Category: Science

According to a report here and a statement made by a Russian Space Forces official, the International Space Station may have suffered a minor collision with a piece of space debris. Astronauts awoke to the gut-wrenching sound of metal scraping against metal, which lasted for a period of about one second. However, subsequent examination with… Read more →

IEEE Spectrum has an interesting article on the future of high-powered microwave (HPM) weaponry, and its potential impact upon electrical systems and human organisms: An HPM weapon can induce currents large enough to melt circuitry. But even less intense bursts can temporarily disrupt electrical equipment or permanently damage ICs, causing them to fail minutes, days,… Read more →

According to the NASA website, the Galileo spacecraft will shorlty be manoevured into a descent path which will send it plunging into the Jovian atmosphere. This will mark the end of a 14 year long mission ranked among NASA’s greatest successes On Sept. 21, NASA’s Galileo mission will come to an end when the hardy… Read more →

There is a rather interesting article showcasing another one of those primate studies – you know, the ones that purport to have found and explained a fundamental human characteristic in terms of some evolutionary link between primates and humans. Researchers seem to have no trouble painting a quaint, disney-esque caricature of human civilisation (never mind… Read more →

For the public good, I hereby declare that this post will be the last to feature that most accursed of literary devices, alliteration. In the mean time, the European Space Agency is planning to launch a mission involving a craft which utilises an electric propulsion engine (yes, those things out of Star Trek – which,… Read more →

Well its that time of the millennium again: I’m sure most of you have heard about the Mars opposition, but for those who have not, the gist of it is that the radius of Mars’ eliptical orbit is at its minimum, while Earth’s is at its maximum (perhaps an oversimplification). The result is to bring… Read more →

As a long-time lapidarist, I find this quite exciting. I’ve long been fascinated by the geological processes which serve to create precious gems, but the prospect of being able to own Cd in any sizable quantity is not only cool, but rather practical. New techniques developed by Gemesis and Apollo Diamond promise to make the… Read more →

We may found have a solution to this planet’s growing waste problem. Soon, you’ll be able to transform any organic material into a reusable, combustible fuel which – at least according to multi-national automobile conglomerates – is the most precious substance on earth (see previous post). Unlike other solid-to-liquid-fuel processes such as cornstarch into ethanol,… Read more →

In a not-so-startling discovery, scientists have supposedly demonstrated that yawning is contagious, especially between “self-aware or empathic people”. The referenced author is perhaps taking things a bit far with the article’s title. While I don’t doubt yawning is indeed contagious, I question the study’s findings; I catch yawns regularly, yet am described by many as… Read more →