Check out this website
http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.php
There are dashboard widgets, real time models and much more to explore. keep an eye on the space weather and see the effects on everyday life.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
where did that mass go?
Fusion. The combination of two atoms to form one heavy atom. Sounds boring, huh? There is a small amount of discrepancy between the mass of two hydrogen atoms and one helium atom. One can actually fuse most two atoms that are light. This process in reverse is known as fission, which is what powers our nuclear power plant. Both these processes are used in hydrogen bombs, in which the fission is used to trigger fusion. Fusion is also the source of energy for our sun. In both, Einstein's most famous equation, E=mc^2, gives us the relationship between the small amount of mass lost and the extravagant amount of energy created from said mass.
So what does this matter? well, nuclear power (fission) produces vast amounts of radioactive waste that is mostly stored on-site and is a significant risk to those around it. If we could make energy using fusion rather than fission, the resulting by product would be the gas that makes our voices go high when we inhale it, helium. The amount of energy is vast.
Two ex-printer engineers from Canada have undertaken an experiment that seems to bypass steps that have been hampering scientists for years. instead of using a tomahak chamber, these ingenious people created a device that uses pneumatic pistons to create a shock wave that compresses the plasma inside the chamber to a level critical to allow fusion to begin, and once it begins, use that energy to power the next resulting shock wave, creating a pseudo-perpetual motion machine. This, with hydrogen (mainly in the form of deuterium and tritium, which, it turns out we can extract from water) can run creating electricity from the small amount of mass lost in the fusion. If this works... well nearly infinite energy from water. Sounds like peak oil would be inconsequential.
So what does this matter? well, nuclear power (fission) produces vast amounts of radioactive waste that is mostly stored on-site and is a significant risk to those around it. If we could make energy using fusion rather than fission, the resulting by product would be the gas that makes our voices go high when we inhale it, helium. The amount of energy is vast.
Two ex-printer engineers from Canada have undertaken an experiment that seems to bypass steps that have been hampering scientists for years. instead of using a tomahak chamber, these ingenious people created a device that uses pneumatic pistons to create a shock wave that compresses the plasma inside the chamber to a level critical to allow fusion to begin, and once it begins, use that energy to power the next resulting shock wave, creating a pseudo-perpetual motion machine. This, with hydrogen (mainly in the form of deuterium and tritium, which, it turns out we can extract from water) can run creating electricity from the small amount of mass lost in the fusion. If this works... well nearly infinite energy from water. Sounds like peak oil would be inconsequential.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
enough with energy, how about matter
There is recent speculation that the earth and moon have a halo of dark matter around it. This arises from recent experiments with increased accuracy. if it is not true then Einstein's laws are flawed, which would make the world of physics even more interesting.
What is dark matter? There is much speculation about this. Is it a congregation of non-interacting particles like neutrinos, or some new weird heavy particle. Do they exist in our dimension, or float through the inner being of the universe and thus are not affected by light. maybe the connection to the other dimension is where gravity interaction lies, thus particles that venture into the "gravity dimension" are affected, and particles like photons go without being touched, and visa versa with dark matter, not existing in the universe of light, only gravity. oh, how fun to speculate.
All i know is there is more to know, and knowing will lead humanity into the nth dimension.
What is dark matter? There is much speculation about this. Is it a congregation of non-interacting particles like neutrinos, or some new weird heavy particle. Do they exist in our dimension, or float through the inner being of the universe and thus are not affected by light. maybe the connection to the other dimension is where gravity interaction lies, thus particles that venture into the "gravity dimension" are affected, and particles like photons go without being touched, and visa versa with dark matter, not existing in the universe of light, only gravity. oh, how fun to speculate.
All i know is there is more to know, and knowing will lead humanity into the nth dimension.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
From CIARD HQ
In the light of the news, and the snow, I have decided to begin blogging once again. I pose questions about the new nothing. The news of yesterday was that a new report was released on dark energy, and hearing the story twice on NPR got me thinking, what is nothing and what exists beyond the smallest forms of matter.
I enjoy the theories that there are whole universes in the atoms of us, and that we could be the in the body of a even greater thing. if this is true, when sub-atomic particles collide, are these universes destroyed, morphed into weirdness or unaffected? Could the same thing happen to our universe, and if it can, how often does it happen?
This, of course, is only if these inside out theories are true. I would like to also point out that the new nothing contains 70% of the energy-mass content of the universe. Could this be the new renewable energy source. What implications would sucking energy from this field have on the physical universe. There has been some research on so called "zero point energy." Could this research have relevance to the new declaration of nothing? Astrophysicists and Mad Scientists could combine to solve the pressing issue of energy creation! All that that is there in nothing.
I enjoy the theories that there are whole universes in the atoms of us, and that we could be the in the body of a even greater thing. if this is true, when sub-atomic particles collide, are these universes destroyed, morphed into weirdness or unaffected? Could the same thing happen to our universe, and if it can, how often does it happen?
This, of course, is only if these inside out theories are true. I would like to also point out that the new nothing contains 70% of the energy-mass content of the universe. Could this be the new renewable energy source. What implications would sucking energy from this field have on the physical universe. There has been some research on so called "zero point energy." Could this research have relevance to the new declaration of nothing? Astrophysicists and Mad Scientists could combine to solve the pressing issue of energy creation! All that that is there in nothing.
Welcome to the CIARD Science Update Blog
Hello blogosphere,
This is Eric Oij, science officer for the Chicago Institute for Advanced Research and Discussion. This blog is being created to monitor and discuss current advances in all fields of science. I implore you to enter this discussion in an attempt to understand current scientific discoveries and their implications for the present and the future. Please also visit the CIARD HQ blog for current CIARD events and developments. Thank you for exploring the CIARD, and have a scienterrific day!
Eric Oij
Science Officer, CIARD
This is Eric Oij, science officer for the Chicago Institute for Advanced Research and Discussion. This blog is being created to monitor and discuss current advances in all fields of science. I implore you to enter this discussion in an attempt to understand current scientific discoveries and their implications for the present and the future. Please also visit the CIARD HQ blog for current CIARD events and developments. Thank you for exploring the CIARD, and have a scienterrific day!
Eric Oij
Science Officer, CIARD
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