The Athenaeum

"... it works anyway." Washpost

 

"NASA scientists have been daydreaming about a new kind of rocket engine that could carry astronauts to Mars in 70 days without burning any fuel. Now, in a new paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Propulsion and Power, they say that it might really work.

The paper, written by astrophysicists at NASA's Eagleworks Laboratories, tested a electromagnetic propulsion system, or “EM drive,” that generates a small amount of thrust simply by bouncing microwaves around a cone-shaped copper chamber. No propellant goes in, no exhaust comes out, and yet, somehow, the engine can make things move.

If you think that news sounds too good to be true, you've got good instincts — it just might be. This “impossible” fuel-less engine appears to violate one of the fundamental laws of physics."  Washpost

----------

I look forward to the learned discussion to follow.  pl 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/11/22/this-rocket-engine-breaks-a-law-of-physics-but-a-nasa-test-says-it-works-anyway/

"...on the Road to Mars?" Musk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/did-spacex-just-pass-nasa-road-mars-180960629/?no-ist

California, a once and future desert?

"In a normal year, no one in California looks twice at a neighbor’s lawn, that mane of bluegrass thriving in a sun-blasted desert. Or casts a scornful gaze at a fresh-planted almond grove, saplings that now stand accused of future water crimes. Or wonders why your car is conspicuously clean, or whether a fish deserves to live when a cherry tree will die.

Of course, there is nothing normal about the fourth year of the great drought: According to climate scientists, it may be the worst arid spell in 1,200 years. For all the fields that will go fallow, all the forests that will catch fire, all the wells that will come up dry, the lasting impact of this drought for the ages will be remembered, in the most exported term of California start-ups, as a disrupter."  NY Times

------------

Schadenfreude, a splendid Krautism, is perfectly suited for my deepest guilty pleasure in contemplating the mess that "The Californians" (in the SNL sense) have made for themselves.  A semi-desert interior valley system edged by a Mediterranean coastline would seem to be an accurate description of "The Golden State."

California needs to contemplate reality rather than its present land of the lotus eaters world view.  If it wants to survive and prosper there is, IMO, only one practical course of action.  That is to build a massive desalination system fueled by nuclear power.  Many of "The Californians" will recoil in horror from such a thought, but, in the end, it will come down to a choice between anti-nuclear ideology on the one hand and the agricultural economy/lawns/ swimming pools on the other. 

I would be perfectly happy to see a reverse "Okie" migration take place but there would be a lot of refugees and some of them might come here.  pl  

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-california.html?_r=0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4347ZE0NQM 

 

 

"Is NASA about to crack interstellar travel?" AJC.com

"The other Eagleworks discovery announced at NASASpaceFlight.com doesn't need much introduction. Thanks to the Star Trek franchise, most people already know what warp drive is. (Video via Paramount Home Video / "Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

In 2011, Dr. White made national news when he claimed warp drive might actually be feasible.  

"In principle, a space warp would allow you to go to places like Alpha Centauri in time periods measured in weeks, months, as opposed to decades or centuries or millenia," White told Bloomberg.

Ever since, White has been working on a proof of concept, trying to create a tiny warp bubble at the Eagleworks lab. According to the forum post, he finally got a reading just a few weeks ago. 

It would be hard to overstate just how amazing either one of these findings would be if they're confirmed. "  AJC.com

-------------------

Not the Alderson Drive yet but worth discussing.  pl  

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/nasa-about-crack-interstellar-travel/nk75M/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderson_drive

Will we like the aliens when they come?

"... there’s now a perception that advertising our existence could be a mortal threat to the planet.

The reasoning is this: While no one has yet offered decisive proof for life beyond Earth, in the past two years astronomers have learned that tens of billions of habitable planets suffuse our galaxy. Consequently, to believe that only Earth has spawned intelligence is to insist that our world is the site of a miracle. That point of view rarely appeals to scientists.

The aliens could very well be out there. And that realization has spurred a call by some for broadcasts intended to elicit a communication from at least the nearest other star systems. But we know nothing of the aliens’ possible motives or behavior. Therefore, it’s conceivable that betraying our existence might prompt aggressive action from space.

Broadcasting is likened to “shouting in the jungle” — not a good idea when you don’t know what’s out there. The British physicist Stephen Hawking alluded to this danger by noting that on Earth, when less advanced societies drew the attention of those more advanced, the consequences for the former were seldom agreeable."  NY Times

-------------------

I love this.  It appeals to the naturally suspicious and cautious military mind.  It is also reminiscent of the first short story I wrote.  This was long ago and the theme was attractive.  I know I have posted it before, but, indulge me.  pl 

Download Carolina in the Mornin'dblspc

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/opinion/sunday/messaging-the-stars.html?ref=opinion

But, will Sean Connery still be sheriff?

 
"While executives at Planetary Resources are no doubt interested in avoiding being wiped out by incoming cosmic boulders, they are in the game for others reasons. The firm is on the lookout for asteroids that it can land on and harvest all of valuable minerals many contain using robot miners and automated smelting facilities.

The firm is backed by Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Charles Simonyi, and James Cameron, and was launched in 2012 with lofty claims of mining its first space rock by 2022. So far that plan has slipped a bit already.

Initially the company had planned to get its first asteroid spotting orbital telescope into orbit by 2014, and held a successful $1.5m crowdfunding campaign. But its first test platform was distributed over a wide area of Eastern Virginia when the Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket carrying it detonated over NASA's Wallops Flight Facility last October.

Planetary Resources will be taking another shot at getting a telescope into space next month, but there's still a long way to go before it can send out the planned automating mining and processing bots to likely targets. Then there's the piffling problem of getting the minerals back to Earth, or at least orbit, safely and economically."  The Register

------------------

I have seen this movie and I liked it.  It would seem that the moon would be an even more promising source of rare earths, helium and other materials hard to come by on earth.

I would expect to see the prompt emergence of a "ban the strip mining" movement here on earth.  As I recall, a "Red Mars," political faction quickly appeared in the famous Mars trilogy.  pl 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/03/16/nasa_wants_you_to_help_space_mining_corp_strip_mine_the_solar_system/

Some people may be predisposed for PTSD

Researchers have identified genetic markers associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are linked with regulating the immune system, Medical News Today reported. This finding may lead to the ability to identify individuals at risk of PTSD.

In a study of  188 U.S. Marines, researchers took blood samples before and after individuals were deployed to conflict zones. They identified groups of genes that regulate the innate immune system— the body’s first line of defense against pathogens— and interferon signaling— the release of signaling proteins in response to pathogens— were linked to PTSD.

PTSD, a mental health condition that can occur after experiencing a traumatic event such as military combat, may cause recurring, distressing memories, sleep problems, severe anxiety and suicidal thoughts."  Foxnews

---------------------

First of all, the grunt from the 4th ID who is in the picture is weeping.  So what?  I have wept a lot in combat or in the aftermath and I do not have bad dreams about war, memories I cannot deal with, sleep problems, severe anxiety or suicidal thoughts.  Am I an inherently alert and suspicious person?  Yes, but I always was.

Somebody should have kicked the photographer's ass for intruding on this man's moment.

Old soldiers who have spent a lot of time under fire know that some people are much, MUCH less vulnerable to PTSD than others.  In the "mommy loves you" world of the 21st Century this will be an unpopular thought.  After all, are we not all wounded children?   I have had women psychiatrists insist that I MUST have PTSD.  I told one who said this that all I really needed was the affection of a good woman. She walked away.  Thank God!  Several shrinks have looked at me for this and decided that I am an inducer of PTSD and not a victim.

In my experience it was very easy to tell the difference between those petrified by acute anxiety in combat and those not.  Those not are the ones who function well in the moment and who drag others out of their holes to do their duty and who make jokes while doing it.

It used to be thought that schizophrenia was something Freudian that psychoanalysis could resolve.  We now know that this is a physical disease of the nervous system and brain.  IMO something similar will emerge concerning PTSD.

My solution?  Don't put people with this predisposition in; the infantry, armor, aviation or SF. 

Perhaps in some future day a combat veteran will not have to listen to a young woman ask if he was one of "the crazy brave or the phony tough." 

I asked if she had more choices.  pl  

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/11/genetic-markers-for-ptsd-linked-to-immune-system-response-study-says/

"FAA unveils drone rules; Obama orders policy for agencies" USA Today

"The Federal Aviation Administration released Sunday its long-awaited proposal for governing small commercial drones, setting a plan for remote-controlled aircraft to share the skies with passenger planes.

The FAA proposal would allow drones weighing up to 55 pounds to fly within sight of their remote pilots during daylight hours. The aircraft must stay below 500 feet in the air and fly less than 100 mph.

People flying drones would need to be at least 17 years old, pass an aeronautics test and be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration, but a certificate wouldn't require the flight hours or medical rating of a private pilot's license."  USA Today

--------------

Within sight of the pilot?  What the hell!  A drone that is restricted to flying within visual range of the pilot is a model airplane, not a commercial vehicle.  

They cannot fly at night?  There exist all kinds of night visual equipment to let these aircraft "see" in the dark.

It appears that these rules were written by 21st Century Luddites.  pl  

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/15/faa-drone-rule/23440469/w

I hereby abjure "Wicked Tuna." So should you,

"Management of Blue Fin tuna has been complicated and controversial. Populations are divided by recovery status and migrating habits between the Atlantic, European, Asian and Gulf coasts, and competition for the fish is stiff. An international panel determines quota that is parceled out regionally.

In addition to implementing the rolling quota, Amendment 7 to the Highly Migratory Species Management Plan, among numerous other changes, also provided more quota for the pelagic longline fishery to account for incidental take. The intention is to prevent discarding of dead tuna, a big issue for the agency. Monitoring and reporting requirements were also increased."  Outerbanksvoice

-------------------

 I confess to having watched this program.  I fished a bit in my youth and these Gloucester and New Hampshire fisherman appeal to me.

The Atlantic Blue Fin tuna is reduced in numbers by 3/4s in the last decades.  Conservation by the ICCAT is a farce.  This group is really a mechanism for killing off the tuna and the US Fisheries authorities are not much better.

There should a moratorium on Blue Fin fishing for at least ten years. Let the US government subsidize these fishermen while they transition to some more sustainable fishery or just wait out the moratorium. Such a ban should extend to international trade and should be enforced with the enthusiasm shown for bans on whale fishing.  I would rather see the USG spend my money for this than many other things.

 Rich Japanese and their taste for this animal's raw flesh are the driving force behind the extermination of the Blue Fin.  If they want Blue Fin, let them grow them.  They are clever.  They will learn how to do it if forced to do so.

Any restaurant that serves Blue Fin tuna should be shunned.  Bring it on Greenpeace.  Bring it on!  pl 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_bluefin_tuna

http://outerbanksvoice.com/2015/02/12/bluefin-quota-up-this-year-but-catching-them-is-another-story/

http://www.iccat.int/en/

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/wicked-tuna/ 

Nautical Archaeology: The Wreck Of The Evelyn (Norcom)

Using LIDAR (light detection and ranging), INA researchers were able to obtain more than 160 million data points on the 1908 sternwheeler Evelyn.

 

The Evelyn (renamed Norcom) was originally a U.S. registered, wooden-hulled stern wheel steamboat built at St. Michael, Alaska in 1908 by Bratnobar for the Upper Tanana Trading Company. Her hull measured 39.6 meters by 8.7 meters with a depth of 1.28 meters. The vessel was powered by two horizontal, high pressure cylinders. At some point the ship was sold to the Northern Navigation Company- it wrecked in the Tanana River. Her machinery was removed & taken to St. Michael where a new hull was built.  She was converted to Canadian registry in 1913, & then owned by the British Yukon Navigation Co. in 1919. She was beached on Shipyard Island & her engines installed in the Steamer Keno in 1922. Registration was  cancelled in 1931.

The ship now lies on blocks at a once important (now abandoned) shipyard & wintering area between Dawson City & Whitehorse, at the base of the Thirty Mile Section of the Yukon River. One boiler & smokestack remain- the rest of the machinery has been removed. The paddlewheel axle, flanges, & crank lie near the ship. While the upper superstructure is largely collapsed, the hull & freight deck are intact. The three tiller-rudder assemblies are complete- they still work.

The LIDAR Survey

The mission of the Yukon River Survey was to locate/document historic Yukon River shipwrecks & hulls. Canada's Yukon Territories contains more accessible early sternwheelers than anywhere else in North America. Approximately 290 sternwheelers once plied the Yukon River, of which 110 were built in 1898 in response to the Klondike Gold Rush. Unlike broken fragments found in the Mississippi or Columbia River systems, the Yukon's steamer wrecks are intact to the point you can walk their decks, swing their tillers, watch their rudders turn. A July 2007 project marked the beginning of detailed documentation in the Yukon. In the first phase, an INA team & EPICSCAN staff spent five days at Shipyard Island, 60 km from the nearest road, & LIDAR-surveyed the 39.6 meter 1908 wooden-hulled sternwheeler Evelyn. The result was a data "cloud" of millions of highly accurate survey shots inside & outside of the vessel, such that features down to 3 mm in width were recorded. The 3-D model shows all timbers & planking.  It can be cross-sectioned as required.

The image quality of the animation below has been reduced for online viewing.

Reduction was done by EPICSCAN:

 

(courtesy of inadiscover.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undated photograph of the Evelyn (Norcom)

 

 

-Maureen Lang