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Kansas Soil Yields Massive Meteorite
ROMRIX writes "The Discovery Channel is reporting that Scientists have unearthed a 154 pound meteorite from a Kansas field using ground penetrating radar. The article also states that this type of radar may someday be used on Mars to locate water in a future mission."
The dig was likely the most documented excavation yet of a meteorite find... "We know it is recent," said Carolyn Sumners, director of Astronomy at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, as she surveyed progress on the dig. "Native Americans could have seen it."... The Brenham field was discovered in 1882. Scientists have since traced pieces of the shower as far away as Indian mounds in Ohio, indicating the meteorites were traded as pieces of jewelry and ceremonial artifacts. Certainly the most documented, but, I see a few hundred years of undocumented excavation in spite of that. I hope other excavations do better than that.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but since when does Africa have massive quantities of water frozen slightly beneath its surface? Plus, I'd always heard that most of Africa has decent access to water, but it was the purification that was the problem -- hence few people dying of thirst outright, and most getting sick of water borne illnesses.
From what I read, the technology isn't limited to "slightly below the surface." Secondly, you might find that people in the Sahara would disagree with you about massive quantities of water. Lastly, I'm not qualified to recommend where specifically the technology be used to benefit people; just qualified to suggest that perhaps Mars shouldn't be the first place we think of when we think about looking for water... On the other hand, your point about purification is well received. From what I have heard, you are correct, and purification is a major issue in Africa.
"since when does Africa have massive quantities of water frozen slightly beneath its surface?"
People following that logic ten years ago were telling us oil was going to have run out by about now. Using new technology they found extra reserves where they couldn't have looked before.
But yes, using groundwater to alleviate the country's problems doesn't sound like a great solution. Lack of seasonal fluctuations in supply will lessen the awareness of scarcity (ie they'll leave the taps dripping) or they'll use it to irrigate thirsty crops like cotton. Whatever the case it'll run out - quickly.
See, before humans figured out how to smelt iron out of ore, there were weapons made out of meteorite iron. A certain number of meteorites are nearly pure iron, and better yet, some is even already alloyed with stronger metals. They were rare and more expensive than gold, but it was a weapon which could pierce right through a bronze cuirass, and was often credited with magical properties. Kings and nobles paid a small fortune for them.
Some of the myths around that kind of equipment persisted even after it was known how to just smelt iron ore. E.g., the celtic myths about cold iron against elves. The only iron that can be processed without heating from start to finish is, you guessed, a chunk of stuff that was weapon-grade iron from the start, not ore. That's more often than not a meteorite.
So other than maybe modern times and construction crews with bulldozers, you wouldn't just throw away such a rock if you found one. You'd sell it to a smith for a small fortune, and he'd make a weapon for a king and sell it for a bigger fortune.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Get rid of the lawns. Lawn grass required over two inches of rain per week (or the equavalent in sprinklers) and does nothing. Plant native grasses, put in rocks, put in bark, or better yet plant some vegetables and feed yourself too.
A good idea where possible, and definitely something to strive towards, but not realistic. First good luck on finding native grasses; at best maybe you may find an Indian who remembers them being mentioned in the stories his or her great grandfather told. Second, rocks, bark, etc. may be appropriate or desirable as a decorative element, but you can't expect entire neighbourhoods to be designed (or redesigned) using that approach. Do that for a house in a typical subdivision, and you can expect complaints from neighbours about lowered property values, not to mention complaints about the bark that winds up all over the sidewalk. And lastly, grass does have benefits: it lowers the ambient temperature in the summertime, increases humidity levels (a big plus in semi-arid areas), generally looks and smells nice, keeps down the dirt and dust, and kids have been known to have fun playing on the stuff. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's not unlike planting a tree; you get lots of intangible benefits for a minimal investment. The birds, insects, and local wildlife will thank you, and your dog will be just as grateful.
Here is California, like other places, it's a real issue. The trend is to use reclaimed (read sewer) water for municipal landscaping, and municipally provided compost (read sterilised human waste) on large lawns. Admittedly, those two approach only mitigate the problems, but there's no way I'd want to live surrounded by plain or decorated dirt. That's not to say building subdivisions in Las Vegas where every house has a big lawn is the way to go. Put another way, here in California the hillsides are nice to look at, are great for hikers, but no one aside from coyotes wants to live there. And I'm not even sure about the coyotes.
cf: Turin Turambar. You probably wouldn't want to spend too long with that sword, mind...
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.