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| Science Forum Index » Miscelaneous » [BOBPARKS-WHATSNEW] What's New Friday, 24 Jul 09... |
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| Bob Park... |
 Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:13 am |
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WHAT
1. NEWSCASTERS: JON STEWART DONS THE MANTLE OF CRONKITE.
Even as the revered anchor of CBS News was laid to rest, Time released the
state-by-state results of a poll of 10,000 Americans across the nation,
asking: who is now the "most trusted" newscaster in America? The
overwhelming choice, with 44%, is Jon Stewart. Coming in a distant second
was Brian Williams, with 29%. What sets Stuart apart is that he is
totally
fearless. He speaks the truth without equivocation -- no matter who is
offended. The poll also reflects the chaotic state of the news industry
at
the start of the 21st century. When Cronkite reigned, a handful of major
networks broadcast the evening news at about the same time. You either
watched the news or turned off the television; now you have a thousand
mindless alternatives to the news.
2. POLITICAL SCIENCE: WHY THE USSR LOST THE SPACE RACE.
Launched on 4 Oct 1957, Sputnik carried no instruments. It just beeped as
it passed overhead to taunt Americans. But a month later, Sputnik 2
carried a Geiger tube and a radio transmitter to relay the Geiger output
back to Earth. It also carried a tape recorder to store data when the
satellite is over the horizon, but it wasn't working on launch day.
Soviet
scientists placed a call directly to Premier Nikita Khrushchev requesting
permission to delay the launch for a day, but Khrushchev refused; he
wanted
to announce another successful launch at a meeting of heads-of-state the
next day. At the very dawn of the space age, politics was already getting
in the way of scientific discovery. Thus it was that the Soviet Union
failed to make the first important discovery in space science,as we see
below.
3. VAN ALLEN BELTS: THE FIRST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN SPACE.
On 31 Jan 1958, only four months after Sputnik, the US launched Explorer 1
carrying an experiment designed by James Van Allen, Physics Chair at the
University of Iowa. It was just a Geiger tube, a radio transmitter, and a
recorder -- but the recorder worked. Data from a full orbit confirmed the
existence of charged particle bands around Earth, now known as the Van
Allen belts. It was the first major discovery from beyond the ionosphere.
Soviet scientists were crushed; only four months after Sputnik the US had
taken the lead in space science and has never relinquished it. Manned
space
flight remains a sideshow. In the end, all that will endure is the
science. James Van Allen was the true American space hero. During a long
talk with Jim a year before his death in 2006, he summed-up manned space
flight: "It's so old-fashioned."
4. PHYSICS OLYMPIAD: ONE MORE GLASS CEILING IS SHATTERED.
At the 40th International Physics Olympiad held in Merida, Mexico this
month China was first in the overall medal count, with Honduo Shi of China
winning five gold medals. It was the first time in the 40 year history of
the Physics Olympiad that the top score has gone to a female.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
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