Here's a little more information about TEKh-42 (the technical name). Quote:
[Purpose of Nanosputnik is to support development of satellite control techniques, monitoring of satellite operations, and research on new attitude system sensors and other components.]
I'm surprised there isn't more coverage. It is a little reminiscent of the latter days of the Apollo program when there was little/no coverage on the press, or to a greater extent the latter days of SpaceLab.
For those who didn't RTFA, here's the link to a rather large directory of all the competitors. May the/.-ing begin... Directory listing, free for perusal
Quote from the Chicago News article "Meanwhile, Nagel and his associates have completed another chapter in their ongoing research program that examines the surprising physics of everyday phenomena."
Nagel and his associates are quite famous for finding interesting physics in things like coffeestains and sand piles and crumpling paper. He taught me quantum while I was an undergrad at U of C, and he was a great teacher, even if I didn't appreciate it at the time.
It is quite true that there exist interesting physical phenomena right under our noses.
Correction: Since the internal temperature of the probe has been recorded as 25 degrees C (while outside the probe is much colder), the batteries could last as long as 7 hours. However, the transmitter onboard isn't strong enough to get data to Earth directly without a relay (like Mars Orbiter for the Mars Rovers).
They didn't stop recording data because Huygens went silent. Rather, Cassini had to turn to transmit its load of data. Cassini had to turn for a number of reasons ranging from the azimuth and elevation of the lander (now it is more than a probe...) with respect to the horizon, to the maximum data storage capability of Cassini itself. Not that the poster said anything wrong, it was just misleading. I believe Huygens was still transmitting at least carrier verified by Colorado (not sure which radiotelescope picked it up in the US) after Cassini was tasked to turn away. We just couldn't listen much longer, and Huygens' batteries weren't supposed to do more than 4.5 hours anyway (IIRC).
-F
between the textile industry and computing industry...
In the late 60s, before bipolar transistor memory or MOS transistor memories were commonplace and practical, companies like Digital and IBM employed several textile company weaving-experts on the efficient weaving of core memory "ropes" and "cloths." Basically, the problems encountered in the fabrication of core memory on a large, complex scale had been solved, or at least examined, centuries before.
see Rope memory and Apollo Guidance Computer rope memory. And of course, who could forget the original programmed computer, the Jacquard's punch-card loom?
I couldn't agree more. My cyclotron days were filled with searches (pre-internet) for equipment, surplus, parts, machining supplies, etc. I had to develop lots of stuff on my own. So, I'm writing a book about it. I'm a only 150 pages in, and have lots more to go. Basically, I'm aiming for something about like a "Building Scientific Apparatus" for homebrew particle physics machines. There's a lot of info out there that's buried in 1920s-1960s books on building such machines in the lab that has been more or less fogotten/lost. A list like the above would have helped out tremendously.
Re:Heard this on the Beeb Yesterday
on
Virtual Girlfriend
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
How is this any different from "Dating Sims" like this one or this one? Am I missing something, or is the innovation here just that it is on a mobile phone?
-F
The scaling is not 1:1, so while it takes 32 Athlon processors with 56GB of ram, the processing power of 31 qbits is not that of the 32-processor cluster. This is an emulator, so the actual 31-qbit probably isn't quite as powerful as the hardware required to accurately mathematically model it. So while the computing power of a few hundred real qbits might be impressive, the computing power required to simulate those few hundred qbits would be extremely impressive.
-F
a big garage, a spare '67 IH Scout 800, a laptop I could trash, assorted robotics parts, and a month or two paid time off (or better yet- sponsored by my work)... I just *know* I could get out of the parking lot...
I participated in 93, 94 and 95. I actuall won Grand award in 94. Those were some of the most fun times I had growing up. The projects really did vary in quality and dedication, but overall the experience is usually wonderful for anyone that participates. I met a number of physicists, and actually got a job at Fermi National Accelerator Lab as a result of my projects and the interest they generated. I actually left my PhD program and now work in the real world, but the ISEF really did introduce me to science on the grand scale. I wouldn't have gone into physics if it hadn't been for the ISEF. I am also currently trying to get my company to sponsor special awards at the ISEF. I figure it is the least I can do to give back.
-F
My four projects are on my webpage
Actually, no. I wish I had known that was the list item. Justin and I have always wanted to have a triumphant alumni rematch with the Scav Hunt. I wasn't involved in 2k2. AJ was a great supporter of ours back then. When it was first/.-ed, and the rumors started spreading on campus, seemingly thousands of people disputed the story and several people complained to the Housing office at the U of C. In the end, Sherry Gutman already knew us and what we were all about, so the university complaints ended at her desk. He and a few others really helped fend off ridiculous claims and rumors during those first few days.
-F
No, we (Justin and I) are not "idiot twins." Our breeder reactor was, indeed, last publicly seen in the back of my Ford. It was originally built in our dorm suite. But it was later disassembled. You can read about it here. Our breeder reactor created about 12000 atoms of Uranium and in the neighborhood of 4000 atoms of Plutonium. At those levels, it is even difficult to measure chemically.
As a result of my experience building nuclear reactors for fun, I was a science advisor for a BBC show, "The Nuclear Boyscout." I have had to answer questions about this a thousand times, and it has been/.-ed before (second down).
Also, I don't work for Los Alamos. I worked for Fermi National Accelerator Lab, but now I am at General Dynamics.
And by way of reference, the Scav Hunt rocks. We had a great time every year. Too bad I can't be there as an honorary judge this year. I would, but I can't make it... (Sorry Matt Kellard)
You missed a big physics fact. The orbit that the ISS sits in is totally wrong for launching anything. Originally the orbit was to be just off the equator, but in order for the Russians to help and launch from the Cosmodrome in Khazakstan, the orbit was changed to 51 degrees. That meant a change in the mission of the ISS from a "jumping off point to outer space" to an international scientific outpost. Here's a NASA quote: "NASA spokesperson Phil West says the ISS' inclination of 51 degrees was chosen as a compromise to accommodate all of the international partners who will be launching from different latitudes. For example, Russia's launch site in Kazakhstan is further north than the Florida site, making lower inclinations difficult to achieve."
ISS History article Space Station History
Yeah, and this is actually an old idea that was used extensively by the Soviets during their push for planetary exploration. Since the atmosphere of Venus was so hot and dense, they were able to float the balloons with extremely heavy loads. The scheme worked well during the Venusian "night," until the sun came and expanded the volume of gas in the balloon, bursting it. The idea for balloons on Mars has been "floated" before, but it looks like it just might happen this time...
I also took a lot of pictures of Exploding Apples. However, where this kid used a pneumatic gun and a flash camera, we used large pulses of current. In peak shots, we exceeded 2GW through the apples. Needless to say, they didn't make it.
The biggest difference between our methods, though, is the flash. Nails hitting the apples didn't produce any light, so he wouldn't get an image. We sat with the shutter open in a dark room as well, but all of our shots were simply lit by the light from the explosion. Note how the apples seem to be lit from within... Spooky. Here's a gallery of the various experiments in our HV lab.
-F
The cyclotron was a lot of fun to build. My project went over a little better at the ISEF than that guy's Hirsch/Farnsworth Fusor. I also built a linear accelerator for the ISEF. In college I built a breeder reactor as a part of the U of C Scavenger Hunt. My reactor was somewhat like David Hahn's, but we quantified the amount of Uranium and Plutonium we made. I was also involved with D. Hahn's documentary. They used me as a science advisor- check out the credits. But the reason I'm writing this is that I am no longer doing research at Fermi National Accelerator Lab. Now I'm doing research and development in the private sector.
Slashdot Mirror
[Purpose of Nanosputnik is to support development of satellite control techniques, monitoring of satellite operations, and research on new attitude system sensors and other components.]
Also, space.com has an article mentioning it.
I'm surprised there isn't more coverage. It is a little reminiscent of the latter days of the Apollo program when there was little/no coverage on the press, or to a greater extent the latter days of SpaceLab.
-F
For those who didn't RTFA, here's the link to a rather large directory of all the competitors. May the /.-ing begin...
Directory listing, free for perusal
Nagel and his associates are quite famous for finding interesting physics in things like coffee stains and sand piles and crumpling paper. He taught me quantum while I was an undergrad at U of C, and he was a great teacher, even if I didn't appreciate it at the time.
It is quite true that there exist interesting physical phenomena right under our noses.
Correction: Since the internal temperature of the probe has been recorded as 25 degrees C (while outside the probe is much colder), the batteries could last as long as 7 hours. However, the transmitter onboard isn't strong enough to get data to Earth directly without a relay (like Mars Orbiter for the Mars Rovers).
They didn't stop recording data because Huygens went silent. Rather, Cassini had to turn to transmit its load of data. Cassini had to turn for a number of reasons ranging from the azimuth and elevation of the lander (now it is more than a probe...) with respect to the horizon, to the maximum data storage capability of Cassini itself. Not that the poster said anything wrong, it was just misleading. I believe Huygens was still transmitting at least carrier verified by Colorado (not sure which radiotelescope picked it up in the US) after Cassini was tasked to turn away. We just couldn't listen much longer, and Huygens' batteries weren't supposed to do more than 4.5 hours anyway (IIRC).
-F
between the textile industry and computing industry... In the late 60s, before bipolar transistor memory or MOS transistor memories were commonplace and practical, companies like Digital and IBM employed several textile company weaving-experts on the efficient weaving of core memory "ropes" and "cloths." Basically, the problems encountered in the fabrication of core memory on a large, complex scale had been solved, or at least examined, centuries before. see Rope memory and Apollo Guidance Computer rope memory. And of course, who could forget the original programmed computer, the Jacquard's punch-card loom?
I couldn't agree more. My cyclotron days were filled with searches (pre-internet) for equipment, surplus, parts, machining supplies, etc. I had to develop lots of stuff on my own. So, I'm writing a book about it. I'm a only 150 pages in, and have lots more to go. Basically, I'm aiming for something about like a "Building Scientific Apparatus" for homebrew particle physics machines. There's a lot of info out there that's buried in 1920s-1960s books on building such machines in the lab that has been more or less fogotten/lost. A list like the above would have helped out tremendously.
Wasn't this shown to be a fraud? -F
How is this any different from "Dating Sims" like this one or this one? Am I missing something, or is the innovation here just that it is on a mobile phone? -F
I hear good things about this combination.
The scaling is not 1:1, so while it takes 32 Athlon processors with 56GB of ram, the processing power of 31 qbits is not that of the 32-processor cluster. This is an emulator, so the actual 31-qbit probably isn't quite as powerful as the hardware required to accurately mathematically model it. So while the computing power of a few hundred real qbits might be impressive, the computing power required to simulate those few hundred qbits would be extremely impressive.
-F
a big garage, a spare '67 IH Scout 800, a laptop I could trash, assorted robotics parts, and a month or two paid time off (or better yet- sponsored by my work)... I just *know* I could get out of the parking lot...
What were your projects in '94 and '95?
-F
I participated in 93, 94 and 95. I actuall won Grand award in 94. Those were some of the most fun times I had growing up. The projects really did vary in quality and dedication, but overall the experience is usually wonderful for anyone that participates. I met a number of physicists, and actually got a job at Fermi National Accelerator Lab as a result of my projects and the interest they generated. I actually left my PhD program and now work in the real world, but the ISEF really did introduce me to science on the grand scale. I wouldn't have gone into physics if it hadn't been for the ISEF. I am also currently trying to get my company to sponsor special awards at the ISEF. I figure it is the least I can do to give back.
-F
My four projects are on my webpage
Actually, no. I wish I had known that was the list item. Justin and I have always wanted to have a triumphant alumni rematch with the Scav Hunt. I wasn't involved in 2k2. AJ was a great supporter of ours back then. When it was first /.-ed, and the rumors started spreading on campus, seemingly thousands of people disputed the story and several people complained to the Housing office at the U of C. In the end, Sherry Gutman already knew us and what we were all about, so the university complaints ended at her desk. He and a few others really helped fend off ridiculous claims and rumors during those first few days.
-F
-F
As a result of my experience building nuclear reactors for fun, I was a science advisor for a BBC show, "The Nuclear Boyscout." I have had to answer questions about this a thousand times, and it has been /.-ed before (second down).
Also, I don't work for Los Alamos. I worked for Fermi National Accelerator Lab, but now I am at General Dynamics.
And by way of reference, the Scav Hunt rocks. We had a great time every year. Too bad I can't be there as an honorary judge this year. I would, but I can't make it... (Sorry Matt Kellard)
-Fred
My Webpage
You missed a big physics fact. The orbit that the ISS sits in is totally wrong for launching anything. Originally the orbit was to be just off the equator, but in order for the Russians to help and launch from the Cosmodrome in Khazakstan, the orbit was changed to 51 degrees. That meant a change in the mission of the ISS from a "jumping off point to outer space" to an international scientific outpost. Here's a NASA quote: "NASA spokesperson Phil West says the ISS' inclination of 51 degrees was chosen as a compromise to accommodate all of the international partners who will be launching from different latitudes. For example, Russia's launch site in Kazakhstan is further north than the Florida site, making lower inclinations difficult to achieve."
ISS History article
Space Station History
I smell a QIII Arena hack coming on...
Good to see that Brazil's mainstream film industry is finall learning what the porn industry has known for so long...
Yeah, and this is actually an old idea that was used extensively by the Soviets during their push for planetary exploration. Since the atmosphere of Venus was so hot and dense, they were able to float the balloons with extremely heavy loads. The scheme worked well during the Venusian "night," until the sun came and expanded the volume of gas in the balloon, bursting it. The idea for balloons on Mars has been "floated" before, but it looks like it just might happen this time...
I also took a lot of pictures of Exploding Apples. However, where this kid used a pneumatic gun and a flash camera, we used large pulses of current. In peak shots, we exceeded 2GW through the apples. Needless to say, they didn't make it.
The biggest difference between our methods, though, is the flash. Nails hitting the apples didn't produce any light, so he wouldn't get an image. We sat with the shutter open in a dark room as well, but all of our shots were simply lit by the light from the explosion. Note how the apples seem to be lit from within... Spooky. Here's a gallery of the various experiments in our HV lab.
-F
-Fred