The Homely Scientist

Google Earth is one of those fantastic tools that just keeps getting better.  While, yes, it does take up a bit of drive space, it also gives you the ability to learn a lot about our world.  Take storms for example…

The Hurricane season has officially begun. And the second named storm - Tropical Depression Barry - is currently providing much needed wetness to a dry southeastern US. One of Google Earth’s most powerful features is the ability to pull in real-time information from other sites and overlay the information for visualization. Weather data is one of my favorite applications of this ability. Imagine pulling in the latest satellite photos, radar animations, hurricane tracking, live web cams on the ground, sea surface temperature analysis, etc. Well, you can do all that with the set of tools I’ve bundled together into this: the weather and storm tracking tools collection  Source: Google Earth Blog: Weather and Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth

I’ve just re-installed Google Earth on my machine and plan on putting it on the kids’ computer as well.

Hat tip Beyond the Beyond

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Thanks to Geek Dad I bring you some full moon facts like:

21 Scientists have long battled to explain the “moon illusion” - whereby the full moon appears to be larger the closer it is to the horizon. The phenomenon is understood to be caused by human perception rather than the magnifying effect of the earth’s atmosphere.

and

15 According to superstition a male child is more likely to be conceived at full moon.

countered by:

35 An analysis of the birthdays of 4,256 babies born in a clinic in France found no relationship between the full moon and fertility.

The next full moon is June 30th so, get ready for werewolves, binge drinking, and all the other things related to general lunacy.

On a side note, when I did a lot of gardening I did some reading about when to sow seeds, and it seem that if I planted just before the full moon, the seeds sprouted faster.  The theory is that the increased gravitational pull from the moon helps the seed to sprout.

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 Every summer NASA flies over the Greenland ice sheet to determine its “health”–that is thickness, size, and height.  Essentially how fast is it shrinking:

This summer’s NASA expedition to Greenland has returned with fresh data. Now the analysis begins. One piece of equipment used is an ice-penetrating radar that can find bedrock up to 2 miles below the ice surface. NASA estimates an average drop of 9 inches in the height of Greenland’s glaciers would result in a 0.12-inch rise in global sea levels. Source:Greenland’s ice sheet: The annual checkup | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

 I’m sure when the news comes out later this summer, it isn’t going to be good.  The question, of course, is that fine we’re all hyped about global warming now, but is it too late?

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 Okay a bit cheeky, but these concepts from some engineering students for wind turbines over the highway could generate enough juice to power traffic signals and other important things for highway safety.

They might look far out, but for windy highways say in the mountain passes, they could probably be easier to deal with than the typical windmill style.

From Crunch Gear: Highway Wind Turbines

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Big news yesterday…

A team of astronomers announced they have discovered the smallest and potentially most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet. Five times as massive as Earth, it orbits a relatively cool star at a distance that would provide earthly temperatures as well, signaling the possibility of liquid water.

“The separation between the planet and its star is just right for having liquid water at its surface,” says astronomer and team spokesperson Stephane Udry of the Observatory of Geneva in Versoix, Switzerland. “That’s why we are a bit excited.”
Source: All Wet? Astronomers Claim Discovery of Earth-like Planet: Scientific American

Wow!  Cool!  Let’s move!  Umm.  Not so fast.  Okay, first thing it’s five-times more massive than Earth.  Meaning … gravity is, what, at least five times stronger (hmm maybe good for an Olympic training camp). Okay then there is the other detail.  It’s orbiting a star in Libra … 20 freakin’ light years away!  So until Zefram Cochrane invents warp drive in 2063, we’re kinda hooped.

For other thoughts on Earth 2.0, read David at science base …

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One of the huge problems with solar energy has been a materials science one.  Silicon-based cells are expensive, fragile, and have limited places they can be applied (easily).  Looks like that’s all going to change:

New solar cells developed by Massey University don’t need direct sunlight to operate and use a patented range of dyes that can be impregnated in roofs, window glass and eventually even clothing to produce power.

This means teenagers could one day be wearing jackets that will recharge their equivalents of cellphones, iPods and other battery- driven devices.
Source: Solar power breakthrough at Massey - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz (See also: Sea Eagle)

These solar cells are based off of research into plant photosynthetic compounds.  Essentially, what makes plants so darn efficient at using the Sun.  While these dye-based cells are only in the proof-of-concept stage, the implications are amazing.  Mind boggling.

Just read and let me know what you think.

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So, is the government to blame - or are scientists working for the government to blame? Science geeks, help me out here. What really happened?
Source: Daylight Saving Time - Snafu ~ Chris Pirillo

Yeah this recent change to DST in the US and Canada has been a pain.  I’ve had to help re-set VCR and TV clocks.  Had to make sure devices were patched.  And for what?  Nothing.

Yep, nothing.  See here is the basic theory, by “springing forward” each Spring, people can stay outside longer and use less electricity (since it’s light out later).  Okay, good idea.  Yes, it does actually work.  In fact my dad told me that during World War II the clocks were changed often so that factory workers could come home in daylight (it was a morale issue then).

Now this most recent DST change (moving from April to March) was supposed to bring more energy savings.  Okay, sure.  So the U.S. Congress decided to do it.  Canada had to follow suit so we wouldn’t be out of sync with our largest trading partner for three weeks.  Great.  So did it work?  Did we saving energy?  Nope.  Zero-sum game.  Because it was dark in the morning for a lot of people, they had to use more electricity then, offsetting not using it later.

Yeah, I’m pissed off too.  Is Congress going to change back?  Man I hope not anytime soon.  Look this has caused a serious tech headache.  I don’t think Congress really thought about this when they passed the law.  Now they should.

So what went wrong?  Faulty assumptions.  Faulty assumptions are the bane of a scientist’s existence and this one was a doozy.  Guys this is why we have computer models.  Oh well, maybe if we just accelerate the switch to compact fluorescent bulbs it might work out…

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This isn’t something that I thought I would come across on Zane’s blog, but anyway researchers up here in the Great White North (that would be Canada) have found that a little bacteria loves sugar maple sap and the “output” of that love are some cool bio-polymers:

Researchers in Canada have discovered that maple syrup may aid in the production of bioplastic. It turns out that a form of bacteria called alcaligenes latus has a sweet tooth, and behaves particularly ravenously when exposed to maple sap and syrup. Researchers found that the bacteria not only thrive when added to maple syrup, but also transform the sugars in the sap into a family of natural polymers that can be used to make plastic-like materials that are biodegradable – everything from “green” food packaging to drug-delivery films that dissolve harmlessly in the body.
Source: Using Maple Syrup To Make Bioplastics (TreeHugger)

So, no you’re not going to see LEGO made from maple syrup, but there could be lots of other things that you could see.  Man and as if maple syrup wasn’t expensive enough.  Oh well, if it helps to improve the planet.

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I have a friend named Toby so I could resist the title.  Anyway, this is rather cool.  It seems that for a small streatch of the ocean floor the Earth’s crust didn’t form!  Instead the mantle is exposed!

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — British scientists have embarked on a mission to study a huge area on the Atlantic seabed where the Earth’s crust is mysteriously missing and instead is covered with dark green rock from deep inside the planet.

The 12-member expedition to take an unprecedented peek at Earth’s mantle left the Canary Islands on Monday with a new high-tech vessel and a robotic device named Toby that will dig up rock samples at the site and film what it sees.
Source: Wired: AP Technology and Business News from the Outside World on Wired.com

Remember now that the Earth’s crust is about 4 mi thick so we usually don’t get a good look at stuff from the mantle.  Yes, occasionally chunks of mantle get tossed out by volcanoes, but this is mantle in situ!

I can’t wait for the pictures!

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You know all these great stuff we use online?  Google, this blog, your website, all of it is housed in data centres.  These are, essentially, giant computer warehouses.  Racks and racks and racks of serves live there connected to the Net and the power grid.  All of this computing uses a ton of power.  On GigaOm comes a simple suggestion that could help all of us:

To resolve this issue, I have been speaking with entrepreneurs that are working to solve the problem using solar energy. The theory is that if you can generate enough solar energy you can sufficiently supplement the utility company power and then locate a hosting provider in locations that are desirable to enterprises, such as downtown Manhattan or San Francisco.

Dissecting this theory a bit, modern hosting providers today are being built to serve 300 watts per square foot. Assuming a 100,000 square-foot hosting facility, that is a massive power consumption of 30 megawatts. If you build a 100,000 square-foot solar energy system on the roof of the hosting facility, my friends in the solar energy business tell me that would generate a total of only 1 megawatt. Yet, a solar energy system is geared toward shaving power during peak hours only, so you may only need 10 megawatts. That is still far more power than possible using solar energy.
Source: GigaOM » Time for Solar Power Data Centers?

By supplimenting a data centres power needs with solar, wind, whatever we can both reduce the load on the system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions required to generate power.  With generous tax credits large power consumers can do a great thing for all of us.

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