Homely Scientist

 Hydrogen is often held up as the fuel of the future, but there are some problems with good old H-2.  First, it’s explosive.  Second, as the lightest element, Earth’s gravity isn’t even strong enough to keep it here.  Third, given one and two, rather hard to safely contain and if that isn’t enough, fourth … it isn’t that easy to generate.  Yes, I did the electrolysis experiment in school using a battery to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, but the reality is that the amount of energy required to get the hydrogen out, exceeds the amount of energy the …read more

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 You know what they say about the best laid plans…  Well a massive tide-power plan is already behind.  You know, from all the sources I’ve read it’s not really clear as to why.  I’m just going to guess it’s going to be the standard reasons.
Does this douse all similar projects?  Is tidal power like holding back the tide with a paper cup?  No, of course not.  Really this seems to be a pretty logical and feasible project.  For all those concerned, the props as seen on the right, spin too slowly to harm ocean life.
from Engadget
Technorati Tags: tidal power

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I just heard on the radio that there is a total lunar eclipse tonight (this morning, technically).  I looked around and found a special page from NASA on it:
A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the early morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2007. The event is widely visible from the United States and Canada as well as South America, the Pacific Ocean, western Asia and Australia. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon’s disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray. Source: NASA – Total …read more

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Recently scientists found bacteria preserved in an Antarctic glacier (talk about freeze drying!) and were able to get it growing in culture in the lab:
Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University, who led the study, describes the ancient bacteria as small round cells that had been in a “suspended state of animation for 8 million years”. He says the increasingly rapid flow of glaciers into the ocean as a result of global warming could release new organisms into the sea but he does not believe this is cause for concern because marine bacteria and viruses are typically far less harmful to human …read more

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This came out last week I think.  Turns out the folks at the Goddard Institute made a bad assumption about their data and got called on it:
The Goddard Institute claimed that the cause of the error was a switch to a new data-collection system in 2000. This led to an incorrect assumption that the old and new methods matched, which was proved to be untrue.
According to latest figures, 1934 is now the hottest year on record in the US at 1.25C higher than normal. 1998, the previous front-runner, is now second at 1.23C, followed by 1921 at 1.15C.
The old system …read more

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While you might think that we are more closely related to gorillas, it’s chimpanzees that we’re closest too, genetically that is.  One of the key key questions is then, when did the split occur?  Well about 10 million years ago, 2 million years earlier than previously thought:
If they are correct, it implies that the ancestors of modern humans and African great apes split and embarked on different evolutionary paths much earlier than had been thought. Source: Channel 4 – News – Teeth reveal gorilla ancestor clue
This is important because every bit of data on hominid evolution we have gives us …read more

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 Here’s a great example of science and engineering looking to nature for new and innovative ways to solve problems.  Look at that robot!  It’s tiny!  It hops!  It finds pollution!
Umberto Scarfogliero, one of the men behind the University of Lucca project, says that the team focused on fleas and frogs in particular when researching the ‘bot. “Robots like these are far more efficient than larger ones in scouring vast areas of land in a shorter time,” he explained. The little critters are now being equipped with sensors that will allow them to locate sources of mercury poisoning. Source: Leaping Lizards: …read more

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 I know this might seem hokey, but wait read on:
We’ve all dreamed of having a mini-greenhouse that we could plug into our computer, but until today it was just that — dreams. But dream no longer. Geeks.com is selling a USB-powered Mini Greenhouse that includes a computer interface which helps you monitor growth rate and that includes a calendar, wallpaper and bookmark settings to aid you in monitoring the growth of your greenhouse. Source: USB: Grow Plants with the USB-Powered Mini-Greenhouse – Gizmodo
What about using this as a great science experiment with your kids?  I’m sure the software is fun …read more

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The key to many hybrid cars is the battery technology.  Seems that an attempt by Toyota to switch to LiON batteries has caused some problems:
Bob Kanode, the CEO of Valence Technology, which makes lithium-ion batteries for vehicles, recently said one of the big issues for the electric car world was going to be cobalt versus phosphate. And he may be right. Source: Has Toyota delayed new Priuses? Is cobalt to blame? | Tech news blog – CNET News.com
Right now the Prius uses the time-tested Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, laptops and other power-hungry devices use LiON (Lithium ion).  Of course …read more

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 I don’t know if this is a post for here or PimpYourWork, but eh, we’ll do it here (more science than work I guess).  We know that electrical resistance makes heat (this how toasters and electric heaters work, btw) and our computers are packing in so many electro-bits (I made that up) that heat generation is a big problem.  I have no less than three devices handy to help keep my laptop cool.  All involve passive cooling (letting more cool air get to the machine), not what if the processors were made to cool themselves!
US researchers have developed a prototype …read more

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