenged. Do you accept?

Challenge accepted. Answer: Tuna farming. There is still lots of work to be done to get the quality of farmed tuna up to snuff. Apparently farmed tuna is white and lacks the 'fishyness' of it's wild caught brethren. The fish need lots of room to swim, they eat alot, they are sensitive to their environment, and they do not breed well in captivity. Despite the challenges, Maruha Nichiro Holdings Inc., has invested in several tuna farms around Japan.

Next stop: whale farms.