Other Sciences

A veteran of six space flights talks about being an astronaut and living aboard both the International Space Station and Mir.

The Space Shuttle Minute is NASA's wrap-up of activities surrounding Space Shuttle processing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Most people know that nuclear reactors exist around the world, but few people know how they work. I looked into it and was very surprised to know that the reactors simply create fission in Uranium-235, use the heat generated to turn water into steam and use it to turn a turbine. (very primitive) What i really don't get why they don't use the gamma radiation for power as well. when a gamma ray interacts with an electron, it causes it to separate from the atom. why don't scientist use these electrons to create additional power?

Thought experiments are not just predictions. They can make valid conclusions. Wikipedia has it right here:

What kind of business models or practices do you think would favor environmentally safe behavior from a capitalist viewpoint? Currently I view environmentally safe products of business at a disadvantage simply from higher costs and less availability overall. I don’t see how the current model of our economy as I see it changing from this. I mean the SUV only stated to diminish in sales because of fuel prices, but its not extinct. How can a “free” economy sustain any lasting or positive changes to be environmentally sound globally and locally? I raise this question because I think ultimately past making huge leaps in alternative fuels that can be expended without bound …

We are creating a science news show based at WKRC at Columbia University that will be heard on the radio and be streamed over the internet. We are interested in freelance submissions for stories. The show will be a sort of "All Things Considered" for science, medicine and technology and the science back stories to general news reports. If you have a story you are interested in reporting, please submit a one paragraph summary to scienceontheweb@gmail.com. You will need to have access to a digital voice recorder. You do not need to have an advanced degree to participate. You just need to be able to report a story.

hello! im new so dont be to tough on me i want to fill ballons up with hydrogen and oxygen (because its easier) and ive modified a 1.5 litre coke bottle so that 2 carbon rods are sticking into it. then all i have to do is add water and an electrolyte and hook it up to some electricity and put a balloon on the mouth. but this takes a ridiculous amounts of time to even fill the balloon up (not even till its standing up) so my question is, if i hook up the rods to the wall outlet via an old cord, will this speed it up alot? enough to fill a balloon within half an hour? ive tried adding more electrolytes (mainly NaCl) but it hasnt made much of a difference at al…

I think the EPA should be charged with labeling products that are “green” in nature vs. ones that just sell on such a title. I would even go as far as to think it would only help consumer habits if say some green product for sale had a sticker on it. This would imply certain standards to the definition that I think could be handled by scientists. I also do not think it would be to difficult to coordinate also.

Webcast Launch Spacecraft Separation

My general idea is simple! Is it not possible that Intelligent design, that is the creation of life by intelligent means ( I have no idea what it is or could be, the possibilities are endless and mind boggling ) could incorporate evolutionary process. In other words life was created and meant to evolve and form on its own. While i already understand that intelligent design theory has not been able to produce lab results, I also know that mathematics is a very real thing, and Intelligent Design theory definitly has the mathmatical evidence. I also know that Evolution leaves behind some very real evidence, and i believe it happens every day. Science today has …

I've got a Coke Zero here in front of me (I don't actually, but I did when I first thought of this question and its a good demonstration). Supposedly this contains zero calories. I suppose that means I could drink an infinite number of these things and never get fat. How on earth could that be? If you took some Splenda and burnt it will it really not raise a milliliter of water a single degree? How could this work and how can they say it?

Hello. Q1. How far and fast can a neutrino travel? Q2. How do we know if neutrinos come from our sun, when neutrinos can pass through all known matter? Could they be coming from another star instead? cheers.

A sclerochronologist (!?) on how crossing the Atlantic gave him an insight in geological time.

I saw millions of ladybugs today that obviously mass-hatched. They were all headed somewhere, although none seemed to land on anything. Does anyone know how long these hatchings last? Is it hours or days?

So my physics teacher was telling us about a climatologist who is predicted a tipping point in the whole global warming fiasco within the next decade. Apparently some studies showed much LESS CO2 in the air than what should be there based on our emissions. Upon investigation, it was found that a large quantity of it was being dissolved into the ocean. His theory is based on the simple characteristics of gas solubility in liquid. It is known that cooler solvent can dissolve more gaseous solute. As such, he predicted a time when the rise in temperature will cause the ocean to be able to dissolve less and less of our emitted CO2 and reach a point of saturation when the ocean…

Skylab was America's first space station and orbital science and engineering laboratory. Jon Cowart is a great host with a millionaire mustache. Enjoy, MC

I want to learn more about the sciences of PV and thinfilm solar panels, can anyone point me in the direction of a good book on the subject (or webiste)? Such as how they are made and how they actually harness energy. Also, if anyone knows where to read more about wind energy, it would be greatly appreciated.

To elas I am puzzled. Could you please explain why you think what I said is 'on dangerous ground?'

It's a Friday night, and my girlfriend has to work in the morning so didn't come over. I'm decompressing after a long week. School has been challenging, but we did take our last oral quiz today in Chinese, and all that is left is our skit show and final. I've got a solid A in the class, so reimbursment from my company will arrive in a few weeks. That is of more importance than one can know... So, it's floodin' down in Texas tonight. I've been watching the radar for the past few hours, embedded as picture-in-picture as I catch up on my recorded shows while the GF is not here. Monster storm coming in. Tornadic activity, huge down-pours of rain... But, that's Tex…

Hi, everyone. One day I've seen some kind of (photo?)filming, when camera captures the movements of gas. I mean, the viewer can see, how gas expands and so on. Does someone know the name of this kind of filming? Maybe you can give me some links to articles or videos? ) I'll be very thankful, thanks in advance. p/s. Sorry for my ban English, I'm from Kazakhstan

I am trying to work out what cumalative frequency is. My son is doing a test on 250ml of water running out of a hole in a beaker into a measuring jug. The times per 50ml are 14,33 50 78 180 seconds. He has been told to show them in cumulative frequency ???? any ideas I'd be very grateful Ian:confused:

The Space Shuttle Minute is NASA's wrap-up of activities surrounding Space Shuttle processing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

i was just wondering, is there a slight chance that sound can be the sixth phase. we all know that the phases are solid, liquid, gas, then plasma, but yeah i'm just wondering if there is a chance....

I was talking to my housemate and he raised a point I wasn't certain of how to explain, about how Earth's atmosphere was transparent. I mentioned about how the particles in gases were so widely dispersed compared to other particles, and he mentioned that other gases can block light... So I commented that eyes must have evolved to take advantage of nitrogen's transparency to what we term "visible light" when he reminded me that oxygen and carbon dioxide are transparent to those same frequencies too. So how do I respond to the fact that nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide all being transparent to the same wavelength frequencies of the EM spectrum when other gase…

1:00 am. Tired. Too much MatLab. Too much genetics. Need a good laugh. Solution; a free visit to M. Behe's website, Mr. Irreductible complexity. Very funny. First of all, unlike most scientists, Behe doesn't feel the need to use visually appealing graphics. Nooooooooooooooooo. But, he got a mousetrap. I could not believe this, I mean, this guy must sit on more $$$$ than most evolutionary theorists (of course, the source is different). Right after that, there's the "the Lehigh university is ashamed of my ideas but for some reason hasn't fired me yet" disclaimer. Which is also quite unusual. But hey, when you're a révolutionaire... And at…