Solar Grills/heaters!- Skittlestar

Solar Grills/heaters!- Skittlestar


David Wilson, a professor at MIT, came up with this baby barbecue requiring no use of firewood, coal, gas or electricity to operate. The futuristic-looking contraption serves both for grilling, cooking or heating food, and it also serves as a space heater, using only solar energy. Battery life of about 25 hours between recharging. This means that the energy stored in a single day in the sun can be used throughout the night and the next day. Perfect for outdoor cooking in large cities, but especially rural and remote communities.

How Do Astronauts Go to the Bathroom in Space?

How Do Astronauts Go to the Bathroom in Space?

They may need a combination of brains, guts, strength and skill—the “right stuff” but they also need to be potty trainable. How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space? Sure enough, the answer includes plenty of tubes, wires, suction cups and, of course, checklists.A new National Geographic Channel special lays out the intricate contraption known as “WCS” or “waste collection system.” This ingenious device, which instills a bizarre admiration for the engineer or engineers whose job was to design it, allows cosmonauts to urinate and defecate at zero gravity without, as the bashful NASA spokesman in the video says, having an “escapee floating around the cabin.”

Turns out, however, that it takes a little training to use the WCS—including learning to sit in the correct position

If executed properly, an astronaut’s feces is sucked into a garbage bag that is stored and then returned to earth with other refuse. Urine is discarded out into space.

Look at the back of your hand and extend your thumb. See those two little tendons pop out and form a triangle between your wrist and your first thumb joint? Scientists call that triangle the "anatomical snuff box," because people used to have the habit of sniffing powdered tobacco from this fleshy depression..

Look at the back of your hand and extend your thumb. See those two little tendons pop out and form a triangle between your wrist and your first thumb joint? Scientists call that triangle the "anatomical snuff box," because people used to have the habit of sniffing powdered tobacco from this fleshy depression..

The tree that bleeds when cut is known as Dragon's blood

The tree that bleeds when cut is known as Dragon's blood, the tree of Family Euphorbiaceae produces a red resin that appears when it is cut. The resin has several utilities, even for humans, but in the case of the tree serves to heal the wound open and prevent the insects from attacking.

Some of the Most Amazing Extinct Species:

Some of the Most Amazing Extinct Species:

The world, as you may know, is rather old. Over the source of its history, a lot of species have come and gone. Today, I would like to take a look at some of the most fascinating ones (in no particular order).

1) The Passenger Pigeon—A pigeon may not sound like the most interesting species. They don’t have huge gaping maws, beautiful plumage, or other notably unique abilities. So why did they make it on this list?

Because they were once the most common bird species in North America (some even believe they were the most common species in the world), and now they are gone.

Their flocks were more than a mile wide and up to 300 miles long. The swarms of these birds were so dense that they darkened the sky for hours as they passed overhead. Population estimates from the 19th century ranged up to nearly 4 billion individuals, and they comprised nearly 40% of the total number of birds in North America. In just a century, the species that once blackened the sky was wiped from the face of the Earth.

Passenger pigeons were hunted as a crop nuisance for years, but it wasn't until pigeon meat got popular that things took a turn for the worst. It also sure didn't help that westward-bound settlers were chopping down the birds' habitat at an alarming pace. The last passenger pigeon died in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914. Her name was Martha.

2) Josephoartigasia (largest known rodent)—If you live in a city, you’ve probably happened upon some rodents from time to time. This isn’t too surprising, as rodents are the most abundant group of living mammals, with nearly 40% of the total number of mammalian species recorded. And these creatures flourish on the waste of human society: our garbage is their feast. So we encounter them fairly regularly.

But no rodent you’ve ever seen (no matter how large) can compare to Josephoartigasia.

These creatures lived in wetlands, where they fed off of vegetation and various grasses. Scientists estimate that the creatures reached 9 feet in length (3meters) and were over 4 feet tall (1.5meters). And these rodents could really eat—they reached up to 2,200 pounds (1,000kg). By comparison, the largest modern rodent reaches just 130poungs (60kg). The last of the species is believed to have died out some 2 million years ago due to changes in environment and continental drifts.

3) Moa (largest known flightless bird)—There are a number of flightless birds in existence. There are also a lot of flightless birds that (for a variety of reasons) are no longer in existence. The moa is one such bird. These creatures lived in New Zealand up to the 1600s. The largest species was about 13 feet tall (4m) and weighed over 500pounds (230kg).

And it isn’t just the moas’ amazing size that makes them unique. Of all the flightless birds, the moa is the only one known to have lost all trace of their wings — not even tiny wing bones or a wishbone are left. Moreover, all the giant Moa were actually females (the males were significantly smaller). In fact, the largest females were about 1.5 times the height and 2.8 times the weight of the largest males. This gender imbalance is the biggest of any species of bird or mammal found so far.

4) Gigantopithecus (the heftiest known ape)—Do you know what King Kong looks like? If you do, then you’ll have some idea of how Gigantopithecus looked (if not, the “giant” in the name should give you a pretty good idea). Ultimately, these creatures resembled modern day apes, only they were much, much, much larger. As the heftiest ape in history, the Gigantopithecus blacki reached 10 feet tall and weighed over 1,200 pounds (540kg).

And in some ways, this beast is a bit more like humanity than modern apes. There is one theory that was proposed by anthropologist Grover Krantz that supports the idea that Gigantopithecus was primarily bipedal (though some have argued that this research is skewed). Like the modern apes, these creatures fed primarily off plant matter.

Sadly, it seems that Homo erectus had a hand in their extinction. Their presence in the ecosystem meant that there was less food and other resources. When food became scarce, it caused greater competition between the species for what little food was left. For Gigantopithecus this competition would come from many creatures, as a number of species shared their diet. Ultimately, the large size of Gigantopithecus would have significantly counted against it because such a large body would need significantly more food in order to get the minimum level of calories to survive. What little fossil evidence we currently have does suggest that malnutrition was a real problem for these apes.
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There are a number of other species that deserve mention, but I must hold back for the sake of brevity. But feel free to link in all the amazing species that I missed (and please do).

3D Projection to your Home Sci-fi Becomes Sci-fact: Star Wars-style Holograms on the Proverbial Horizon

Sci-fi Becomes Sci-fact: Star Wars-style Holograms on the Proverbial Horizon

Announcements about technological strides like this make me very happy to be alive at this moment in time. According to scientists, who hail from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holograms similar to the those featured in the Star Wars movies (with Princess Leia) have been developed that can be produced inexpensively. Hopefully soon, gone are the days of 3D movies that kind of make us want to puke. (or in my case, the awful headaches)

In order to develop a system that allows people to see an image from a 3D perspective, we must manipulate light-rays, causing them to reflect from an object at various angles. This gives us the opportunity to see a different image from each angle, which is basically the difference between 2D and 3D videos. To do this, many different tactics are undertaken. Some of the systems involve a series of rapidly spinning mirrors. Whereas, other systems employ the use of lasers and multiple graphics processors. Regardless of the system, the effects aremostly the same.

While effective for the movies, our existing forms of this technology have debilitating limitations. Most notably, the quality of the holograms themselves. The size of the 3D images, the viewing angle and the speed the frames are capable of changing were also among the many restrictions. However, all of that may be irrelevant, as its possible to fix a few of these problems by modifying the spatial light modulators, which are responsible for directing the light into the proper points in three dimensional space, making the images come to life.

The team from HP Labs have developed a new screen, created through modification of the conventional liquid-crystal display (LCD) systems, which are used in most of our modern technologies (such as television screens, laptops and cellphones). These have sheets of material (like glass or plastic) that are covered in bumps, scattering light that is directed to the appropriate channel that controls the colors of the display, the polarizers and the shutters. Taking the existing models, the team added nano-patterned grooves, which similarly allow the light to scatter off into the appropriate directions. The "directional pixels" as they are called, have three sets os grooves. Each direct the green, red and blue light into the nessecary direction. (These grooves determine the number of viewpoints each hologram can possibly have). After which, the light pass through a series of liquid crystal shutters. Some block the light or pass it on, directing the different light rays from an object to a person's left or right side, tricking the eye into seeing a moving hologram -- Essentially doing away with the moving parts and mirrors used before.

Better yet, this technology is apparently capable of producing a static image seen from 200 different viewpoints. With videos, there would be 64 viewpoints that change at the rate of 30 frames per second. You could quite literally walk in a circle around the hologram and no identical image would be repeated. Of course, then we have another problem. 200 separate images are needed, which means the technology is not quite ready for its grand debut, but it does have some grand implications for holographic technology. Furthermore, Dr Michael Bove, the team leader, estimates that one of these monitors can be built for less than $500.

Further Reading:

"New 3-D Display Could Let Phones and Tablets Produce Holograms:"
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/512716/new-3-d-display-could-let-phones-and-tablets-produce-holograms/

"HP Labs' new 3D display could make Star Wars-like holograms real:"
http://www.dvice.com/2013-3-22/hp-labs-new-3d-display-could-make-star-wars-holograms-real

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Kindly bear with the long post but the tragedy was something which changed the lives of the locals there, and are still going through the after-effects. DYK pays tribute to all the survivors.

Kindly bear with the long post but the tragedy was something which changed the lives of the locals there, and are still going through the after-effects. DYK pays tribute to all the survivors.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was an industrial catastrophe that occurred in 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
->At the time, UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), itself now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company.
->Around midnight on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, the plant released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins, resulting in the exposure of over 5,00,000 people. Estimates vary on the death toll.
->Other government agencies estimate 15,000 deaths. Others estimate that 8,000 died within the first weeks and that another 8,000 have since died from gas-related diseases. The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.
->The gases flooded the city of Bhopal, causing great panic as people woke up with a burning sensation in their lungs.
->The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and many were trampled in the panic.
->Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river.
->After the accident, no one under the age of 18 was registered. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000. 1,70,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried.
->Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school, more money spent on treatment, more money spent on food, improvement of housing conditions.
->It is estimated that 50,000 persons need alternative jobs, and that less than 100 gas victims have found regular employment under the government's scheme. Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to their patients.

" DANCE OF THE SPIRIT also known as AURORA BOREALIS "

" DANCE OF THE SPIRIT also known as AURORA BOREALIS "

a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere). The charged particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere.

In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas.

they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. Discrete aurorae often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures, and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green.

The Cree call this phenomenon the "Dance of the Spirits". In Medieval Europe, the auroras were commonly believed to be a sign from God.

The Mantis Shrimp:

The Mantis Shrimp:
Aquarists and scuba divers refer to them as “thumb-splitters" because their claws pack a punch as powerful as a .22-caliber bullet.
Those same claws can shatter a clam shell, and crack open a crab or shatter glass. They can bring down a blue-ringed octopus or a fish. The claws are made of a material so hard it can deliver 50,000 blows between molts - without breaking. It’s being studied by scientists as a model for crafting super-strong body armor for soldiers.
And it moves its claws so fast that they turn water into plasma and sound into light.

This phenomenon is referred to as sonoluminescence

Read Full Article http://montereybayaquarium.tumblr.com/post/52384365014/peacock-mantis-shrimp-hes-baaaaack-tiny

Funny oatmeal comic : http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

Goblin Shark Only Seen Some times

700,000-Year-Old Horse Genome Shatters Record for Sequencing of Ancient DNA:

700,000-Year-Old Horse Genome Shatters Record for Sequencing of Ancient DNA:
By piecing together the genetic information locked inside a frozen, fossilized bone, scientists have deciphered the complete genome of an extinct prehistoric horse that roamed the Yukon more than 700,000 years ago. The work rewrites the evolutionary history of the horse and smashes the previous record for the oldest complete genome ever sequenced. In doing so, it redefines how far back in time scientists can travel using DNA sequences as their guide.

Every time a cowboy throws a leg over the saddle and gallops off on his horse, he’s riding on top of 4 million years of evolutionary history. But this history is mostly a mystery. We know surprisingly little about how natural selection and thousands of years of selective breeding by humans have shaped these animals on the genetic scale.

Horses were once considered a textbook example for the smooth transition of one species into another, a perfect illustration of Darwin’s theories. Ancient equine species — dog-sized animals with five toes – gradually evolved into towering, hooved thoroughbreds. Or so the story went. But with every fossil that was unearthed, a more tangled picture emerged.

Then DNA sequencing came along, allowing scientists to reconstruct how organisms change over time down to the resolution of single letters in the DNA code.

In the new study, a multinational team of scientists led by Ludovic Orlando and Eske Willerslev at the University of Copenhagen used what’s become a common approach: comparing the DNA of modern species to DNA recovered from fossil remains, in this case a fossil bone fragment found near Thistle Creek, Canada. By pushing DNA sequencing technology to its limits, they were able to rewind the evolutionary clock back further than ever before.

Full Article :http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/ancient-horse-genome/

'Nuclear Pasta' In Neutron Stars May Be New Type Of Matter, Astronomers Say :

 
'Nuclear Pasta' In Neutron Stars May Be New Type Of Matter, Astronomers Say :
A rare state of matter dubbed "nuclear pasta" appears to exist only inside ultra-dense objects called neutron stars, astronomers say.

There, the nuclei of atoms get crammed together so tightly that they arrange themselves in patterns akin to pasta shapes — some in flat sheets like lasagna and others in spirals like fusilli. And these formations are likely responsible for limiting the maximum rotation speed of these stars, according to a new study.

"Such conditions are only reached in neutron stars, the most dense objects in the universe besides black holes," said astronomer José Pons of Alicante University in Spain. [The Top 10 Star Mysteries Ever]

This new phase of matter had been proposed by theorists years ago, but was never experimentally verified. Now, Pons and his colleagues have used the spin rates of a class of neutron stars called pulsars to offer the first evidence that nuclear pasta exists.

Pulsars emit light in a pair of beams that shoot out like rays from a lighthouse. As the pulsars spin, the beams rotate in and out of view, making the stars appear to "pulse" on and off, and allowing astronomers to calculate how fast the stars are spinning.

Researchers have observed dozens of pulsars, but have never discovered one with a spin period longer than 12 seconds. "In principle, that is not expected. You should see some with larger periods," Pons told SPACE.com. A longer spin period would mean the star is spinning more slowly.

Read Full Article : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/27/nuclear-pasta-new-matter-neutron-stars_n_3509085.html

Olympics In china 2008

The probes PIONEER 10 and PIONEER 11

The probes PIONEER 10 and PIONEER 11, launched in 1972 and 1973, both carry the space-age equivalent of a message in a bottle. The two crafts explored Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, and then left our solar system going in opposite directions. It was Carl Sagan's idea to bolt a gold-plated plaque (shown below) to each of them for any ET who might see it in the next 100 million years or so. The plaques show Earth's position in the solar system; the sun's relationship to other stars; a diagram of a hydrogen atom; and a sketch of a man and woman standing next to the probe.

Addiction, alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, liver disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, obesity, diabetes and heart attack, these are the problems that have been linked with the consumption of alcohol. We have been hearing so many negative things about alcohol for a very long time that it has become nearly impossible for us to believe that it can actually be good for our health:

Addiction, alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, liver disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, obesity, diabetes and heart attack, these are the problems that have been linked with the consumption of alcohol. We have been hearing so many negative things about alcohol for a very long time that it has become nearly impossible for us to believe that it can actually be good for our health:
Moderate consumption of alcohol can save you from atherosclerosis, a condition in which arteries become narrow and clogged and one of the major causes of heart attack. The major factor that contributes to atherosclerosis is cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance; if the blood becomes too much concentrated with it, sticks to the artery walls and becomes plaque. The platelets present in the blood get stuck to the plaque and cause the blood to clot. These blood clots restrict the flow of the oxygen-rich blood to reach the heart, causing heart attack.
How can alcohol help?

• It helps to increase HDL or “good” cholesterol
• It increases apolipoprotien A1, this protein plays a vital role in lipid metabolism and is also an important component of HDL
• Decreases fibrinogen, which is responsible for blood clotting
• It prevents plaque formation in the arteries
• It prevents blood clots and platelets from clumping

As we know there are two types of cholesterol, LDL or bad cholesterol and HDL or good cholesterol. Low levels of HDL and high levels of LDL can cause plaque formation in the arteries. A study published in the journal “Circulation”, in 2000, revealed that alcohol helps to boost HDL levels and the major contributing factor present in alcohol is ethanol.
There is another study that supports the fact that alcohol can improve cardiovascular health. This study was conducted in 2008, by Danish researchers who examined 12000 participants for 20 years. The effects of alcohol and exercise were observed on the hearts of participating men and women. Following were the results of the research:

• Positive relationship between regular exercise and decrease in heart disease was observed, in fact there was a reduction in the heart disease risk up to 32%
• Participants who were very active and did not had any consumption of alcohol showed a 30% drop in the risk of heart disease
• Those who consumed alcohol and also took regular exercise showed a reduction if the risk of heart disease up to 50%
• Non-active alcohol drinkers showed a reduction in the heart disease risk up to 30%, compared to the non-active participant who didn’t drink

Overall it was concluded that people drinking alcohol and taking regular exercise had the lowest chances of developing heart disease. An important thing to notify here is that the participants in this study only had one alcoholic beverage in a week.
Another study conducted in the U.S. in 2007, focused on men consuming one to two drinks in a day. It was revealed that such men had fewer incidences of heart attacks.
A research was conducted at The University of Buffalo, in 2001. The participants involved women who already had heart disease and consumed one drink in a day. These women were at a lower risk of having a heart attack as compared to the women who didn’t consume alcohol at all.

Which is the Highest capital in the world ? La Paz , the capital of Bolrvra , is 3,631 m (11,971ft) above sea level . Bolivia is the highest country in the Andes , the mountain chain that extends north-south all the way down the western coast of South America . It is the longest mountain chain in the world .

Which is the Highest capital in the world ?

La Paz , the capital of Bolrvra , is 3,631 m (11,971ft) above sea level . Bolivia is the highest country in the Andes , the mountain chain that extends north-south all the way down the western coast of South America . It is the longest mountain chain in the world .

Fruits that can change your Life

Fruits that can change your Life

Wow! Humans could learn so much from these examples.

Wow!
Humans could learn so much from these examples.

hITLER and Chaplin

Panther Facts

Panther Facts

1.Panther is known as black jaguar in Latin America, as black leopard in Asia and Africa, and as black cougar in North America.

2.Adult animal has 7-8 feet in length and weighs between 100-250 pounds.

3.They are carnivores (meat-eaters). They hunt and eat everything from birds and reptiles to large mammals.

4.Panther can produce loud roar.

5.Panthers are solitary animals. They will meet only during mating season.

6.After three months of pregnancy, female will give birth to 2-4 babies. She takes care of them by herself.

7.Panthers learn to climb the tree early in their life. They are strongest tree climbers in the cat world.

8.Eyes of the newly born cub are closed and covered with light fur.

9.At age of 2-3 months, cubs learn how to hunt from their mother.

10.Just nine months after birth, young panthers can catch medium-sized prey. They learn quickly.

11.Black panthers have large and strong paws and sharp claws that are used for hunting.

12.Panther can survive in areas populated with humans better than other cats.

13.Panther can leap up to 20 feet.

14.They have excellent eyesight and sense of hearing.

15.In the wild, panthers can live up to 12 years and in captivity up to 20.