Science > Physics > WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 11 Mar 05 Washington, DC
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Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Sam Wormley" |
| Date: |
11 Mar 2005 03:56:31 PM |
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WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 11 Mar 05 Washington, DC |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 11 Mar 05 Washington, DC
1. HANS BETHE, 1907-2005: WHO BECAME THE CONSCIENCE OF SCIENCE.
"I always wanted to find out how the world is made, what it is
made of, what holds it together, what makes it operate the way it
does," he once explained. He was confident that the answers can
only be found by science, and at 98 he was still finding them.
2. TEMPLETON PRIZE: CHARLES TOWNES CITED FOR SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
In his famous paper, The Convergence of Science and Religion,
Townes wrote that "Understanding the order in the universe and
understanding the purpose in the universe are not identical, but
they are also not very far apart." They are a universe apart.
Steven Weinberg, another great Noble-laureate physicist, wrote
"The more the universe seem comprehensible, the more it seems
pointless." Nevertheless, by our count Townes is the sixth
physicist to win the Templeton, which in dollars is larger than
the Noble Prize. Others awarded the Templeton include Charles
Colson of Watergate fame, and the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham.
3. NASA: TERMINATION IS PLANNED FOR HEALTHY BUT AGING MISSIONS.
No, it's not another hospital euthanasia scandal. This time it's
active NASA science missions being turned off to free money for
the President's goofy Vision for Space Exploration. According to
a story in Nature this week, managers of seven missions that are
"past their prime" (man, this is cold) have been told there is no
money to keep operating past October. That includes two Voyagers
looking for the heliopause, where true interstellar space begins.
Pioneer 10 started the search, but it was passed by the younger,
faster Voyagers 8 years ago. (Isn't that always the way?) The
nuclear furnace of Pioneer 10 finally grew cold two years ago
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN03/wn030703.cfm. Is this just the old
"Washington Monument ploy," where they count on Congress kicking
in a little extra from school lunches or something? What's next?
4. THE VISION: THERE'S GOING TO BE "STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT."
Although NASA is the only science agency with an increase in the
asking budget (see WN last week), the Washington Post reported
this morning that NASA is planning a 15.3 percent workforce cut
by the summer of 2006. That's about 2,680 jobs, saving the
agency about $268M. The money is needed to refocus on the Moon-
Mars exploration initiative. Development of a "Crew Exploration
Vehicle" to succeed the space shuttle is the major new effort.
NASA shows every sign of repeating all the mistakes of the past.
At a time when the agency desperately needs bold leadership, it's
on autopilot. There are not even fresh rumors of who might
replace O'Keefe as Administrator. The betting is that it will be
an astronaut, which would firmly lock NASA into the past.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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