Gizmorama
August 30, 2010
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Good Morning,
Two articles in this issue deal with space exploration but
in two different means. The second article contains details
on an interesting new find, and the third presents an inno-
vative new instrument that will increase sufficiency. Be
sure to read into both.
Until Next Time,
Erin
Questions? Comments? Email me at: mailto:gizmo@gophercentral.com
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Receding ice could unlock arctic trove
HELSINKI, Finland - Receding arctic ice from global warming
may open new avenues for tourism and trade and could reveal
vast new natural resource reserves, researchers say. The
northern ice cover is becoming smaller and thinner, and sci-
entists predict the Arctic Ocean could lose its icecap com-
pletely during summertime by the end of the century at the
latest, and possibly as early as the 2030s, Finland's
Helsingen Sonomat reported. Twenty years from now it may be
possible to travel to the North Pole by ship, they say.
Russia has already organized luxury cruises to the North
Pole in its nuclear-powered icebreakers, but the next gener-
ation may be able to reach the top of the world in their
pleasure boats, they say. More important would be what the
opening of the sea channels could mean for world trade. The
Northeast Passage along Russia's north coast and the North-
west Passage through Canada's Arctic archipelago would
shorten the sea journey from Asia to Europe and to the east
coast of North America by as much as a third. The receding
ice could also allow access to rich natural resources. More
than a quarter of the world's catches of fish currently come
from Arctic waters. And an estimated 20- to 30 percent of
the world's untapped natural gas resources and 5- to 13 per-
cent of its oil resources are in the Arctic region, resear-
chers say. All this new opportunity would require the cooper-
ation of the world's countries, politicians in Arctic states
say. In April the World Wide Fund for Nature published a
report on questions concerning the administration of the
Arctic Ocean. "Arctic states must remember that the Arctic
Ocean is not their backyard," report author Professor Timo
Koivurova of the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland
said. "International maritime law already guarantees the com-
mercial fleets and fishing fleets of all countries in the
world access to the area. It would be sensible to get them to
commit to a treaty concerning the Arctic region."
Spacecraft finds two planets orbiting star
WASHINGTON - A NASA spacecraft has discovered the first
planetary system with more than one planet transiting, or
crossing in front of, the same star, researchers say.
The Kepler spacecraft detected the transit signatures of two
distinct planets in data gathered on the sun-like star desig-
nated Kepler-9, a NASA release said Thursday. The planets
have been named Kepler-9b and Kepler-9c. The discovery came
during seven months of observations of more than 156,000
stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets
outside our solar system, NASA said. The spacecraft's ultra-
precise camera measures tiny variations in the star's bright-
ness that occur when a planet moves in front of -- or trans-
its -- it. The size of the planet can be determined from
these temporary dips in brightness. "Kepler's high quality
data and round-the-clock coverage of transiting objects en-
able a whole host of unique measurements to be made of the
parent stars and their planetary systems," Doug Hudgins, a
Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington,
said.
Self-cleaning solar panels described
BOSTON - Technology developed for missions to Mars could im-
prove the performance of solar energy systems on Earth, U.S.
researchers say. In a presentation at the annual meeting of
the American Chemical Society, scientists described a self-
cleaning coating for the surface of solar cells to increase
efficiency and reduce maintenance costs for large-scale solar
power installations, a society release said Monday. Such
installations are usually placed in sun-drenched desert areas
where dry weather and winds sweep dust into the air and dep-
osit it onto the surface of solar panels. "A dust layer of
one-seventh of an ounce per square yard decreases solar power
conversion by 40 percent," study leader Malay K. Mazumder,
said. "In Arizona, dust is deposited each month at about four
times that amount. Deposition rates are even higher in the
Middle East, Australia, and India." Working with NASA,
Mazumder and others developed self-cleaning solar panel tech-
nology for use in lunar and Mars missions. "Mars of course
is a dusty and dry environment," Mazumder said, "and solar
panels powering rovers and future manned and robotic missions
must not succumb to dust deposition. But neither should the
solar panels here on Earth." The self-cleaning technology
uses a transparent, electrically sensitive material deposited
on a transparent plastic sheet covering the panels. Sensors
monitor dust levels and energize the material when dust
concentration reaches a critical level. The electric charge
sends a dust-repelling wave cascading over the surface of
the material, lifting away the dust and transporting it off
of the screen's edges.
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