Tag Archive: Science
Nikola Tesla’s Lab Saved Through Crowd-Sourcing
” In 9 days, we managed to raise over 1 million dollars to go towards buying back Tesla’s old laboratory, and with the $850,000 matching grant from NY state this puts us at 1.85 million bucks. At its peak, the campaign was raising $27,000 per hour, crashing Indiegogo, and probably setting some kind of land speed record in awesomeness. Indiegogo put together this infographic showing some interesting data points behind the campaign.
We’ve added some new perks to the campaign, including more t-shirts, hats, and posters signed by Tesla’s last remaining relative.”
Related articles
- Nikola Tesla’s Lab Saved After 18 Years of Activism (intellihub.com)
- Tesla museum receives $400,000 grant (newsday.com)
- HISTORY LIVES ON: Nikola Tesla’s Lab Saved After 18 Years of Activism (secretsofthefed.com)
- Less Prone favorited mystery’s discussion Nikola Tesla’s Lab Saved After 18 Years of Activism (12160.info)
- Group The Oatmeal Raised Money for Successfully Purchases Nikola Tesla’s Lab (geekosystem.com)
- Former Long Island Laboratory Used By Inventor Nikola Tesla Purchased By Preservation Group (newyork.cbslocal.com)
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How The New Bay Bridge Shakes Off A Quake
” Earthquake-prone California is a far from ideal place to string metal over water and hope it stays put. But engineers of the new eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge say the structure should last at least 150 years. This fall, when the new portion opens, the Bay Bridge will stretch 2047 feet, becoming the world’s longest self-anchored suspension bridge.
Unlike a conventional suspension bridge, in which cables anchor on shore, the Bay Bridge can’t rely on the surrounding muddy ground—which amplifies seismic movement—for support. So the bridge is anchored to itself, with a single cable looping around the roadway and held high by a steel tower. ”
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Three Years Of Solar Activity In Three Minutes – Nasa Timelapse
” Nasa has created a time-lapse video of images of sun taken over past three years as it heads towards the peak of solar activity in its 11-year cycle.
During the course of the video, the sun subtly increases and decreases in apparent size. This is because the distance between the SDO spacecraft and the sun varies over time.
These images have regularly caught solar flares and coronal mass ejections in the act, types of space weather that can send radiation and solar material toward Earth and interfere with satellites in space.”
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CERN Super Collider To Have Twice The Power
” As two yellow-helmeted electricians rise slowly on a hoist from the cavern floor to check cabling on a huge red magnet, CERN scientist Marc Goulette makes clear he sees cosmic significance in their task.
“When this refit is completed,” he says, gesturing across the gigantic Large Hadron Collider, “we shall be ready to explore an entirely new realm of physics.” “
” The collider is only 5 years old but, after swiftly finding a crucial missing link to support mankind’s main concept of the universe, is now entering a two-year revamp to double its power in the hope of making breathtaking new discoveries.
Some scientists predict it will help identify the nature of strange dark matter that lurks around planets, stars and galaxies; others that it might find a zoo of new particles or even catch hints that space has more than three dimensions.”
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Facebook Boss Mark Zuckerberg Launches New Immigration Lobby Group
” The billionaire founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has launched a new initiative to push for immigration reform, describing America’s current system as “unfit for today’s world.”
The group, called FWD.us, (pronounced Forward US), is backed by other Silicon Valley leaders including Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Yahoo boss Marissa Mayer and Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of Linkedin.
“We have a strange immigration policy for a nation of immigrants. And it’s a policy unfit for today’s world,” Zuckerberg wrote in an editorial for The Washington Post to launch the lobby group.
Zuckerberg said FWD.us would push for:
● Comprehensive immigration reform that begins with effective border security, allows a path to citizenship and lets us attract the most talented and hardest-working people, no matter where they were born.
● Higher standards and accountability in schools, support for good teachers and a much greater focus on learning about science, technology, engineering and math.
● Investment in breakthrough discoveries in scientific research and assurance that the benefits of the inventions belong to the public and not just to the few.
This year demand for skilled-worker visas, known as H-1Bs, outstripped the entire year’s supply in the first week that companies were allowed to file applications.”
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Related articles
- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg unveils pro-immigration advocacy group (nbclatino.com)
- Zuckerberg: U.S. Immigration Policy ‘Unfit for Today’s World’ (webpronews.com)
- Zuckerberg launches lobby, urges immigration reform (dailystar.com.lb)
- Zuckerberg Lobbies to Become a Bigger Difference Maker (technewsworld.com)
- Zuckerberg kicks off tech lobbying push on immigration (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Zuckerberg Goes ‘Forward’ With Launch of Advocacy Group (adweek.com)
- Zuckerberg And 30 Tech All-Stars Launch Political Advocacy Group FWD.us (techcrunch.com)
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15 Crazy Full Moon Facts
” #6 Honeymoons
The “honeymoon” gets its name from the full moon in June. Because this full moon fell right between harvesting and planting so it was considered the best time to get married.”
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Sodium v Water In Slow Motion
A Little Late But Fun Never-the-less
Christmas Rocketree Part 2: The XMS Missiletoe
Part One From 2010 Can Be Found Here
A Brief History Of Quantum Mechanics
Does Life Exist Miles Under The Antarctic Ice ?
” Some years ago, researchers found something that sent shivers through the scientific community: a diverse community of microbial life-forms that live without sunlight or a ready supply of nutrients.
The scientists were not searching deep space when they made their find. Rather, they were sampling the bottom of a 2.5-mile-thick (4-kilometer-thick) Antarctic ice sheet.
The frozen mass covers Lake Vostok, a freshwater lake. Scientists demonstrated that the bottom layer of the ice sheet, the same one that contained the microbial life-forms, was composed of accreted, or frozen, lake water. “
Related articles
- ‘Diverse’ Bacterial Life Found in Ice-Sealed Antarctic Lake (usnews.com)
- Antarctic Drillers Seeks Clues to Life Two Miles Below Ice – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Life Beneath Antarctica? (foxnews.com)
- No life found in Antarctica’s buried Lake Vostok (news.discovery.com)
- Ancient microbes found living beneath the icy surface of Antarctic lake (sciencedaily.com)
- Isolated for 15 Million Years, Lake Vostok Is Devoid of Life, Initial Results Show (news.softpedia.com)
- Buried Antarctic lake microbes could shed light on ‘Alien life forms’ (rt.com)
… Just 12 Light Years Away
” One of the closest stars to our own, Tau Ceti, appears to have five planets, including one that’s in the so-called habitable zone and could be suitable for life.
Not only is Tau Ceti a near neighbor, at 12 light years away, it has the same spectral classification as our sun. Previously, the nearest planet believed to be capable of supporting life - found just last month - was 42 light years away. “
Around the World in a Solar Plane
” Build a plane that’s as heavy as a car, but uses only as much energy as a scooter. And stay aloft with just the energy of the sun—even after sunset. That, pilot André Borschberg says, is the challenge facing the Solar Impulse team as it stares down its biggest challenge yet: flying around the world in a solar-powered plane.
You might have heard about Solar Impulse when the sun-powered plane project made its maiden flight in 2009, or in 2010 when Borschberg set the endurance record by piloting the aircraft for 26 consecutive hours, running on stored solar energy from on-board batteries after the sun went down. Now he and teammate Bertrand Piccard are off on even more ambitious ventures, which they came to New York to discuss last night. First, in 2013, they will fly their solar-powered plane across the United States. Then, in 2015, they will pilot a larger version around the world. “
Related articles
- Solar Impulse Team to Attempt First Ever Solar-Powered Cross-U.S.A Flight in History (inhabitat.com)
- Solar Powered Plane Will Circumnavigate The Globe In 2015 (Can Even Fly At Night) (cleantechnica.com)
- Tackling an around-the-world plane flight — without fossil fuel (news.cnet.com)
- Solar-Powered Plane Flies Through the Night (techonomy.com)
- Sun-Powered Plane to Circle the World in 20 Days (news.softpedia.com)
Engineers Pave the Way Towards 3-D Printing of Personal Electronics
” Scientists are developing new materials which could one day allow people to print out custom-designed personal electronics such as games controllers which perfectly fit their hand shape.
The University of Warwick researchers have created a simple and inexpensive conductive plastic composite that can be used to produce electronic devices using the latest generation of low-cost 3D printers designed for use by hobbyists and even in the home.
The material, nicknamed ‘carbomorph’, enables users to lay down electronic tracks and sensors as part of a 3D printed structure — allowing the printer to create touch-sensitive areas for example, which can then be connected to a simple electronic circuit board. “
Related articles
- Printing electronic sensors using low-cost 3D printers #3dthursday (adafruit.com)
- Novel Carbomorph Material for 3D Printing of Personal Electronics (azonano.com)
- The 3D Print Bubble : Still Too Early For Consumers? (solidsmack.com)
- 3D-Printed Möbius Bacon Strip (makezine.com)
- Stop talking rubbish about 3D printing (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
- A Photobooth That Creates 3-D Printed Figurines (geekologie.com)
- Scientists develop materials to print out personal electronics in 3D (siliconrepublic.com)
Scientific Genius And An Atmosphere That Facilitates Innovation
Rare and Iconic Photos of Einstein
” Ask anyone to name an iconic scientist and most people will say Albert Einstein. He was his generation’s greatest physicist as well as an international celebrity and humanitarian. Many people can tell you at least something about his renowned Theory of Relativity, though the details probably elude them right now.
Einstein’s fame extends to pop culture, where photos of the eminent scientist can be seen plastered on mugs, t-shirts, postcards, and internet memes. Though many images are well known — Einstein framed by his wild hair sticking his tongue out at the camera — there are still a good number that rarely see the light of day.
In honor of the 90th anniversary of Albert Einstein winning the Nobel Prize in physics, we are presenting a collection of photographs — some famous, some rare — that exemplify this singular man. The images come from the Bettmann Archive, a collection of more than 11 million historical photographs owned by Corbis Images. “
Related articles
- Albert Einstein’s Brain May Provide Clues To His Genius, Study Says (jtm71.wordpress.com)
- Sixty years ago, Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel (newstatesman.com)
- Einstein’s Brain Better Than Yours (drudge.com)
- The cerebral cortex of Albert Einstein: a description and preliminary analysis of unpublished photographs. (scicombinator.com)
