Physics
Solar flares: flashes with a twist
Sunspot 930 (dark area) and associated X-class solar flare of 12/13/06 (bright). Image Credit: Hinode, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).The Sun doesn't usually make the headlines–not even something like, "Flash! Nuclear explosion as powerful as a billion H-bombs sighted only 93 million miles from Earth!" Let's face it, things like that just don’t seem relevant [...]
Post on May 11, 2007 by Ben Burress
Indoor Air Pollution
Most people think of their house as a sanctuary from toxic air. And yet, according to a 2005 State study, Californians spend $45 billion a year on the health effects of indoor air pollution. California lawmakers have failed to pass legislation that would tighten controls on residential air quality, though laws targeting specific pollutants — [...]
Post on May 11, 2007 by Amy Standen
Gamma Rays and Monsters
Most of us are killed after receiving a large dose of gamma rays. For a select few, the exposure can unleash our inner demons. Image courtesy of http://www.hulkmovie.com/navigation/multimedia.htm. Continuing on the theme of Supernovae from my last posting, I’ll take this opportunity to address an earlier question that was asked by one of my loyal [...]
Post on May 07, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
LIDAR: Lasers Nab Leadfoots
A growing number of Bay Area police are putting away their old radar guns and embracing new laser beam guns, clocking cars with much more precision than before. QUEST TV finds out how they work.
Video on May 01, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
LIDAR: Lasers Nab Leadfoots
LIDAR (Light-Imaging Detection and Ranging) is the new generation replacement for the older Radar systems that police have been using to catch speeders. LIDAR uses an IR Pulsed Laser Diode to measure speed, distance and direction. By using beam width of less than one-degree, it’s significantly more accurate than the older radar systems. As the [...]
Post on May 01, 2007 by Chris Bauer
Hinode means sunrise
A typical, Earth-sized sunspot as seen by Hinode. Credit: Hinode, National Astronomical Observtory of Japan (NAOJ)A new day has dawned– so to speak… Last September, the Japanese space agency, JAXA, launched a new solar observatory satellite, originally designated as "Solar-B." Upon its successful launch, the spacecraft was bestowed its nickname, Hinode (pronounced “heh NO day”), [...]
Post on Apr 27, 2007 by Ben Burress
Science of Big Waves
The organizers of the famous Maverick surf contest have voted that the conditions are right for hanging ten this weekend. The monster waves at Mavericks attract big wave surfers from around the world. But what exactly makes these Half Moon Bay waves so big?
Video on Apr 24, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Nobel Laureate George Smoot and the Origin of the Universe
QUEST TV talks with George Smoot, big bang researcher at UC Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Video on Apr 24, 2007 by Josh Rosen from QUEST Northern California
Nobel Laureate George Smoot and the origin of the Universe
QUEST TV talks with George Smoot, big bang researcher at UC Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics. You may watch the George Smoot TV story online. Sudden Oak Death and Science of Big Waves (episode #108), which also features this short story, airs tonight on QUEST at 7:30pm on KQED 9, [...]
Post on Apr 24, 2007 by Josh Rosen
Science of Big Waves
A monster lurks just off the coast of Northern California. Known as "Maverick's," this surf break north of Half Moon Bay generates some of the biggest waves in the world, and draws the big wave surfers that live for them. But what makes these waves so big? QUEST talks with scientists who are getting to [...]
Post on Apr 24, 2007 by Chris Bauer
Why does it … matter? Part II
Half hour exposure of star trails above the Keck Telescopes taken by yours trulyThe dark matter that I discussed in my last post is quite bizarre, but makes up only a small fraction of the universe. The dominant material in the universe actually appears to be some kind of "dark energy". Since no one has [...]
Post on Apr 23, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Ask a Scientist: Science Cafés (radio)
It's a typical evening at a popular SF cafe – cappuccinos, beer, conversation… and a lecture on mathematical theorems? Bay Area "science cafés" have exploded in popularity, putting scientists and everyday folks face-to-face for casual science lectures and Q&A.
Audio Report on Apr 13, 2007 by KQED QUEST staff from QUEST Northern California
Why does it … matter?
A work for SFMOMA?Standing on Earth and looking out into space, it’s easy to assume that you have it figured out. There are stars, gases, metals– all 'normal matter' that we can see, made up of electrons and protons. From this vantage point, there is no reason to believe that there is anything else out [...]
Post on Apr 09, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Colors of Night
Double star Albireo, at the head of Cygnus the Swan. Credit: Conrad Jung, through Chabot’s 8-inch telescope, Leah.I occasionally get an email or a phone call from someone wanting to know what that strange, dazzling light was they saw in the sky that looked too unusual to be a star, or a planet, and was [...]
Post on Mar 30, 2007 by Ben Burress
Nanotechnology Takes Off
What's 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair? A nanometer. Discover the nanotech boom in Berkeley, where researchers are working to unlock the potential of nanoscience to battle global warming and disease.
Video on Mar 27, 2007 by Josh Rosen from QUEST Northern California
Discuss the "Nanotechnology Takes Off" TV story
Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating things atom-by-atom to produce the smallest human-made objects. It is among the hottest new research fields in the world, and the Bay Area is a center for its study. Within 15 years, experts predict, it will drive progress in virtually every field, from computing to medicine, manufacturing, energy and [...]
Post on Mar 27, 2007 by Josh Rosen
Planets by the Hundreds
False-colored infrared picture of the first ever directly imaged exoplanet (fainter) and its parent star (a brown dwarf—brighter). Credit: European Southern Observatory. Exo-planet: it sounds like something the starship Enterprise should be visiting– and though they have been taken for granted in science fiction for a long time, prior to about fifteen years ago the [...]
Post on Mar 16, 2007 by Ben Burress
Galaxies: All that and a can of SPAM
Deep image from the Hubble Space Telescope known as the Hubble Deep Field. A few bright round objects, i.e. the bright white object left of center, are stars. All other objects are galaxies, some as far as 12 billion light years away.To be perfectly honest, although my last posting focused on stars and extrasolar planets, [...]
Post on Mar 13, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos
Whenever I talk about my astronomy research, I realize that for most people, the fascination begins with star-gazing. I can't say that I know much about the constellations (I do recognize the Big Dipper and Orion, and that’s about it) but it is a constant reminder of how little most people know what they are [...]
Post on Feb 26, 2007 by Kyle S. Dawson
Pluto’s Wink
Pluto (center, largest) and its moons Charon, Nix, and Hydra captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.In the past year, the quiet and unassuming Pluto has been having its moments of fame. First was the attention brought by the launch of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, the robot that, when it arrives at Pluto nearly a decade [...]
Post on Feb 16, 2007 by Ben Burress
