Solar Tsunami Is Heading Our Way

Scotty, raise the shields.

A huge solar storm is expected to strike tonight and to put on a light show in the Northern sky, visible tor those in the Northern part of the Northern Hemisphere --- "from Maine to Michigan and anywhere farther north around the globe --- may see unusual northern lights.". Too bad for me, I'm too further South, will have to settle for Internet pictures. of the event.

The storm is the result of the shock wave and plasma ejections from a major eruptions on the sun surface. The Associated Press reports, "The federal Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., said the plasma will likely arrive late Tuesday night or early Wednesday.".The storms are not expected to be a threat to satellites or power grids..

We don't have to worry about Scotty raising the shields, because the shields are already up -- Earth's natural barrier, its magnetic field, is expected to protect the earth from most of the storm impact. This is the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time..The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection, was spotted by NASA.

Are Invisiblity Cloaks Even Possible?


When browsing through the shelves of a delightful bookstore near my home, I saw a book that was devoted to the science of “Harry Potter”- I’ve seen books on the science of Star Trek, but never Harry Potter, so it was unusual for me to find Michio Kaku’s article,  "Small-Scale Invisibility Cloaks".


The whole article sounds like crazy-talk, but is actually true. In 2006, some industrious scientists at Duke University created metamaterials, “which could render an object invisible by absorbing all the light that hits it, but only in two dimensions and only at microwave frequencies”.

Now, very small three-dimensional objects can appear to disappear when under an infrared light if they are placed under an invisibility carpet. According to Kaku, when you put the object underneath the carpet, the bump disappears. He believes that this technology can be applied to larger objects or people as well in the future, which is definitely starting to sound more than a little like Harry Potter. The main reason that the technology is able to work is that infra-red light works at a lower frequency than regular light and has a longer wavelength; when light hits the bump, it bounces off.

Don’t get too excited about the magic carpet just yet, however. Kaku mentions a few things about the technology that show that it isn’t quite up to par with JK Rowling’s imagination yet.

 

  • It doesn’t work with light that you can see yet.
  • So far, the object under the carpet is roughly the size of a human hair, so there is quite a ways to go until an actual person can hide under the carpet (or so we are told, anyway!)
  • The carpet has a reflection similar to that of a mirror.


The other Invisibility Cloak material that I’m aware of comes from the use of a special raincoat covered with many small beads. Like the “magic carpet”, the raincoat has a mirror-like reflection and involves the use of light to “make the person underneath the coat disappear”. This technology was first developed in the 1960’s- unfortunately, it is limited in that it requires the viewer to look at the raincoat through an apparatus such as a camera or a movie camera in order for the invisibility effect to be complete. The apparatus is necessary because it is only a computer-generated image. For more information on Invisibility Cloaks, HowStuffWorks has a full-range of introductory-level articles on the topic of “Optical Camouflage”.

NASA Unveils New Plan to Keep Manned Space Flight Going

After taking a big hit from the imploded economy and several technical problems with the planned shuttle follow up, NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was all but certain to see the end of the shuttle program and manned space flight; however, officials have been hard at work trying to come up with a plan to save the space program and to keep the shuttle out of retirement.

The new plan from the NASA Oversight Committee would stave off the planned retirement of the space shuttle and build a new US based launching system. The plan would be funded in part by the historic change of undertaking commercial development for a space taxi program in partnership with the private sector. The move would save the space shuttle program which has been one of the staples of the NASA program since it became a focal point in the 1970's and 1980's.

So what will this mean for the future of NASA and space flight? Currently, the arrangement that was passed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will allow for one additional flight sometime next year to the International Space Station and while it had intended to retire the shuttle and cancel flights, it will leave the infrastructure and personnel in place for an additional flight should the need arise. Additionally this new plan will allow for a new vehicle and capusle. The heavy launch vehicle will come equipped with a capsule and will be designed to transport astronauts to various locations in deep space such as asteroids which could open up an entirely new chapter for space exploration. Both would rely heavily on already well established NASA programs including the existing shuttle program as well as the Constellation Moon program that is on the current administration's hot list for discontinued programs. Work on the new heavy lift space rocket is scheduled to begin sometime in 2011. 

Because of the addition of using the private sector to help pay for NASA programs, much of the federal funding originally proposed by the Obama administration has been reduced. For example, the original $6 billion that was requested to develop commercial space flights over a 5 year period of time was reduced to just $1.6 billion over three years. The new plan also keeps intact the yearly funding for the International Space Station and the original sum for scientific study and unmanned space exploration that has been a crucial part of the NASA program.

The new plan will go along way towards insuring the future of NASA and American space exploration without making an even bigger dent in the national economy.

Right-Brain or Left Brain?

When you watch the dancer turn and spin, do you see her turning clockwise, or counter-clockwise? Most people see her turning counter-clockwise, which suggests that the left hemisphere of their brain is dominant; if you see her spin clockwise, that suggests that your right hemisphere is dominant.

In very broad terms (and I do mean very; there's enormous differences between individuals), the left hemisphere of the brain is used most often for logic, details, factual information, language and words, concepts of time in the sense of present and past, mathematics and science, patterns and order and the perception of patterns, reality emphasizing, knows the names of objects, strategic, and practical, and safe.

In, again, very broad terms, the right hemisphere excels at feelings, and emotions, and perceiving them, "big pictures," rather than details, imaginative and symbolic processing, present and future oriented, spatial perception, fantasy and religio-philosophical thought, knows the functions of objects, impetuous, risky,

Curious? Here's an article from Wired that suggest we're leaving the age of the left-brain and entering the age of the right-brain. And here's a page that explains brain lateralization, and it's connection to handedness, and why we would care, anyway.

Just to make it more interesting; most people, if they try, can make the dancer seem to switch spin directions.

Earthquakes Rumbling Hard Again

There are few things more unsettling for many folks than the news of an earthquake. Quakes seem to be popping up everywhere and occurring all the time at an unusual rate. Earthquakes occur over areas with geological faults. I make it a practice to stay out of those areas. Anyway, midday today, June 16, Wednesday, local time, the coast of Indonesia, near the northern coast of Papua, got struck by a series of powerful earthquakes. There have been reported deaths.The earthquakes caused a tsunami warning to be issued. The warning was shortly lifted. The United States Geological Survey  reported the first quake to have a magnitude 6.2, struck about 1:10pm local time on the small island of Biak. It was followed quickly by three more quakes in the same area; the largest was recorded at magnitude 7.0. A series of powerful aftershocks shook the region, some as strong as 6.4 in magnitude.

Several strong earthquakes occur everyday. Most are in isolated or in sparsely populated areas. Scientists are predicting several major earthquakes to occur this year. For more information on earthquakes check out The United States Geological Survey website.

Not Yet The Big One

This weekend, I saw on the net, the prediction that some time in September California will get hit by a 9+ earthquake. A magnitude 9+ quake would be trouble. Anything over 6+ is a major quake. A 9+ may not move California to Atlantis, but folks caught in it could believe that the earth tried.

Last night, Monday, more than two dozen moderate earthquakes shook San Diego. The quake was centered near the U.S.-Mexico border. It was felt during the Blue Jays-Padres game. The largest of the quakes registered a 5.7 magnitude, was recorded at 9:26 p.m, the U.S. Geological Survey. According to a report in today's LA Times, experts are saying that last night quakes were all aftershocks of a 7.2-quake that rocked Mexico's Baja California peninsula April 4. Kate Hutton, a seismologist at Caltech in Pasadena, said a 5.7 magnitude quake "is big enough to get your attention" but usually will not cause major structural damage because of California's building codes. There was no reported damage.

A 9+ if it comes would a very powerful quake, and it could cause extensive damage. I for one have no plans to be in California this September.

Brits & Solar Storm Effects

For months now the world has been told to expect  bad space weather "that could generate unexpected currents in electricity distribution grids, that could lead to blackouts and damage to valuable infrastructure, with potentially high cost to the global economy."

Last week, the US media reported NASA's warning of a possible once in a generation space storm that could zonk out our electricity and electronics. This morning, I saw the British ITN news video, reporting the NASA warning, this warning said that "Britain could face widespread power blackouts after the earth is hit by a once in a generation space storm!"

Is the news later in Britain, or is Britain favored for an extra warning, or are the folks at ITN trying to scare the British people? The morning British tabloids are echoing the warning. Sometime in 2012 to the beginning of 2013, the papers are predicting the solar super storm to strike. So, therefore the people living in Britain should hold off on buying expensive computers, cell-phones and electronics until after 2013? Right?

Those Bad Solar Storms

Those bad old solar winds can blow out our electric lights! Oh, my!

CBS News reported today that solar storms may knock out our power grids, satellites, cell phone signals, and that we should take note and be prepared. NASA says the sun is going through a period of increased solar activity, creating intense sun storms, that could take down our technology. Take down? Put it out of commission. Scientists are working on a way to protect our electronic devices. See video.

This is kind of scary and kind of funny. Can you imagine what we would do without our electronics? No computers. No TV. No ATM machines. No movies. No recorded music. How could any of us possibly manage? What would we do for entertainment? The scientist in the video speculates, if we don't properly protect our electronic devices from the electromagnetic surges produced by powerful solar flares, we could be set back one hundred years. 100 years! Imagine, we would have to learn how to clean up behind horses.

Face Off / Face On

Well, for burn patients, and for people born with facial deformities or develop them, or are injured, and  for people hiding out  -- Mafia folks, folks in witness protection, folks who just want to get away from their old lives, their spouses, their bill collectors --  and or people who want a new life, a movie star face -- and  for people who work in the spy business  -- yesterday's announcement that the first full face transplant has been carried out is probably big news.

A man injured in a shooting accident received the world's first full face transplant -- facial skin and muscles - including cheekbones, nose, lips and teeth -- of a donor.

"Face from a dead donor is removed:Veins, arteries, skin, muscles, and bones are taken The donor face and accompanying blood vessels are stitched to the patient using complex microvascular surgery " (BBC)

 Dr. Frankenstein, huh? No, a team of 30 experts, medical scientists, at the hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Team head doc, Joan Pere Barret, told the world at a a news conference, "The man has since seen himself in the mirror and was calm and satisfied."

Well, this is the 21st century.

News Source: BBC News

Don't Shut Dat Space Program Down

Last night, Wednesday, April 14th, the skies over several  Midwestern states, beginning around  10 p.m were filled with a light show. What was it? Press reports are pointing to an apparent meteor — or possibly a piece of returning space junk — what ever it was, it illuminated the night sky, going from west to east, before it went out like a fire ball.

There was no sign of any "touch down,"  no debris, no remains hitting the ground, not anywhere in the Midwest, but, according to press reports,  " in some sections of the region, where the object was sighted, homes and trees shook and sonic booms were heard." So this wasn't mass imagination at work, photographic record withstanding.

All I have to say about this is this: President Obama, keep that space program going. We may have to one day defend the planet against you know who.

News Source:  Star Tribune, Madison.com

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