technology
homestake mine
from dark matter, neutrinos posted in technology by corporate_sunshine
At one time the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota is currently being used for scientific research.
In the late 60's, Raymond Davis, Jr. and John N. Bahcall conducted the Homestake experiment, where they deduced that neutrinos were one third the previous expected mass. Further reproductions of the experiment in Japan, Russia, Italy, and Canada led to the conclusion that solar neutrinos have three different oscillations. This work led to the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics, which Davis shared with Masatoshi Koshiba of Japan.
Neutrino research continues at the location. On July 10, 2007, the mine was selected by the National Science Foundation as the location for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL).
The mine has limited viewing and a visitor's center, with above and below ground tours.
view full location details...soudan underground mine state park
from dark matter posted in technology by corporate_sunshine
This former site of the oldest, deepest, and richest iron ore mine in Minnesota is now the location of the Soudan Underground Mine State Park.
On the National Register for Historic Places since November 1966, the mine has been making headlines in recent years for the experiments conducted at the bottom of the mine to detect dark matter.
Since the bottom of the mine is shielded from cosmic rays, scientists from the CDMS-II (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) team have been keeping chunks of germanium and silicon at absolute zero to see if any WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) bounce into them.
There has been evidence of interaction with WIMPS, but a new super-sensitive detector should provide more definitive results.
A separate experiment, called MINOS, is being conducted at the same location to detect neutrinos. Tours of the Soudan Mine are available.
As most people know, dark matter and neutrinos were made by Jesus to test our faith.
view full location details...davies auditorium, becton engineering and applied science center
from nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
On April 21, 1987, a bronze bust was dedicated in the entryway of the Davies Auditorium at the Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center at Yale University. It was the culmination of a fund-raising and letter-writing campaign by a third grade class in Anne Arbor, Michigan. The class's teacher, John Wagner, presented the sculpture to Yale.
In 1894, Nikola Tesla received an honorary degree from Yale along with several other 19th-century leaders.
serbian orthodox cathedral of st. sava
from nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
The second of two funeral services for Nikola Tesla was held at this location on January 13, 1943.
On Sunday, January 28, 2007, a bust of Nikola Tesla was unveiled at this location.
view full location details...jet propulsion laboratory
from mars rovers, nasa, space exploration posted in technology by corporate_sunshine
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center that specializes in the creation of robotic planetary spacecraft, Earth-orbit and astronomy missions, as well as NASA's Deep Space Network. Located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles, JPL is on the border of the cities of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena. JPL is jointly managed by the California Institute of Techology (CalTech) for NASA.
JPL has been responsible for many of the unmanned spacecraft that have explored the solar system: Ranger and Surveyor programs (Moon-60's), Viking program (Mars- mid 70's), Voyager program (Leaving the solar system, still in progress) and many more.
On August 6, 2012, JPL's most advanced rover to date (named Curiosity) will land on Mars. The lab had to develop a new "skycrane" method of deployment to accommodate the enhanced rover (check out a sweet animation here).
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