Can the discovery of some highly unusual particles called geoneutrinos help us to better understand things like earthquakes and volcanoes?

Could be. But first, let’s back up just a bit and get our bearings straight. We’ll start with neutrinos.

Neutrinos are lightweight, electrically-neutral particles that are the result of nuclear reactions. They also pass through ordinary matter virtually undetected. In fact, it is estimated that more than 50 trillion solar neutrinos — that is, neutrinos that come from the Sun — pass through the human body every second.

Well, after years of speculation, a new type of antimatter particle (called the geoneutrino) has been detected. The geoneutrino forms as a result of radioactive decay deep inside the Earth’s crust. The theory is that this decay leads to the heating of the earth’s mantle (the layer of Earth that stretches down almost 2,000 miles) in a process called convection. And what we know for sure is that convection is a major force behind plate tectonics, which has a role in everything from the shifting of the continents to erupting volcanoes to earthquakes.

So… these geoneutrinos could have a lot to do with some of the most massive (and destructive) forces of nature that we experience. The more we learn about them, the more we understand about our planet. Pretty cool, huh?

What’s even cooler is the way that the geoneutrino was discovered: in a giant steel sphere containing 1,000 tons of hydrocarbon liquid that was buried almost a mile below the surface of a mountain in Italy. And no, we did not make that last part up. Science really will take you places.

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Astronaut Spots Amazing Aurora

News for Nerds: June 18, 2010

Fireballs, Asteroids and Meteors, Oh My!

The picture you see at left was snapped last month by a quick-thinking astronaut aboard the International Space Station. It depicts a ribbon-shaped aurora as seen during a geomagnetic storm. The space station was sailing over the Southern Indian Ocean at the time.

Aurorae are natural light displays that are most frequently seen from Earth at the polar regions. They are caused by photon emissions in the Earth’s upper atmosphere — in other words, ions from solar winds collide with atoms of nitrogen and oxygen and voila!, an aurora is born.

The most famous example is the Aurora Borealis, which can be seen from the northernmost points of Earth. However, there are plenty of other examples to enjoy: just check out these cool photos of aurorae, all taken this year.

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Japanese Space Capsule Brings Asteroid to Earth

The Mysteries of Venus

The Science Behind Galahad: Earth-like Planets

When your phone is running out of juice, how’d you like to just plug it into your shoe? And, instead of ordering from a menu, what if you ordered from an iPad? And as much as you enjoy going to 3D movies at the theater, researchers now say it could be dangerous (they always spoil our fun!).

All of these stories, and more, are inside this report. C’mon, let’s get our nerd on! (more…)

The return to Earth of the Japanese space probe Hayanusa might mean that we’re closer to learning about the origins of our Universe.

It also might mean that we’re closer to defending ourselves against a rogue asteroid, Armageddon-style.

Earlier this week, Hayanusa (which means ‘Falcon’) tore its way through the atmosphere before landing in the Australian outback, where it was quickly collected by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for testing. Hayanusa had been attached to the asteroid Itokawa since 2005. It is expected to have brought back dust samples unlike any that have ever been seen firsthand before.

What can we learn from those dust samples? For starters, it could tell astronomers a great deal about the formation of our solar system. And according to one NASA scientist, better understanding the composition of asteroids could lead to what is known as a ‘planetary defense plan.’ Basically that means that in the event that an asteroid is on a dangerous collision path with Earth, we would better know what could be done to destroy (or derail) it.

I’ll bet the dinosaurs wish they’d had a planetary defense plan.

Think you could live in complete isolation for 520 days? What about the idea of aliens living among us; do you believe in that? And how comforting is it to know that your underwear might someday save your life? All of these questions are part of this week’s edition of News For Nerds. Here we go, let’s get our nerd on! (more…)

A pretty big news story got lost in the shuffle last week, so in case you missed it, here goes:

Amid all the attention being paid to the oil spill disaster elsewhere in Florida, a company called SpaceX launched a privately-owned rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral on Friday. This is a major development that could pave the way for routine trips to space in only a matter of years.

SpaceX is an interesting company, and one worth keeping your eye on. You may recall that earlier this year President Obama announced that a large portion of future space-related funding will go to private companies instead of going directly to government agencies, as it has in the past. That strategy is designed to widen the playing field and increase competition, thus leading to better (and faster) innovations in space travel.

Most observers believe that SpaceX is far ahead of everyone else when it comes to leading this new wave of private space travel. If you’ve never heard of them, you should visit their website and look around. You can even watch a video of last week’s launch.

The man behind SpaceX is Elon Musk. He first became known as the co-founder of PayPal, the online payment company, but he’s got a long and impressive list of credentials. He’s the co-founder of Tesla Motors, a company that produces incredibly sporty electric cars. With Tesla (as with SpaceX), Musk isn’t content to watch from the sidelines. A native of South Africa, Musk has degrees in Physics and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and he puts that education to good use with a very hands-on approach at each of his companies. According to Iron Man director Jon Favreau, Musk is the inspiration for his interpretation of the Tony Stark character in the Iron Man movie franchise.

Anyway, the point is, keep a close watch on SpaceX and the so-called ‘private space race’. Things are changing very, very quickly these days. SpaceX is planning to send a fully operational rocket to the International Space Station as early as next year, and with last week’s success to build on, we wouldn’t bet against them.

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All About Atlantis

News for Nerds

The Future of U.S. Space Exploration

What do we have this week? Let’s see…how about a car that’s powered by Coke and Mentos? Or how about new statistics that will maybe prevent you from being an afternoon snack for a shark? And wait: some people are proposing that they plug the leaking oil spill in the Gulf…with a nuclear blast. Yep, all of that - and more - in this week’s News For Nerds!

Read on… (more…)