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Women in Physics: STEMming the Leaky Pipeline...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 21, 2014 at 11:22am

On this week's podcast, our contributor, Elizabeth Case, reports from a conference for undergraduate women in physics from this past week.



Elizabeth also participated in the conference herself as an undergraduate physics student, granting her an inside perspective on how such conferences can inform, inspire, and retain women in physics. Have a listen! PhysicsCentral.com

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Frederick D. Gregory...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 21, 2014 at 11:28am

FREDERICK D. GREGORY (COLONEL, USAF, RET.)


NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)



PERSONAL DATA: Born January 7, 1941, in Washington, D.C. His wife, the former Barbara Archer of Washington, D.C., is deceased. They have two grown children. Frederick, D., Jr., is a Captain in the Air Force, and a graduate of Stanford University. Heather Lynn is a social worker and graduate of Sweet Briar College. Recreational interests include water skiing, fishing, hunting, specialty cars, and stereo equipment.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Anacostia High School, Washington, D.C., in 1958; received a bachelor of science degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1964, and a master’s degree in information systems from George Washington University in 1977.



ORGANIZATIONS: Member, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Order of Daedalians, American Helicopter Society, Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, the Air Force Association, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the National Technical Association, and the Tuskegee Airmen. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Young Astronaut Council, the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, and the Virginia Air and Space Center-Hampton Roads History Center.



SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, 16 Air Medals, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and 3 NASA Space Flight Medals. Recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award; the National Society of Black Engineers Distinguished National Scientist Award (1979); an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of the District of Columbia (1986); and the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Award. Designated an "Ira Eaker Fellow" by the Air Force Association. Recipient of numerous NASA group and individual achievement awards as well as civic and community awards.



 NASA: Frederick D. Gregory, Colonel, USAF (RET)

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FROM BARTER TO BITCOIN - THE WORLD-BUILDER'S GUIDE TO MONEY

Posted by Penelope on February 20, 2014 at 8:33pm

Time: 02/22/2014 04:00 PM EST
Episode Notes: In most societies there is some way to get goods and services, some medium of exchange. The Editorial Board of OTHER SCI FI Magazine and friends discuss creating economic systems and the ins and outs of the past and future of money in speculative fiction.

 

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Robert L. Curbeam, Jr....

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 19, 2014 at 4:36pm


ROBERT L. CURBEAM, JR., (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)



PERSONAL DATA: Born March 5, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. Two children. He enjoys weightlifting, backpacking and sports.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Woodlawn High School, Baltimore County, Maryland, 1980. Bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy, 1984. Master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1990. Degree of aeronautical & astronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1991.



ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and the Association of Old Crows.



SPECIAL HONORS: Fighter Wing One Radar Intercept Officer of the Year for 1989, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School Best Developmental Thesis (DT-II) Award.



EXPERIENCE: Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, Curbeam commenced Naval Flight Officer training in 1984. In 1986 he reported to Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) and made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, and the Arctic and Indian Oceans on board the USS Forrestal (CV-59). During his tour in VF-11, he also attended Navy Fighter Weapons School (Topgun). Upon completion of Test Pilot School in December 1991, he reported to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate where he was the project officer for the F-14A/B Air-to-Ground Weapons Separation Program. In August 1994, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Weapons and Systems Engineering Department.



NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Curbeam reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. After completing a year of training and evaluation, he was assigned to the Computer Support Branch in the Astronaut Office. He is a veteran of two space flights, STS-85 in 1997 and STS-98 in 2001, and has logged over 593 hours in space, including over 19 EVA hours during three spacewalks.



 NASA: Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., Captain, US Navy (RET)

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Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr....

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 20, 2014 at 7:35am
BENJAMIN ALVIN DREW, JR. (COLONEL, USAF, RET.)
NASA ASTRONAUT
PERSONAL DATA: Born November 5, 1962 in Washington, DC. His parents, Muriel and Benjamin Drew, Sr., reside in Fort Washington, Maryland.
EDUCATION:
1980 High School Diploma from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC.
1984 Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy.
1984 Bachelor of Science in Physics from the United States Air Force Academy.
1995 Master of Aerospace Science from Embry Riddle University.
2006 Master of Strategic Studies in Political Science from the United States Air Force Air University.
ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Experimental Test Pilots, American Helicopter Society.
EXPERIENCE: Upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy, Drew entered the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in May 1984. He completed Undergraduate Helicopter Pilot Training - at Fort Rucker, Alabama, earning a helicopter qualification and his pilot wings in March 1985. His initial assignment was as a combat rescue helicopter pilot from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he transitioned into USAF special operations. There flew 60 combat missions in operations over Panama (1989), the Persian Gulf (1990-1991) and Northern Iraq (1991-1992). In 1992, he returned to flight training – first obtaining a rating in jet aircraft in April 1993, and then, becoming a test pilot, at the United States Naval Test Pilot School in June 1994. He subsequently worked as a project test pilot, commanded two flight test organizations, and served on the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command staff. As a Command Pilot with more than 25 years experience, Colonel Drew retired from the Air Force in September 2010.
He has more than 3,500 hours flying experience and has piloted 30 different types of aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Drew reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of 2 years of training and evaluation, he was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. From January-November 2009, he served as Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. He has logged more than 612 hours in space on STS-118 in 2007 and STS 133 in 2011.

NASA: Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr., (Colonel, USAF, RET)

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As Wells Might Have Envisioned...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 17, 2014 at 7:14am

H.G. Wells, "The Time Machine" and Michael Crichton's "Timeline" both completely violate the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. It is fun to suspend belief and just "go with the bit" as it were. Interesting, most Sci Fi plot devices start by breaking this rule.



Here's a simulated version of what such a journey might look like. It probably takes a certain type/mind not to go insane...
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Michael P. Anderson...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 17, 2014 at 7:19am


MICHAEL P. ANDERSON (LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USAF)

ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)



PERSONAL DATA: Born December 25, 1959, in Plattsburgh, New York, but considered Spokane, Washington, to be his hometown. Died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife and children. Michael enjoyed photography, chess, computers, and tennis.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington, in 1977. Bachelor of science degree in physics/astronomy from University of Washington, 1981. Master of science degree in physics from Creighton University, 1990.



AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM).

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished graduate USAF Communication Electronics Officers course. Recipient of the Armed Forces Communication Electronics Associations Academic Excellence Award 1983. Received the USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training Academic Achievement Award for Class 87-08 Vance AFB. Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the USAF Meritorious Service Medal, and the USAF Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

EXPERIENCE: Anderson graduated form the University of Washington in 1981 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler AFB Mississippi he was assigned to Randolph AFB Texas. At Randolph he served as Chief of Communication Maintenance for the 2015 Communication Squadron and later as Director of Information System Maintenance for the 1920 Information System Group. In 1986 he was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. Upon graduation he was assigned to the 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Offutt AFB Nebraska as an EC 135 pilot, flying the Strategic Air Commands airborne command post code-named “Looking Glass”. From January 1991 to September 1992 he served as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the 920th Air Refueling Squadron, Wurtsmith AFB Michigan. From September 1992 to February 1995 he was assigned as an instructor pilot and tactics officer in the 380 Air Refueling Wing, Plattsburgh AFB New York. Anderson logged over 3000 hours in various models of the KC-135 and the T-38A aircraft.



 NASA: Michael P. Anderson, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF
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Retooled Usage...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 16, 2014 at 6:45am


"If we're to be anything other than smooth dinosaurs who evolve, specialize and die, we need the stars" ... Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents, 1998

Yesterday's anniversary:


On Feb. 15, 2013, a 65-foot-wide (20 meters) asteroid detonated in the skies over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, causing millions of dollars of damage and injuring 1,500 people. The dramatic event served as a wake-up call, many scientists say, alerting the world to the dangers posed by the millions of space rocks that reside in Earth's neck of the cosmic woods.



"These types of events are no longer hypothetical," David Kring, of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, said in December at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. "We've been up here talking about these types of things for years, but now the entire world understands that they can be real."



Mike Wall, Senior Writer, Space.com



Being a veteran of the era of "duck and cover" (and, the complete knowledge of its uselessness), I am pleased some are thinking at least instead of "Mutually Assured Destruction" (M.A.D.): Mutually Assured Survival.



A possible way to address via retooling:



The most destructive weapon humanity has ever developed could help our species avoid going the way of the dinosaurs.



Pretty much any asteroid that poses a threat to Earth can be blasted out of the heavens using a nuclear bomb, even with warning times of a week or less, say a team of scientists who have been developing the idea.



"We have the solution, using our baseline concept, to be able to mitigate the asteroid-impact threat, with any range of warning," Bong Wie, of Iowa State University, said Feb. 6 at the 2014 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) meeting at Stanford University.



A very real threat



Wie presented his team's latest findings nearly a year to the day after a previously undetected 65-foot-wide (20 meters) space rock detonated in the skies above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,500 people.



He and many other researchers regard the Feb. 15, 2013 Russian meteor explosion— which took locals and scientists alike by surprise — as a wake-up call about the threat Earth faces from incoming space rocks.



"A couple of years ago, I had to use the dinosaur example to justify our research," he said, referring to the asteroid impact that wiped out the giant reptiles 65 million years ago. "Now, that's no more — we had this major event."



 How Nuclear Bombs Could Save Earth from Killer Asteroids
Mike Wall, Senior Writer, Space.com

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Stephanie D. Wilson...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 16, 2014 at 6:55am


STEPHANIE D. WILSON

NASA ASTRONAUT



PERSONAL DATA: Born in 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts. Enjoys snow skiing, music, stamp collecting and traveling.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Taconic High School, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1984; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Science from Harvard University in 1988 and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in 1992.



ORGANIZATIONS: Member of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, The Association of Space Explorers and The Harvard University Board of Overseers.



SPECIAL HONORS: NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2009, 2011); NASA Space Flight Medal (2006, 2007, 2010); Honorary Doctorate of Science from Williams College (2011); Harvard College Women’s Professional Achievement Award (2008); Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year Award (2008); Young Outstanding Texas Exes Award (2005) and several group achievement and performance awards (1992 to 2008).



EXPERIENCE: After graduating from Harvard in 1988, Wilson worked for two years for the former Martin Marietta Astronautics Group in Denver, Colorado. As a Loads and Dynamics Engineer for Titan IV, Wilson was responsible for performing coupled loads analyses for the launch vehicle and payloads during flight events. Wilson left Martin Marietta in 1990 to attend graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research, sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center through a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Fellowship, focused on the control and modeling of large, flexible space structures, ultimately culminating in a thesis comparing structural dynamics methodologies and controller designs. Following the completion of her graduate work, she began working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in 1992. As a member of the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem for the Galileo spacecraft, Wilson was responsible for assessing attitude controller performance, science platform pointing accuracy, antenna pointing accuracy and spin rate accuracy. She worked in the areas of sequence development and testing as well. While at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Wilson also supported the Interferometery Technology Program as a member of the Integrated Modeling team, which was responsible for finite element modeling, controller design and software development.



NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in April 1996, Wilson reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. She completed two years of training and evaluation and became qualified for flight assignment as a Mission Specialist. Wilson was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Space Station Operations Branch to develop requirements for space station payload displays and procedures and to evaluate their user interfaces. She then served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in the Astronaut Office CAPCOM Branch, working in Mission Control as a prime communicator with several space shuttle and space station crews.



 NASA: Stephanie D. Wilson, Mission Specialist

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Entanglement Microscope...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 15, 2014 at 9:53am
Figure 1, page 2 of paper at Physics arXiv link below

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: One of the exciting possibilities of quantum mechanics is the ability to measure the world far more precisely than with classical tools. Today, Takafumi Ono and pals at Hokkaido University in Japan say they’ve exploited this to create the world’s first entanglement-enhanced microscope. Their new toy produces images with entangled photons that are significantly sharper than those possible with ordinary light alone.



Entanglement is the strange quantum property in which two particles share the same existence, even though they may be far apart. Ono and co say this is particularly useful for a type of imaging known as differential interference contrast microscopy.



This works by focusing two beams of photons into spots next to each other on a flat sample and measuring the interference pattern they create after they have been reflected. When both spots hit a flat part of the sample, they travel the same path length and create a corresponding interference pattern. But when the spots hit areas of different heights, the interference pattern changes.



It is then possible to work out the shape of the surface by analysing the change in the interference pattern as the spots move across it.



The difference in phase of photons can be measured with huge accuracy, but even this has a limit, known as the standard quantum limit. However, physicists have known for some time that it’s possible to improve on this by using entangled photons rather than independent ones.



That’s because a measurement on one entangled photon gives you information about the other, so together they provide more information than independent photons.



Ono and co demonstrate this using entangled photons to image a flat glass plate with a Q-shaped pattern carved in relief on the surface. This pattern is just 17 nanometres higher than the rest of the plate and so tricky to resolve with ordinary optical techniques.



 Physics arXiv: World First Entanglement-Enhanced Microscope

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Mae C. Jemison...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 15, 2014 at 10:01am


MAE C. JEMISON (M.D.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)



PERSONAL DATA: Born October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, but considers Chicago, Illinois, to be her hometown. Recreational interests include traveling, graphic arts, photography, sewing, skiing, collecting African Art, languages (Russian, Swahili, Japanese), weight training, has an extensive dance and exercise background and is an avid reader. Her parents, Charlie & Dorothy Jemison, reside in Chicago.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Morgan Park High School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering (and fulfilled the requirements for a B.A. in African and Afro-American Studies) from Stanford University in 1977, and a doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University in 1981.



ORGANIZATIONS: Member, American Chemical Society, Association for the Advancement of Science, Association of Space Explorers. Honorary Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Board Member, World Sickle Cell Foundation, American Express Geography Competition. Honorary Board Member, Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition. Clinical Teaching Associate, University of Texas Medical Center.



SPECIAL HONORS: National Achievement Scholarship (1973-1977); Stanford representative to Carifesta '76 in Jamaica; 1979 CIBA Award for Student Involvement; American Medical Student Association (AMSA) study group to Cuba; grant from International Travelers Institute for health studies in rural Kenya (1979); organized New York city-wide health and law fair for National Student Medical Association (1979); worked refugee camp in Thailand (1980). Recipient of Essence Award (1988), and Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year (1989). Honorary Doctorate of Sciences, Lincoln College, Pennsylvania (1991). Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Winston Salem College, North Carolina (1991). DuSable Museum Award (1992). The Mae C. Jemison Academy, an alternate public school established in 1992 in Detroit, Michigan. Montgomery Fellow 1993 Dartmouth College.



EXPERIENCE: Dr. Jemison has a background in both engineering and medical research. She has worked in the areas of computer programming, printed wiring board materials, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, computer magnetic disc production, and reproductive biology.



Dr. Jemison completed her internship at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in July 1982 and worked as a General Practitioner with INA/Ross Loos Medical Group in Los Angeles until December 1982.



NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Jemison was selected for the astronaut program in June 1987. Her technical assignments since then have included: launch support activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida; verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); Science Support Group activities.

Dr. Jemison is also a principle on the 100 Year Starship initiative, with the stated goal to make "human travel beyond our solar system a reality within the next 100 years." (A direct quote from the site.)





 NASA: Mae C. Jemison, M.D.

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I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THE OUTPOURING OF WELL WISHES AND SUPPORT ON MY 42ND BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY.

Posted by Administrator: Jarvis Sheffield on February 14, 2014 at 3:19pm

I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THE OUTPOURING OF WELL WISHES AND SUPPORT ON MY 42ND BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY. YOU ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND YOUR KIND WORDS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED!

 
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/earth-squadron-movie-project/x/328798

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Joan E. Higginbotham...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 14, 2014 at 8:19am


JOAN E. HIGGINBOTHAM

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)



PERSONAL DATA: Born in Chicago, Illinois. She enjoys body building (weightlifting), cycling, music, motivational speaking.



EDUCATION: Graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1982; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, in 1987, a Masters of Management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1992, and a Masters in Space Systems from Florida Institute of Technology in 1996.



ORGANIZATIONS: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Gulf Coast Apollo Chapter of the Links, Inc., Association of Space Explorers ( ASE), and Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast, Board Member.



AWARDS: NASA Exceptional Service Medal; Keys to the Cities of Cocoa and Rockledge, Florida; Group Achievement Award for STS-26 Return to Flight; Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Certificate of Appreciation for Service; Commendation of Merit for Service to the Department of Defense (DOD) Missions; Presidential Sports Award in bicycling and weight training; Outstanding Woman of the Year Award; Outstanding Performance 1992, 1993, 1995; National Technical Association’s 50 Distinguished Scientists and Engineers; Florida Institute of Technology’s Distinguished Alumni for 1997; Southern Illinois University’s Distinguished Alumni; Essence Magazine’s Top 50 Women of 2004; National Technical Association’s 2007 Technical Achiever (Engineer); League of Black Women Black Rose Award Recipient 2007; Women of Color in Technology Career Achievement Award Recipient 2007.



NASA EXPERIENCE: Joan Higginbotham began her career in 1987 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, as a Payload Electrical Engineer in the Electrical and Telecommunications Systems Division. Within six months she became the lead for the Orbiter Experiments (OEX) on OV-102, the Space Shuttle Columbia. She later worked on the Shuttle payload bay reconfiguration for all Shuttle missions and conducted electrical compatibility tests for all payloads flown aboard the Shuttle. She was also tasked by KSC management to undertake several special assignments where she served as the Executive Staff Assistant to the Director of Shuttle Operations and Management, led a team of engineers in performing critical analysis for the Space Shuttle flow in support of a simulation model tool, and worked on an interactive display detailing the Space Shuttle processing procedures at Spaceport USA (Kennedy Space Center’s Visitors Center). Higginbotham then served as backup orbiter project engineer for OV-104, Space Shuttle Atlantis, where she participated in the integration of the orbiter docking station (ODS) into the space shuttle used during Shuttle/Mir docking missions. Two years later, she was promoted to lead orbiter project engineer for OV-102, Space Shuttle Columbia. In this position, she held the technical lead government engineering position in the firing room where she supported and managed the integration of vehicle testing and troubleshooting. She actively participated in 53 space shuttle launches during her 9-year tenure at Kennedy Space Center.



 NASA: Joan E. Higgenbotham, Mission Specialist

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Interstellar Communications...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 14, 2014 at 8:15am
Figure 2, page 3 of the paper (arXiv link below)

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Here’s an interesting question. If we ever want to communicate with civilisations around other stars, what will be the best way to send a message, given that we will know nothing about how they intend to receive it?



That’s the question considered today by David Messerschmitt at the University of California, Berkeley. It turns out that the laws of physics, the nature of interstellar space and a little common sense place surprisingly strict bounds on how communication can take place. So if extraterrestrials think in a way that is anything like us, communication of one kind or another is distinctly possible.



Messerschmitt begins by listing the way in which any form of communication is likely to be limited. To begin with, he says that the power of any signal falls with the square of the distance traveled. Assuming that energy is likely to be a limiting factor for a civilisation, an important property of any interstellar transmitter will be to minimise the energy per bit in any signal–while still allowing the reliable extraction of the information it contains, of course.



One potential shortcoming is that the science and technologies that Messerschmitt invokes were all developed on Earth within the last century. That’s a blink of an eye in cosmological terms.



Back in the 1970s, the American astronomer Carl Sagan pointed out that any alien civilisation is likely to be at a very different stage in its evolution. Should it be less mature than us, however, this civilisation will not have developed radio technology in the first place.



That means that our potential contacts are likely to be much more advanced, probably centuries or millennia ahead of us. Sagan asked whether it is possible that these civilisations will have stumbled across a better form of interstellar communication technology, one that seems like magic to us.



"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Sir Arthur C. Clarke



 Physics arXiv: How to Design an Interstellar Communications System

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Milestone Achieved...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 13, 2014 at 6:44am
Fuel capsule as seen through a cutaway of the hohlraum wall. (Courtesy: Eddie Dewald, LLNL)

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have achieved a "fuel gain" of greater than one at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Using NIF's ultra-powerful laser to crush tiny pellets of deuterium–tritium fuel, they have produced more energy from fusion reactions than was deposited in the fuel. Although still far from the long-sought-after goal of "ignition", the latest results are nevertheless an important step on the road to realizing fusion energy, say researchers.



NIF was completed in 2009 at a cost of $3.5bn and uses 192 laser beams to deliver 1.8 MJ of energy to a tiny target over a period of just a few billionths of a second. The target consists of a hollow gold cylinder a few centimetres long, known as a hohlraum. At its centre sits a peppercorn-sized sphere of frozen deuterium and tritium encased inside a plastic shell. Laser pulses heat the inside of the hohlraum thereby generating X-rays that rapidly remove or "ablate" material from the outside of the shell, so causing the fuel to implode. This implosion creates a shock wave that heats up the fuel to temperatures of about 50 million degrees Celsius, causing the nuclei to overcome their mutual repulsion and fuse, producing alpha particles (helium nuclei) and neutrons.



Between 2009 and 2012, researchers at NIF worked on a project designed explicitly to achieve ignition, the point at which heat provided by alpha particles increases the rate of fusion reactions such that they release more energy than is supplied by the laser. However, that work proved to be disappointing, leading to energy outputs about 1000 times smaller than the input. After scrutiny by Congress, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees NIF, announced a new, more deliberative strategy designed to work out what went wrong. The strategy also emphasized the importance of alternative approaches to "inertial-confinement fusion", such as "fast ignition" and "Z-pinch".



A fuel gain means nuclear power utilized safely in the United States without the nasty byproduct of waste with half-lives of tens of thousands of years, and the subsequent facilities to store it: they wouldn't be needed. A fuel gain means one step closer to getting off fossil fuels, which would mean less wars in the Near East and jobs here. It would positively stress education again to prepare operators, technicians, engineers and scientists for the plants that could only exist here in the US to power the grid (that is sorely in need of update - more jobs). Food prices would no longer be as tied to fuel costs paid by grocers to shipment companies. Our lives could change drastically, and for the better when this becomes reality. We are inching ever closer to energy independence and geopolitical freedom.



 Physics World: Laser fusion passes milestone
#P4TC: Game Changer

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Yvonne D. Cagle...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on February 13, 2014 at 6:48am
Source: NASA link below

YVONNE DARLENE CAGLE, M.D. (COLONEL, USAF)

SPACE AND LIFE SCIENCES DIRECTORATE

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER



PERSONAL DATA: Born in West Point, New York, but considers Novato, California, to be her hometown. Enjoys jigsaw puzzles, juggling, skating, hiking, music, writing, public speaking, historical novels.



EDUCATION: Novato High School Novato, California, in 1977; received a bachelor of arts degree in biochemistry from San Francisco State University in 1981, and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Washington in 1985. Transitional internship at Highland General Hospital, Oakland, California, in 1985. Received certification in Aerospace Medicine from the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, in 1988. Completed residency in family practice at Ghent FP at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1992. Received certification as a senior aviation medical examiner from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1995.



ORGANIZATIONS: Boys and Girls Club; Aerospace Medical Association; Third Baptist Church. American Academy of Family Physicians.



AWARDS: Outstanding Young Women of America; National Defense Service Medal; Air Force Achievement Medal; United States Air Force (USAF) Air Staff Exceptional Physician Commendation; National Technical Association Distinguished Scientist Award; Commendation Marin County Board of Supervisors; Commendation Novato School Board.



EXPERIENCE: Dr. Cagle’s medical training was sponsored by the Health Professions Scholarship Program, through which she received her commission as an officer with the United States Air Force, and subsequently was awarded her board certification in family practice. During her initial active duty tour at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, she was selected to attend the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. In April 1988, she became certified as a flight surgeon logging numerous hours in a diversity of aircraft. She was actively involved in mission support of aircraft providing medical support and rescue in a variety of aeromedical missions.



NASA EXPERIENCE: During May 1989, while a flight surgeon assigned to the 48th Tactical Hospital, United Kingdom, Dr. Cagle volunteered to serve as the Air Force Medical Liaison Officer for the STS-30 Atlantis Shuttle Mission to test the Magellan Spacecraft. She was assigned to the Trans Atlantic (TAL) Landing site at Banjul, West Africa, to provide emergency rescue and evacuation of the shuttle crew should it have been required. Dr. Cagle has contributed on-going data to the Longitudinal Study on Astronaut Health, and served as a consultant for space telemedicine. She was a member of the NASA Working Group and traveled to Russia to establish international medical standards and procedures for astronauts. She also conducted health screenings of Mir-18 consultants from the Russian Federation.



 NASAL Yvonne D. Cagle, M.D. (Colonel, USAF)

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