During the past 25 years astronomers have discovered a wide variety of exoplanets, made of rock, ice and gas, thanks to the construction of astronomical instruments designed specifically for planet searches. Also, using a combination of different observing techniques they have been able to determine a large number of masses, sizes, and hence densities of the planets, which helps them to…
Tag: construction
Boston Dynamics Is Selling its 70-Pound Robot Dog To Police Departments
The New York Times reports on what the city’s police department calls Digidog, “a 70-pound robotic dog with a loping gait, cameras and lights affixed to its frame, and a two-way communication system that allows the officer maneuvering it remotely to see and hear what is happening.”
Police said the robot can see in the dark and assess how safe it is…
Blueprint for fault-tolerant qubits
Building a universal quantum computer is a challenging task because of the fragility of quantum bits, or qubits for short. To deal with this problem, various types of error correction have been developed. Conventional methods do this by active correction techniques. In contrast, researchers led by Prof. David DiVincenzo from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University, together with partners from the…
Ancient graves and mysterious enclosure discovered at Stonehenge ahead of tunnel construction
Archaeological work ahead of the construction of a controversial road tunnel beside Stonehenge has led to the discovery of ancient graves, including one with the remains of a baby dating back more than 4,500 years. Source: https://www.livescience.com/stonehenge-graves-enclosure-discovered-tunnel-construction.html
First 3D-Printed House Goes On Sale, Foreshadowing Faster, Cheaper Homebuilding
“A company says it has listed the first 3D printed house in the United States for sale,” reports CNN. “This is the future, there is no doubt about it,” says Kirk Andersen, the director of operations at SQ4D Inc. SQ4D uses automated building methods, or 3D printing, to build structures and homes… The company can set up its Autonomous Robotic Construction…
Spacewalkers Complete Battery Replacement Work, Install New Cameras on Space Station
Astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover floated back outside the International Space Station Monday and completed solar array battery replacement work that began four years ago. They also installed three new video cameras and made preparations for upcoming work to install new roll-out solar blankets to upgrade the lab’s power system. From a report: The work took less time than expected…
Opinion: Biden administration must act fast to save migratory birds
On Trump’s way out of the White House, his administration demolished a law that protects migratory birds, putting over 1,000 species at risk. The Biden administration can still salvage it, but only if they act swiftly. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/biden-administration-migratory-bird-treaty-act…
Wind farm construction creates noise that may harm squid fisheries
The noisy construction of offshore wind turbines can discourage squid from hunting, which could lead to decreased squid populations and potentially decrease profits at fisheries Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264740-wind-farm-construction-creates-noise-that-may-harm-squid-fisheries/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
SpaceX’s next idea: Catch Super Heavy boosters with the launch tower
SpaceX is getting closer and closer to realizing the design for its Starship and Super Heavy launch system. Once complete, it will be the world’s first fully reusable launch system and will facilitate trips to low Earth orbit (LEO), the moon and Mars. Construction began on the system’s booster element (Super Heavy) this past summer and, according to a recent tweet…
Carbon Engineering’s Tech Will Suck Carbon From the Sky
“It’s not enough to slash greenhouse gas emissions,” warns a new article in IEEE Spectrum (shared by schwit1). “Experts say we need direct-air capture of atmospheric carbon.” West Texas is a hydrocarbon hot spot, with thousands of wells pumping millions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas from the Permian Basin. When burned, all that oil…