--------- #1265 - This Asteroid Missed Us, but, What If?
- Did you see it? On Monday, June 27, 2011, an asteroid flew by the Earth. It passed within 8,000 miles of us at 11:00 AM PDT. You may have missed it. Fortunately it missed us. This review is about the likely impact of a comet or asteroid making a direct hit.
- Attachments - asteroid
- The asteroid that flew by is called 2011MD. It was a rock 20 to 65 feet in diameter. Earth’s gravity significantly changed its orbit as it flew by. It circles the Sun and will be back in 2022. To see a computer animation of the flyby visit website:
------------- http://news.discovery.com/space/visualizing-asteroid-2011-md-zip-past-earth-animation-110624.htmi#mkcpgn=emnwsl
- What would have happened if the asteroid had hit the Earth?
- It would have been a spectacular fireball in the night sky but it would probably have exploded in the upper atmosphere. Small meteorites may have reached the surface. but, their impact is surprisingly common and not particularly harmful. Meteors are hitting the Earth’s atmosphere all the time. You can see them in the night sky as shooting stars.
- 2011 MD passed 11,000 miles from Earth’s center. Three other asteroids have been recorded passing closer than this. No doubt many asteroids much bigger have made close approaches without being detected. It is like looking for your car keys under the street light. We are just are now getting the technology to see out into wider circles.
- The asteroid 2011D had a peak brightness 11.0 Magnitude. The naked eye can detect brightness magnitudes of 6.0, so, you would need an 8 inch telescope to spot this asteroid as it flew in and passed by.
- In 2007 a small asteroid 7 feet in diameter plunged to the ground near the shore of Lake Titicaca in Peru. It exploded on land rather than up in the atmosphere. A huge dust cloud spilled a man off his bicycle and knocked a bull off its feet. The impact carved out a crater 40 feet in diameter.
- Asteroid 2008 TC was the size of an elephant. It broke up in the atmosphere and pieces landed in the desert in Sudan.
- All asteroids travel at similar speeds of about 60,000 miles per hour.
- The asteroid that hit 65,000,000 years ago was probably 9 miles in diameter. Its explosive force in the Yucatan Peninsula equaled 100,000,000 megatons of TNT. The impact result created the Cretaceous - Tertiary Boundary (K-T) in the evolution of life on the planet.
- The largest well documented asteroid impact occurred in 1908 near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia. It was 130 feet wide with energy 30 million times less powerful than the K-T Boundary impact. The region was only sparsely inhabited and mostly forest trees suffered the impact for many miles around ground zero.
- Let’s say we manage to discover an asteroid heading our way. After several nights of observation astronomers can calculate if its orbit is in the path of Earth’s orbit. Let’s say their calculations are that it is 1.5 miles in diameter. That is about twice the size of the comet 103P/Hartley. Asteroids are solid rocks and metal so their trajectory can be accurately projected as a bullet. But, comets are more unpredictable because of their own outgassing. Their trajectories can change.
- Months of observation would identify this one as a comet and calculate its time and place of impact. What would we do? Lord only knows. I will let you speculate on the world’s reactions. There is a website that allows you to plug in the values and get a scenario of the expected damage around ground zero:
------------------------ www.purdue.edu/impactearth
---------------- 1.5 miles in diameter
--------------- 1,000 kilograms per meter^3, the density of ice
--------------- velocity 20 miles per second, 72,000 miles per hour.
- 50 miles from ground zero the fireball of the exploding comet would appear 60 times bigger than the Sun.
- Everything flammable would immediately burn up.
- A large earthquake would follow in 16 seconds.
- 4 minutes later an enormous air blast would hit with the wind speeds of 1,200 miles per hour.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- If you were 300 miles away from ground zero you might survive, providing you seek shelter. You would see the fireball 2 times the size of the Sun
- The earthquake would occur 1.6 minutes after impact.
- The hurricane force winds (77mph) would hit 24.4 minutes after impact.
- Survival might be possible if people evacuated far enough away from impact, but, no one on the planet could avoid the disruption to the environment and to civilization in genreal. It would take years for the world to recover.
- The exploding comet would create chemical reactions in the atmosphere that would destroy the Earth’s protective ozone layer.
- An enormous electromagnetic pulse created in the explosion would disable electric grids and electronic equipment.
- Dust storms would block the Sun and cause substantial cooling.
- As temperatures drop the world’s food supply would be threatened.
- Then there is the reaction of civilization to such calamity. Would a civilized populace have the resilience to rebuild? Would there be political will to have prepared before hand? Would funding allow astronomers to search out and identify near earth orbit comets and asteroids months if not years before impact? Announcements will be made soon, stay tuned.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Can a Space Elevator replace the Shuttle?
--------- #1263 - Can We Replace the Space Shuttle with a Kite on a String?
- The Space Shuttle will be making its last flight into outer space. Would it be possible to attach a tether to a satellite and then simply run payloads up the line into orbit? This review explores how this idea could happen. It would be 100 times cheaper than using rockets to get spacecraft into orbit.
- Attachments - none
- To attach a tether to a satellite would require a very strong material. Technology is getting close to something that might do the job. It is multiwalled carbon fiber nanotubes in a long ribbon. The ribbon would have to be 60,000 miles long. That is a very high orbit but the longer length is needed to connect to the counterweight that is keeping the line tight during its geosynchronous orbit. The orbiting satellite stays in the same spot above the Earth because its orbit matches the Earth’s speed of rotation. One end is attached to a base station on the surface, most likely a floating base station in the Pacific Ocean.
- Carbon nanotubes are molecular strands of carbon atoms that are many times stronger than steel. They would be manufactured into a long ribbon that a space station could climb. The counter weight would be higher and heavier in order to create tensile force on the cable. The tensile strength of the cable would need to be 19 million pounds per square inch, psi. Today, carbon nanotubes have been tested to have up to 9 million psi. By constructing multiwalled nanotubes a strong enough cable could be manufactured.
- The space vehicle would start at the base station attached to the ribbon with rollers. Multiple wheels on either side of the ribbon that would spin as it climbed the ribbon.
- The space vehicle rollers would be powered by electric motors attached to a solar panel. Photovoltaic cells would be mounted on the underside of the vehicle. A laser would shoot a beam from the station to the climbing vehicle to power the photovoltaic cells. The photovoltaic cells would be tuned to the frequency of the laser for maximum efficiency. Other solar cells on the top side would us the Sun’s energy to provide additional climbing power.
- The cargo would weigh up to 14 tons and be about the size of an 18 wheeler truck. It would be constructed out of aluminum much like airplanes are today. Lighter climbers could be sent up more often with several going up at the same time.
- The cargo could go back and forth an unlimited number of times. It could even be hauling people up to the orbiting space station. In this way extremely large space vehicles could be constructed in space. Large missions could be launched from orbit to visit the planet Mars.
- If the climber could get out to 90,000 miles on the tether it would have a tangential velocity of 24,400 miles per hour and could escape Earth’s gravity and reach as far as Jupiter.
- Today’s conventional rockets cost $11,000 per pound to launch payloads into geostationary orbits. A space elevator should be able to do the job for $100 per pound.
- How to get a cable that can support 22,000 miles of itself? The gravitational pull of the Earth is pulling the payload back to the surface. The centripetal force of the spinning Earth and satellite are pushing the payload into space. The two forces acting on the payload are in balance when the satellite reaches geostationary orbit.
- The pull of gravity is strongest at the surface where the acceleration of gravity is proportional to mass of the Earth and inversely proportional to the square of the radius of the Earth.
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - G * M / r^2
-------------- “G” is the gravitational constant of proportionality = 6.67*10^-11 m^3 / kg*sec^2
-------------- “M” is the mass of the Earth = 5.97 * 10^24 kilograms
-------------- “r” is the radius of the Earth = 6.378*10^6 meters
-------------- “r^2” = 40.7 *10^12 meters^2
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - 9.8 meters / sec^2
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - 32 feet / sec / sec
- The higher the elevation above the surface of the Earth the weaker the gravity. When the payload is 26,400 miles from the center of the Earth ( 35,786,000 meters ) the acceleration of gravity is 0.189 meters /second^2. ( - 0.62 feet / sec /sec )
- The push of centripetal force is equal to the square of the angular velocity times the radius of the orbit.
-------------- Acceleration of angular velocity = w^2 * r
-------------- “w” is one rotation every 24 hours = 2* pi radians / 86,400 seconds = 0.727*10^-4 radians per second.
-------------- “w^2” = 0.528*10^-8 radians^2 / sec^2
--------------- “r” = 35*786*10^6 meters
-------------- Acceleration of centripetal force = 0.189 meters / second^2
- Therefore at 26,400 miles from the center of the Earth the pull of gravity and the push of centripetal force are exactly equal, 0.189 m/sec^2. A space elevator is not as far fetched as it first seems. It could actually be an economic and practical solution to getting spacecraft on their mission. Announcements will be made soon, stay tuned.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Sunday, June 26, 2011
- The Space Shuttle will be making its last flight into outer space. Would it be possible to attach a tether to a satellite and then simply run payloads up the line into orbit? This review explores how this idea could happen. It would be 100 times cheaper than using rockets to get spacecraft into orbit.
- Attachments - none
- To attach a tether to a satellite would require a very strong material. Technology is getting close to something that might do the job. It is multiwalled carbon fiber nanotubes in a long ribbon. The ribbon would have to be 60,000 miles long. That is a very high orbit but the longer length is needed to connect to the counterweight that is keeping the line tight during its geosynchronous orbit. The orbiting satellite stays in the same spot above the Earth because its orbit matches the Earth’s speed of rotation. One end is attached to a base station on the surface, most likely a floating base station in the Pacific Ocean.
- Carbon nanotubes are molecular strands of carbon atoms that are many times stronger than steel. They would be manufactured into a long ribbon that a space station could climb. The counter weight would be higher and heavier in order to create tensile force on the cable. The tensile strength of the cable would need to be 19 million pounds per square inch, psi. Today, carbon nanotubes have been tested to have up to 9 million psi. By constructing multiwalled nanotubes a strong enough cable could be manufactured.
- The space vehicle would start at the base station attached to the ribbon with rollers. Multiple wheels on either side of the ribbon that would spin as it climbed the ribbon.
- The space vehicle rollers would be powered by electric motors attached to a solar panel. Photovoltaic cells would be mounted on the underside of the vehicle. A laser would shoot a beam from the station to the climbing vehicle to power the photovoltaic cells. The photovoltaic cells would be tuned to the frequency of the laser for maximum efficiency. Other solar cells on the top side would us the Sun’s energy to provide additional climbing power.
- The cargo would weigh up to 14 tons and be about the size of an 18 wheeler truck. It would be constructed out of aluminum much like airplanes are today. Lighter climbers could be sent up more often with several going up at the same time.
- The cargo could go back and forth an unlimited number of times. It could even be hauling people up to the orbiting space station. In this way extremely large space vehicles could be constructed in space. Large missions could be launched from orbit to visit the planet Mars.
- If the climber could get out to 90,000 miles on the tether it would have a tangential velocity of 24,400 miles per hour and could escape Earth’s gravity and reach as far as Jupiter.
- Today’s conventional rockets cost $11,000 per pound to launch payloads into geostationary orbits. A space elevator should be able to do the job for $100 per pound.
- How to get a cable that can support 22,000 miles of itself? The gravitational pull of the Earth is pulling the payload back to the surface. The centripetal force of the spinning Earth and satellite are pushing the payload into space. The two forces acting on the payload are in balance when the satellite reaches geostationary orbit.
- The pull of gravity is strongest at the surface where the acceleration of gravity is proportional to mass of the Earth and inversely proportional to the square of the radius of the Earth.
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - G * M / r^2
-------------- “G” is the gravitational constant of proportionality = 6.67*10^-11 m^3 / kg*sec^2
-------------- “M” is the mass of the Earth = 5.97 * 10^24 kilograms
-------------- “r” is the radius of the Earth = 6.378*10^6 meters
-------------- “r^2” = 40.7 *10^12 meters^2
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - 9.8 meters / sec^2
-------------- Acceleration of gravity = - 32 feet / sec / sec
- The higher the elevation above the surface of the Earth the weaker the gravity. When the payload is 26,400 miles from the center of the Earth ( 35,786,000 meters ) the acceleration of gravity is 0.189 meters /second^2. ( - 0.62 feet / sec /sec )
- The push of centripetal force is equal to the square of the angular velocity times the radius of the orbit.
-------------- Acceleration of angular velocity = w^2 * r
-------------- “w” is one rotation every 24 hours = 2* pi radians / 86,400 seconds = 0.727*10^-4 radians per second.
-------------- “w^2” = 0.528*10^-8 radians^2 / sec^2
--------------- “r” = 35*786*10^6 meters
-------------- Acceleration of centripetal force = 0.189 meters / second^2
- Therefore at 26,400 miles from the center of the Earth the pull of gravity and the push of centripetal force are exactly equal, 0.189 m/sec^2. A space elevator is not as far fetched as it first seems. It could actually be an economic and practical solution to getting spacecraft on their mission. Announcements will be made soon, stay tuned.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Are Solar Flares Dangerous and what causes them?
--------- #1262 - Are Solar Flares Dangerous?
- Would you like to see a video of a Solar Flare? Search internet for:
------------------ www.onorbit.com/node/3475
- Solar flares appear to be happening more often ,but really, we simply are seeing more with better equipment and we are more concerned because our newer technology is more susceptible to damage from Solar Flares. This review covers these dangers and what causes them.
- Most of us forget that astronomers studying the stars have the best example just 93,000,000 miles away. Most everything we know about stars we have learned from our nearest star.
- The NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory, SDO, is providing fantastic pictures and scientific data about the Sun. It was launched February, 2010, and has been in orbit 23,000 miles above the Earth beaming high-resolution pictures at 18 megabytes per second.
- On August 1, 2010, SDO recorded the first Solar Flare outburst from the Sun. The aurora borealis colorful displays were over the U. S. 2 days later.
- Really intense solar storms were recorded on September 1, 1859 when the northern lights were seen as far south as the Caribbean Sea. The flare was visible to the naked eye. It was so intense when it hit the Earth it set telegraph systems on fire. We have measured this intensity by studying the ice in Greenland. The ice contained traces of nitrates and beryllium 10. Studying proportions allowed scientists to measure the strength of the flare that occurred in 1859 and it was a big one.
- Flares occur often on the Sun. Most of them are not pointed directly at us. However, on some occasion Mother Earth is directly in the line of fire.
- In 1921 a solar flare knocked out the signaling system for the New York City rail lines.
- March 6, 1989, the power grid in Quebec was knocked out for 9 hours.
- August 16, 1989 another solar flare hit.
- November 4, 2003, solar flares caused electrical blackouts in Sweden and destroyed a $640,000,000 Japanese science satellite. The electromagnetic spectrum of flares was measured to be above 100 Ghz for the first time (X45)
- April 2, 2001 (X20)
- October 28, 2003 (X17)
- September 7, 2005 (X17)
- February 17, 2011 (X2)
- To see the list of recorded flares and their relative strengths search internet for:
-------------------- http://www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares.html
- Our modern, globally connected, electronic society is more vulnerable than ever to our stars spontaneous eruptions. It is becoming essential that we learn how to predict and protect ourselves from our active star. It is only 8 minutes way at the speed of light. Slower plasma particles arrive 1 to 3 days later.
- Our Sun is big. Its volume could hold 1,300,000 Earths. Its nuclear fusion converts 655,000,000 tons of hydrogen into helium every second. The temperature at the Sun’s core is 28,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Gamma Ray photons leaving the core take millions of years bouncing through layers to reach the surface of the Sun. At the surface the temperature is 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit. Above the surface solar gases continue far into space beyond the visible edge of the corona. In fact, there is a solar wind blowing through the entire solar system.
- What causes these solar eruptions? The Sun rotates at different speeds. 24 days at the equator and 30 days at the poles. This difference shears the gases and tangles the electric currents and magnetic fields. Every 11 years the Sun’s north and south poles flip reversing the magnetic fields. These disturbances to magnetic fields create sunspots on the surface. The spots are darker because they are cooler with gas leaving the surface with the magnetic fields and that are arcing into space. Sunspots are still hot they just look cooler because they expose cooler internal layers of the Sun’s surface.
- A sunspot requires a minimum of 1,500 Gauss of magnetic field in order to occur. The flare can release 60,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules of energy. It contains a plasma which is simply charged electrons and atomic nuclei heated to 10 million degrees. These charged electrons and protons in the plasma are accelerated to near light speeds as they fly through the magnetic fields. The accelerating electric charges emit radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Billions of tons of charged material are hurled into space at more than 1,000,000 miles per hour.
- When the Sun is quiet there is one flare a week. When sunspots are active in their 11 year cycle there are several flares each day. If the flare happens to be aimed right at us the charged material will enter Earth’s magnetic field in 1 to 3 days. ( called the Earth’s magnetosphere).
- Magnetic field lines are semi-circular loops with footprints on the surface of the Sun. The loops are like magnetic ropes wrapping around a center axis and twisting around each other. The twisted ropes carry a strong electric current. The temperatures inside the ropes are heated to 10,000,000 degrees. The flares create a wave on the surface of the Sun much like a rock hitting the water in a pond. But, these waves are magneto sonic waves traveling at 4,500,000 miles per hour across the surface. The periods of the waves from crest to crest varies from 30 to 200 seconds. The wavelengths vary from 60,000 to 120,000 miles between peaks.
- There are also sound waves on the surface of the Sun. SDO’s instruments measure the directions and strengths of magnetic fields and the vibrations occurring on the surface. There are sunquakes or pulsations caused by gases heaving up and down at speeds of 700 miles per hour. These become sound wave vibrations that flow across the Sun’s surface. The waves move faster through hotter gas, and, accelerate when moving through gases flowing in the same direction. This data is used for computer simulations to create pictures of the turbulence on the Sun’s surface. In fact, sunspots can be mapped on the far side of the Sun days before they rotate into view.
- After all these descriptions of activity it may surprise you that science is actually concluding that the Sun’s activity is actually slowing down. It’s magnetic activity is growing weaker. When this happened in 1645 it lasted for 70 years creating the ‘Little Ice Age on Earth. ( called the Maunder Minimum).
- We are in cycle 25 of the measured sunspot activity. In 2008 and 2009 the Sun was unusually quiet. Normal predictions would expect more activity in 2013 and 2014. This could have a significant effect on projections of Global Warming. But, who knows? The Sun is a variable star and we live in its outer atmosphere. Our own magnetic field is what protects us. Like the weather the Sun’s activity is something we will have to learn to live with.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To learn more:
(1) #1156 Review: “ When will the next solar flare hit the Earth?”
(2) #850 Review: “ How much energy is in a solar flare?”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copy to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at, http://jdetrick.blogspot.com ,. Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Tuesday, June 21, 2011
- Would you like to see a video of a Solar Flare? Search internet for:
------------------ www.onorbit.com/node/3475
- Solar flares appear to be happening more often ,but really, we simply are seeing more with better equipment and we are more concerned because our newer technology is more susceptible to damage from Solar Flares. This review covers these dangers and what causes them.
- Most of us forget that astronomers studying the stars have the best example just 93,000,000 miles away. Most everything we know about stars we have learned from our nearest star.
- The NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory, SDO, is providing fantastic pictures and scientific data about the Sun. It was launched February, 2010, and has been in orbit 23,000 miles above the Earth beaming high-resolution pictures at 18 megabytes per second.
- On August 1, 2010, SDO recorded the first Solar Flare outburst from the Sun. The aurora borealis colorful displays were over the U. S. 2 days later.
- Really intense solar storms were recorded on September 1, 1859 when the northern lights were seen as far south as the Caribbean Sea. The flare was visible to the naked eye. It was so intense when it hit the Earth it set telegraph systems on fire. We have measured this intensity by studying the ice in Greenland. The ice contained traces of nitrates and beryllium 10. Studying proportions allowed scientists to measure the strength of the flare that occurred in 1859 and it was a big one.
- Flares occur often on the Sun. Most of them are not pointed directly at us. However, on some occasion Mother Earth is directly in the line of fire.
- In 1921 a solar flare knocked out the signaling system for the New York City rail lines.
- March 6, 1989, the power grid in Quebec was knocked out for 9 hours.
- August 16, 1989 another solar flare hit.
- November 4, 2003, solar flares caused electrical blackouts in Sweden and destroyed a $640,000,000 Japanese science satellite. The electromagnetic spectrum of flares was measured to be above 100 Ghz for the first time (X45)
- April 2, 2001 (X20)
- October 28, 2003 (X17)
- September 7, 2005 (X17)
- February 17, 2011 (X2)
- To see the list of recorded flares and their relative strengths search internet for:
-------------------- http://www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares.html
- Our modern, globally connected, electronic society is more vulnerable than ever to our stars spontaneous eruptions. It is becoming essential that we learn how to predict and protect ourselves from our active star. It is only 8 minutes way at the speed of light. Slower plasma particles arrive 1 to 3 days later.
- Our Sun is big. Its volume could hold 1,300,000 Earths. Its nuclear fusion converts 655,000,000 tons of hydrogen into helium every second. The temperature at the Sun’s core is 28,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Gamma Ray photons leaving the core take millions of years bouncing through layers to reach the surface of the Sun. At the surface the temperature is 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit. Above the surface solar gases continue far into space beyond the visible edge of the corona. In fact, there is a solar wind blowing through the entire solar system.
- What causes these solar eruptions? The Sun rotates at different speeds. 24 days at the equator and 30 days at the poles. This difference shears the gases and tangles the electric currents and magnetic fields. Every 11 years the Sun’s north and south poles flip reversing the magnetic fields. These disturbances to magnetic fields create sunspots on the surface. The spots are darker because they are cooler with gas leaving the surface with the magnetic fields and that are arcing into space. Sunspots are still hot they just look cooler because they expose cooler internal layers of the Sun’s surface.
- A sunspot requires a minimum of 1,500 Gauss of magnetic field in order to occur. The flare can release 60,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules of energy. It contains a plasma which is simply charged electrons and atomic nuclei heated to 10 million degrees. These charged electrons and protons in the plasma are accelerated to near light speeds as they fly through the magnetic fields. The accelerating electric charges emit radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Billions of tons of charged material are hurled into space at more than 1,000,000 miles per hour.
- When the Sun is quiet there is one flare a week. When sunspots are active in their 11 year cycle there are several flares each day. If the flare happens to be aimed right at us the charged material will enter Earth’s magnetic field in 1 to 3 days. ( called the Earth’s magnetosphere).
- Magnetic field lines are semi-circular loops with footprints on the surface of the Sun. The loops are like magnetic ropes wrapping around a center axis and twisting around each other. The twisted ropes carry a strong electric current. The temperatures inside the ropes are heated to 10,000,000 degrees. The flares create a wave on the surface of the Sun much like a rock hitting the water in a pond. But, these waves are magneto sonic waves traveling at 4,500,000 miles per hour across the surface. The periods of the waves from crest to crest varies from 30 to 200 seconds. The wavelengths vary from 60,000 to 120,000 miles between peaks.
- There are also sound waves on the surface of the Sun. SDO’s instruments measure the directions and strengths of magnetic fields and the vibrations occurring on the surface. There are sunquakes or pulsations caused by gases heaving up and down at speeds of 700 miles per hour. These become sound wave vibrations that flow across the Sun’s surface. The waves move faster through hotter gas, and, accelerate when moving through gases flowing in the same direction. This data is used for computer simulations to create pictures of the turbulence on the Sun’s surface. In fact, sunspots can be mapped on the far side of the Sun days before they rotate into view.
- After all these descriptions of activity it may surprise you that science is actually concluding that the Sun’s activity is actually slowing down. It’s magnetic activity is growing weaker. When this happened in 1645 it lasted for 70 years creating the ‘Little Ice Age on Earth. ( called the Maunder Minimum).
- We are in cycle 25 of the measured sunspot activity. In 2008 and 2009 the Sun was unusually quiet. Normal predictions would expect more activity in 2013 and 2014. This could have a significant effect on projections of Global Warming. But, who knows? The Sun is a variable star and we live in its outer atmosphere. Our own magnetic field is what protects us. Like the weather the Sun’s activity is something we will have to learn to live with.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To learn more:
(1) #1156 Review: “ When will the next solar flare hit the Earth?”
(2) #850 Review: “ How much energy is in a solar flare?”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copy to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at, http://jdetrick.blogspot.com ,. Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net.
or, use: www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
707-536-3272, Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
When will fusion reactors supply our electric power needs?
--------- #1250 - Why Do We Not Have Fusion Reactors to Make Electricity?
- Nearly all the electrical energy on Earth originates from the Sun. Wind, Oil, Gas, Hydro all get their energy coming from the bath of radiation we get from our nearest star. Because of the Conservation of Energy, all energy is conserved. We always have the same amount it is simply being converted from one form of energy to another.
- Attachments - Laser Fusion at Lawrence Livermore Labs
- So, why not solve our society’s energy problems by going directly to the source and creating our energy the same way the Sun does? How does the Sun get its energy? From Nuclear Fusion. Simply combining lighter elements into heavier elements. In the Sun’s case combining 2 Hydrogen atom nuclei into one Helium atom nuclei. To state this even simpler, the Sun combines two single protons into one nucleus with two protons.
- When fusion of two protons comes together to form Helium the combination is not quite as heavy, massive, as the individual protons that come from the Hydrogen nucleus. Remember, protons have a positive charge and like-charges repel each other. The Strong Nuclear Force is needed to hold two protons together in the nucleus. When this nuclear reaction occurs a small amount of mass left over is converted directly to energy. The energy is in the form of Gamma Ray radiation, according to E = mc^2.
- This Gamma Ray radiation occurs at the center of the Sun at a temperature of 28,000,000 F. Gamma Ray photons are high energy photons that have to bounce their way through layers of the Sun’s gas until finally reaching the surface at 10,000 degrees F. On average, it takes a single photon over 1 million years to make this journey to the surface.
- To solve all our energy problems why can’t we duplicate this fusion process here on Earth? The process is simple, it is just not easy. Science can do it, but, it takes more energy to create and contain the 28,000,000 degree temperatures than we can retrieve from the nuclear fusion reaction it produces.
- Science has been trying to economically produce energy using nuclear fusion for decades. Up until now the process to create fusion consumes more energy than the fusion produces. We have yet to reach a breakeven point, and, to be economical the process needs to be 20 to 30 times more efficient than just a breakeven.
- To get nuclear fusion working for us many nations are spending research dollars building fusion reactors. The U.S. is spending $210 billion per year generating electric power. Some of that needs to go to research in building fusion reactors:
- France is spending $20 billion in their fusion experiment that is scheduled to be completed by 2018.
- Livermore, California is spending $3.5 billion to begin a fusion experiment by 2012. (See Review # 1070 for details ).
- Kirtland Air Force Base, part of Los Alamos National Labs, is investing $4 million dollars to create a breakeven fusion reactor. The Shiva Star facility at Kirtland does not have much money but it thinks it has a better idea. All three facilities are trying different approaches to producing nuclear fusion.
- Overcoming the electromagnetic force with enough temperature and pressure forcing the nuclei to merge, or fuse, which creates a heavier element releasing nuclear energy requires immense gravity. The Sun merges hundreds of millions of tons of Hydrogen into Helium every second at its core. And, it has been doing this for some 5 billion years. Every star in the night sky is doing the same thing in various degrees. Bigger stars have more gravity and fuse heavier elements. All star-energy comes from gravity compressing and heating lighter elements into heavier elements.
- For nuclear fusion reactors on the planet the primary fuel used is Deuterium, which is a heavy isotope of Hydrogen, one proton and one neutron in the nucleus. Deuterium is abundant in seawater and easily available. Unlike fission reactors the dangerous radiation of the process’ by-products decays rapidly, within decades. Fission by-products carrying dangerous radiation can remain for centuries.
- Fusion is definitely the way to go for producing energy. So, why is it so hard? Well, to start with it has to be hot, 27,000,000 degrees F, minimum. And, it also has to be under high pressure. The center of the Sun is 200,000,000,000 atmospheres pressure. The melted plasma of ionized hydrogen, a soup of protons and free electrons, is so hot it would vaporize any material that we used to contain it. It takes tremendous force to overcome the electromagnetic force that is repelling 2 simple protons from fusing together.
- We can not duplicate the mass and gravity of the Sun. What we really need is fusion in a beer can. They are trying to do that at Kirtland AFB using a technique called magnetized target fusion. The target is a 30 by 10 centimeter aluminum cylinder with 1 millimeter thick walls ( a beer can ). A strong magnetic field is created to control the hot plasma of ionized Deuterium gas inside the can. The target-can is hit with 12 million amperes of electric current that will crush the can in 24 microseconds. The Deuterium nuclei fuse releasing nuclear energy that produce heat, to produce steam, to turn turbines and produce electricity.
- The experimental machine to produce this enormous shot of electric current was originally designed as a weapon to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles by firing a burst of high energy plasma at the missile. It never succeeded as a weapon but it did destroy many experiments. It produces 5,000,000 joules of energy. In this last decade they decided to alter the design to produce controlled fusion that would generate electricity instead of shoot down missiles. Current experiments are to get the machine to produce a fusion reaction that has a breakeven in “energy produced” versus “energy consumed“. It has not happened yet.
- To become economically viable as an electric power plant in a community a fusion reactor must produce 30 times more energy out than what it consumes.
- The experiment in France uses a machine that constructs its magnetic structure in the shape of a doughnut. It is called a “ Tokomak” and it is designed to produce 500,000,000 watts output with 50,000,000 watts input. This is a 10 times efficiency over breakeven.
- Tokomak creates a doughnut shaped magnetic field that confines the ionized plasma into the center of the ring. The heating is omic heating, no different than the filament in an incandescent light bulb. The maximum temperature obtained to date is 20 to 30 million degrees.
- Lawrence Livermore Lab has a machine using 192 lasers focused on a capsule of Deuterium and Tritium. The lasers focus 500,000,000,000 watts on a pellet the size of an aspirin. (See Review # 1170 “Laser Ignition Fusion” for a detailed discussion of this process.)
- The history of fusion started with the atomic bomb which eventually developed into the Hydrogen bomb in 1952.
------------ In 1958 the reactor in Los Alamos first bottled Hydrogen Plasma in a magnetic field.
------------ In 1968 a Soviet Tokomak produced a plasma raised to 1,000,000 degrees temperature.
----------- In 1989 there were false claims within the science community that they had created cold fusion.
---------- In 1997 the Tokomak in France generated 16 megawatts out with 24 megawatts input.
----------- In 2002 there were false claims in the science community about bubble fusion being created using sound waves.
----------- In 2009 Lawrence Livermore Labs first fusion ignition is scheduled to occur in 2012. (See Review #1070 for details.) The facility is called NIF, the National Ignition Facility, and it has achieved temperatures up to 10,600,000 F. Still not hot enough for fusion of the target Deuterium and Tritium into Helium. The temperature is measured by measuring the X-rays emitted by the exploding gold capsule that contains the target.
--------- In 2011 the Energy Matter Conversion Corporation in Canada , EMC2, uses a proton-boron fuel which requires a higher temperature than Deuterium but converts directly to electricity without using boiling water to drive a generator. It uses a electrostatic field to contain the positively charged ions. Its electromagnetic coils are arranged in a polyhedron of tubes. The configuration traps electrons in the middle. Ions are introduced to accelerate in a confined space until they create fusion power.
- The polyhedron is essentially a large vacuum tube with spherical grids . The ions accelerate into the grid. Often the ions pass through the grid without a collision with other ions. Occasionally they collide. Hopefully fusion occurs.
--------- In 2011 NIF has come up with another idea using their lasers. They will use a hybrid fusion-fission process. Lasers create fusion at the center of the reactor chamber. Neutrons emitted penetrate a blanket of Uranium that lines the chamber walls. Energy from the fission reactions in the Uranium multiple the chambers power by a factor of 4.
- This process has the advantages of being able to use depleted uranium, or the spent fuel from the nuclear fission reactors now being used. Today’s fission reactors require Plutonium or Enriched Uranium which is used in nuclear weapons and dangerously radioactive. These fission reactors consume only a few percent of the fissionable atoms in the Enriched Uranium. The hybrid fusion-fission reactor consumes 90% of the fissionable fuel. Less fuel is needed and less spent fuel is left behind.
--------- In 2011 many technical problems remain to actually have a fusion electrical power plant in operation. We are still projecting a breakeven fusion reaction will happen soon. It will solve the World’s energy problems. When? God only knows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) General Fusion in British Columbia is using a liquid metal lining with Tritium to create a fusion reaction. They are projecting a breakeven in 2013.
(2) Review # 1249 - “How does fusion work in the stars?”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Monday, June 6, 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Monday, June 6, 2011http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net. www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net. www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
- Nearly all the electrical energy on Earth originates from the Sun. Wind, Oil, Gas, Hydro all get their energy coming from the bath of radiation we get from our nearest star. Because of the Conservation of Energy, all energy is conserved. We always have the same amount it is simply being converted from one form of energy to another.
- Attachments - Laser Fusion at Lawrence Livermore Labs
- So, why not solve our society’s energy problems by going directly to the source and creating our energy the same way the Sun does? How does the Sun get its energy? From Nuclear Fusion. Simply combining lighter elements into heavier elements. In the Sun’s case combining 2 Hydrogen atom nuclei into one Helium atom nuclei. To state this even simpler, the Sun combines two single protons into one nucleus with two protons.
- When fusion of two protons comes together to form Helium the combination is not quite as heavy, massive, as the individual protons that come from the Hydrogen nucleus. Remember, protons have a positive charge and like-charges repel each other. The Strong Nuclear Force is needed to hold two protons together in the nucleus. When this nuclear reaction occurs a small amount of mass left over is converted directly to energy. The energy is in the form of Gamma Ray radiation, according to E = mc^2.
- This Gamma Ray radiation occurs at the center of the Sun at a temperature of 28,000,000 F. Gamma Ray photons are high energy photons that have to bounce their way through layers of the Sun’s gas until finally reaching the surface at 10,000 degrees F. On average, it takes a single photon over 1 million years to make this journey to the surface.
- To solve all our energy problems why can’t we duplicate this fusion process here on Earth? The process is simple, it is just not easy. Science can do it, but, it takes more energy to create and contain the 28,000,000 degree temperatures than we can retrieve from the nuclear fusion reaction it produces.
- Science has been trying to economically produce energy using nuclear fusion for decades. Up until now the process to create fusion consumes more energy than the fusion produces. We have yet to reach a breakeven point, and, to be economical the process needs to be 20 to 30 times more efficient than just a breakeven.
- To get nuclear fusion working for us many nations are spending research dollars building fusion reactors. The U.S. is spending $210 billion per year generating electric power. Some of that needs to go to research in building fusion reactors:
- France is spending $20 billion in their fusion experiment that is scheduled to be completed by 2018.
- Livermore, California is spending $3.5 billion to begin a fusion experiment by 2012. (See Review # 1070 for details ).
- Kirtland Air Force Base, part of Los Alamos National Labs, is investing $4 million dollars to create a breakeven fusion reactor. The Shiva Star facility at Kirtland does not have much money but it thinks it has a better idea. All three facilities are trying different approaches to producing nuclear fusion.
- Overcoming the electromagnetic force with enough temperature and pressure forcing the nuclei to merge, or fuse, which creates a heavier element releasing nuclear energy requires immense gravity. The Sun merges hundreds of millions of tons of Hydrogen into Helium every second at its core. And, it has been doing this for some 5 billion years. Every star in the night sky is doing the same thing in various degrees. Bigger stars have more gravity and fuse heavier elements. All star-energy comes from gravity compressing and heating lighter elements into heavier elements.
- For nuclear fusion reactors on the planet the primary fuel used is Deuterium, which is a heavy isotope of Hydrogen, one proton and one neutron in the nucleus. Deuterium is abundant in seawater and easily available. Unlike fission reactors the dangerous radiation of the process’ by-products decays rapidly, within decades. Fission by-products carrying dangerous radiation can remain for centuries.
- Fusion is definitely the way to go for producing energy. So, why is it so hard? Well, to start with it has to be hot, 27,000,000 degrees F, minimum. And, it also has to be under high pressure. The center of the Sun is 200,000,000,000 atmospheres pressure. The melted plasma of ionized hydrogen, a soup of protons and free electrons, is so hot it would vaporize any material that we used to contain it. It takes tremendous force to overcome the electromagnetic force that is repelling 2 simple protons from fusing together.
- We can not duplicate the mass and gravity of the Sun. What we really need is fusion in a beer can. They are trying to do that at Kirtland AFB using a technique called magnetized target fusion. The target is a 30 by 10 centimeter aluminum cylinder with 1 millimeter thick walls ( a beer can ). A strong magnetic field is created to control the hot plasma of ionized Deuterium gas inside the can. The target-can is hit with 12 million amperes of electric current that will crush the can in 24 microseconds. The Deuterium nuclei fuse releasing nuclear energy that produce heat, to produce steam, to turn turbines and produce electricity.
- The experimental machine to produce this enormous shot of electric current was originally designed as a weapon to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles by firing a burst of high energy plasma at the missile. It never succeeded as a weapon but it did destroy many experiments. It produces 5,000,000 joules of energy. In this last decade they decided to alter the design to produce controlled fusion that would generate electricity instead of shoot down missiles. Current experiments are to get the machine to produce a fusion reaction that has a breakeven in “energy produced” versus “energy consumed“. It has not happened yet.
- To become economically viable as an electric power plant in a community a fusion reactor must produce 30 times more energy out than what it consumes.
- The experiment in France uses a machine that constructs its magnetic structure in the shape of a doughnut. It is called a “ Tokomak” and it is designed to produce 500,000,000 watts output with 50,000,000 watts input. This is a 10 times efficiency over breakeven.
- Tokomak creates a doughnut shaped magnetic field that confines the ionized plasma into the center of the ring. The heating is omic heating, no different than the filament in an incandescent light bulb. The maximum temperature obtained to date is 20 to 30 million degrees.
- Lawrence Livermore Lab has a machine using 192 lasers focused on a capsule of Deuterium and Tritium. The lasers focus 500,000,000,000 watts on a pellet the size of an aspirin. (See Review # 1170 “Laser Ignition Fusion” for a detailed discussion of this process.)
- The history of fusion started with the atomic bomb which eventually developed into the Hydrogen bomb in 1952.
------------ In 1958 the reactor in Los Alamos first bottled Hydrogen Plasma in a magnetic field.
------------ In 1968 a Soviet Tokomak produced a plasma raised to 1,000,000 degrees temperature.
----------- In 1989 there were false claims within the science community that they had created cold fusion.
---------- In 1997 the Tokomak in France generated 16 megawatts out with 24 megawatts input.
----------- In 2002 there were false claims in the science community about bubble fusion being created using sound waves.
----------- In 2009 Lawrence Livermore Labs first fusion ignition is scheduled to occur in 2012. (See Review #1070 for details.) The facility is called NIF, the National Ignition Facility, and it has achieved temperatures up to 10,600,000 F. Still not hot enough for fusion of the target Deuterium and Tritium into Helium. The temperature is measured by measuring the X-rays emitted by the exploding gold capsule that contains the target.
--------- In 2011 the Energy Matter Conversion Corporation in Canada , EMC2, uses a proton-boron fuel which requires a higher temperature than Deuterium but converts directly to electricity without using boiling water to drive a generator. It uses a electrostatic field to contain the positively charged ions. Its electromagnetic coils are arranged in a polyhedron of tubes. The configuration traps electrons in the middle. Ions are introduced to accelerate in a confined space until they create fusion power.
- The polyhedron is essentially a large vacuum tube with spherical grids . The ions accelerate into the grid. Often the ions pass through the grid without a collision with other ions. Occasionally they collide. Hopefully fusion occurs.
--------- In 2011 NIF has come up with another idea using their lasers. They will use a hybrid fusion-fission process. Lasers create fusion at the center of the reactor chamber. Neutrons emitted penetrate a blanket of Uranium that lines the chamber walls. Energy from the fission reactions in the Uranium multiple the chambers power by a factor of 4.
- This process has the advantages of being able to use depleted uranium, or the spent fuel from the nuclear fission reactors now being used. Today’s fission reactors require Plutonium or Enriched Uranium which is used in nuclear weapons and dangerously radioactive. These fission reactors consume only a few percent of the fissionable atoms in the Enriched Uranium. The hybrid fusion-fission reactor consumes 90% of the fissionable fuel. Less fuel is needed and less spent fuel is left behind.
--------- In 2011 many technical problems remain to actually have a fusion electrical power plant in operation. We are still projecting a breakeven fusion reaction will happen soon. It will solve the World’s energy problems. When? God only knows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) General Fusion in British Columbia is using a liquid metal lining with Tritium to create a fusion reaction. They are projecting a breakeven in 2013.
(2) Review # 1249 - “How does fusion work in the stars?”
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Monday, June 6, 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copies to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Monday, June 6, 2011http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net. www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net. www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Crab Nebula, a supernova that is still active 500 years later.
--------- #1261 - What is Making the Crab Nebula So Active?
- The Crab Nebula is supernova remnant located in the Constellation “ Taurus the Bull”. It was first discovered July 4, 1054. It has been an expanding ball of gas and debris for the last 957 years. Today the bubble is 4.4 lightyears across. New satellite telescopes have been observing the Crab in the X-ray and Gamma Ray wavelengths. Astronomers were surprised that the Crab is still very active. So active they do not have the physics to explain it. There is always more to learn.
- Attachments - Crab Nebula
- In 1758 the Crab Nebula was the first nebula to be cataloged by Charles Messier as “M1”. Today we know that at the center of the nebula is a rotating Neutron Star. The star is called a Pulsar because it has jets of radiation spewing out its magnetic poles that sweep past our field of view 33 times per second. This lighthouse beam coming from this giant gyroscope is one of the most accurate clocks known to man. The pulses are accurate to within 1 millisecond over 75 years.
- Recent X-ray and Gamma Ray images have made the Neutron Star and the opposing jets clearly visible. Also visible is a ring of highly energized particles created by shockwaves emanating from the Neutron Star. Periodically there are enormous flares produced that can be observed at the X-ray and Gamma Ray wavelengths. Astronomers are baffled on how to explain how these outbursts are produced. This review will illustrate how math is used in some of their analysis.
- To get more background on the Crab Nebula request these reviews:
-------------------- #1100 - “ What Created the Crab Nebula”
-------------------- #862 - “Crab Nebula Neutron Star”
------------------- #720 - “ Crab Nebula”
- To see the images at different spectrum wavelengths check out the internet for these space telescopes:
------------------- Spitzer Telescope infrared pictures
------------------- Chandra telescope X-ray pictures
------------------ Fermi telescope Gamma Ray pictures.
- The Neutron Star is 1.4 Solar Mass and 10 kilometers in diameter. It is spinning at 33.085 revolutions per second. The nebula is 4.4 lightyears across and 6,500 lightyears away.
- To explain the enormous flare up of energy astronomers speculate that somehow electrons are getting revved up to over 10^15 electron volts. This is more energy than astronomers have ever observed before. Electrons hurled out of the Pulsar’s core are moving electric charges that generate moving magnetic fields. These electrons traveling near the speed of light slam into strong magnetic fields that exist in the surrounding debris. These collisions push the electron’s energy up to where they emit Gamma Rays. However, the calculations for the magnetic energy that the inner region of the nebula would have to have is 3 to 10 times stronger than the physics would allow.
- There must be more to learn from ol’ M1. The X-ray images show an elliptical ring of high energy particles located some distance from the Neutron star. The ring is elliptical because it is tilted to our point of view. To estimate the diameter we measure the major axis of the ring in the image to be 10 millimeters across. So the radius of the circle is 5 millimeters. The total image is 70 millimeters on a side. The width of the image is calculated to be 5 lightyears across. Using a proportional scaling factor:
------------------------------ 5 / 70 = r / 5 light waves
------------------------------ r = 0.36 light waves
---------------------------- The radius of the ring is 0.36 lightyears.
- The high energy electrons emitted from the Neutron Star are traveling at 95% the speed of light. How long does it take the electrons to smash into the ring?
-------------------------- Time = Distance / Speed
-------------------------- Speed = 95% * 300,000 kilometers per second
-------------------------- Speed = 285,000 km / sec
-------------------------- 1 lightyear = 9.46*10^12 kilometers
--------------------------- Time = 0.36 LY * 9.46*10^12 km / LY / 2.85*10^5 km /sec
-------------------------- Time = 1.195 * 10^7 sec * 1 day / 8.64*10^4
--------------------------- Time = 138 days for the electrons
- When astronomers see the first flash of light from the Pulsar flare they know that to see the shockwave effect on the ring of particles to wait 138 days.
- How much later do the high energy electrons reach the ring after the light waves?
---------------------------- Time = 131 days for the electromagnetic photons
- The electrons reach the ring 7 days after the radiation gets there. What astronomers see is an X-ray radiation that is 100 times brighter than they have ever seen before. Short duration Gamma Rays have energies of greater than 100 million electron volts. Some of these flares last for days. How can they do that?
- Stay tuned an announcement will be made shortly. It must be science if you do not know the answers.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copy to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Sunday, June 5, 2011
http://jdetrick.blogspot.com Please send feedback, corrections, or recommended improvements to: jamesdetrick@comcast.net. www.facebook.com, or , www.twitter.com.
- The Crab Nebula is supernova remnant located in the Constellation “ Taurus the Bull”. It was first discovered July 4, 1054. It has been an expanding ball of gas and debris for the last 957 years. Today the bubble is 4.4 lightyears across. New satellite telescopes have been observing the Crab in the X-ray and Gamma Ray wavelengths. Astronomers were surprised that the Crab is still very active. So active they do not have the physics to explain it. There is always more to learn.
- Attachments - Crab Nebula
- In 1758 the Crab Nebula was the first nebula to be cataloged by Charles Messier as “M1”. Today we know that at the center of the nebula is a rotating Neutron Star. The star is called a Pulsar because it has jets of radiation spewing out its magnetic poles that sweep past our field of view 33 times per second. This lighthouse beam coming from this giant gyroscope is one of the most accurate clocks known to man. The pulses are accurate to within 1 millisecond over 75 years.
- Recent X-ray and Gamma Ray images have made the Neutron Star and the opposing jets clearly visible. Also visible is a ring of highly energized particles created by shockwaves emanating from the Neutron Star. Periodically there are enormous flares produced that can be observed at the X-ray and Gamma Ray wavelengths. Astronomers are baffled on how to explain how these outbursts are produced. This review will illustrate how math is used in some of their analysis.
- To get more background on the Crab Nebula request these reviews:
-------------------- #1100 - “ What Created the Crab Nebula”
-------------------- #862 - “Crab Nebula Neutron Star”
------------------- #720 - “ Crab Nebula”
- To see the images at different spectrum wavelengths check out the internet for these space telescopes:
------------------- Spitzer Telescope infrared pictures
------------------- Chandra telescope X-ray pictures
------------------ Fermi telescope Gamma Ray pictures.
- The Neutron Star is 1.4 Solar Mass and 10 kilometers in diameter. It is spinning at 33.085 revolutions per second. The nebula is 4.4 lightyears across and 6,500 lightyears away.
- To explain the enormous flare up of energy astronomers speculate that somehow electrons are getting revved up to over 10^15 electron volts. This is more energy than astronomers have ever observed before. Electrons hurled out of the Pulsar’s core are moving electric charges that generate moving magnetic fields. These electrons traveling near the speed of light slam into strong magnetic fields that exist in the surrounding debris. These collisions push the electron’s energy up to where they emit Gamma Rays. However, the calculations for the magnetic energy that the inner region of the nebula would have to have is 3 to 10 times stronger than the physics would allow.
- There must be more to learn from ol’ M1. The X-ray images show an elliptical ring of high energy particles located some distance from the Neutron star. The ring is elliptical because it is tilted to our point of view. To estimate the diameter we measure the major axis of the ring in the image to be 10 millimeters across. So the radius of the circle is 5 millimeters. The total image is 70 millimeters on a side. The width of the image is calculated to be 5 lightyears across. Using a proportional scaling factor:
------------------------------ 5 / 70 = r / 5 light waves
------------------------------ r = 0.36 light waves
---------------------------- The radius of the ring is 0.36 lightyears.
- The high energy electrons emitted from the Neutron Star are traveling at 95% the speed of light. How long does it take the electrons to smash into the ring?
-------------------------- Time = Distance / Speed
-------------------------- Speed = 95% * 300,000 kilometers per second
-------------------------- Speed = 285,000 km / sec
-------------------------- 1 lightyear = 9.46*10^12 kilometers
--------------------------- Time = 0.36 LY * 9.46*10^12 km / LY / 2.85*10^5 km /sec
-------------------------- Time = 1.195 * 10^7 sec * 1 day / 8.64*10^4
--------------------------- Time = 138 days for the electrons
- When astronomers see the first flash of light from the Pulsar flare they know that to see the shockwave effect on the ring of particles to wait 138 days.
- How much later do the high energy electrons reach the ring after the light waves?
---------------------------- Time = 131 days for the electromagnetic photons
- The electrons reach the ring 7 days after the radiation gets there. What astronomers see is an X-ray radiation that is 100 times brighter than they have ever seen before. Short duration Gamma Rays have energies of greater than 100 million electron volts. Some of these flares last for days. How can they do that?
- Stay tuned an announcement will be made shortly. It must be science if you do not know the answers.
---------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RSVP, please reply with a number to rate this review: #1- learned something new. #2 - Didn’t read it. #3- very interesting. #4- Send another review #___ from the index. #5- Keep em coming. #6- I forwarded copy to some friends. #7- Don‘t send me these anymore! #8- I am forwarding you some questions? Index is available with email and with requested reviews at
or, use:
707-536-3272, Sunday, June 5, 2011
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