March 7, 2012
Good Morning,
NASA looks to the sun as its new solar probe is Okayed for more development. Check out the first article for all the details on the spacecraft's incredible capabilities and what this will mean for the future of space exploration.
Until Next Time,
Erin
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Design work on solar probe gets go-aheadBALTIMORE - The design of a U.S. spacecraft intended to survive 2,000-degree temperatures in a close-up study of the sun has entered its next phase, NASA said. The agency said the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, leading the team designing the Solar Probe Plus, has been given the go-ahead for more design work on the probe, building on the concepts it created during an initial design effort. "Solar Probe Plus will be a historic mission, flying closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft," Nicky Fox, Solar Probe Plus project scientist, said in an APL release Monday. After its launch, set for 2018, Solar Probe Plus will orbit the sun 24 times, gradually moving in toward the sun with each pass. As the probe approaches the sun, its revolutionary carbon-carbon composite heat shield and other components must withstand temperatures exceeding 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit, the designers said. Meanwhile, its science instruments will survey particles in the solar wind and measure their properties, measure the electric and magnetic fields in the sun's atmospheric plasma, and determine the elements in the sun's atmosphere. "Solar Probe Plus is an extraordinary mission of exploration, discovery, and deep understanding," NASA scientist Lika Guhathakurta said. "We cannot wait to get started with the next phase of development."
Seaweed seen as alternate fuel sourceTEL AVIV, Israel - With much valuable farmland being used to produce bioethanol, the search for biofuel should turn to the world's oceans and to seaweed, Israeli researchers say. Scientists at Tel Aviv University said marine macroalgae, common seaweed, can be grown more quickly than land-based crops and harvested as fuel without sacrificing usable land. Seaweed can be grown unobtrusively along coastlines and can also clear the water of excessive nutrients caused by human waste or aquaculture that disturb the marine environment, zoology professor Avigdor Abelson said in a TAU release Monday. Researchers said they are developing methods for growing and harvesting seaweed as a source of renewable energy. While land-bound sources are renewable, there is concern converting land from food crops to biomass crops such as switchgrass for alternative fuel will limit food resources and drive up costs, the researchers said. Seaweed could be a renewable energy source that doesn't endanger natural habitats, biodiversity, or human food sources, they said.
Calif. firm shows new battery technologyNEWARK, Calif. - A California startup company says its electric-vehicle batteries will provide longer range, a longer overall life, and are affordable, quick-charging and safe. Envia Systems in Newark, Calif., says its rechargeable lithium-ion battery has an "energy density" of 400 watt-hours per kilogram, the highest energy density known, the San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday. When ready for commercial use the 400 Wh/kg battery, with a range of 300 miles and a cost of about $25,000, will bring down the price of electric vehicles and make them more affordable for mainstream consumers, the company said. Low-cost, high-energy density batteries have been the Holy Grail of electric vehicle research, experts say, and while battery costs will come down with volume manufacturing, energy density has been a much harder goal to achieve. "Rather than just a proof-of-concept of energy density, I am pleased that our team was successful in actually delivering 400 Wh/kg automotive grade 45 Amp-hour lithium-ion rechargeable cells," Sujeet Kumar, Envia's co-founder and CTO, said in a statement. While some in the industry look to move "beyond lithium" and work with new materials, many expect lithium-ion batteries to remain dominant for electric vehicles in the coming decades. "The rumors of the demise of lithium-ion batteries were greatly exaggerated," Envia Chief Executive Officer Atul Kapadia said.
Google combines services as 'Google Play' MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Google says it is unifying its digital offerings into a single cloud-based site, an online marketplace to be known as Google Play. Starting Tuesday the Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore will be incorporated into the new entity, USA Today reported. Google Play, available on the Web and on Android smartphones and tablets, will allow users to store music, movies, books and apps previously purchased on what had been separate Google stores or visit the site to fetch new content, the company said. "Entertainment is supposed to be fun. But in reality, getting everything to work can be the exact opposite -- moving files between your computers, endless syncing across your devices, and wires ... lots of wires. Today we're eliminating all that hassle," Google's Director of Digital Content Jamie Rosenberg said in a blog post. The Android Market app on Android phones and tablets will be updated during the next few days to Google Play Store, Google Play Music, Google Play Books and Google Play Movies apps, Google said. "The important point to emphasize is that none of this obviously impacts the content that users own, the libraries they have," Rosenberg said, explaining users will log in with their Google account credentials as usual.
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