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So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction... Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tid bits from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true! March Sci-Facts |
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There has been a lot of news in the last year of the Science Page, and I thought it might be fun to revisit some of the previous stories and catch up on recent events. |
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The Stromlo Observatory |
| Unfortunately, the observatory isn’t rebuilt. There has been an ongoing dispute with the insurance company. Chubb Insurance claims the Australian National University had inadequate insurance to cover the approximately $50 million damage bill from the 2003 bushfires.
Due to this dispute, there has been a delay in further government funding. The government has promised 7.5 million towards rebuilding the observatory, but further funding is dependant on the settlement of the insurance dispute. Unfortunately, private fundraising for the observatory can not make up the shortfall. On a cheerier note, the observatory staff hasn’t let a lack of funding or facilities slow then down; research in astronomy is still taking place. |
| The Beagle 2 |
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The news wasn’t good for the United Kingdom when the probe, “Beagle 2”, made it to Mars. No communication was ever made with the probe, even after several attempts to ‘restart’ its programming. The loss of their first probe has created a British investigation into technical aspects of Beagle 2, to establish those areas of greatest risk. This investigation is to reduce the risk to future missions. |
| Spirit and Opportunity |
| The United States have had mixed luck with their Mars probes. At one point, it looked like their first probe was also failing to communicate, but the problem was overcome. At the moment, Spirit is exploring a trench nicknamed the “Road Cut”, seeking iron-bearing rock. After it has completed its investigation of the trench, it will be heading for the crater wall.
Opportunity is taking spectrometer readings, and photographs, of an outcrop in another crater. So far, it has taken 46 photographs of the “El Capitan” outcrop (as of Sunday the 22/2/04), involving its microscope. So far, the mission has been rated as ‘successful’. |
| Tachyons |
| Tachyons, those particles theorised to go faster than the speed of light, are yet to be discovered. As we all move into to 21st century, physicists are divided on the whether tachyons will ever be found, and may only exist to make quantum maths work. Einstein’s Special Theory if Relativity is still considered the ‘best fit’ answer to how the universe works, but this doesn’t mean that it is the right answer. Tachyons are supposed to gain speed as they loose energy, so are in the same reality as perpetual motion machines, and are unlikely to the extreme. |
| *The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Green So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science? Well, I really am a scientist. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland, in Zoology. And, at the moment, I am working in a Pathology laboratory. I have always been intensely curious about every aspect of our universe, from the teeny tiny workings of the gene right up to the mind-bending forces that are twisting and knotting inside a blackhole. So, now I am sharing a brain stuffed full of trivia…and hopefully entertaining people at the same time. As well, I write Fantasy stories and novels. One day, I hope to have a book published, but don't hold your breath. Reading is my other major love, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov, though I could list hundreds of others. If I had one wish, I ask for more time to write! Read previous Sci-Facts: The Sweet Keen Smell Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds! |
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