Zark's

Dark Dimensions

A person at the local shopping mall knows that she needs to move north-south, east-west, and up-down, to reach the desired store.  There is a fourth dimension, time, because unless she arrives within business hours, it is a wasted trip.  It appears that we live in four dimensions, or do we?

Secret Dimensions explains that possibly six or more additional dimensions exist.  Somehow we cannot sense them.  Mathematicians are accustomed to N dimensions, and although readily grasped, (and exploited) it is difficult to imagine what living in ten dimensions actually implies.  To be a little different, I have called them dark dimensions, to be consistent with dark matter.  The designation 'dark' implies they are unseen, or that we know very little about them.  Perhaps I could write a novel about vampires living in these curled dimensions, but I digress ...

String Theory explains the original string theory had space-time consisting of ten dimensions, and the 11th dimension was an almost insignificant line or circle.  Bosonic string theory insists space-time has 26 dimensions.  Theorists believe the extra dimensions are necessary to explain mass-less objects such as photons.  The theory being, that they are only mass-less in flat space, but in full space, they have mass.

Wiki explains the extra dimensions may be very short or curled.  Imagine a long hose viewed from a distance in empty space.  The observer might conclude the hose has only a single dimension, or length.  But a close observer would note the hose has all three physical dimensions.  A gnat flying inside the hose would experience all three, despite the far-away observer deducing there was only one relevant dimension to the object.

Since we are so much larger than the sub-atomic world, the extra dimensions experienced by photons and other particles may be irrelevant to our daily life, just like the extra dimensions of the hose.  Yet gravity may lurk within those hidden or secret dimensions, causing the paradoxes we note between the microscopic and macroscopic observations.

Do Hidden Dimensions Exist? explains there are thousands of possibilities of what the hidden six dimensions could look like.  Astronomers are attempting to look at past history from the Big Bang to identify the single multi-dimensional geometry defined for the physical world.  In Search of Hidden Dimensions suggests that the strings of string theory may be less than a millimeter in length.

Physicists fervently hope the Large Hadron Collider will prove the existence of hidden dimensions.  How? - through violation of the law of conversation of energy.  If energy disappears, then it had to leak into the unseen dimensions.  Mmm.  That's what happened to my homework years ago.

Right-Sizing Nuclear Reactors for Developing Countries

Western countries are procuring nuclear reactors in the bulk size of 1200 MW.  However, ORNL part of project to help power developing nations explains that size is not appropriate for developing countries.  Usually their national power grid is not sufficiently large or mature enough for a 1200 MW nuclear power generator.  Equally important is that nuclear reactors around 250 MW can be operational in half the time of the larger plants.  70 percent of the global growth in energy requirements will come from developing nations, hence, the need to quickly provide the proper reactor size for these nations.

But there is a problem - economy of scale.  Today's commercial offerings are only economically viable around 700 MW.  Financing, talent, risk, and the existing architectures, limit the product available to developing nations.  The International Atomic Energy Association has published a booklet, Considerations to Launch a Nuclear Programme.

Their recommendation is no single facility should provide more than 10 percent of the grid's capacity.  A typical staffing for a facility is between 200-1000 people.  Obviously the required expertise spans almost all of engineering disciplines, including chemistry.  History shows it takes 10-15 years from initial policy decision to an operational plant.

Sandia team developing right-sized reactor explains the new facilities will be approximately half the size of a large office building.  Instead of the traditional light-water design, the smaller reactor would be based upon a small uranium core submerged in a tank of liquid sodium.  With adequate demand, the plants could cost as little as $250M.  They are intended to produce their own fuel and thus designed for a much longer lifetime.  The goal is electricity at 5 cents per kW-hr. 

Human Mice - Tickling the Devil?

During the Manhattan Project, one of the most dangerous experiments was called, 'tickling the dragon's tail.'  To determine the mass of uranium necessary for a chain reaction, scientists at Los Alamos constructed a near-critical pile of uranium and then dropped a slug of uranium through it.  Although gravity reliably pulled the slug down and way from the mass, for a split-second, the amount of uranium was sufficient for a chain-reaction.  Although extremely hazardous, it was the safest experiment Oppenheimer and his team could devise.

The Mouse With a Human Liver tells about Salk Institute's generation of a mouse with a near-human liver.  (About a 95% match.)  The idea is to create a viable test subject that experiences the same liver infections and diseases as a human.  Instead of limiting researchers to a petri dish of a few cells, this permits test and observation of a complete organ.  

The Salk Institute explains the researchers created the human liver from a mouse that has genetic defect.  By introducing human cells into the liver, the mouse liver becomes populated with human cells.  Tests show the mouse experiences human liver infections and diseases.

Mmm.  New Bill Would Ban Human-Animal Hybrids tells this is a complex issue.  All of us believe medical research for the purpose of curing or preventing human diseases is unquestionably good.  But suppose Weeki Wachi Springs, a longtime Florida tourist attraction wants to create true mermaids instead of being content with beauties that breath through transparent air hoses?  Should that be permitted? 

Okay, what is the demarcation between acceptable blending of human genes within an animal?

The Technology of Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy lifted the curtain on its products today by opening its website.  As a backgrounder, the company was founded by former university professor who had been contracted by NASA to produce hydrogen and oxygen from sunlight and water that the space agency hope to discover in abundance on Mars.  KR Sridhar discovered the product was reversible - not only could it produce oxygen and hydrogen, but the fuel cell could be reversed to produce energy.

Deciding this epiphany could be a commercial success, Sridhar has spent the last nine years perfecting the technology with venture capital funding. 

A short video explains that the electrolyte of their fuel cell is a ceramic composed of 'beach' sand.  The cathode and anode are essentially inked upon the opposite surfaces of the ceramic.  High temperature - almost 1500 degrees F hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas is mixed with steam at the anode.  Air, or oxygen, enters through the cathode, and electrons are pulled away from the oxygen in the ceramic or electrolyte, which are collected on the anode.  This electrochemical reaction is what generates electricity.  

Some of the oxygen crosses the electrolyte to combine with carbon from the natural gas or other hydrocarbon, producing carbon dioxide.  Some of the oxygen combines with the hydrogen, producing water.  The heat released from the chemical bonding is sufficient to heat the natural gas, and also change the water into steam, producing a continuing reaction as long as there is fuel and oxygen.

Bloom Energy explains this process is much more efficient than a combustion engine. Their data sheet tells that it only produces 773 lbs/MW-hr of CO2 on natural gas. It produces 0.661 MMBtu/hr of natural gas.

Their initial product, the energy server is about the size of parking space and is sufficient to power a 30,000 square foot office building or about 100 residences.  Because the process is reversible, it can operate as a storage battery, taking power from the grid, and producing fuel for future consumption.  Although it produces carbon dioxide, the gas is very easily collected for carbon sequestration because CO2 is the only byproduct.  

Mmm.  While not nirvana because of its CO2, it does play into one of the strengths of the U.S. energy resources - natural gas.  Convenient carbon sequestration is another feature.  Perhaps the hype about Bloom Energy is deserved.

Watching the Earth's Weather From Space

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system provides continuous coverage of the continental United States, with up to 50 percent of the globe.  The satellites are placed in geosynchronous orbit, meaning they are stationary with respect to the Earth's surface.  GOES-1 was the first of the series, launched in 1975, and was finally decommissioned in 1985.

The NASA Press Kit tells, "GOES West located at 135 degrees west longitude and GOES East at 75 degrees west longitude. The current GOES operational system consists of GOES-12, operating as GOES East and GOES-11, operating as GOES-West. GOES-13 and -14 are in an on-orbit storage mode nominally located at 105 West longitude. GOES-15 will be checked out, stored on-orbit and will be available for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust their fuel."

The last satellite of the series, GOES-P is about to be launched, even though we currently have two spares in orbit.  Why? - Believe it or not, NASA explains it is cheaper to store the satellite in orbit than on the ground.  Storage costs on the ground are about $3M a year, where on-orbit storage is essentially free, using the fixed costs of the space tracking and communication systems.

The $500M satellite is over 27 feet in length and weighs 7100 pounds.  It has the expected terrestrial imager, which provides the weather pictures all of us expect, but also a solar X-ray imager.  Keeping an eye on the sun is becoming more important as our communications and electronics become more vulnerable to solar flares and storms.  The Boeing Mission Book provides details of the launch procedures and initial flight plan.

The launch is currently scheduled for 2 March from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida.  There is a one hour launch window from 0618 to 0718 EST.

The Addiction of Running

Wiki tells that a beta endorphin is an endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter.  Key in on the word, opioid, as in opium.  Just like morphine and codeine, it is addictive.  A "runner's high" is when the body stressed sufficiently to produce endorphins.  But it has to be from a long, sustained, workout.  Something that I didn't know - the time of the endorphin release coincides when the body had used up its store of glycogen.  Some have considered the "runner's high" as a myth, but brain scans have confirmed what many a dedicated runner can tell you - it feels good.

Runner's High describes the feeling as euphoric, or a sense of invincibility.  Maybe it is because the body has depleted its reserves and it is the will of the mind that keeps the runner moving.  The body and the mind have disassociated, and free of the body, the mind feels freedom.  Perhaps I am addicted to it, because when I cannot run because of an injury or really bad weather, I miss my morning 'buzz' from running.

So how did we get here? Minor Variations in One Gene May Be Associated With Endurance Running explains that endurance athletes are likely to have variations of the NRF2 gene.  The Science Daily article explains that the gene is suspected to a) produce additional mitochondria - the power centers of living cells, and b) reduce the dangers of oxidation and inflammation.  Interaction between SNPs in the NRF2 gene and elite endurance performance explains that sprinters lack the gene, but the correlation is extremely high for long distance runners.     

It is interesting isn't it?  How marvelous our bodies are!

Is Bloom Energy for Real?

The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough? explains several California corporations have been testing a mysterious fuel cell produced by Bloom Energy.  CBS quotes the Ebay CEO, "The five boxes are able to produce five times as much electricity as the 3,248 solar panels that E-bay installed on its campus roofs."  Before pulling out your credit card - these boxes cost $700K.

Bloom Energy Shifts Power via Fuel Cells provides additional information.  The genesis of the device was NASA.  The founder, K.R. Sridhar was asked by NASA to develop a hydrogen and oxygen generator powered by sunlight and water the space agency hoped to discover on Mars.  Along the way, he invented the energy equivalent of a heat pump - it can produce energy in one direction, but oxygen and hydrogen when operated in reverse.

The Business Week article explains Bloom's fuel cell is radically different than previous generations.  Instead of using hydrogen, this uses oxygen.  Instead of platinum or other precious metals, it uses a ceramic that can be mass-produced.  The chemistry is a hydrocarbon fuel at high temperature will pull oxygen ions through the ceramic, producing electricity.  So, this fuel cell really does use fuel, although it is said to be 50% more efficient than other generation devices today.

Is K.R. Sridhar’s 'magic box' ready for prime time? adds that Bloom has raised $400M in venture capital.  A bread-sized module is capable of generating 1 KW of electricity.  The Department of Energy contracted the University of Tennessee to test a Bloom box in 2006, with the conclusion that it was practical for home residences.  SInce that time, K.R. Sridhar has been busy developing the manufacturing technology necessary to make it economically viable.  His goal is to produce units priced for homeowners in ten years.

The Fortune article also explains other fuel cell manufacturers have a similar idea - stepping away from the hydrogen fuel cell originally developed by NASA for the Gemini spacecraft.  FuelCell Energy is another innovator.  Wiki explains direct methanol fuel cell technology has been speculated to almost be ready for laptop computers and other consumer devices.

Mmm.  This is not the zero carbon dioxide energy source that NASA developed almost 45 years ago.  Perhaps it is more practical.  For certain, it is generating considerable hype.  You can watch the countdown timer on Bloom Energy's site at which time they go public with their technology.

Yeah, I know, I keep thinking about Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County when I hear the name, Bloom Energy.  SIgh - I'm just wired that way.

Pollination Season About to Begin and the Bees Are Still Sick

Worries about bee health accompany start of orchard pollination tells that the Northern California almond bloom is ready to begin.  The Mercury News article explains California has 600,000 acres of almonds with 60 percent of the required bees brought in from out of state.  Because of a shortage of bees, hives are leasing for $180 to $200.

Ayrshire Beekeepers Plea to Save Honeybees tells that a female worker bee lives for only six weeks.  A queen bee can live three or four years, laying 1,000 to 2,000 eggs a day.  But in the last decade, a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has occurred, in which bees just disappear from the hives, never to return.  Disease a threat to state's bees? explains that beekeepers have been losing 30 percent of their bee population every year.  A beekeeper in Lansing lost 2300 colonies last year.

The Cost of Colony Collapse Disorder explains the costs to beekeepers.  It costs a beekeeper about $200 to prepare a healthy colony for almond season - about their leasing price above.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has an FAQ on CCD.  The current theory is that CCD is a perfect storm, perhaps a combination of pesticides, viruses, mites, and environment.  In the early 1900s, there was a disappearance of bees, but there is no data to determine whether it was the same phenomenon.

So far, CCD has not resulted in an agricultural crisis.  But if it becomes deeper and more widespread, it could become a problem.

Soft Drinks and Cancer

From the University of Minnesota - Soft Drinks Linked to Pancreatic Cancer.  The data collected by their School of Public Health suggests that drinking two or more soft drinks per week could double your probability of developing pancreatic cancer.  Researcher Mark Pereira believes the high sugar content increases insulin levels, which can promote pancreatic cancer cell development.

Listening to the interview, I wondered whether the problem is not just all sugar-doped drinks.  More about that in just a second.  The India Times adds that the researchers followed 60,524 people in Singapore for 14 years.  There were 140 pancreatic cancer developments during in the study group.  In case you're interested, no correlation was discovered between fruit juice and pancreatic cancer.

  Two fizzy drinks a day increase risk of pancreatic cancer by 90 percent tells an older Swedish study discovered similar linkage to cancer.  These researchers report that sugar-sweetened tea and coffee also suffer the higher risk of cancer.

Wiki tells that 42,470 patients develop pancreatic cancer each year in the U.S., with 35,240 dying from the disease.  The five year survival rate is less than 5 percent.  The Mayo Clinic explains the pancreas produces enzymes and hormones necessary for digestion and metabolism.  Cancer of the pancreas spreads rapidly and is usually detected in a very late stage, which is a major reason for its lethality.

The Bizarre IceFish

Wiki tells that Notothenioidei is a fish that lives in the Southern Ocean amidst temperatures hovering at 0 degrees C.  (Recall that sea water freezes about -2 degrees C, depending upon salinity and pressure.)  The Bloodless Icefishes tells that they have a brittle skeleton and no red blood cells.  Many of the species have an antifreeze glycoprotein in their blood.  Because of the high oxygen content of the Antarctic waters, the fish do not need hemoglobin in their blood to bind with oxygen.  Instead, the blood plasma absorbs the oxygen directly.  Encyclopedia Britannica adds that icefish have larger hearts and gill blood vessels to increase the circulation of blood to compensate for the lower absorption of oxygen.

Recall that hemoglobin is what imparts the color red to blood.  Since icefish have very little or no hemoglobin, their blood is a translucent white color.  For an interesting picture of an ice fish, see the National Geographic's Ice Fish Survives Where All Others Freeze.  For one floating in its cold, bottom, habitat, see An Antarctic Icefish.

In case you are interested in their natural antifreeze, it does not function like the antifreeze ethylene glycol in your automobile.  Glycol lowers freezing points by changing the chemical concentration whereas these natural proteins retard the formation of ice crystals.