Comments

redwarrior

Technology

DARPA Wants A Few Good Space Debris Cleaners

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 9.18.2009 19 Comments
Mad science agency DARPA has a new addition to its wish list: technology to clean up thousands of pieces of orbiting space junk. Surely, world peace can't come far behind on the agenda.

9.20.2009 at 10:32pm - Comment by redwarrior

Though I do admit to not knowing much about physics (being only in AP Physics right now); it does occur to me that besides the act of actually dealing with the debris the biggest problem is keeping that vehicle in orbit. Considering the amount of funding going into this anyway, why not consider the moon? By placing some sort of system that pushes the debris into a terminal trajectory on the moon that problem is eliminated. Once several are placed on the moon it would be as simple shooting targets, well for NASA anyway. Building on mauriceg's idea NASA could adopt the practice of leaving as much large debris as it can in orbit at a trajectory that will cause them to collide with as much as possible. They could even go as far as to make modifications to the parts so that they serve this purpose better. Once these bulldozers have served there purpose they could be much more easily be moved into a new orbit or into a terminal one then any of the smaller stuff they handled. These are just my thoughts and not based on anymore scientific knowledge or numbers then a high school student can have. If my ideas are fundamentally wrong or impractical please don't just tell me so but tell me how they could work at all. Redwarrior
The Environment

Ocean pH and the Fate of the Food Chain

By Posted on 5.23.2008 8 Comments
Global warming is far and away the symptom at the top of the list of indicators that our planet is overloaded with carbon dioxide. Another important, but less considered consequence of the excess CO2 is the effect it has on the world's oceans. The oceans are a natural carbon dioxide sponge, responsible for maintaining the balance of CO2 in the atmosphere by absorbing a measure of the gas in its water. Currently, it is estimated that the ocean is uptaking nearly one-third of all human-produced CO2, which is slowly lowering its overall pH. Put simply: the oceans are becoming acidic.

5.24.2008 at 12:35pm - Comment by redwarrior

O come on lets just give up on the earth and go restart mars. All we need to do to make it another earth is what we are already good at: pollute it with lots of CO2 to make a atmosphere. Theres even a popsci article: (its there i just cant find it, someone help me out!)
Gadgets

The Deep-Diving Watch

By Posted on 5.23.2008 2 Comments
Lose track of time underwater, and you could lose your life when your oxygen runs out. Luckily, the Eterna KonTiki Diver watch saves you from your own absentmindedness. It uses technology from the automotive industry to stay waterproof at 3,280 feet without tightly screwing down its winding stem (a step that users often forget with other mechanical diving watches).

5.24.2008 at 12:28pm - Comment by redwarrior

I believe in the latest issue popsci listed this watch as costing $ 18,000 i think the thousands one saves by simply remembering to properly prepare there normal diving watch is enough to help remember.
Science

For Treating Blindness, Scientists Look to Algae

By Posted on 5.27.2008 3 Comments
What if the key to curing blindness was found in unicellular algae? In a recent study published in the journal Nature, a group of scientists were able to restore light sensitivity to formerly blind mice using a protein extracted from algaes of the genus Chlamydomonas. The Chlamydomonas are of particular interest because they exhibit phototaxis—an ability to orient themselves toward light sources to aid in photosynthesis. Eager to understand what caused this phenomenon on a genetic level, scientists at the Max Planck institute in 2003 isolated a sequence of genes that stored the blueprints for generating light-sensitive proteins. And now, a joint team of researchers from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland and the Harvard Medical School have recently developed a therapy that introduces these genes into the eyes of blind mice. What they observed was a dramatic behavioral change that proved the mice had regained their sensitivity to light.

5.24.2008 at 12:15pm - Comment by redwarrior

are these the same genes that cause a person to be color blind? or is that caused by a different part of the eye? If so i would assume that a color blind person would have say perhaps 6 of those genes; so wouldnt it make sense to go for those before we go for all 40 for color sight? Black and white is better than nothing at all.
Entertainment & Gaming

You Call the Shots

By Posted on 5.27.2008 5 Comments
If you're a PC game developer, the console market has to look pretty good right about now. In 2007, $910 million was spent on PC games versus $6.6 billion (with a “b”) for console titles. While most genres born on PCs have found success on consoles, strategy games have been left behind. It's not easy taking a gaming style that relies on a full keyboard, pinpoint-accurate mouse clicks and a high-res monitor and making it work with comparatively sloppy thumb-based controls and TV set that may still be standard-res. Recently, though, I've seen two breakthrough strategy games under development that have conquered the console conundrum. First up is Tom Clancy's EndWar, due before year's end, a real-time strategy game of warfare on a grand scale, with you as fun-loving commander of fearsome forces.

5.24.2008 at 12:09pm - Comment by redwarrior

I like the idea, but I have a feeling that people will need just as much training on how to properly position the mic ect. Will this be only controlled by voice? or can you still use the traditional mouse and keyboard?
Science

Carbon Nanotubes May Present a Cancer Risk

By Posted on 5.21.2008 5 Comments
If inhaled, certain kinds of carbon nanotubes - the tiny technology used in a wide variety of applications - could increase an individual's risk of cancer, according to scientists. Researchers injected mice with nanotubes, and found that the super-strong fibers created the same sort of problems as asbestos.

5.22.2008 at 08:33pm - Comment by redwarrior

how is it causing cancer? As far as i know cancer is caused by cell mutation, and nanotubes are supposed to be one of the hardest things out there right?
Science

Ask an Interspecies Musicologist

By Posted on 5.21.2008 2 Comments
Humpback whales sing some of the most beautiful songs in the animal world. It’s not just “woo, woo, woo”—their songs last 10 to 15 minutes and have a definite form, usually consisting of five or six unique phrases. Only the males sing, which has led many scientists to theorize that they croon to attract females. The hole in this argument, though, is that no one has ever seen a female whale show any interest in a male’s song.

5.22.2008 at 08:27pm - Comment by redwarrior

maybe there saying: "so long and thanks for all the fish"! (yes i know its refering to dolphins, not whales but please take this refference instead if you like) "but all the whale thought was oh no not again!" -Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy-
DIY

The Best Game-Console Mods

By Posted on 5.19.2008 17 Comments
Ben Heckendorn’s game-console creations, from a portable Atari 2600 to a pocket-sized Nintendo 64, are famous in the modder world. But he may have topped himself with his Xbox 360 Elite laptop. To shoehorn a full 360 into the 2.25-by-16-by-12-inch case and keep it playable, Heckendorn had to install fans and speakers and redo the internal layout of the machine several times. He then rewired the console to output the video to the 17-inch LCD display, on which he mounted an Xbox Live Vision camera for online multiplayer games.

5.20.2008 at 09:04pm - Comment by redwarrior

x-box wouldnt have gone anywere without halo its true. out of curousity how does he play on it? is a controler plugged in or does he use the keyboard?
DIY

The Best Game-Console Mods

By Posted on 5.19.2008 17 Comments
Ben Heckendorn’s game-console creations, from a portable Atari 2600 to a pocket-sized Nintendo 64, are famous in the modder world. But he may have topped himself with his Xbox 360 Elite laptop. To shoehorn a full 360 into the 2.25-by-16-by-12-inch case and keep it playable, Heckendorn had to install fans and speakers and redo the internal layout of the machine several times. He then rewired the console to output the video to the 17-inch LCD display, on which he mounted an Xbox Live Vision camera for online multiplayer games.

5.20.2008 at 09:04pm - Comment by redwarrior

x-box wouldnt have gone anywere without halo its true. out of curousity how does he play on it? is a controler plugged in or does he use the keyboard?
Science

Burning Our Way Toward Fusion

By Posted on 5.20.2008 12 Comments
Every few years, a new claim of successful cold fusion shows up in the news. It's the mythical holy grail of energy production. Nuclear fusion—the mashing together of two hydrogen atoms into a helium atom with an accompanying release of energy—is currently only the province of stars, requiring tremendous pressure and heat to succeed. Cold fusion, which is still very much a fantasy, aims to do the same without the pressure and heat. While we continue to see false progress toward viable cold fusion, our goals in the realm of real fusion may have just become a little more realized.

5.20.2008 at 09:00pm - Comment by redwarrior

heres another article popsci did on fussion: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-02/miniature-star-earth (sorry i dont know how to make it into a link) I also recall a nice picture of how a fusion reactor would work/look in the magazine but cant seem to find it here. Sure fusion hypotheticly is great, but at least in the US i think current nuclear technology needs to be refined and expanded. The way things are looking Yucca mountain is going to be full before it opens, and so i propose that we clean up the mess we already made and figure out a better use of spent nuclear fuel before we move onto fussion. Senor- i thought we alread were using fission in our current nuclear reactors? If we arnt what is it that we are using?