Show Notes 27 January 2023
Story 1: A new satellite can now measure nearly all the Earth’s water
Source: CNN Story by Ashley Strickland
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/world/nasa-swot-launch-scn/index.html
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maI09QHicTg&t=4181s
- Last month an innovative satellite created through a joint effort between NASA and the French space agency was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
- Using cutting-edge radar technology that took years to develop, the International Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission satellite will survey water on more than 90% of the world’s surface every 21 days measuring the height of water in freshwater bodies and the oceans.
- More on the satellite’s radar: Ka-band Radar Interferometer [which is an altimeter used to measure water surface heights], is able to detect features that are up to 10 times smaller than those picked up by sea-level satellites.
- Wait, what does the “Ka” stand for? Kurtz-above Band is the frequency range allocated from 17.7GHz on the downlink and to 30.6GHz on the uplink for use by satellite communication systems.
- Time out, what are sea-level satellites? Answer from NASA:
- NASA measures sea level around the globe using satellites. The Jason-3 satellite uses radio waves and other instruments to measure the height of the ocean’s surface – also known as sea level. It does this for the entire Earth every 10 days, studying how global sea level is changing over time.
- The Earth’s salt and freshwater bodies of water shape our weather and climate as they store and move carbon and heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gas emissions.
- With that said, the goal is to show how oceans influence climate change as well as how global warming is impacting lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
- The satellite’s surveying will help scientists understand the global water budget and see how the heat exchange between the Earth’s atmosphere and bodies of water may be accelerating global warming.
- And the satellite’s data will also help national, state, and local government agencies better prepare for flooding and other water-related disasters [such as what we just witnessed in California] which are increasing due to global warming.
Story 2: University of Minnesota researchers can move objects without touching them
Source: Scitechdaily.com and University of Minnesota announcement
Link: https://scitechdaily.com/not-science-fiction-a-new-method-to-move-objects-without-contact/
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61y6CBfyoqI&t=1s
- A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has discovered a way to move and manipulate objects [larger than ever before] using only ultrasound waves.
- We can’t hear Ultrasound waves because they have higher frequencies than the human ear can hear.
- This is not the first-time sound waves have been used to move objects.
- It’s been demonstrated before that light and sound waves can move and manipulate objects, but the objects in experiments to date have been tiny [a few millimeters when using sound, and a few nanometers in size when using light].
- The University team developed a method using ultrasound waves that can move much larger objects –
- In their experiment video they manipulate an object about the size of a large pack of chewing gum.
- Okay, that’s still a small object, but future advancements may significantly increase the size.
- To make this possible the team is using some very geeky science dealing with the physics of metamaterials, which are materials that are engineered and designed to interact with light or sound waves.
- More on metameterials: Metamaterials are a novel class of functional materials that are designed around unique micro- and nanoscale patterns or structures, which cause them to interact with light and other forms of energy in ways not found in nature.
- By placing a metamaterial pattern on the surface of an object, the researchers were able to use ultrasound waves to steer and move objects in a controlled direction without physically touching them.
- The University of Minnesota team says their research will help pave the way for contactless movement of objects in manufacturing, robotics, and much more – all without the need for any internal power source driving the object to be moved.
Story 3: The viability of solar cars just got a shot in the arm with an order for 10,000 vehicles made by a Dutch car maker
Source: NL#Times Netherlands Times
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xee3D7prGzw
- What if your all-electric car’s roof and body were covered with mini solar panels harvesting electricity whenever they’re exposed to sunlight to augment the electricity pumped into the vehicle’s batteries using a traditional charging port.
- Sounds like a win/win concept to me, and that’s the idea behind “solar cars” – which can add around 15 to 45 miles of range on a clear day.
- Proof of the growing commercial market interest in solar cars happened this month when Dutch car maker Lightyear inked a deal with a car leasing company called Arval to produce 10,000 units of its solar Lightyear 2 model.
- The key to Lightyear’s success to date has been their ability to produce a solar car for less than 40,000 euros [that’s about 43,000 US dollars].
- Lightyear is not the only company developing solar cars.
- Toyota, for example, has a car with solar panels on the roof and hood.
- Others include:
- Sono Motors
- I think this is a really interesting trend to track, and I’m hoping to see solar cars at the big international car show here in Portland, Oregon next month.
Story 4: Scientists recently discovered a fourth membrane in the human brain and the important role it plays
Source: Popular Mechanics Story by Tim Newcomb
Link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a42436251/fourth-membrane-discovered-in-human-brain/
Source: newscientist.com Story by Clare Wilson
- Recently scientists at the universities of Rochester and Copenhagen discovered there’s a fourth previously unknown membrane in the brain.
- Until this breakthrough scientists thought there were only three layers of membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord.
- The newly discovered fourth membrane is just below what was considered the middle layer called the arachnoid layer.
- The team’s findings reveal that this newly found fourth layer helps control the flow of cerebrospinal fluid [which cushions the brain and spinal cord].
- And this newly discovered fourth layer is also believed to help remove waste from the brain to support immune defense. It could also enable the flushing of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases from the central nervous system.
- The researchers were able to see the thin and delicate fourth membrane [which measures only a few cells in thickness] thanks to recent advancements in neuro-imaging and molecular biology.
- And here’s why this is so important – The Rochester and Copenhagen team hopes this discovery may lead to improved drug delivery, new biological therapies, and a greater understanding of diseases of the brain.