Simple Science

CNET:Is asteroid mining in our near future?

Dear Space-Junkies,

I recently got this email from my NASA ARC mailing list, about a LUNAR webinar (web seminar?). It looks interesting enough, and I don’t have anything else to do, so I’m thinking of checking it out. However, it seems like it’s just a link, and that anyone can attend. I’m not positive, but I’ll check it out the day-of.

SO if you’re interested in this, send me an ask (or fanmail - probably better) telling me such! If it seems that it’s okay for me to invite general people in using my link, I will definitely do so! I will know this the day-of, hopefully a couple minutes into the webinar (assuming I remember to attend). There was nothing explicitly against it in the message, but I’d like to be extra sure :D

(Also, the link at the bottom may very well be what you’re looking for as a Guest or whatnot, so feel free to explore that - you may not even need a link from me!)

Dear LUNAR colleagues,

 

This Friday, Doug Currie will be delivering our last LUNAR webinar of the academic year, and I hope you can join us.

 

Date: Fri. 13th Apr. 2012

Time: Noon, Mountain Time (2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific, 18:00 UTC)

URL: ########################

How to connect: Just go to the URL.  You will be prompted to install the Adobe Connect applet if you don’t have it already.

 

Speaker: Doug Currie, University of Maryland

Title: Lunar Laser Ranging: Description, Results and the Future

Abstract:

Lunar Laser Ranging to the retroreflecting mirrors left on the lunar surface continue to this day to operate and generate new science results.  The basic experimental process and the unique science results addressing the physics of the lunar interior and gravitational science that have been produced by the Lunar Laser Ranging Program (LLRP) to date will be described. While the Apollo retroreflector arrays are still operation and continue to produce new state-of-the-art science results, the combination of the lunar librations and the design of the arrays currently limit the range accuracy obtained for each single photo-electron return to ~20 mm. A next generation lunar retroreflector (e.g., the Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector for the 21st Century or LLRRA-21) holds promise for great improvements in the existing science results.  This is critical due to the need to better understand the deep interior of the moon, which addresses the origin of the solar system bodies.  On the other hand, the gravitational observations are important due to the inconsistency between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The magnitude of these improvements will depend critically on the method of robotic deployment of the LLRRA-21. The deployment will be reviewed, especially those that can be supported by the Google Lunar X Prize flights of the next few years. The expected magnitude of the return signal derived from the optical/thermal simulations will be described. This expected signal return will be similar to signal return that is currently being obtained from the Apollo 15 array, so we can evaluate the capability of various ground stations to conduct regular ranging programs. This will address the number of ground stations that can contribute and the frequency of observations what would be available for the science analysis. Finally, the lifetime issues related to the Apollo arrays and the projection to the current design of the LLRRA-21 will be discussed.  This work has been supported by the LUNAR team of the NASA/NLSI and the INFN-LNF and ASI.

 

The current schedule and connection details can always be found on the LUNAR website:

http://lunar.colorado.edu/webinar.php

With all the talk of Tumblr looking into the whole “URL squatters” issue

(Despite how legitimate it may or may not be)

I figured I’d at least take a second to remind everyone that this blog still exists and will be updated.

Just not incredibly often for the next couple months.

(For those of you curious as to why, I’m going through some medical issues. Nothing life-threatening, but serious enough to be putting a huge damper in my life.)

I hope everyone is having a fine evening!

In my future work/home area

oceanastronaut:

I intend for it to be incredibly different than most common scientific institutions. Everything is clean, controlled, and practical. Everything is understood. And in a sense, that’s great for doing good science.

But it’s also uninspiring.

I wish to live/work in a place of fantasy and grandeur. Scholars are often depicted with grandeur, large spaces, artisan-created beauty. Why doesn’t this exist? It’s easy to say it’s not practical. But is the cost worth it?

I’ve been torn between what factors determine what I’m truly looking for:

• artisan-ship; the visible (and beautiful) human effort into these creations. It adds a sense of both life (the one or many who created it) and purpose (we do science because it is beautiful, because it is an art)

Versus

• complex materials. Imperfect materials. Every lab bench is the same corrosion-resistant, spill-resistant, non-reactive material. Every wall is the same color, of the same simple synthetic material. It is perfect, in the sense of being homogenous and useful. But complex, imperfect (in the same sense) materials, like wood, minerals, gems, glass - those are even more scientific. Science is about explaining the unexplained, and unraveling the mysteries of, as well as the complexity within, the universe as a whole. So while we could surround ourselves with controlled materials, these are things we already know. But do we know why that wood grain differs from the one on the second bench? Why the minerals creak on coldy days? When we surround ourselves with these ultra-complex materials, when we immerse ourselves in the beauty and complexity and mystery of our natural word still so unexplained - wouldn’t that be a better environment for this line of work?

Perhaps the answer lies at some cross-section of the two choices.

Who knows; at least I’ll just keep thinking ahead.

Apologies to those who follow both my personal blog (oceanastronaut, the original poster above) and this science blog - you’re seeing this twice! However, I felt that I might like to share this with the slightly broader audience I have on Simple Science, and hope that it may be appreciated!

(Source: freedomnipples)

Interesting Note:

The second was originally defined based off of the rotation of planetary and solar bodies.

Thousands of years later, the minute was introduced, based off of a subdivision of the day / a multiple of seconds. Still related to planetary orbits, etc.

Weirdly though, a minute is also the amount of time it takes (on average) for a person’s heart to pump their entire volume of blood through the circulatory system while at rest.

Two completely different sources of measurement, but somehow our heart rate operates on a compatible scale to that of planetary orbits.

SCIENCE

What Pi Sounds Like

art-sci asked: Hello. I'm taking Algebra 2 right now (I'm a sophomore). What are some things that I should really pay attention to in Algebra 2 that will help me in Pre-Calculus? Also, if you have any other tips/suggestions for a someone who's just starting on in Algebra 2, I'd appreciate it greatly. :) Thanks!

Hi there! That’s a good question!

Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I’ve been in Algebra II / Precalc (about 6-7 years), SO I had to cheat a little and get a rough idea of what topics you might be going over. I did a quick google search and came up with this site (http://www.brightstorm.com/math/precalculus/) (or substitute precalculus for algebra-2). I hope this is roughly similar to your curriculum!

As a general rule, I’d say you should really pay attention to everything in Algebra 2 of course! Actually, I’m not trying to be as corny as it sounds - topics in Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 are the building blocks for so much that you’ll do in later math and physics courses.

However, if you’re specifically worried about Precalculus next year, I’d say to make sure that you have the following nailed down: Functions, Polynomials, Factoring, Linear Equations (and inequalities), and Conic Sections (if you’re really gung-ho). 

As for other tips and suggestions: From here on out, you’ll find that no matter how smart you are, for some things you’ll simply need to see it explained a couple times before you get it. So don’t get discouraged if you don’t understand something the first time the teacher introduces it! Many of the topics are only going to get more and more abstract, and our brains have trouble dealing with this! If you have a nice teacher, see if you can go to them for extra explanation on topics, even if you THINK you understand it, but aren’t SURE. If that approach doesn’t work, possibly look into tutoring! Many college kids tutor for cheap, and some locations even do volunteer tutoring. And finally, once you understand a topic really well, don’t hesitate to try to help your friends in understanding it! Oftentimes attempting to teach a topic is the best measure of your understanding of that topic, and you’ll probably learn something new while teaching what you thought you already knew so well!

I hope this helps, and feel free to ask any other questions you have!