How about this? I'm totally posting breaking news...
A few hours ago, the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) began circulating protons in both directions through the magnetically controlled 17-mile ring, according to an article in the Times. Some may remember that the machine failed last year during power testing due to a faulty electrical connection. As of Friday, however, the collider was once again powered on and began circulating protons through its big, circular tube. This morning, another milestone was reached as the collider began circulating a second beam of protons. In fact, as I am writing this, low-energy proton collisions are taking place underneath the ground along the border of France and Switzerland, where the LHC is located, in the largest 'atom smasher' ever constructed. How freakin' cool is that?
As safety tests are conducted while the proton beams are ciculating, engineers will be ensuring that the system is ready for sustained high-power function. Once safety tests are complete, the power will be increased incrementally along with the number of circulating protons, and although safety tests will continue, true physics experiments will begin as high-energy collisions begin taking place. When the energy is increased to 1.2 tetraelectronvolts, which is expected to be fairly soon if things go well, the proton collisions will be at a speed and energy never before observed in a collider before. The massive magnets that control the motion of the beams essentially aim the beams at one another so that circulating protons smash into protons circulating in the opposite direction in locations where detectors are able to monitor the conditions that occur. The results of these studies, theoretically, will shed light on the makeup of the universe and how the universe was formed. It is also believed that never-bofore-seen elementary particles, such as the elusive Higgs boson, will be observed.
Most of the information gathered from these experiments is supposed to be pretty in-depth as far as quantum physics is concerned, so the standard layperson walking down the street will be unaffected by any of the things going on at the LHC. However, for those of us interested in physics and, you know, the universe, there's about to be some pretty wild stuff going down. It may take a lot of time for the data gathered during the experiments to be analyzed thoroughly enough for true conclusions to be drawn, but in the meantime, we can sleep easy at night knowing that in a strange land (the Franco-Swiss border), pale little men in lab coats (physicists and engineers) are tirelessly toiling at unlocking the secrets of the cosmos.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Is It Friday Yet?
We all know that there are many reasons to love Fridays. Among my personal favorite reasons are the following: I normally analyze all of the data gathered throughout the week on Friday for my end-of-the-week research updates, which is an extremely satisfying activity; 9 times out of 10, I treat myself to lunch out on the town, and if the weather is nice, that involves a pleasant bicycle ride through downtown; my two favorite, non-science themed blogs, Bike Snob NYC and CoMo Cyco, post a hilarious quiz and a selection of witty replies to fake reader mail, respectively; the weekend is approaching and that equals fun times without the burden of work and/or school.
But there's another reason to spend all week anticipating the arrival of Friday, and that is the broadcast of National Public Radio's Science Friday. Science Friday is a once weekly segment of their popular Talk of the Nation program that focuses on science-related topics. Following the standard Talk of the Nation format, SciFri (as those of us in-the-know refer to it) hosts guests whose expertise relates to the particular topics of the week. After a period of discussion or debate, the guest or guests will sometimes field questions from callers, Facebookers, emailers, Twitterers, etc. The show is split into two hour-long segments, normally examining 2-3 topics per segment.
While Talk of the Nation is hosted by Neal Conan, Science Friday is hosted by Ira Flatow, who specializes in science journalism. Now don't get me wrong, Ira is a great host and facilitates intriquing and thought-provoking discussions, but if I could have any job, any job at all, it would be his. Not because I think I would be better at it, because I wouldn't. But because I think he might have the coolest job in the world. After all, each week he interviews some of the greatest minds in the world. And that, indeed, is a pretty great gig.
My intention this week was to discuss what is obviously the biggest news in science right now, and that is the discovery of water on the Moon. If you haven't heard about this, which is indicative of one who has been stranded on a desert island with no human contact for the past week, NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) successfully completed its mission. LCROSS and its upper stage, Centaur, were sent on a suicide mission to the Moon, in which the upper stage separated from the satellite and went hurtling into the Moon's surface, creating a large debris plume. The satellite then travelled through the debris plume with analytical equipment that observed and analyzed the debris plume, then also impacted the surface. Both debris plumes were carefully observed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as observatories here on Earth. The data is currently being analyzed, but the investigators have already announced that a small amount of the debris plume consisted of water.
Although this was going to be my sole topic this week, I listened to SciFri's report of the mission over the weekend, with special guest Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator of the LCORR project at NASA's Ames facility. What I found was that this interview was far more informative than anything I could have churned out here on this blog, and so rather than going into all of the details (of which there aren't many at this point, since the real leg-work of this mission is ongoing), I thought it would be best to let you listen to the podcast for yourself, which can be found here.
If you enjoy this interview, I recommend that you become a regular listener. There are brief descriptions of each of the week's topics, allowing you to select which you would like to hear if you don't want to listen to the entire show. In addition, the topics really do span the scientific spectrum, from psychology to space travel to renewable energy, so it's rare to find a show that doesn't include something that strikes one's fancy.
But there's another reason to spend all week anticipating the arrival of Friday, and that is the broadcast of National Public Radio's Science Friday. Science Friday is a once weekly segment of their popular Talk of the Nation program that focuses on science-related topics. Following the standard Talk of the Nation format, SciFri (as those of us in-the-know refer to it) hosts guests whose expertise relates to the particular topics of the week. After a period of discussion or debate, the guest or guests will sometimes field questions from callers, Facebookers, emailers, Twitterers, etc. The show is split into two hour-long segments, normally examining 2-3 topics per segment.
While Talk of the Nation is hosted by Neal Conan, Science Friday is hosted by Ira Flatow, who specializes in science journalism. Now don't get me wrong, Ira is a great host and facilitates intriquing and thought-provoking discussions, but if I could have any job, any job at all, it would be his. Not because I think I would be better at it, because I wouldn't. But because I think he might have the coolest job in the world. After all, each week he interviews some of the greatest minds in the world. And that, indeed, is a pretty great gig.
My intention this week was to discuss what is obviously the biggest news in science right now, and that is the discovery of water on the Moon. If you haven't heard about this, which is indicative of one who has been stranded on a desert island with no human contact for the past week, NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) successfully completed its mission. LCROSS and its upper stage, Centaur, were sent on a suicide mission to the Moon, in which the upper stage separated from the satellite and went hurtling into the Moon's surface, creating a large debris plume. The satellite then travelled through the debris plume with analytical equipment that observed and analyzed the debris plume, then also impacted the surface. Both debris plumes were carefully observed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as observatories here on Earth. The data is currently being analyzed, but the investigators have already announced that a small amount of the debris plume consisted of water.
Although this was going to be my sole topic this week, I listened to SciFri's report of the mission over the weekend, with special guest Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator of the LCORR project at NASA's Ames facility. What I found was that this interview was far more informative than anything I could have churned out here on this blog, and so rather than going into all of the details (of which there aren't many at this point, since the real leg-work of this mission is ongoing), I thought it would be best to let you listen to the podcast for yourself, which can be found here.
If you enjoy this interview, I recommend that you become a regular listener. There are brief descriptions of each of the week's topics, allowing you to select which you would like to hear if you don't want to listen to the entire show. In addition, the topics really do span the scientific spectrum, from psychology to space travel to renewable energy, so it's rare to find a show that doesn't include something that strikes one's fancy.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Watching the Sky Fall
It's that time of year again, folks. The Leonid meteor shower is set to peak on the (early) morning of November 17. According to a Space.com article on the shower, the most intense viewing will be in Asia. However, it is predicted that we here in the U.S. may get a decent show as well. For those of us here in the Midwest, it may not be as spectacular as what may be seen on the East coast. But I'm optimistic that crawling out of bed on a chilly Autumn night at 4 or 5 in the morning will not be totally fruitless. Although there have been a few years that the Leonids have disappointed, more often than not, they create pretty amazing displays.
The Leonids are pretty cool creatures. The particles that create the shower are dust debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which are ejected as the comet is warmed by the Sun, creating a debris trail. Each year, the Earth passes through the trail and, depending on the density of the dust particles, they come zipping into our atmosphere. As they enter the atmosphere at a fairly high rate of speed, 45 miles per second, they ionize molecules in the atmosphere. The ionized molecules then relax to a resting state, but give off photons when they do so. This is what creates the bright, streaking meteoroid trail as they move across the sky. Also, because the dust particles are all moving in more-or-less the same direction in space and therefore enter the atmosphere in the same direction, they look as though they originate from a particular point in the sky. This point is called the radiant point. In the case of the Leonids, that point is near or directly over the constellation Leo, hence the name of the shower.
In the past, the Leonids have created what are referred to as meteor storms, which are unusually spectacular displays. It is thought that the exuberant display that was observed in 1833 produced in upwards of 100,000 meteoroids per hour. Unfortunately, we will likely see a number more along the lines of 25-30 per hour. But it's always possible that we could see many more than that, particularly on November 17. This is due to the fact that we know very little about the stream of debris that the Earth will be moving through.
If you'd like to view the Leonid shower, the most important step is to find a good location. You'll want to be as far as possible from city lights. If you think you'll be able to leave the city lights behind, but not travel far, you should consider traveling East since Leo, the shower's radiant point, will be in the Eastern sky. This should do well to put the interfering lights behind you, and give you a nice dark theater for watching the Leonids. Once you've got a good location, settle in, stay warm, and enjoy the show.
Not sure where Leo is, but want to know exactly where the radiant point will be? No problem. You can go to the AstroViewer Interactive Night Sky Map, punch in your location (anywhere in the midwest will work - I used St. Louis as my location), adjust the date to Nov. 17 and the time to when you plan on being out stargazing, and note the location of Leo. Good luck!
The Leonids are pretty cool creatures. The particles that create the shower are dust debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which are ejected as the comet is warmed by the Sun, creating a debris trail. Each year, the Earth passes through the trail and, depending on the density of the dust particles, they come zipping into our atmosphere. As they enter the atmosphere at a fairly high rate of speed, 45 miles per second, they ionize molecules in the atmosphere. The ionized molecules then relax to a resting state, but give off photons when they do so. This is what creates the bright, streaking meteoroid trail as they move across the sky. Also, because the dust particles are all moving in more-or-less the same direction in space and therefore enter the atmosphere in the same direction, they look as though they originate from a particular point in the sky. This point is called the radiant point. In the case of the Leonids, that point is near or directly over the constellation Leo, hence the name of the shower.
In the past, the Leonids have created what are referred to as meteor storms, which are unusually spectacular displays. It is thought that the exuberant display that was observed in 1833 produced in upwards of 100,000 meteoroids per hour. Unfortunately, we will likely see a number more along the lines of 25-30 per hour. But it's always possible that we could see many more than that, particularly on November 17. This is due to the fact that we know very little about the stream of debris that the Earth will be moving through.
If you'd like to view the Leonid shower, the most important step is to find a good location. You'll want to be as far as possible from city lights. If you think you'll be able to leave the city lights behind, but not travel far, you should consider traveling East since Leo, the shower's radiant point, will be in the Eastern sky. This should do well to put the interfering lights behind you, and give you a nice dark theater for watching the Leonids. Once you've got a good location, settle in, stay warm, and enjoy the show.
Not sure where Leo is, but want to know exactly where the radiant point will be? No problem. You can go to the AstroViewer Interactive Night Sky Map, punch in your location (anywhere in the midwest will work - I used St. Louis as my location), adjust the date to Nov. 17 and the time to when you plan on being out stargazing, and note the location of Leo. Good luck!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
It's Not Rocket Science. Oh Wait...
I've been itching to discuss this topic for quite some time, and stumbled upon an article in ScienceNews that has given me a good reason to take a crack at it. The article summed up the results of the Augustine committee quite well, and, I may add, quite succinctly. This succinctness is good, because no one in their right mind wants to read a report written by a panel of rocket scientists about rockets for other rocket scientists. Actually, that's not totally true. The panel, headed by a former chair and CEO of Lockheed Martin (whose name is Norman Augustine; hence the name of the committee), was charged with reviewing NASA's future plans for manned space flight after the retirement of the space shuttle. Currently, NASA is betting on use of a rocket called Ares 1 to send manned capsules into low Earth orbit and to resupply the International Space Station. After what appears to have been an extremely thorough study by the Augustine committee, the group concluded, essentially, that even though NASA could develop and deploy Ares 1, that it didn't necessarily mean that they should. One of the express concerns that will arise, whether NASA goes ahead with the Ares 1 or not, is what will send our astronauts up in between the time that the shuttle retires, which is next year, and when the next program will be ready for use (the Ares 1 isn't slated to be ready for manned missions until 2017). To address this, the Augustine committee noted that it might be more beneficial to contract International Space Station resupply missions and other low Earth orbit missions to industry, allowing NASA to focus on manned missions to the Moon and Mars. To this possibility, the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) replied, “we are not prepared to have our astronauts’ access to space held hostage to purchases of seats from nonexistent commercial providers,” adding that the Ares 1 program appears to be on track and perfectly capable.
Giffords' statement is not only false, but very confusing.
Why? Because this is where SpaceX comes into the picture. SpaceX is a space exploration technology company founded and run by a remarkable man by the name of Elon Musk, who is also co-founder of PayPal and owner and chair of Tesla Motors. SpaceX has not only already developed a launch vehicle called the Falcon 9, but a transportation spacecraft called Dragon is also being developed and nearing completion, which will be capable of carrying cargo and crew into orbit and to the International Space Station. In addition, NASA has already contracted a minimum of 12 flights with SpaceX to resupply the International Space Station after retirement of the shuttle, with flights beginning in 2011. So this means that either Giffords was ill-informed when she made the aforementioned comment or just lying, because our astronauts' access to space is already being held hostage by commercial providers. But at a great value to the taxpayers. The Augustine committee concluded that the Ares 1 would not be capable of performing the tasks set forth without an extra $30 billion ontop of the current funding provided. On the other hand, SpaceX charges a flat rate for use of their Falcon 9 and Dragon systems, and for the 12 flights that have already been scheduled over the next 5 years, the total cost comes to approximately $1.6 billion. That's big savings. And not only is a continued NASA contract with SpaceX viable because of monetary concerns, but also because the Falcon 9 is extremely safe and reliable.
Are there any real reasons not to allow our astronauts' access to space be held hostage by commercial providers? Maybe. But I can't think of any. By the way, Falcon 9's inaugural flight from Cape Canaveral is scheduled to take place in just a few short months. I'll let you know how it goes.
Giffords' statement is not only false, but very confusing.
Why? Because this is where SpaceX comes into the picture. SpaceX is a space exploration technology company founded and run by a remarkable man by the name of Elon Musk, who is also co-founder of PayPal and owner and chair of Tesla Motors. SpaceX has not only already developed a launch vehicle called the Falcon 9, but a transportation spacecraft called Dragon is also being developed and nearing completion, which will be capable of carrying cargo and crew into orbit and to the International Space Station. In addition, NASA has already contracted a minimum of 12 flights with SpaceX to resupply the International Space Station after retirement of the shuttle, with flights beginning in 2011. So this means that either Giffords was ill-informed when she made the aforementioned comment or just lying, because our astronauts' access to space is already being held hostage by commercial providers. But at a great value to the taxpayers. The Augustine committee concluded that the Ares 1 would not be capable of performing the tasks set forth without an extra $30 billion ontop of the current funding provided. On the other hand, SpaceX charges a flat rate for use of their Falcon 9 and Dragon systems, and for the 12 flights that have already been scheduled over the next 5 years, the total cost comes to approximately $1.6 billion. That's big savings. And not only is a continued NASA contract with SpaceX viable because of monetary concerns, but also because the Falcon 9 is extremely safe and reliable.
Are there any real reasons not to allow our astronauts' access to space be held hostage by commercial providers? Maybe. But I can't think of any. By the way, Falcon 9's inaugural flight from Cape Canaveral is scheduled to take place in just a few short months. I'll let you know how it goes.
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