Space Underwear/new state of matter
July 29, 2009
Remember Star Trek IV? That was the movie where they ended up time traveling back to the 20th Century and got stuck there, needing some transparent Aluminum to create a holding tank for a humpback whale. Some scientists have now created just that, if only for about 40 femtoseconds. They say it’s an entirely new state of matter, because they used a high-powered laser to remove one of the core electrons from each atom in a tiny area of Aluminum. This allowed X-ray and ultraviolet radiation to pass through uninhibited, effectively making the Aluminum transparent. (Via LiveScience)
Astronaut Koichi Wakata
There are many common luxuries that we take for granted on Earth, such as being able to wash our clothes. Unfortunately, in space you don’t have that luxury. Just going to the bathroom requires a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced toilet system. When astronauts wash their bodies they use special soap and shampoo that doesn’t require water. But in a microgravity environment where droplets of water can float around and destroy sensitive equipment, washing their clothes just isn’t an option. Unfortunately dirty clothes must be simply discarded. But apparently some Japanese scientists are working to fix that by inventing clothes that clean themselves… or don’t get dirty in the first place, depending on how you look at it. Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who just left the ISS on Endeavour, tested these new clothes during his 4 1/2 moth stay. It sounds utterly disgusting, but he never changed his underwear while he was there. The high-tech material actually kills odor-causing bacteria and absorbs moisture. He says that even after 4 1/2 moths of wear, they didn’t smell at all. This is yet another great example of how manned space exploration drives innovation and ultimately leads to technologies that are very applicable here on the ground. This could one day lead to clothes that literally clean themselves, eliminating the need for washing machines and dryers, which are energy and water hogs. (Via Universe Today)
In a related note, Universe Today also posted a set of great photos from Endeavour’s mission. Check it out.
That’s all I have time for today!
Shuttle Mission update/new Apple tablet/Life on Venus?
July 28, 2009
I agree with Yewknee- Day. Made.
Ok, now that you’ve been properly entertained by that photograph thanks to Yewknee’d, let’s get on with the good stuff.
Rumors have been spreading like wildfire for months that Apple will be releasing a new tablet device that could revolutionize mobile entertainment. According to this article on Financial Times, (via Kottke) it’s looking like the device will be released this fall, just in time for the Holiday shopping season. If this thing is as good as it sounds, Apple’s REALLY gonna cash in, and if it flops, their public image will be severely tarnished. But I have no doubt they will succeed with this in the same way they succeeded with the iPhone, save for that minor pricing debacle when it first came out. It seems to me that this thing will be an iPod Touch on steroids. Having just bought a new Macbook Pro, I sure as hell won’t be able to cough up the cash for one of these, but I can’t wait to go play with them at the Apple Store!
Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the ISS today after successfully installing the newest Japanese component. The shuttle is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center this Friday at 10:47am EDT, weather permitting. (Via Space.com)
There’s been a lot of speculation about the possibility of life on Mars and more recently, life on Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moon Europa. But not since the 50’s have we ever thought that life could exist on Venus. People used to think Venus might have a climate somewhat like a tropical paradise, but that notion came to a screeching halt when scientists discovered that its surface is basically a good approximation of hell. Its surface temperature is over 860 degrees Fahrenheit, the atmospheric pressure is 92 times greater than Earth’s and made of mostly CO2 and laden with sulfuric acid clouds. But recent research has shown that it’s possible that microbial life could thrive in conditions found in the upper atmosphere of Venus. We continually discover life in places on Earth once thought to be utterly inhospitable, so it’s no longer such a stretch to imagine life surviving in such extreme environments as are found in Venus’ upper atmosphere. Scientists think that Venus was once much more Earth-like, and even had oceans. But what’s commonly referred to as a “runaway greenhouse effect” took over and caused the planet to heat up enough to boil away all water on the surface and create the hellish environment we see today. It’s possible that primitive life may have emerged during the planet’s more hospitable past and had time to evolve, adapt, and escape to the planet’s outer atmosphere where it could survive. (Via Daily Galaxy)
New Mercy Lounge website/newsy stuff
July 23, 2009
Not much time today so here are newsy bits, as they’re called over at the Cream.
Pitchfork reports that Conor Oberst is probably “closing the book” on Bright Eyes after one more album. Emo girls: you’ll just have to settle for his solo project from now on. Sorry.
James Jackson Toth moved to Murfreesboro around a year or two ago around the same time his band Wooden Wand was calling it quits. I honestly wasn’t familiar with Wooden Wand until about this time, but I did receive a promo copy of his new album Hard Knox under the name “Wand.” He’s been getting some serious love in the blogosphere as of lately, and is about to embark on a tour with the likes of Destroyer and Akron/Family, among others. Today he was mentioned on both RCRD LBL and Stereogum, both of which have free mp3s.
Local web design champion and music enthusiast Michael Eades did a stupendous (and much needed) redesign of the Mercy Lounge’s website. It’s a vast improvement and the calendar is much more readable and easy to use. They also have a blog in the works that hopefully will startup any day now. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
In some local news- it was cool to learn this morning that an emeritus professor at Vanderbilt was the mathematician responsible for solving the three-body problems required to send the Apollo missions to the moon.
NASA’s new administrator/Solar Eclipse
July 22, 2009
An historic solar eclipse occurred today over parts of Asia, including India, Nepal, and China. CNN.com has a great slideshow of images from the event. I’ve been patiently awaiting the next solar eclipse that will be seen in the U.S., and there’s a lot more waiting to be done. It won’t happen till 2017. But, when it finally does hit the U.S., Nashville is in for a real treat. Check out this map (be patient, it seems that website is a bit slow) of the Aug. 21st, 2017 total eclipse. You can easily see that the main shadow, or umbra, goes right smack over Nashville. I have no idea if I’ll still be in Nashville in 2017, but you can bet I’ll be traveling back for it if I’m not still living here. A total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The May 20th, 2012 annular eclipse barely extends into northern California, but the 2017 one will be much better. For more info and a complete list of solar eclipses for the next several hundred years, check out the NASA eclipse website.
Charles Bolden was confirmed as NASA’s new administrator, along with Lori Garver as his Deputy Administrator. The two laid out some fresh policies at a videoconference with all the NASA centers. Of particular interest is their view toward feelings in the NASA workplace. Garver said “Feelings are not something that were popular in the last few years at NASA, but they’re back. Feelings are back!” I like it. If bringing feelings back to NASA equates to more passion for broadening mankind’s reach into space, then I’m all for it. Hopefully Garver can be successful in keeping Congress interested in what NASA’s up to, and keep them a top priority when it comes to funding. (Via Universe Today)
Speaking of NASA’s budget and direction, a new article on Space.com sheds some more light on details of what our first manned Mars mission would look like. The Ares V rocket under current development would do all the heavy lifting and get the cargo/equipment there, but they’d probably have to develop something a bit roomier than the Orion capsule to get the crew there, as Orion is only big enough to fit 3 people and at least 6 will be needed for a mission to Mars. Check it out here.
The Colony/Apollo stuff
July 21, 2009
Discovery has a new series called “The Colony” that looks somewhat interesting. It debuts tonight at 10pm EDT/9pm CDT. It’s a twist on the reality TV genre, set on the outskirts of L.A. Ten people are put into an environment that simulates what it might be like right after a major world disaster. I’ve never been big on reality TV, but this could be interesting. Watch a scene here.
Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy posted a bunch of good links to various interviews related to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It’s great to see this getting so much media attention. As I’ve said before, it’s quite possibly mankind’s greatest achievement thus far. It deserves the attention.
The tiny island nation of Tuvalu is hoping to set an example for the world by aiming to have 100% renewable energy by 2020. Obviously this is easy for a nation comprised of only 9 islands. A big portion of their power will come from the sun, since they kind of have an abundance of it there in the pacific ocean. But I’m just glad someone is taking such a strong stance. Hey world! Follow their example! (Via EurekAlert)
WalMart begins redeeming itself/Endeavour docks with ISS
July 17, 2009
Just about everyone hates WalMart for various reasons. At least everyone with half a brain. BUT they’re beginning to redeem theirselves in my eyes with this new initiative to instate a universal carbon footprint rating for all retail stores to use. Different environmental groups have attempted to do this for years but failed repeatedly because it’s such a an enormous undertaking. But hopefully not too enormous for WalMart. If anyone has the power to get this kind of research done, it’s WalMart. Let’s hope this is a case of the giant with superpowers using them for good, not evil. This could have a huge effect if successful, because it will put real pressure on manufacturers to “green” their processes and products. More at the New York Times. (Via EcoGeek)
Credit: NASA TV
Space Shuttle Endeavour did a fly-around of the ISS today and then successfully docked. They took many detailed photographs of the heat shields and will inspect them in the days to come. The shuttle engineers are intrigued by the 12-ish pieces of foam seen falling off the external fuel tank late in the launch footage. This is mainly because of how late it occurred. It happened at a time/height when atmospheric pressure is very low and thus there’s much less stress on the foam to cause it to fall off, so they aren’t really sure why it happened. Nonetheless, initial opinion is that the heat shield did not suffer any major damage that would threaten safety of the crew on re-entry, but that opinion can always change. (Via Space.com)
As I mentioned in the music post above, I’m splitting up the categories somewhat, so comment and let me know what you think!
Image via nasa.gov
Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, on its way to what is arguably mankind’s greatest achievement thus far- putting a man on the moon. As part of the celebration, NASA has posted mp3’s of recorded conversations inside the module. They’re certainly not the highlights of the mission, but it is interesting to hear the casual conversations between Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. They have also posted newly restored footage from the mission here. Also of interest- notice the main logo in the upper-left corner of the website. They replaced the blue sphere with an image of the moon. (Via Universe Today)
Unsurprisingly, the Boston Globe’s Big Picture blog put together a collection of 40 hi-res images from the Apollo 11 mission. Check out the eyegasm here.
Endeavour FINALLY lifted off yesterday after 6 delays. Watch the video here. This is a minor milestone in space exploration, as there are now a total of 13 humans in space at the same time, the most in history. There are 6 on the ISS and 7 on Endeavour. Some debris was clearly seen falling off the external fuel tank during yesterday’s launch, and the shuttle will perform a flip maneuver to allow the ISS astronauts to take hi-res photos of the heat tiles to look for damage. We’ll know in a couple of days if the damage was significant.
The New York Times did a nice article on the future of NASA, focusing on missions to the moon, Mars and the budget constraints that may force changes in those plans.
West Nile paranoia/Cats are taking over
July 14, 2009
Suckers.
So they found West Nile virus in some mosquitoes in East Nashville. I hate those damned insects as much as anyone, but I get the feeling that media tends to overhype WNV a bit, so I’m here to give you the facts about it. The fact is, it’s not really that big of a deal. Most average, healthy people who contract WNV will never even know they have it; they will be asymptomatic. First of all, there are millions of mosquitoes in the Nashville area, and only a small fraction of them carry WNV (this number varies from state to state and from season to season, but it’s always relatively small). So your chances of getting bitten by one that has WNV are pretty small. Secondly, ~80% of people infected are asymptomatic and will probably never know they had it. Of the ~20% who do show symptoms, only a very few will develop the severe form of the disease (West Nile encephalitis). The CDC estimates that only 1 in 150 people (in other words, less than 1%) infected will come down with the severe form of the disease (which does require hospitalization). Only 44 people died from WNV in 2008 in the U.S. Approximately 36,000 died from the flu. In other words, your chances of dying from the flu are MUCH higher than your chances of dying from WNV. One major thing to remember though, is that people over 50 are more likely to get the severe form of the disease. That being said, you should still take precautions to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. No one likes having mosquito bites all over their legs and arms. Use bug repellent and if possible, wear long pants/sleeves, especially if you’re going to be outside during the dusk hours. That’s when mosquitoes are active. Also, mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, so if you have any around your house (inside old tires, buckets, cans, etc…) simply empty them out. But for heaven’s sake if you have symptoms get your ass to the doctor. I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t be mindful of this virus, I’m just providing the facts and statistics, and trying to counter the unwarranted media frenzy that happens every year. Information taken from here, here, and here.
Though I’ve posted before (though ATTM I don’t care to dig up exactly when that was…) about the world’s fastest clapper, this entertaining video has the world fastest…. everything! (Via Kottke)
Do you have a cat? Have you ever gotten the strange feeling that your cat is somehow secretly controlling you, or that it was plotting to kill you in your sleep? The last part of that statement is a bit far-fetched, but some scientific research has discovered that in a way, cats really do control humans’ behavior. They’ve learned to make a unique combination of meowing and purring to create a sound that is universally unpleasant to humans. They use this sound when they want to be fed. More at Live Science.
Today I leave you with this video. It’s a cover of the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” Thank me later…. (Via A.V. Club)
Attention bands everywhere: the Next Big Nashville deadline for entry was extended until this coming Friday. It was originally today, but last Friday they announced the extension. So get over to American Songspace and apply if you haven’t. It’s only ten bucks!
Those Darlins just keep making bigger and bigger news stories. This time they got a mention on CNN and the New York Times! Check out CNN.com and watch the video clip. They talk about Hannah Montana first, then mention the Darlins at about 2:50 into the clip. Then check out the NYT review here. They also got written up on Brooklyn Vegan for the 368th time….
Tonight is Nashville Cream’s 70’s cover night at Mercy Lounge. It’s like an 8 off 8th in that there’s 8 bands and they play about 3 songs each, but all bands are doing covers of songs from the 70’s. It’s totally free and 21+. It’ll be a blast so come on down.
Oddee posted a blog about 10 very strange bars. My favorite is the bar made of ice. Pretty awesome.
From the science world…
The launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour was scrubbed AGAIN yesterday due to storms in the vicinity of the launch area. They’re going to retry the launch at 6:51pm EDT tonight, but the forecast is still pretty iffy. Basically any afternoon/early evening launch time during the summer months is a shot in the dark because storms pop every afternoon in Florida due to the interaction between the hot/humid air over the land and the cooler seabreeze coming in off the ocean. Basically they’ll just have to get lucky.
In other NASA news, a really cool interactive flash application is up on their website. It’s a panoramic view made of images taken during the Apollo 11 moon landing (except for the image of the Eagle lander, which is obviously CG). You can scroll around from several different viewpoints. In case you didn’t know, this year is the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing.
New Brendan Benson/Jenny Lewis video/earthquakes
July 10, 2009
Brendan Benson wasn’t nearly as well-known prior to joining up with Jack White in The Raconteurs. He had out some solo albums that were great, but his new album is looking to be far beyond “great.” If the rest of the record is as good as this first track “Don’t Want To Talk,” then it could easily make its way into my top 5, maybe even 3 albums of 09. This song is just packed full of awesome. RCRD LBL posted it for download today, and you’d better go grab it. NOW.
Jenny Lewis has a new video out for the song “See Fernando” from her latest album Acid Tongue. Stereogum posted it yesterday. It’s very visually pleasing and let’s face it… Jenny Lewis is just pretty, though she doesn’t actually have as much screen time as one would hope… I got to see her at Bonnaroo and thoroughly enjoyed her set, especially when Elvis Costello joined her for “Carpetbaggers.”
As for this weekend… we’ll probably stay in tonight and catch the new episode of Eureka on SyFy. Saturday I’ll be doing a photobooth for the Miller Made Music/Lightning 100 free show at Exit/In with the Non-Commissioned Officers, Mean Tambourines, Perrin Lamb, and Mikky Echo. It’s a free show so you have no excuse not to come. Then on Monday be sure to check out the 2nd installment of the Nashville Cream decades 8 off 8th series. This one will cover the 70’s and I heard Caitlin Rose and Tristen’s covers are gonna be especially awesome.
I’ll the science to a minimum today. All I have to say is this:
The unusually nice weather we’ve been having lately is about to come to an end. These past few weeks have been a few degrees cooler than usual, and temps even stayed shy of 90 for a string of 8 days. But the biggest story was the humidity, or absence thereof. It’s been agreeably dry lately, which makes the heat MUCH more tolerable. The reason for this was that the Bermuda High Pressure System which normally dominates the summer weather in the southeast was relatively weak and further east than normal for this time of year. The clockwise circulation around the Bermuda High channels hot and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico right into the American southeast almost all summer long. This is what causes our typical “dog days of summer” weather, and sadly it’s about to return westward and re-establish itself over Bermuda. Also, El Nino is officially here, so get ready for a wet winter.
Have a great weekend!
steve cross loves music and science 