Light in the Sky

the-science-llama:

If Earth Had Rings

First off, they would be really pretty to look at. They would also dominate the sky in both night and day at exactly the same place as they would never rise nor set. And at night you would see the Earth’s shadow swing across the rings, like in the 4th photo here.

However, life would be very different on Earth if this were the case. Nocturnal animals would have a hard time being nocturnal, as the light reflecting from the rings would illuminate the night.

Because we are closer to the Sun than Saturn is, the rings would be more rocky than ice, making them less bright but still pretty bright. In fact, you would see far less stars at night (living anywhere other than the equator or the arctic circle) because of the light pollution and not to mention ruin most meteor showers because of that.

During the day the rings would block sunlight in certain regions of the planet creating wild weather cycles and effecting plant life as well. So basically, they would be definitely pretty to look at but they would also make a whole lot of things screwy.

Illustrations by Ron Miller // io9
— Click the photos for captions

futurist-foresight:

Graphene arerogels for insulation.

the-science-llama:

Graphene Aerogel
— Lightest Solid Material Ever Developed

Because aerogels are porous they are ultra-light materials and this one is 100 times lighter than Polystyrene foam cups and can help clean up pollutants like toluene and crude oil (other oils as well) and other compounds like ethanol. Researchers are planning  to look at the materials ability for insulating and sound proofing in the future.

Previous records for lightest materials were 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter in 2011, 0.18 mg/cm3 in 2012, and now this material at 0.16 mg/cm3.

Prof. Gao Chao // Polymer Science Engineering at Zhejiang University
Published Feb 18, 2013 // Advanced Materials

Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser on Vimeo.

In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance.
In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.

Solar-sintering aims to raise questions about the future of manufacturing and trigger dreams of the full utilisation of the production potential of the world’s most efficient energy resource - the sun. Whilst not providing definitive answers this experiment aims to provide a point of departure for fresh thinking.

This project was developed at the Royal College of Art during my MA studies in Design Products on Platform 13.

markuskayser.com

The Super Supercapacitor | Brian Golden Davis from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

THE SUPER SUPERCAPACITOR is a Finalist in the $200,000 GE FOCUS FORWARD Filmmaker Competition. Learn more about the Competition and GE FOCUS FORWARD at focusforwardfilms.com/finalists

Ric Kaner set out to find a new way to make graphene, the thinnest and strongest material on earth. What he found was a new way to power the world.

FULL CREDITS
Director: Brian Golden Davis
Producers: David Paul Meyer, Laura Lee, Brian Golden Davis
Directors of Photography: Brian Golden Davis, David Paul Meyer
Sound: David Paul Meyer
Music Performed by: Falling Fall, Snow Flake Symphony - Benjamin Vella & Barney Freeman
Mice Music - Ben Stone & John Trudeau
Special Thanks: Ric Kaner, Maher El-Kady, Charles Lee

the-science-llama:

Occultation of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter by the Moon

1) Mars at the Moon’s Edge — Ron Dantowitz (July 24, 2003)

2) The Moon’s Saturn — Jens Hackman (May 26, 2007)

3) Occultation of Jupiter — Luis Argerich (Jan. 22, 2013)

canadian-space-agency:

Col. Chris Hadfield: “Safely home - back on Earth, happily readapting to the heavy pull of gravity. Wonderful to smell and feel Spring.”

Read about Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield’s return to Earth following historic five-month mission here: http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/media/news_releases/2013/0513.asp

Photo credits: Mikhail Metzel/AFP/Getty Images/Guardian/space-pics/NASA