Planetary Engineering Bibliography
A listing of literature related to planetary engineering follows below. The entries are placed into one of three categories:
- GEOENGINEERING.
- TERRAFORMING.
- ASTROPHYSICAL ENGINEERING/OTHER.
Definitions of planetary engineering, geoengineering and terraforming are taken from Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments (Fogg, 1995).
- Planetary Engineering is the application of technology for the purpose of influencing the global properties of a planet.
- Geoengineering is planetary engineering applied specifically to the Earth. It includes only those macroengineering concepts that deal with the alteration of some global parameter, such as the greenhouse effect, atmospheric composition, insolation or impact flux.
- Terraforming is a process of planetary engineering, specifically directed at enhancing the capacity of an extra-terrestrial planetary environment to support life. The ultimate in terraforming would be to create an uncontained planetary biosphere emulating all the functions of the biosphere of the Earth, one that would be fully habitable for human beings.
- Astrophysical Engineering is taken to represent proposed activities, relating to future habitation, that are envisaged to occur on a scale greater than that of “conventional” planetary engineering.
Science World by Andrio Abero
For those of you who may have missed it, here is a wonderful video made by AJ Salas featuring the ever-so brilliant Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Thanks for the submission, AJ:
Hello!
I just wanted to share a video I did over the weekend regarding scientific literacy and NASA (narrated by Tyson). Hope you folks like it, thank you for all the work you do to make science-education mainstream.
-AJ
Scientists uncover déjà vu mystery
In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom have discovered a link between the déjà vu phenomenon and structures in the human brain, effectively confirming the neurological origin of this phenomenon. Despite past studies investigating this phenomenon in healthy individuals, no concrete evidence had ever emerged … until now. The study is presented in the journal Cortex.
Led by the Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University (CEITEC MU) and Masaryk University’s Faculty of Medicine in the Czech Republic, researchers discovered that specific brain structures have a direct impact on the déjà vu experience. The findings of their study showed that the size of these structures are considerably smaller in the brains of the people experiencing déjà vu, compared with individuals who had no personal experience with déjà vu.
The team from CEITEC MU, along with colleagues from other Brno research institutions as well as the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom succeeded in providing huge insight into this phenomenon that has perplexed many over the years.
The team observed how small structures in the brain’s medial temporal lobes, in which memory and recollections originate, were considerably smaller in individuals with the occurrence of déjà vu than in individuals who have not experienced déjà vu. Their findings also showed that the more often the examined individuals experience déjà vu, the smaller the brain structures are.
New Research Confirms The Existence of Dark Matter
Image: Don Dixon
Fans of dark matter can rest easy. A study published last month raised eyebrows by suggesting that our cosmic neighbourhood is empty of the extra mass needed to hold the galaxy together. But a re-analysis shows that the dark matter was there all along.
Dark matter is the mysterious, invisible stuff that makes up 83 per cent of the matter in the universe. It is responsible for keeping galaxies from flying apart despite their high spinning speeds, and has aided our understanding of how structures in the universe formed.
The most popular theories say that dark matter is a hitherto undetected particle called a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) that is shy of interacting with ordinary matter through any force except gravity.
But several underground detectors waiting for WIMPs have come up empty, or with conflicting results. If the galaxy is so full of dark matter, why hasn’t it shown up yet?
In April, a team led by Christian Moni-Bidin of the University of Concepcion in Chile thought they had a solution: the WIMPs aren’t actually there.
The team tracked the motions of more than 400 stars within 13,000 light years of Earth to estimate the mass of matter – visible and dark – in the sun’s local neighbourhood. They concluded that the mass they found could be explained by the visible matter alone, with no need for dark matter.
But the team made a subtle error, say Jo Bovy and Scott Tremaine of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Moni-Bidin and colleagues considered stars whose orbits take them far above or below the Milky Way’s main bright disc, and used the speed at which they orbit the centre of the galaxy to figure out how much of a pull they feel from the nearby mass of stars and dark matter. They assumed that the stars’ speeds would be the same no matter how far they were from the galactic centre. Observations of dust clumps have shown that this assumption is true for young stars orbiting in the galactic disc, which mostly move in a near-perfect circle.
But the stars that orbit high above or far below the disc can’t have circular orbits, Bovy says. The only stars that reach such great heights have been kicked away from the disc by matter in the galaxy’s spiral arms, which sent them on highly elliptical orbits.
Full Article: Crisis averted: Dark matter was there all along
Study: The Objectification of Women Is a Real, Measurable Phenomenon
PROBLEM: Women’s bare bodies are on display in billboards, movie posters, and many other kinds of ads. Though plenty of studies have looked at the ramifications of this pervasive sexual objectification, it’s unclear if we see near-naked people as human beings or if we really do view them as mere objects.
METHODOLOGY: Researchers led by Philippe Bernard presented participants pictures of men and women in sexualized poses, wearing a swimsuit or underwear, one by one on a computer screen. Since pictures of people present a recognition problem when they’re turned upside down, but images of objects don’t have that problem, some of the photos were presented right side up and others upside down. After each picture, there was a second of black screen before each participant was shown two images and was asked to choose the one that matched the one he or she had just seen.
Continue to Full Article, Very interesting read
ZeitNews: Scientists announce coalition to develop the world's cleanest passenger locomotive
“Plans to create the world’s first carbon-neutral higher-speed locomotive were announced today by the Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR), a collaboration of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) and the nonprofit Sustainable Rail International (SRI). CSR draws on the carbon-neutral solid biofuel research expertise of the University of Minnesota and the modern steam mechanical engineering capabilities of SRI to develop the most powerful carbon-neutral locomotive to date.
CSR Project 130 has a simple goal: create the world’s cleanest, most powerful passenger locomotive, proving the viability of solid biofuel and modern steam locomotive technology. The Coalition will put its technology to the test by planning to break the world record for steam locomotive speed, reaching 130 miles per hour and demonstrating the viability of this revolutionary, clean transportation technology.
The locomotive will run on torrefied biomass (biocoal), a biofuel created through an energy-efficient processing of cellulosic biomass. Biocoal exhibits the same energy density and material handling properties as coal, but unlike coal, it is carbon neutral, contains no heavy metals, and produces less ash, smoke and volatile off-gases. Since it exhibits such similar characteristics to coal, biocoal has the potential to revolutionize the way the United States generates clean electricity.”Participation in the Coalition for Sustainable Rail has enabled our team to pursue one of the more exciting and potentially groundbreaking research projects in the history of IonE,” said Rod Larkins, Special Projects Director of IonE’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment. “Once perfected, creating the world’s first carbon-neutral locomotive will be just the beginning for this technology which, we hope, will later be used for combined heat and power energy in the developing world as well as reducing the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels.”…”
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Chemical reaction eats up CO2 to produce energy
While there are plenty of ways to make carbon-based products from CO2, these methods usually require a lot of energy because the CO2 molecules are so stable. If the energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels, then the net result will be more CO2 entering the atmosphere. Now a material scientist at Michigan Technological University has discovered a chemical reaction that not only soaks up CO2, but also produces useful chemicals along with significant amounts of energy.
Professor Yun Hang Hu and his research team developed a heat-releasing reaction between CO2 and lithium nitride (Li3N) - a compound that is the only stable alkali metal nitride and is made by reacting lithium with nitrogen at room temperature. Reacting lithium nitride with carbon dioxide resulted in amorphous carbon nitride (C3N4), a semiconductor, and lithium cyanamide (Li2CN2), a precursor to fertilizers. […]
[via gizmag] [paper]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4f2a8FiFr1r08k60o1_1280.jpg)
Chemical reaction eats up CO2 to produce energy
While there are plenty of ways to make carbon-based products from CO2, these methods usually require a lot of energy because the CO2 molecules are so stable. If the energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels, then the net result will be more CO2 entering the atmosphere. Now a material scientist at Michigan Technological University has discovered a chemical reaction that not only soaks up CO2, but also produces useful chemicals along with significant amounts of energy.
Professor Yun Hang Hu and his research team developed a heat-releasing reaction between CO2 and lithium nitride (Li3N) - a compound that is the only stable alkali metal nitride and is made by reacting lithium with nitrogen at room temperature. Reacting lithium nitride with carbon dioxide resulted in amorphous carbon nitride (C3N4), a semiconductor, and lithium cyanamide (Li2CN2), a precursor to fertilizers. […]
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Jellyfish
1. Jellyfishes are made up of more than 95% water.
Their bodies are soft and lack a skeletal structure or outer shell. They are delicate and easily damanged. Jellyfishes require water to help support their body and if removed from their aquatic surroundings, they collapse and die.
2. Jellyfish are radially symmetrical.
Jellyfish are symmetrical about a central axis that runs through the length of their body, from the top of their bell to the ends of their tentacles. They have a top and a bottom but they lack a left and right side and as a result differ from many other types of animals (such as mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and arthropods) which exhibit bilateral symmetry.
3. A jellyfish has a simple digestives system with only one opening.
A jellyfish takes food in through its mouth which is located on the underside if its bell. Food is digested in a sac-like structure called a coelenteron or gastrovascular cavity. Waste material is passed out through the mouth.
4. A common analogy used to describe the delicate way jellyfish pounce through the water likens the jellys’ movements to ‘a simple form of jet propulsion’.
To move forward, jellyfishes take water into their muscular bell and then squirt it out behind them, creating a jet of water that propels the jelly forward. In addition to this form of movement, jellies also drift on water currents to move.
5. Jellyfishes have no brain, no blood, and no nervous system.
Their senses are primitive and consist of a neural net, eye spots that can sense light from dark, and chemosensory pits that help them identify potential prey.
6. A jellyfishes’ body consists of three layers.
The outer layer is called the epidermis, the inner layer which lines the gastrovascular cavity is called the gastrodermis, and the middle layer consists of a thick substance called the mesoglea.
7. Thousands of nematocytes are located on the tentacles, feeding arms, and mouth of a jellyfish.
Nenatocysts consist of a capsule that holds a hollow barbed coil, a vemon sac, and chemo-sensitive trigger hairs that detect when something edible brushes against them. When potential prey brushes against the trigger hairs, the nematocytes expel the coiled barb and inject venom into the victim through the hollow thread. The venom immobilizes the prey and the jellyfish uses its oral arms to move the prey into its mouth where it is passed through to the coelenteron for digestion.
8. Jellyfish belong to the Phylum Cnidaria.
This group of animals, all radially symmetrical, includes corals, sea anemones, hydras, and jellyfish.
9. There are about 200 species of True Jellyfishes.
True Jellyfish are species belonging to the Class Scyphozoa. Examples of True Jellyfish include Moon Jellies, Mediterranean Jellyfish, Sea Nettles, Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, Blue Jellies, and many other lesser known species. The Class Cubozoa includes about 20 species not considered to be True Jellyfish. The Class Cubozoa is also referred to as box jellyfish. The most imfamous of the Cubozoa is the Sea Wasp, a creature with a deadly sting that inhabits the waters off the coast of Australia.
10. The species Craspedacusta sowerbii is sometimes referred to as the only species of freshwater jellyfish, although it is not a true jellyfish.
Craspedacusta sowerbii belongs to the Class Hydrozoa (the group of animals that includes the hydra), not the Class Scyphozoa.
Psychologist: Achievement goals can be shaped by environment
“A new study by Stanford psychologist Paul O’Keefe suggests that the culture of our learning and working environments can have long-term effects on our goals and motivation.
Think about the ideal student. He or she focuses on learning, not grades; improvement, not appearances; competency, not competition. This person wants to understand and grow, not just prove how smart he or she is.
So how is that mindset – which tends to lead to high levels of engagement and performance, resiliency in the face of failure and a thirst for knowledge – fostered and maintained?
A new study by Stanford psychologist Paul O’Keefe, Adar Ben-Eliyahu of the University of Pittsburgh and Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia of Duke University suggests that the way we design our working and learning environments can change people’s motivation for achieving important tasks…”