Science > Physics > WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Mar 05 Washington, DC
| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Sam Wormley" |
| Date: |
18 Mar 2005 03:27:50 PM |
| Object: |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Mar 05 Washington, DC |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Mar 05 Washington, DC
1. THE VISION: AEROSPACE ENGINEER PICKED TO LEAD NASA TO MARS.
Described in media stories as a Johns Hopkins physicist, Michael
D. Griffin is at the Applied Physics Lab, a government contract
lab far from the campus, and although he has a B.A. in physics,
his Ph.D. is in Aerospace Engineering from the Univ. of Maryland.
During the Reagan years he was Deputy for Technology of SDI (Star
Wars), which managed to squander $30B on mythical weapons.
Eighteen months ago, Griffin testified before the House Science
Committee on "The Future of Human Space Flight". He began by
invoking Queen Isabella and Columbus. OK, so he's not very
original, but the Columbus mission was to find a short cut to
plunder the riches of the East. That is just the sort of sound
conservative economics the universe needs. But maybe, before we
settle the rest of the solar system as Griffin proposes, we might
want to ask our robots if there are any riches out there to
plunder. Meanwhile, it probably wouldn't hurt to take better
care of this planet. These other places don't look that great.
2. FICTION: AN IMAGINATIVE CREATION THAT DOES NOT REPRESENT TRUTH
The Index of Forbidden Books was abolished by Vatican II, but
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who used to be the top enforcer in the
Vatican, still harbors nostalgia for the old days. "Don't buy
and don't read" The Da Vinci Code, he instructed Catholics. That
should help sales, as though it needed help. Some scientists
would put Michael Crichton's novel, State of Fear, on an Index.
It's standard Crichton, i.e. the bad guys are scientists. In
Jurassic Park, for example, scientists discovered the secret of
life and used it to make a theme park. Scientists in State of
Fear predict global-warming catastrophes; when it doesn't happen,
they create disasters. Well, at least scientists are powerful
bad guys. But Crichton laced the book with genuine citations and
graphs from the literature, creating a sense of authenticity, but
some say, crossing a line. It is pretentious, but it's fiction.
3. HYDROGEN: THE HINDENBURG DISASTER RETOLD AND RETOLD AGAIN.
Everyone has seen the horrifying film of the 1937 Hindenburg
disaster. A 1/28 scale model of the giant airship, made for a
Hollywood movie, hangs in the National Air and Space Museum. A
plaque said "It's hydrogen exploded." That's incendiary language
to the National Hydrogen Society, which promotes hydrogen as a
fuel. Dr. Addison Bain, a founding member, undertook his own
investigation of the accident, declaring, "Hydrogen does not
explode." He claimed it was the fabric covering the airship that
burned. The Department of Energy bought it, the Air and Space
Museum revised the plaque, the media did specials on it. Alex
Dessler, a physicist and former director of the Marshall Space
Flight Center did not buy it. He led a group that found Bain
wrong on every point. So who is Dr. Addison Bain? Stay tuned.
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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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Mar 05 Washington, DC |
18 Mar 2005 03:43:12 PM |
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Sam Wormley <swormley1@mchsi.com> wrote:
<snip>
3. HYDROGEN: THE HINDENBURG DISASTER RETOLD AND RETOLD AGAIN.
Everyone has seen the horrifying film of the 1937 Hindenburg
disaster. A 1/28 scale model of the giant airship, made for a
Hollywood movie, hangs in the National Air and Space Museum. A
plaque said "It's hydrogen exploded." That's incendiary language
to the National Hydrogen Society, which promotes hydrogen as a
fuel. Dr. Addison Bain, a founding member, undertook his own
investigation of the accident, declaring, "Hydrogen does not
explode." He claimed it was the fabric covering the airship that
burned. The Department of Energy bought it, the Air and Space
Museum revised the plaque, the media did specials on it. Alex
Dessler, a physicist and former director of the Marshall Space
Flight Center did not buy it. He led a group that found Bain
wrong on every point. So who is Dr. Addison Bain? Stay tuned.
To be pendatic, the Hindenburg didn't explode; it just burned real fast.
"There'll be a hot time in Lakehurst New Jersey when the Hindenburg
lands tonight"; from the list of almost great hits of 1937
--
Jim Pennino
Remove -spam-sux to reply.
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