Large Hardon Collider

[Kryssan]

First time I've seen it

It's in this thread on the last page or two several times.

[Pirian]

I guess that's just how oblivious I am

edit: looked back to page 93 to make sure I wasn't losing it, but didn't see this posted

[Eliseos]

Any other sauce on Betelgeuse blowing the fuck up or not? I would love to believe the blog (or whatever it was) but I also know better than to believe only a blog.

[Max™]

It was a misread of info, it's been shrinking since 93, they didn't know that it didn't just start shrinking recently, and assumed it was about to pop soon.

[Eliseos]

It was a misread of info, it's been shrinking since 93, they didn't know that it didn't just start shrinking recently, and assumed it was about to pop soon.

Figures. I want to see some fuckin space bombs.

June 4, 2010: Earth and space are about to come into contact in a way that's new to human history. To make preparations, authorities in Washington DC are holding a meeting: The Space Weather Enterprise Forum at the National Press Club on June 8th.
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medial...swp_med200.jpg Many technologies of the 21st century are vulnerable to solar storms. [more]

Richard Fisher, head of NASA's Heliophysics Division, explains what it's all about:
"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we're getting together to discuss."
The National Academy of Sciences framed the problem two years ago in a landmark report entitled "Severe Space Weather Events—Societal and Economic Impacts." It noted how people of the 21st-century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. A century-class solar storm, the Academy warned, could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
Much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is coming. Putting satellites in 'safe mode' and disconnecting transformers can protect these assets from damaging electrical surges. Preventative action, however, requires accurate forecasting—a job that has been assigned to NOAA.
"Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy, but we're making rapid progress," says Thomas Bogdan, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Bogdan sees the collaboration between NASA and NOAA as key. "NASA's fleet of heliophysics research spacecraft provides us with up-to-the-minute information about what's happening on the sun. They are an important complement to our own GOES and POES satellites, which focus more on the near-Earth environment."
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medial...jpg/image_full Click on the image to play a 39 MB movie about space weather and NASA's heliophysics fleet. [more]

Among dozens of NASA spacecraft, he notes three of special significance: STEREO, SDO and ACE.
STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) is a pair of spacecraft stationed on opposite sides of the sun with a combined view of 90% of the stellar surface. In the past, active sunspots could hide out on the sun's farside, invisible from Earth, and then suddenly emerge over the limb spitting flares and CMEs. STEREO makes such surprise attacks impossible.
SDO (the Solar Dynamics Observatory) is the newest addition to NASA's fleet. Just launched in February, it is able to photograph solar active regions with unprecedented spectral, temporal and spatial resolution. Researchers can now study eruptions in exquisite detail, raising hopes that they will learn how flares work and how to predict them. SDO also monitors the sun's extreme UV output, which controls the response of Earth's atmosphere to solar variability.
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medial...jpg/image_mini On April 19, 2010, SDO observed one of the most massive eruptions in years. Earth was not in the line of fire ... this time. [full story]

Bogdan's favorite NASA satellite, however, is an old one: the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched in 1997. "Where would we be without it?" he wonders. ACE is a solar wind monitor. It sits upstream between the sun and Earth, detecting solar wind gusts, billion-ton CMEs, and radiation storms as much as 30 minutes before they hit our planet.
"ACE is our best early warning system," says Bogdan. "It allows us to notify utility and satellite operators when a storm is about to hit.”
NASA spacecraft were not originally intended for operational forecasting—"but it turns out that our data have practical economic and civil uses," notes Fisher. "This is a good example of space science supporting modern society."
2010 marks the 4th year in a row that policymakers, researchers, legislators and reporters have gathered in Washington DC to share ideas about space weather. This year, forum organizers plan to sharpen the focus on critical infrastructure protection. The ultimate goal is to improve the nation’s ability to prepare, mitigate, and respond to potentially devastating space weather events.
"I believe we're on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather." Fisher concludes. "We take this very seriously indeed."
For more information about the meeting, please visit the Space Weather Enterprise Forum home page at http://www.nswp.gov/swef/swef_2010.html.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...10/04jun_swef/


Taking bets on how bad the mainstream media spins this. And sorry about the formatting.

[Mizango]

Im with Eliseos lol.

[Max™]

[Lewis Black]Know what kills me, it's like people think the sun was put here to be nice to us, provide light, heat, and never do anything that you would normally expect a MASSIVE THORDAMNED GRAVITATIONALLY RESTRAINED BALL OF FUCKING NUCLEAR FIRE to do.[/Lewis Black]

[Kaylia]

After El nino, Y2k bug, terrorism, global warming, sras...solar flare! You know it's coming.



I kinda wish the Earth magnetic field would drop during a huge solar flare. I want to see how badly it would fuck us up. Make betelgeuse explode at the same time while we are at it.

[Kryssan]

ITER Finances in Question



Here. We. Go. Again.

A multi-billion euro international research project has run into deep financial trouble as EU governments scramble to find money to meet spiralling costs. However, with European credibility at stake, officials say there is no question of abandoning the project despite the yawning funding gaps.


Background

The ITER project is an experimental thermonuclear reactor based in Cadarache in southern France. The French site saw off rival bids from Japan, Spain and Canada.

Fusion research is touted by its proponents as a potential source of cheap, abundant and carbon-free fuel. However, sceptics say fusion has been a pipedream for decades and there remains scant evidence that it will yield practical results. There are also question marks over safety, according to environmentalists, who want the funding diverted to renewable energy research.

The initiative began as a US-Russian project in the 1980s but now includes the EU, China, India, Japan and South Korea. 45% of the funding for the project comes from Europe, with a sizeable contribution from France. The remainder of the money is contributed by the other members.

In 2001, total construction costs were estimated at around €5.9 billion and building was expected to be completed over a ten-year period. However, this has almost tripled to €16 billion, with critics claiming that the final bill could be even higher. Construction is yet to begin.


Video


More on this topic

News:Mixed reactions to ITER
News:France to host ITER project

Europe's bill for the France-based ITER project has almost trebled, leaving cash-strapped finance ministers to question the merits of the investment.
Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Community, could be asked to fork out close to €6 billion, with France liable for a further €1.3 billion in its capacity as host country for the plant.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2012, leading critics to call for the project to be shelved before it gathers further momentum. However, advocates point out that ITER is the subject of an international agreement which would be difficult to break.

The ITER reactor aims to replicate the kind of fusion that occurs in the sun as an abundant source of energy.

Last month, research ministers met in Brussels to discuss the future of the initiative in light of its rising costs. Ministers reiterated their commitment to ITER but could not agree a detailed plan on a way forward. Instead they set up a task force to find a solution by the summer.

Cost-containment measures and improved financial management are likely to be part of the task force's discussions, but the bigger challenge is to pull funding from other sources to save the project.


Conflict on plugging funding gap

National governments are at odds with the European Commission on how the funding shortfall should be addressed. Brussels is pushing for an injection of fresh funds, while ministers insist that the money should be drawn from existing sources. The precise mechanism for doing that has fuelled ongoing political tension.

The Commission has outlined a range of possibilities, including tapping into the EU's framework programme for research. This has met with resistance because it is not clear what programmes would have to be sacrificed to save ITER.

The idea of seeking a loan from the European Investment Bank has also been floated but the Commission is wary of this option – a fact that critics say illustrates the inherent financial risk of the investment.
Delaying the construction timeline would allow the EU to spread its costs over a long period but would likely cause friction with other ITER partners such as China, Japan and the US.


EU position unclear ahead of meeting

The ITER Council, which governs the project, meets in China on 16 and 17 June but it is far from certain that Europe will have a clear position on where it will find additional money.

The task force set up by research ministers has already met twice this month (3 and 5 June) and could meet twice more in the coming weeks. The issue will also be discussed when diplomats meet in Brussels next month ahead of the next Competitiveness Council in July.

Key elements of the ITER Council agenda could be postponed if a deal cannot be reached in the meantime, but diplomats say that unilaterally withdrawing from the international consortium is not an option.

The ITER saga has echoes of the furore that surrounded the runaway budget for the Galileo satellite navigation project, with researchers in other fields wondering whether their funding will suffer if funds are diverted to ITER.

Positions

Green MEPs have led the revolt against ITER, saying politicians have fallen for the grandiose appeal of fusion research despite the fact that even the most optimistic advocates cannot foresee commercial exploitation until 2090. They called the programme "a financial white elephant".

Rebecca Harms, president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said it seems that useful results from fusion research "have always been 40 years away".

"I'm now convinced that this is the best moment to stop ITER before construction begins. We have a great opportunity to save money and invest in better, safer energy solutions," she said.

The Greens want investment in renewable energies, which they say are much more likely to deliver results in the near future. Environmental groups have also raised questions over the safety of nuclear fusion and the new proliferation risks it might bring.

Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes said fusion research is at a "dead end" and that renewables have proven to be a worthwhile way to invest Europe's limited research budgets.

He said the idea that fusion research should be there as a fall-back has become irrelevant, particularly as it is unlikely to produce results in time to help tackle climate change or deal with peak oil.

Green MEPs said international law allows changes to agreements, such as that underpinning cooperation on ITER, in cases where there are unforeseen changes in circumstances. The economic crisis – which is forcing governments to slash salaries and social welfare budgets – has made an increase in nuclear research spending unthinkable, they said.
However, EU officials said that axing the project now will not save as much as critics claim. They say the costs of abandoning the project would be high, as high-value contracts have already been awarded and other major tenders have been published. This, and the potential impact on Europe's reputation, means continued investment is likely.

An ITER spokesperson told EurActiv that all governments are currently under financial pressure but he called for a long-term view to be taken.
"In a period of major economic stress worldwide, none of our members - China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US - has suggested pulling out of or slowing down the ITER project. I do not believe that there is growing scepticism but now is the time when members have to guarantee long-term financial support. I believe it is completely natural that there should be debate and some opposition. However, the future of the world's economy will be based on energy resources. It will take time to get fusion running and the world's governments are aware that the sooner we start, the sooner we finish," he said.

We'll see I guess. To be frank, they've been talking about building ITER since forever. ITER probably going to get delayed even more though, regardless of what happens. At least we still have NIF, eh?

[Max™]

Fusion, the power source of the future, for the last twenty years!


This is why those stupid electric universe faggots piss me off, as it winds up hurting the work of non-morons involved in magnetohydrodynamics.

[Waraji]

4 more pages guys 4 more! keep it going.

"New" theory of life, cept it isn't as new as you'd expect, since it's been flying around the room for a long time now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...stenergysource

[Kryssan]

4 more pages guys 4 more! keep it going.

"New" theory of life, cept it isn't as new as you'd expect, since it's been flying around the room for a long time now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...stenergysource

This thread's been going for almost a year now. May as well make it last till its anniversary.

[BerenTebogo]

So I haven't been around here much lately for many reasons, least of all that I quit ffxi again for the 10,000th time, but now that I am through with my orientation and everything I am facing quite a large problem that I feel has an increasingly smaller and smaller window of opportunity where I stand a chance to fix it for myself. So I'm hoping maybe some of you can have some advice for me as you've all done the college thing at some level.

The previously mentioned orientation for new transfer students was this past Friday. Now, while most of it was useless, I had my second meeting with the head of the Physics department (the first I walked in before being even accepted just to sit down, chat, and make sure he knew my name etc) to outline what my first semester should look like. Obviously, not being an 18 year old fresh out of high school, what I will be doing is far from the norm. Long story short, while I have no actual Physics classes under my belt to transfer in, I am taking Calc I this summer (normally a first semester course) and I have:
List of shit that only people who are interested in giving me advice should be arsed to read

Spoiler: show

2 non-major Science electives (chem and bio)
2 Gen. Ed English courses
2 Gen. Ed History courses
Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Psychology
Sociology
Intro to Speech
Accounting 1/2/financial
Marketing
Business Law
Music appreciation
Intro Statistics
Trig
Pre-Calc
Intro to the novel

of which I can transfer 60 credits. Years of popping in and taking one or two classes at a community college per semester without any direction have added up. Now, with that out of the way, I can explain the real problem.

Given that every Gen. Ed class I will ever have to take and all my non-major / non-minor (doing Physics major with Astronomy minor) are all completed in every way humanly possible all I have left to do are my Physics, Math, Astronomy, and 2 or 3 other semi-related courses (computer programming level 1, English for lab writing, dunno of anything else.) Problem is that as I went to register for classes, ON THE FIRST FUCKING DAY AVAILABLE to transfer students, every single section of every single class that I am lined up to take is fucking full with no option of a waiting list. Freshman Physics, Classical Physics level 1, Computer programming level 1, and Calculus II. All sections, all times, all options. Fucking full. The only class I can actually take that has any relevance to anything at all is an 8:00AM MWF intro to Astronomy course.

Fuck. Me.

So now I'm in the extremely enviable position of not yet being assigned an advisor (although I was supposed to be having a specific one assigned to me due to my very specific major/minor/honors program overlap) coupled with not being able to register for more than one single 3 credit course and my financial aid, without which I cannot afford school, requiring that I take 12 credits. I have an email in to the person who is maybe, possibly, hopefully, going to be my advisor as of Friday night but it's summer and every day I let pass waiting for a response is another day I can't fix this.

So, fellow aspiring Physics and other Science majors, any ideas on what the fuck I should do? Also, extremely sorry for the long and off-main-topic post. I have very few intelligent resources outside of the internet that I can turn to with issues like these, lol.

[Eliseos]

You can attend the classes that are full, and when a student drops try to get added. Just speak with the teacher (either e-mail or go to their office) a week or so before classes start and explain your situation. If you add classes through a website, I'd also camp that to see if a class has an opening.

EDIT: In the meantime, I'd add some bullshit classes so you can get your financial aid, then drop them once the semester actually starts and you have the classes you actually need.

[Kaylia]

Many people drop sciences class after the first few days (or the first test). Like Eliseos said, attending theses class until people drop would be your best bet. However, you should still contact your department director to make sure it works out in the end.


[edit]

There is no online calculus 1 class you could take that would be credited? If you think you're serious about it, it could be a decent alternative.

[Pirian]

As Eliseos said, talk to the teachers about your situation and if you can sit in on the class to register once people drop out (and they will).

Nothing to really add - only reiterate what Eliseos said. Man knows his stuff

[BerenTebogo]

That actually sounds like a good plan and has been what I've been planning on doing - I'm just very nervous as the outcome is entirely black or white, or rather win or lose.

Just want to settle into summer so I can finally relax, lol. And Kaylia, I'm taking calc 1 over the summer now - it's calc 2 that is filled up all around for fall :/

[Eliseos]

You could probably even ask your professors if you can add the class even though it is full. A lot of the bigger classes I've taken have had capacities over the maximum. They usually go by the amount of actual seats in the class available, if there are some empty chairs students can add.

[BerenTebogo]

You could probably even ask your professors if you can add the class even though it is full. A lot of the bigger classes I've taken have had capacities over the maximum. They usually go by the amount of actual seats in the class available, if there are some empty chairs students can add.

This is good news. I am a bit worried because this is the transition from lackadaisical community college education and starting a heavy path down at a real university. I'm a tad out of my element here and want to get started with the greatest momentum possible. Not knowing any professors besides the one that I've met with, not having an advisor, and generally being a kid lost in Sears in New York City in this scenario, I'm getting a bit overwhelmed.

[Acturus]

http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...iously-thought

Evidence Shows the Moon May Hold 100 Times More Water Than Previously Thought
By Clay Dillow Posted 06.14.2010 at 5:29 pm 0 Comments

The Moon May Be Wetter Than We Know A new study suggests the minimum water content of the moon should be 100 times higher than previous research shows.

It’s been a great day for interplanetary H2O. First we hear that Mars was once covered in a massive, deep ocean. Now scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory are reporting that the moon may harbor 100 times more water than previously thought.

Taking a fresh look at rocks collected from the lunar surface during the Apollo missions, the researchers found that the minimum water content on the moon after its formation likely ranged between 64 parts per billion to 5 parts per million, at least two orders of magnitude higher than originally thought. It also suggests that the water is native to the moon, having been part of the original magma that formed the moon after its mass was, supposedly, sheared from earth in a violent collision.

The researchers had suspected this might be true all along based on earlier models and calculations they’d performed, but at that point they didn’t have access to actual moon rocks. For their newest study, they were able to compare Apollo moon rocks and a lunar meteorite from Africa to their calculations. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry, the team was able to analyze the mineral apatite within the lunar rocks for traces of hydroxyl, a compound known to be present in apatite when the mineral cools from magma containing water.

After identifying and analyzing the apatite, the team found that the numbers from their analysis matched the numbers in their earlier, theoretical calculations almost perfectly, suggesting the models are correct. That means the moon is a lot wetter than we previously thought it was, though it’s still obviously not as wet as the Earth or even Mars. But the findings could change the way scientists think about the formation of the moon, about lunar magma, and, eventually, about the technological feasibility of life forms living on the lunar surface.