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Blog – Page 4230

We still don’t have a clear picture of the Sun’s physics — but the Solar Ring could change that.

To solve this a team of astronomers proposes the Solar Ring. The Solar Ring is a fleet of three spacecraft that will all orbit around the Sun. They will be separated from each other by 120 degrees and be fitted with identical instruments. This way their overlapping fields of view will make it impossible for us to miss anything happening on the surface.

Among the many kinds of observations that the astronomers behind the Solar Ring hope to perform, one involves a technique called reverberation mapping. By carefully mapping the velocity of gas on the surface of the Sun, they can measure vibrations and pulsations. These kinds of “sunquakes” give astronomers rich information about what is happening within deeper layers, much like how earthquakes tell us about the core and mantle of the Earth.

The Solar Ring will also be able to catch the beginnings of a solar flare or an eruption event no matter where it happens on the Sun, providing even more early warning for space weather. These kinds of plasma storms can disrupt satellites and even affect electrical systems on the Earth’s surface, so the more warning, the better.

Continue reading “A trio of satellites could take a groundbreaking 360-degree photo of the sun” | >

A s of 1 February 2021, there are about 280 million domestic LPG (liquified petroleum gas) consumers in India, according to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. By March 2022, the Government of India expects that there will be over 300 million consumers. Indian Oil, the country’s largest fuel refiner, claims that it will import 50% more cooking gas to ensure the supply of LPG remains uninterrupted for its bottling plants.

It’s imperative to find heating solutions that are more efficient.

Moreover, the Government of India has been encouraging wider adoption of LPG to replace coal and firewood to improve air quality as well. But according to researchers at IIT-Guwahati, the thermal efficiencies of conventional domestic LPG cooking stoves available in the market are low (60–68%), and emissions are high (CO: 220–550 ppm, NOx: 5–25 ppm).

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Scientists have measured the highest toughness ever recorded, of any material, while investigating a metallic alloy made of chromium, cobalt, and nickel (CrCoNi). Not only is the metal extremely ductile – which, in materials science, means highly malleable – and impressively strong (meaning it resists permanent deformation), its strength and ductility improve as it gets colder. This runs counter to most other materials in existence.

“In the same units, the toughness of a piece of silicon is one, the aluminum airframe in passenger airplanes is about 35, and the toughness of some of the best steels is around 100. So, 500, it’s a staggering number.” —

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They’re so much like humans. Hopefully this doesn’t hurt them in the long term.

Farms in India have reached out to the authorities after repeatedly being attacked by opium-addicted parrots.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh say their opium crops are being ruined by parrots who keep returning to raid their farms in an attempt to get high. The farmers have been guarding the fields day and night to protect their poppies, but the birds are willing to risk it all to get their beaks on the opium, which is being farmed for medical purposes.

Playing loudspeakers has also failed to rid the farms of the birds, whose opium problem is too far developed to let a bit of noise deter them.

Continue reading “Parrots Keep Attacking Poppy Farms To Get High On Opium” | >

Rather, he says his motivation in accumulating wealth has always been about securing independence, the freedom to do what he wishes in business and in life — and he wishes more people would follow his example.

“The world is not driven by greed. It’s driven by envy,” Munger said at the annual meeting of the Daily Journal, the newspaper company where he is a director, earlier this year.

The 98-year-old, who has amassed a fortune that Forbes estimates at $2.2 billion, added that it’s easy, and common, for people to become envious. No matter how much some people have, someone else will always have more, he noted.

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