Daily science stuff

[Entilzha]

Now that would be quite a job.

[Entilzha]

Three Red Spots Mix It Up On Jupiter http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134854.htm. Wish I had more time to read I just checked the calendar and discovered I have worked almost two weeks strait and have to work on this weekend too so I won't hold up the painters work in an apartment I'm putting electrical cabling in. Fortunately I make my own schedule on weekends so I can sleep longer .

[Elessar]

Old article but incredible cool:

2006 - Scientists Achieve Record 3.6 Billion Degrees F in Lab

What's neat is that it says they don't know how they did it. I'm currently reading up more on the Z-machine to find out if they've figured out in the last 2 years why it happened.

Something different also started happening because they detected greater energy output than input - meaning nuclear reactions going on. I'm eager to learn what happened here.

I'm jealous as hell now knowing about this place b/c a friend of mine from college got a job at Sandia National Labs.

Holy Crap:

Z releases 80 times the world's electrical power output for a few billionths of a second

ANother Holy Crap as I read more. It now says that they've produced 6.6 billion F:

The origin of this extra energy still remains unexplained, but it has been theorized that small-scale MHD turbulence and viscous damping would convert magnetic energy into thermal energy of the ions, which then would transfer their energy to the electrons through collisions.

I'm now gonna look up MHD, lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_machine

Wow.

[Entilzha]

Nice power levels

[Entilzha]

Futuristic windshield aims to help older drivers http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/07/18/windshields.older.drivers.ap/index.html. Actually that is a very useful feature I wish it was already available.
Paint That Can Prevent Plane Crashes http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0703-paint_that_can_prevent_plane_crashes.htm.
Nature-Nurture Gene Link Sheds New Light On Autism http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717211651.htm.
Dust Storms In Sahara Desert Sustain Life In Atlantic Ocean http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718074110.htm. Seems that deserts have some use after all.

[Escriba]

I like the idea of the shields, very useful.

[Alelou]

I'm not even 50 yet but I could sure use a windshield like that. Ever since they repaved I-90 here, I can't see the lines at night if the pavement is wet. Not much fun when you're commuting in four lanes of traffic -- and I know I'm not the only one having the problem because other drivers are all the place.

[Entilzha]

Micro Air Vehicle http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722085558.htm.This brings a new meaning to a fly on the wall.
Potentially Serious Security Flaws Found In Most Bank Websites http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722175802.htm. Well considering that most western world is behind in the internet banking business I'm not surprised. I've been using internet banking for about 8 year without problems. In my country the banks decided on a around 300$ limit when using personal passwords and code cards and are soon removing their use altogether if you want no limits you have to use digital signature that you get when getting an ID card(you but the card in a smart card reader and enter your digital signature and that's the only way to gain entry).
Spinal Cord Stem Cells Could Be Basis Of Nonsurgical Treatment For Spinal-cord Injuries http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721223346.htm

[CX]

N.M. cavers chart unique `snowy' river of crystals

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 24, 7:16 AM ET

FORT STANTON CAVE, N.M. - Hundreds of feet beneath Earth's surface, a few seasoned cave explorers venture where no human has set foot. Their headlamps illuminate mud-covered walls, gypsum crystals and mineral deposits.

The real attraction, though, is under their shoes.

A massive formation that resembles a white river spans the cave's floor. A closer examination reveals that the odd formation is an intricate crust of tiny calcite crystals.

The explorers have reached Snowy River — thought to be the longest continuous cave formation in the world.

"I think Snowy River is one of the primo places underground in the world and there's still so much left that we haven't discovered. ... We don't even know how big it is," said Jim Goodbar, a cave specialist with the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The survey expedition by members of the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project in early July added several thousand feet to the measurement of the spectacular formation, which is at least four miles long. The explorers who have been following the passage under the rolling hills of southeastern New Mexico say there's still more of Snowy River to be discovered.

The few who have walked on the formation say they've seen nothing else like it. Early studies point to its uniqueness: Already, some three dozen species of microbes previously unknown to science have been uncovered.

New Mexico's two U.S. senators are pushing for Congress to designate Fort Stanton Cave and Snowy River as a national conservation area. The designation would protect the area from such activities as mining that threaten the water flows that created the cave. It also might generate funding for scientific research.

"It's certainly a national treasure and very well worth protecting in its own right, even without Snowy River. With Snowy River, it puts it in the class of world-class caves," said John McLean, a retired hydrologist and member of the cave study group.

"It's a beautiful anomaly," added Penny Boston, a New Mexico Tech professor and associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute.

Boston says extreme environments such as Snowy River provide scientists an opportunity to explore life on the fringes.

"The idea is that we're practicing to go to Mars, we're practicing to go to Europa (a moon of Jupiter) and all of these other places," she said. "It's very difficult to even prove some of the things we've studied here on this planet are alive. Imagine how much harder that is when you translate that to a robotic mission millions of miles from Earth."

Boston has collected microorganisms that she believes are responsible for the manganese crust that covers much of the walls in the Snowy River passage. Once thought to be ancient and inactive, the microbes are busy in her lab, breaking down materials and producing mineral compounds.

Boston and other scientists plan to take core samples of Snowy River to look for microbes that have been entombed in the calcite layer and for fossil evidence of past microscopic life.

Some scientists are looking to the cave to learn more about the region's geology and how water makes its way through the arid environment.

Last summer, explorers were surprised to arrive at Snowy River and find it flowing with water. It had been dry when first discovered in 2001 and during trips in 2003 and 2005.

It took several months for Snowy River to dry out, leaving scientists with another set of questions about where the water came from and where it went. Some scientists believe innumerable floods formed Snowy River, dropping a thin layer of calcite each time.

Areas of Fort Stanton Cave are open to those who get permits from the BLM, but Snowy River — deep in the cave behind locked metal gates — is off-limits. It's unlikely Snowy River ever will be open to anything but research because of the fragility of the tiny calcite crystals and microbes on the cave walls.

___

On the Net:

Bureau of Land Management: http://www.blm.gov

Fort Stanton Recreation Area: http://tinyurl.com/5onjnc

National Cave and Karst Research Institute: http://www.nature.nps.gov/nckri/

[Entilzha]

Scientists Solve 30-year-old Aurora Borealis Mystery http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150341.htm.
Quiet Explosion http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150339.htm.
Smaller Than Small http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150342.htm. I wonder how small can they go?
Costs Of Climate Change http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723134445.htm.
Largest Sample Of Very Distant Galaxies Ever Seen http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724113045.htm.
Toxic Chemicals Found In Common Scented Laundry Products, Air Fresheners http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723134438.htm.
Exoplanet Orbiting Sun-like Star Discovered http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725093456.htm.
New Material May Help Autos Turn Heat Into Electricity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150340.htm.
Artificial pancreas just years away, experts agree http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/n26405959-diabetes-pancreas/.
Some reading for you

[Entilzha]

Branson, Rutan to unveil mothership http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/27/space.tourism.ap/index.html. The date of commercial spaceflight is getting closer.

[Entilzha]

Cow Power http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724064840.htm
Watching A 'New Star' Make The Universe Dusty http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724150345.htm
Researchers Discover New States Of Electrons That Behave Like Light http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725152314.htm
Young Galaxies Have Surprisingly Strong Magnetic Fields: Contradicts Popular Theories http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724221049.htm
First Indication For Embalming In Roman Greece http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080730155631.htm
New Technique Reveals Van Gogh Portrait Of A Women Behind Another Painting [url]New Technique Reveals Van Gogh Portrait Of A Women Behind Another Painting[/url]
Vaccine To Protect Against Black Plague Bioterror Attack Being Developed http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080730140829.htm
New Class Of Glassy Material Discovered http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728193229.htm
Diamonds May Have Been Life's Best Friend On Primordial Earth http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728220324.htm
Saturn's Moon Titan Has Liquid Surface Lake http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080730140726.htm
Did Dinosaur Soft Tissues Still Survive? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729234140.htm. Maybe Jurassic Park is possible after all .

[Asso]

Did Dinosaur Soft Tissues Still Survive? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729234140.htm. Maybe Jurassic Park is possible after all .

Ehy!

[Reanok]

Solar Eclipse pictures taken from Hyde park in London yesterday http://www.astronomynow.com/eclipse2008.shtml

[Asso]

Great!
Oh yes! Eclipse is always an astounding spectacle.