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Thursday, 22 August 2002
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Pluto cooling update. You read about Pluto cooling here five days ago here but CNN just picked it up today... Curiously, the CNN take on the topic is that Pluto is experiencing global warming whereas the press release from the observatory (and my interpretation of the results) says that Pluto is going through a cooling. It is possible that the surface may be warming slightly but does that justify reversing the meaning of the headline? Strange.
[David Harris: Science news]
1:48:36 AM 
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Understanding risk. One of my pet hates is the extreme irrationality of people when faced with certain risks. Yes, I know the fears are understandable, it's just that it bugs me that in a world where we have so much information available to us, we can't seem to make decisions based on anything more than gut instincts...
Part of breaking down irrationality would seem to require some basic information concerning why people worry about particular things. Today's New York Times (free registration required) has a nice piece that outlines some of the main reasons for worry and gives examples of how people react.
After you've read the piece, think about how many government policy decisions seem to be based on irrational fears. But we can't just blame a government - we are all far too ready to look for a scapegoat for any problem or risk. Instead, we must consider how our opinions about risk are driving government policy decisions. As a simple example, there is incontrovertible evidence that many lives would be saved if everybody wore seatbelts in cars yet governments in some jurisdictions won't enforce it by law because of public pressure against it. [David Harris: Science news]
1:45:24 AM
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12,000 frames per second film camera. The new tool film-makers will go crazy over can shoot the equivalent of 12,000 frames per second. Unfortunately, the camera can only shoot 120 frames at a time as it works by rotating a loop of film around a drum that rapidly revolves.
Just as The Matrix popularised the use of sequenced still cameras to give the impression of a fast-moving camera circling around a subject, don't be surprised if you suddenly see lots of films breaking into ultra-slow motion for a few seconds as they insert the results of this new toy.
The camera is bound to be useful for other things besides entertainment. Just as it is based on high-speed scientific photography, this technology or something similar will probably make it back into the lab where high-resolution is required as well as high-speed.
Read more and see a sample at CNN (Sample requires CNN realplayer media pass) [David Harris: Science news]
1:41:01 AM
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Global cooling... on Pluto!
Apparently, Pluto's climate has changed drastically since the last time people looked 14 years ago. The atmosphere is cooling but the surface seems to be warming.
Astronomers are currently unable to determine the reasons for the changes but hope that the planned Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission launching in 2006 and arriving at Pluto in 2016 will help answer their questions. [David Harris: Science news]
1:35:28 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Peter Nixon.
Last update: 27/9/05; 8:41:46 PM.
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