Science & TechnologyS


Info

Midnight comes a fraction sooner as Earth spins faster


TallBloke's Talkshop
Mon, 01 Aug 2022 21:44 UTC
As Nasa is reported as suggesting that 'stronger winds in El Niño years can slow down the planet's spin', can we - on the basis of no research at all - nominate La Niña as a suspect here? Just trying to be helpful, as MSN claims: Experts confused after earth spins faster.

Analysis: Reflecting a recent trend, 29 June was the shortest day on our planet since the 1960s. What's going on? - wonders The Guardian.
Earth from Space
© TallBloke Wordpress
If time feels tighter than ever of late, blame it on the revolution. On 29 June this year, Earth racked up an unusual record: its shortest day since the 1960s, when scientists began measuring the planet's rotation with high-precision atomic clocks.

Broadly speaking, Earth completes one full turn on its axis every 24 hours. That single spin marks out a day and drives the cycle of sunrise and sunset that has shaped patterns of life for billions of years.

But the curtains fell early on 29 June, with midnight arriving 1.59 milliseconds sooner than expected.

The past few years have seen a flurry of records fall, with shorter days being notched up ever more frequently. In 2020, the Earth turned out 28 of the shortest days in the past 50 years, with the shortest of those, on 19 July, shaving 1.47 milliseconds off the 86,400 seconds that make up 24 hours. The 29 June record came close to being broken again last month, when 26 July came in 1.5 milliseconds short.

So is the world speeding up? Over the longer term - the geological timescales that compress the rise and fall of the dinosaurs into the blink of an eye - the Earth is actually spinning more slowly than it used to. Wind the clock back 1.4bn years and a day would pass in less than 19 hours.
Read More...
Ice Cube

No warming in US for at least 17 years according to rarely referenced urban heat-free database

Chris Morrison
Daily Sceptic
Sat, 30 Jul 2022 17:41 UTC
heat free database global warming
© Natural Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)The data in the the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) is compiled from a select group of 114 stations across the country that have been specifically sited AWAY from urban development.
There has been no temperature warming for at least 17 years across the United States, according to results from a rarely referenced dataset that was designed to remove all urban heat distortions. The dataset, compiled by the Natural Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the U.S., shows oscillating temperature changes, but very little evidence to indicate a warming trend. In fact, the above graph clearly shows the United States to be cooler in May 2022 compared to May 2005.

The information is contained in the latest survey of all NOAA's weather stations by the U.S. meteorologist Anthony Watts. The data is compiled from a select group of 114 stations across the country that have been specifically sited away from urban development. Called the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN), NOAA started it in 2005 and noted that it was aiming for "superior accuracy and continuity in places that land use will not likely impact during the next five decades". Representative pictures of the weather stations, as seen in this 2013 science paper, show there is no sign of any urban development. In his latest survey of U.S. "Corrupted Climate Stations", Anthony Watts notes the existence of USCRN, adding
: "It is free of localised heat biases by design, but the data it produces is never mentioned in monthly or yearly climate reports published by NOAA for public consumption."

Comment:

Read More...
Gem

Ancient 'Diablo Canyon' meteorite reveals mysterious diamond crystal structure

JoAnna Wendel
Live Science
Mon, 25 Jul 2022 12:00 UTC
meteorite crystal diamond diablo canyon
© James St. John/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0Widmanstätten patterns seen in the same meteorite.
While studying diamonds inside an ancient meteorite, scientists have found a strange, interwoven microscopic structure that has never been seen before.

The structure, an interlocking form of graphite and diamond, has unique properties that could one day be used to develop superfast charging or new types of electronics, researchers say.

The diamond structures were locked inside the Canyon Diablo meteorite, which slammed into Earth 50,000 years ago and was first discovered in Arizona in 1891. The diamonds in this meteorite aren't the kind most people are familiar with. Most known diamonds were formed around 90 miles (150 kilometers) beneath Earth's surface, where temperatures rise to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius). The carbon atoms within these diamonds are arranged in cubic shapes.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Info

Mysteries of some atmospheric halos remain unexplained after 5,000 years

Robert Lea
Space.com
Fri, 29 Jul 2022 21:16 UTC
The origins of some atmospheric optical illusions remain unknown, even after millennia of observation.
Diamond Dust

For the first time in almost 5,000 years of observations, researchers have fully cataloged optical illusions created in the sky as light shines through ice crystals known as atmospheric halos.

The atmospheric halo 'inventory' details frequently seen atmospheric optical illusions from known sources as well as shedding light on rarer halos, including ones with origins that are currently a mystery.

Halos are caused by the accumulation of water ice crystals smaller than 10 micrometers in the atmosphere. Qualities of these atmospheric illusions such as their colors or whether they possess arcs, spots or white rings, are determined by the shape and orientation of the ice scatter from and the path light takes towards these crystals. Often, the type of crystal behind the scattering can be identified by the shape of the halo they create.

These atmospheric illusions have been documented by humanity since at least the Babylonian era — which began around 1895 B.C. — when the phenomena were detailed on cuneiform tablets. However, thanks to the availability of cameras as a result of the proliferation of mobile phones, scientists have never had so much data on these phenomena at the tips of their fingers.
Read More...
Mars

How did Earth avoid a Mars-like fate? Ancient rocks hold clues

Lindsey Valich
phys.org
Mon, 25 Jul 2022 09:55 UTC
earth molten core
Approximately 1,800 miles beneath our feet, swirling liquid iron in the Earth's outer core generates our planet's protective magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is vital for life on Earth's surface because it shields the planet from solar wind — streams of radiation from the sun.

About 565 million years ago, however, the magnetic field's strength decreased to 10 percent of its strength today. Then, mysteriously, the field bounced back, regaining its strength just before the Cambrian explosion of multicellular life on Earth.

What caused the magnetic field to bounce back?

According to new research from scientists at the University of Rochester, this rejuvenation happened within a few tens of millions of years — rapid on geological timescales — and coincided with the formation of Earth's solid inner core, suggesting that the core is likely a direct cause.

"The inner core is tremendously important," says John Tarduno, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and dean of research for Arts, Sciences & Engineering at Rochester. "Right before the inner core started to grow, the magnetic field was at the point of collapse, but as soon as the inner core started to grow, the field was regenerated."
Read More...
Robot

This is what Saudi Arabia's 100-mile long emission-free smart city could look like

M. Moon
Engadget
Tue, 26 Jul 2022 09:40 UTC
the line smart city
© NEOM
The Line is part of Saudi's controversial Neom mega-city project.

In 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed the country's plans to build The Line, a smart linear city that will be constructed vertically, have no roads or cars and run purely on renewable energy. Now, the Saudi government has released image renders of what The Line could look like once it's done. The city was designed to only be 200 meters (656 feet) wide, but 500 meters (1,640 feet) tall and 170 kilometers (105 miles) long. It will house multiple communities encased in a glass facade running along the coast and will eventually be able to accommodate up to 9 million residents.

The Line's designers envision a city wherein facilities are just a five-minute walk away from people and where residents can organically bump into each other as they go about their daily errands. While it will have no roads and won't be able to accommodate cars, it will have a high-speed rail for end-to-end transit that will take 20 minutes. It will also rely on a natural ventilation system to make sure residents enjoy the ideal climate all year round.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Blue Planet

Mysterious holes discovered on ocean floor puzzle experts

Ben Cost
New York Post
Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:37 UTC
holes mystery mid atlantic ridge
© NOAA Ocean ExplorationMysterious perforations on the ocean floor near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
There are holes in their knowledge regarding these mysterious ocean-bed perforations — so experts are asking for help.

Scientists have been left flabbergasted over a series of mysterious holes discovered this week at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration posted photos of the underwater formations on Facebook and Twitter, where sea-savvy social media users have postulated that they could be everything from "wormholes" to "aliens."
Read More...
Question

Existence of Loch Ness Monster just became more 'plausible' after fossil discovery

Sarah Knapton
The Telegraph
Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:17 UTC
plesiosau
Researchers from the University of Bath have upturned the assumption that a plesiosaur (right) could not have lived in a freshwater environment
River system dig in modern-day Morocco offers 'controversial' new perspective on how marine reptiles and aquatic dinosaurs co-existed

The Loch Ness Monster is "plausible", a British university has declared, after finding that some plesiosaurs may have lived in freshwater.

Nessie proponents have long believed that the creature of Scottish folklore could be a prehistoric reptile, with grainy images and eyewitness accounts over the years hinting that the beast has a long-neck and small head similar to a plesiosaur.

However, skeptics argue that even if a plesiosaur lineage had survived into the modern era, the creatures could not have lived in Loch Ness because they needed a saltwater environment.

Comment:

Read More...
Galaxy

Russia to withdraw from International Space Station in 2024, build new base

Joshua Rhett Miller
New York Post
Tue, 26 Jul 2022 09:52 UTC
ISS in space
© NASA/APISS International Space Station to 'de-orbit ' in January 2031
Russia will leave the International Space Station at the end of 2024 and start construction on its own orbital base, officials announced Tuesday.

Yuri Borisov, a former deputy prime minister and deputy defense minister appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled Roscosmos, said Russia will meet its obligations to other ISS partners before pulling out of the project.

"The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made," Borisov said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The declaration comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the US over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. NASA announced earlier this month that a Russian cosmonaut will be launched to the ISS in September aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon - which would mark the first time that Elon Musk's company will transport a Russian on one of its space capsules.


Comment: Off-world partnerships to reach political escape velocity.
Space Repair
© NASA/APItalian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev perform maintenance on the International Space Station • July 21, 2022
The agreement ensures that the space station will always have at least one American and one Russian on board to keep both sides of the orbiting outpost running smoothly, according to NASA and Russian officials. The swap had long been in the works and was finalized despite frictions over Ukraine in a sign of continuing Russia-U.S. cooperation in space.


Read More...
Post-It Note

Synthetic tools conduct messages from station-to-station in DNA

Mike Williams
Phys.org
Mon, 18 Jul 2022 00:00 UTC
DNA image
© Rice University
Rice University researchers have demonstrated that CRISPR-Cas9, increasingly famous as a gene-editing tool, can be employed in powerful additional ways in human cells.

A team led by Rice bioengineer Isaac Hilton and graduate student Kaiyuan Wang used deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) proteins to target key segments of the human genome and synthetically trigger the transcription of human genes.

By using dCas9 to recruit proteins that can naturally turn genes on, the Rice team was able to reveal important details about human promoters and enhancers — the pieces of our DNA that coordinate when, and to what extent, our genes are turned on — which in turn controls the behaviors of our cells.

Hilton said:
"We're using these synthetic biology tools to improve the ability to engineer gene expression and program human cells, and consequently to better understand how our genes work naturally. These types of studies are important because in the long run this knowledge and these technical capabilities can enable better gene and cell therapies and biotechnologies."
Hilton said the study in Nucleic Acids Research highlights the growing potential of CRISPR-Cas9-based tools for synthetic gene control and cellular engineering. The team's strategy also demonstrates the power of dCas9 to influence and understand the epigenetic factors that animate the human genome.
Read More...