Tuesday 14 July 2009

Johnald's Fantastical Daily Link Splurge

Johnald's Fantastical Daily Link Splurge

The Dark Age of Manned Space Exploration: 1969-2009

Posted: 14 Jul 2009 02:00 AM PDT

As a child who spent most of his life after the Apollo project it's my humble opinion that over the last 40 years we've been living a micro-dark age of space exploration. To me the 40th Anniversary of Apollo isn't a cause for celebration, but is in fact a funeral for NASA which has been a shadow of its former self.

YouTube - Crowbar - I Have Failed

Posted: 14 Jul 2009 12:38 AM PDT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FsmeO6mvWw

Meet the First American to Travel to Space: A Photo Essay

Posted: 14 Jul 2009 12:30 AM PDT

His words before his first launch, "Please, dear God, don't let me f--- up," is known among aviators as Shepard's Prayer. Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. (1923 – 1998) would later become the 5th man to walk on the moon, but his first gig in 1961 was to be the second human to fly into Earth's orbit.

Elephants at Play [PIC]

Posted: 14 Jul 2009 12:10 AM PDT

Beautiful shot. 2 young elephants "tussling" with mother elephant nearby. Enlargeable, wallpaper.

YouTube - Crowbar - Planets Collide

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 11:48 PM PDT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-LNFCTMs24

The public trusts scientists—but not their conclusions

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 11:40 PM PDT

The public loves scientists, but it's not so pleased with conclusions that most scientists agree on, such as evolution and climate change. A new set of surveys explains this gap and hints at a widening partisan divide.

Hand vs. Liquid Nitrogen and the Leidenfrost Effect

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 11:20 PM PDT


(21 votes - 5 comments - 279 views)
"I stick my hand (momentarily) directly into liquid nitrogen but don't suffer any injuries due to the Leidenfrost effect.

The Leidenfrost effect is the formation of a gas barrier between a hot surface and a boiling liquid if the temperature difference is great enough. This gas barrier greatly slows the heat transfer between the two and allows the liquid to last longer and consequently the hot surface to remain hot longer. This effect can be seen in a frying pan as it's being heated. At first the water quickly boils as it's dropped in but at a hot enough temperature the Leidenfrost effect takes over and makes the water skate around the surface lasting a very long time.

Liquid nitrogen vs. a room temperature object will also exhibit the effect preventing it from instantly freezing the object... such as my hand."

Dead Letter Circus-Next In Line-(EP)-2008-pLAN9 : Music > Alternative - Mininova

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 11:02 PM PDT

http://www.mininova.org/tor/2361354

Should Detection by an Exo Civilization Be Viewed as a Thre?

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 10:50 PM PDT

If we should pick up signals from alien civilizations, Stephen Hawking, our century's Einstein, warns: "we should have be wary of answering back, until we have evolved" a bit further. Meeting a more advanced civilization, at our present stage,' Hawking says "might be a bit like the original inhabitants of America meeting Columbus.....

Ten Things You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 04:50 PM PDT

This month marks the 40th anniversary of humankind's first steps on the moon. Auspiciously timed is Craig Nelson's new book, Rocket Men--one of the most detailed accounts of the period leading up to the first manned moon mission. Here, we have ten little-known Apollo 11 facts unearthed by Nelson during his research.
Posted by johnald