Dominatus

Lol I know I saw it in maybe eighth grade science when the teacher was out sick lol I was just thinking about it and hadn't done any research yet.

Long-overdue was what I had gotten from a documentary several years ago

Rather than explain what I'm sure everyone here knows in depth, regarding the long-overdue Yellowstone super volcanic eruption, I will post my idea directly. What if we could somehow release the building pressure, possibly by drilling a hole with a pressure-release valve? I have done no research whatsoever on this concept and am by no means proficient in geology or engineering. All I as is if this is a feasible idea to prevent the potentially cataclysmic event that might happen? If anyone has any better ideas (besides "don't worry about it, it won't happen in our lifetimes") I would love to hear them.

Okay, thank you.

It's one of the first two options, as the teacher mentioned her email being messed with remotely.

A disruptive student is using a cell phone to mess with my teacher's smartboard, and access her computer through it. I need to know if there is some way to shut off outside connections to the smartboard and prevent the student from hijacking it again in the future. If anyone knows how this can be prevented short of every student surrendering their phones at the start of class please let me know so I can pass the information on to my school's tech support/ teacher.

Hey what about Neosapien United? Might that be an okay and catchy name? Anyone has anything let me know!

Lol wish I could.

I have a project in my entrapraneurship class and I could really use some creative assistance. I am "founding" a private research company in the Silicon Valley area, CA. Basically, like Portal's Aperture Science minus the mad science factor. All kinds of research will be performed depending on the contract the company is given. So here's the challenge... What in the heck do I name it?? I can't for the life of me come up with a clever, creative, cool-sounding name that is also original. So I am coming here for ideas. Aperture, ascendant, all sorts of companies in the real world and in worlds of fiction exist. I want a name that sounds cool and clever while having a futuristic sort of name that inspires a feeling of hope for the future of science. I realize this is not directly related to the science thread but I figured if anyone could provide me with some neat and original-sounding terms based on real science that it would be all of you fine ladies and gents. Thank you!

This was purely hypothetical. I decided on ejection from another galaxy for the reason that the body would have slowed substantially prior to reaching earth in the outer arms of our galaxy. Of course, we could simply assume that the specified velocity is the final velocity and nothing is lost as it escapes our galactic center. Either way, earth is in for a world of hurt (despite the- pardon the pun- astronomically low probability of an impact event between planets of different systems, before taking into account the likelihood of a body achieving such a velocity.

I'm hardly the first to refer to the earth as such, and if you think about it it's true. We are in the boonies of the universe- an unimportant speck of dust around an ordinary yellow dwarf in a sparse stellar neighborhood in the outer arm of an average spiral galaxy that is itself in a sparsely populated region of the universe that is part of a local superstructure that is part of something even bigger etc. really the earth isn't that special and the only evidence of us after this event is an alien astronomer checking his instruments and wondering what could possibly have caused a star to hiccup like that, and how a particle could ever move so fast... Anyway I showed my physics teacher this and he got a laugh out of it, so thanks all!

I had figured as much. Beat me to the calculations- hs makes it hard to find free time in class haha! Does this also take info account the differences in velocity between the object and earth though? While minuscule the earth still is whipping through space at- what- 8kph? Something like that. Anyways, couldn't that have an effect on the total energy output? And what's more, what might the escape velocity of the dwarf planet have been from it's parent star? How does that number affect the end result of the calculation? What's more, depending on how the body entered the solar system, Jupiter has a chance of flinging it off, I think, right? These are making it far more complicated of course, but I'm curious to see where things go from here.

This is the beginning of my work... Stars are sometimes ejected from their parent galaxy by the Supermassive black hole they orbit. This kicks the star out into intergalactic space at hyper-velocities, achieving significant fractions of the speed of light. Taking this one step further, let's imagine a Pluto-sized body got kicked out of this star system as it was flung off into oblivion, and this dwarf planet eventually impacted a small terrestrial planet in a backwater system on the ourirts of a spiral arm of a completely insignificant galaxy. Pluto has a mass of 1.3x10^22 Kg, and we will assign it a velocity of 1.6 million km/h The impact with earth will have what energy value and what might our poor planet look like after this impact? Surely it would be sterilized at the very least, right?

http://www.texscience.org/reports/tree.jpg This is a link to an image depicting a "tree of life" which appears to trace species back to our common single-celled ancestors. I want to know if this is the most accurate image available, and if not then where can I find an image that encompasses all life we have known to exist? This is to serve as a resource I'm future debates. Thank you.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I knew I wasn't considering anywhere near all the issues that would be involved with this sort of undertaking. It made sense at the time to an extent but there is a lot to consider... I don't know the first thing about mining or refining resources on earth, let alone in space. The reason why I was so optimistic is due to human ingenuity and the progressive leaps companies make when they smell profit in return for innovation. That is, since there is a large potential payout from mining in space, it makes sense to focus on research and development in order to make this a reality. The space economy for this will not exist until resource collection and orbital construction come into play, creating a market. That's the way I see it anyways.

This generation- my generation- has a unique opportunity that we may finally be able to exploit. Asteroids contain elements not commonly found on earth, and elements that may be otherwise difficult to obtain. It shouldn't even be too difficult. Simply send the components required into low earth orbit, and assemble a ship there. Head out to a nearby asteroid a kilometer or two across, and set up a mining operation. Refine the resources either at that location or near another, more suitable location and vent the toxic fumes into space... Or find some other suitable way to dispose of them. Fuel can be obtained from water sources on ice moons, and the facility can be powered through either a fission reactor or a solar array. The initial start-up costs are obviously going to be quite high. That doesn't matter, because the payoff that one could receive for bringing a metric ton of refined platinum, or whatever it is that you manage to mine out of the asteroid would be rather large. Rare resources on earth may be more common in asteroids. In order to save money, probes can be constructed to land on and then "prospect" potential asteroids to find out the materials contained within, with rare metals such as gold being prioritized over more common elements, such as aluminum. In addition, the more basic material can be brought back to earth orbit after it is refined, and then machined into parts that are assembled in spaced allowing for more mining facilities to be constructed, increasing output. Contracts can be taken for space stations and ships, which are then assembled in orbit for a large fee. The truly rare resources are essentially a massive source of profits, and so by returning these to earth we allow for an expansion of industry on the planet, with rare resources suddenly not quite as rare. There may be some challenges associated with this, but these can almost certainly be overcome, if not at this moment in time then within the next decade. The stations can either be manned, or unmanned, with advantages and disadvantages to both. Unmanned stations will be almost completely autonomous, using pre-programmed instructions that can be updated from earth at most any time. Manned stations may prove less expensive, as enough workers would be willing to go to space so that we are in as much danger of running out of volunteers as you are in KSP. What are the challenges? Why won't this work? And if it will work, why hasn't anyone made a move yet!?

Honestly, the debate has to be concise and the word count is limited. See, as foolish as I am, I have decided to attempt to educate someone on the ifunny comment section. And it would appear as if this individual has decided the exchange is over, as it has been close to 24 hours without a response. I also realize that it is like talking to a wall, as an article titled "The science of why we don't believe science" points out. http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/denial-science-chris-mooney

Thank you, we will see if her parents will do that.

Thank you. That article is rather interesting... We ask her to move her right foot when my grandfather attempts to walk her to a chair, and after several requests, prodding, tapping the foot she is able to shift or move it slightly. It shows she is able to process certain things on a moment-by-moment basis. But is there some way to see if she understands what is going on around her? If you ask her a question and give her option A or option B, she will choose option B. Ask her again, option B or option A, she will choose option A, the last thing you had said. Whether this is simply her inability to properly verbalize things or an actual absence of cognitive understanding between the choices, well, I don't know.

So an interesting question was posed in regards to the age of the earth. My opponent seems to think the earth is 6,000 years old, rather than the 4.3 billion scientists accept as the actual age. My opponent asked how we know radiocarbon dating is accurate, that it has always been constant and that no natural force could influence the rate of decay. I was unable to answer his question, as I have no idea how we know that. Maybe it was taught in school and I forgot it. Maybe I was not looking at the right websites to answer this. Whatever the answer, I was hoping someone here could help me out by providing the information I was challenged to find.

My mother has had multiple sclerosis for the last 13-14 years, mentally and physically incapacitated. She recognizes my sister and myself most of the time, but can't communicate her thoughts very well if at all, and we want to know if she is aware of what's going on around her. If she can actually retain anything, if she is stuck in her own head and aware of what's going on... Is there any way to detect that through brain activity or neural responses? This is more for curiosity than anything. Thank you.

I'm unsure as to what it is I'm experiencing. I turned 18 this past December, and on the way home from school (half days bc of midterms) I lost control on the dirt road and went off road, flipping the car onto it's side. This is my first really bad car wreck. The airbags went off and the key was stuck in the ignition, the car flipped onto the drivers side. I had to climb up and crawl out of the passenger side as the car filled with smoke prior to the engine dying. After this I was shaking, probably shock. My ankle is also likely sprained... And I am just regretting it. Regretting that I hadn't slowed down more before avoiding a pothole, regretting that I was going 35mph instead of 15-25mph, regretting that I had totaled my car. It was my great-grandfathers 2001 catera that I inherited, and it had it's own little quirks but it was a good car. Reliable. I've had it since spring sophomore year, when my great grandfather passed away. It was arguably the best car my family owned, the others being a 1995 town and country and a Trailblazer that has at least 400,000 miles on it, probably far more. Neither is a great vehicle, and mine was supposed to last until college... I am incredibly upset at the moment, and see this as an end to the freedoms I was enjoying with my own car. Is there some psychological explanation for this torrent of feelings that are pummeling me? And what can I do to make myself feel better, to get over it? Any advice is really appreciated.. I know there is a psychological explanation for this way I am feeling and dealing with this.

That is an interesting viewpoint, but should FTL be possible and practical then why haven't they popped in for a visit? There are likely numerous civilizations that know of each other, maybe even some that can travel between the stars. At this point, I think aliens would form some sort of governing body to unite each other. From their they may decide, hey, since we obviously aren't alone, there are probably other races out there. And with that they go about trying to find and unite the people of the Milky Way. Signals can't travel faster than light, of course, and that 60 ly bubble is very small. But it's also mind-bogglingly large. Surely an FTL capable civilization that is keeping an eye open to spot other civilizations would have picked up some signal by now, right? So either we are alone, FTL is impossible, or they know we exist and are deliberately keeping quiet.

FTL travel is 100% more possible than it was 30 years ago. Considering the probability of us obtaining the means to travel FTL is estimated at .01-.1% which may seem stupidly unlikely. It was considered impossible in the past, and so assuming future advancements make it possible, Human colonization of the galaxy is inevitable. So how would the nations of the world decide things such as ownership of colonies? Would each nation be allowed exoplanet territory on a planetary basis? Would these habitable planets be divided by region? Would humanity found a global governing body that allows equal access to every nation in the name of the human race? On a more short term scale, proposed lunar and Martian colonies could pose a similar issue. Should nations be allowed to found colonies on planetary bodies without ownership? Should private corporations be the only ones allowed to colonize other planets, and if so would that eventually lead to the most powerful corporations becoming nations in their own right? This is not only an interesting topic to think about, these are very real questions about our future in the stars. Personally I feel that nationalistic, regional and cultural divides be abolished. China, Russia, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, basically every nation must put down their arms, join together under a single body that governs not nations but the planet, and work together towards a brighter and more survivable future for humanity. This way, their are no private entities vying for control of the resources available on other planets, nor for the scientific advantage this research gives their nation. Instead, this is used to advance Planet earth as a whole, humanity as a species. Thoughts?

Finally downloaded google docs, now for my answer. Grab a seat, it's pretty long. I believe that the galaxy is teeming with life. Though unconfirmed thus far, it is not an unreasonable assumption to make, especially in accordance with the Drake Equation. So why haven’t alien lifeforms contacted us? Why is it that our messages to the stars go unanswered? Perhaps this is because of the sparsity of the stellar neighborhood in which we live. The solar system, our sun, they are often considered “backwaterâ€Â. The nearest star is around 4 light years away from us. And there are only a few stars within a dozen light years. Elsewhere in the galaxy, it is more common to see numerous stars within a few light years of each other, stars that may be able to support life. I believe that in these systems, should complex life emerge and should the formation of these systems coincide with each other than extraterrestrials here could be at very similar technological levels when first contact is made. The two possible outcomes involve peaceful coexistence… and war. Either a community is ignited between the planets, or they figure out ways to destroy each other. These outcomes will be touched on in regards to our own system. Earth, being so isolated, likely has no neighbors that bear intelligent life, at least not nearby. Though it is unfortunate in some respects, in others it may be a blessing. Think about the human race. How often are we divided, fighting amongst ourselves? On a galactic scale, the warlike civilizations are more likely to wipe themselves out, or in the previous example of a stellar community, to wipe their neighbors out. Warlike species will inevitably destroy themselves, unless another species presents itself first in which case their own destruction may be delayed. The civilizations that live in peace are the ones likely to survive, thrive in this galaxy and exist in a diverse and amazing community. Humans are, unfortunately, one of these violent races. We are a young species still, and haven’t destroyed ourselves yet. There is still hope, should we put aside our differences and join together as a single species, one of peace and not war. Once this happens, I believe it won’t be very long until we receive a message, as a kind of “hello, congrats on not killing yourselves off, and welcome to the galaxyâ€Â, possibly followed by an alien emissary that we greet with open arms, trusting this newcomer. They share FTL technology, along with other amazing technological secrets. We open up trade with others in the collective, and learn to avoid responding to the more violent new civilizations until they have adopted the same peace as we have. It would not do to invite a group that may decide to exterminate other species in the galaxy, or build up a massive weapons arsenal with the excuse that it serves to deter the more technologically advanced races from attacking… Eventually, humans will live alongside other intelligent beings in the galaxy, with trade going to multiple worlds. Before that day can come, we must put down our weapons, our hate and distrust and reservations, and greet our fellow man with open arms, embracing him the same way we embrace our differences. We are like children, and we must grow up before we can sit with the adults.