Science News Thread (for articles that don't relate to ongoing discussions)

[magnemoe]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Several (6? 8?) years ago, in the possible lunar base discussion, I had suggested that the lunar modules should be buried into trenches, so the first thing to deliver is a heavy bulldozer to dig out these trenches and then cover them with ground.

They were laughing and suggesting to ram the bulldozer into the lunar surface at several km/s speed, so the trench will appear without digging, 

***

Several years later I was suggesting a sandbag fortress to reinforce the pioneer lunar outposts.

Nobody took this seriously. Well, well...

***

P.S.
Btw, my next suggestion on the deuterium fusion plant and superheavy launchpad complex is still on the table.

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P.P.S.
Btw the Project Horizon base was beginning from the several lunar tractors delivery.

Now that was an impressive star fortress.  More so for being an town, did not believe some towns with star fortresses around them. Assume the atoll around it was to make it impossible to charge in with rafts 
Where is this? 

[kerbiloid]

On 1/22/2024 at 9:15 PM, magnemoe said:

Now that was an impressive star fortress. 

It's important, that it's watered and connected with sea, to use deuterium and launch sea dragons.

On 1/22/2024 at 9:15 PM, magnemoe said:

Where is this? 

They say, it's Canada.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/aerial-views-that-prove-why-star-forts-are-so-beautiful

 

[AckSed]

Solar farms planted with wildflowers and native grasses saw increases in insect and plant biodiversity across the board, and the increased bee population even helped pollinate nearby soybeans:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0f72

[darthgently]

31 minutes ago, AckSed said:

Solar farms planted with wildflowers and native grasses saw increases in insect and plant biodiversity across the board, and the increased bee population even helped pollinate nearby soybeans:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0f72

If the honeycombs are built on the backs of the panels the heat from the hive would help prevent snow and ice build up, like, wow.  That said, until we put a few trillion into upgrading  the grid, moving the  petro based transportation energy budget to the grid is just silly.  Cart before the horse

[kerbiloid]

14 hours ago, AckSed said:

Solar farms planted with wildflowers and native grasses saw increases in insect and plant biodiversity across the board, and the increased bee population even helped pollinate nearby soybeans:

Until the solr panels get covered with the insect craps and dirty cobwebs, and you need to wash them with chemicals, pouring them onto the honeycombs.

[StrandedonEarth]

Elephants have names for each other!

Elephants in a Kenya Have Been Found to Give Each Other Names (mymodernmet.com)

Edited January 25, 2024 by StrandedonEarth

[kerbiloid]

Of course, they have.
 

Spoiler

This is Dima

 

This is Lyuba.

 

 

[darthgently]

This YouTube channel has some real gems.  Set aside an hour sometime and binge watch is my suggestion;

 

[darthgently]

NASA and lunar nuclear power plans

https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-nuclear-reactor-project-first-phase-complete

 

[AckSed]

Towerless vertical-axis wind turbine that replaces the traditional rigid tower with pre-stressed blades and tensioned centre supports could make energy from offshore wind as cheap as $55/MWh:

https://energy.sandia.gov/programs/renewable-energy/wind-power/offshore-design-optimization/arcus

tl;dr only 18% of offshore wind farm cost is in the actual physical structure. If you make it lighter (over 50%) and easier to install (vertical-axis turbines can use simpler floating anchorings and can be towed, fully-assembled, from port), costs plummet. You can also use a larger generator in a housing on the base to capture more energy.

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, AckSed said:

https://energy.sandia.gov/programs/renewable-energy/wind-power/offshore-design-optimization/arcus

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[darthgently]

5 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

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Good to see feathering in hurricanes is considered.  I was picturing those blades hitting water at speed when wave height combined with base pitching high seas combined (that base will not be rock solid).

Another thought was that open ocean is where the highest wind speeds occur, but VAWTs niche is typically low wind speed areas because they start at lower wind speeds and aren't nearly as efficient as HAWTs at high wind speed.  So while I understand the benefits they describe for this situation, I don't think the analysis presented was as complete as it could have been.

The feathering mechanism would require very flexible blades that would either be under a lot of tension/compression when in use, or during a hurricane depending on the rest curve of the blade.  Neither is ideal.

[AckSed]

Five percent of Roman/Greek scroll burned in the eruption of Vesuvius is finally read... and it's a treatise on the philosophy of pleasure:

https://scrollprize.org/grandprize

Hopefully coming soon, the rest of it, as well as 600 other scrolls they also found. And there are almost certainly be more to be excavated.

Edit: this is also a good description of how to run a project like this.

Edited February 6, 2024 by AckSed

[darthgently]

1 hour ago, AckSed said:

Five percent of Roman/Greek scroll burned in the eruption of Vesuvius is finally read... and it's a treatise on the philosophy of pleasure:

https://scrollprize.org/grandprize

Hopefully coming soon, the rest of it, as well as 600 other scrolls they also found. And there are almost certainly be more to be excavated.

Edit: this is also a good description of how to run a project like this.

One can hope they find a similar library in a stoic's residence to provide balance.  Ha

[kerbiloid]

13 hours ago, AckSed said:

Five percent of Roman/Greek scroll burned in the eruption of Vesuvius is finally read... and it's a treatise on the philosophy of pleasure

With a part of logo "RN HABITAT" on top.

The first letters probably mean something in German.

Maybe, the name of the habitat owner.

***

Mr. Pasolini had left so much lost scenery...

Edited February 6, 2024 by kerbiloid

[darthgently]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

With a part of logo "RN HABITAT" on top.

The first letters probably mean something in German.

Maybe, the name of the habitat owner.

***

Mr. Pasolini had left so much lost scenery...

The article presents a possible name of the owner, a student of Epicurean philosophy.  I can't recall if it started with "R*.   RN could just be dig grid coordinates in alphanumeric or similar.  Don't know

[darthgently]

 

 

[insert_name]

Mimas has a geologicaly young ocean beneath its surface

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mimas-tiny-moon-young-ocean.html

[Spaceception]

I found this interesting youtube channel that records talks about exoplanet science, while looking for a video about KOBE, an ongoing project to find K-dwarfs Orbited By habitable Exoplanets (yay for acronyms).

The channel: https://www.youtube.com/@exoplanettalks/videos

And more about KOBE https://kobe.caha.es/

[darthgently]

Here is a fun rabbit hole of only medium depth.  Babbage would love it

 

[StrandedonEarth]

1 hour ago, darthgently said:

Here is a fun rabbit hole of only medium depth.  Babbage would love it

 

Here's a link to the blog, for those who shun xitter (I deleted my account, I'm not supporting that crud in any way, shape or form. It's frustrating enough that that's where SpX updates appear)

Reverse-engineering an electromechanical Central Air Data Computer (righto.com)

[darthgently]

1 hour ago, StrandedonEarth said:

(I deleted my account, I'm not supporting that crud in any way, shape or form. It's frustrating enough that that's where SpX updates appear)

TMI

Thanks for posting the direct link though

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

News Flash: Boys and Girls are different!

(FMRI brain scans sorted by AI & science note structural and functional differences in male and female brains)

AI Finds Women and Men Differ with Respect to Brain Organization and Function (genengnews.com)

 

[SunlitZelkova]

5 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

News Flash: Boys and Girls are different!

(FMRI brain scans sorted by AI & science note structural and functional differences in male and female brains)

AI Finds Women and Men Differ with Respect to Brain Organization and Function (genengnews.com)

 

Seems like a given though. Men and women are different in other areas of the body (for example in how muscles grow after exercise), so why wouldn't they be in their brains?

[DDE]

12 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:

Seems like a given though. Men and women are different in other areas of the body (for example in how muscles grow after exercise), so why wouldn't they be in their brains?

It's disconcerting for those who conflate equality with sameness.