I'm guessing not selected behavior, since it seems to be a sudden emergence in adults. Possibly smart enough to recognize dangers of being alone and know that visibility protects against things like ship strike.
A sadder guess (but still kind of happy in a way) is that as populations continue to recover from near extinction we are seeing the effect of lost "culture" - things that used to be taught to young rather than driven by instinct died with generations of heavy whaling and now rebounding populations need to learn how to whale all over again, and won't necessarily learn the same ways.
I'm guessing not selected behavior, since it seems to be a sudden emergence in adults. Possibly smart enough to recognize dangers of being alone and know that visibility protects against things like ship strike.
A sadder guess (but still kind of happy in a way) is that as populations continue to recover from near extinction we are seeing the effect of lost "culture" - things that used to be taught to young rather than driven by instinct died with generations of heavy whaling and now rebounding populations need to learn how to whale all over again, and won't necessarily learn the same ways.
Alternately we never really knew the culture to begin with, low population numbers meant that small pods were a necessity rather than a choice.
That is a good point. A lot of what we know about whales from before their populations were devastated comes from the people killing them. Modern science has only gotten to study the leftovers.
0
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
One thing that we only just recently discovered was just how connected whale populations were. According to top scientists, whale songs were capable of carrying tremendous amounts of information (like entire libraries of congress) over thousands of miles. There is a layer of the ocean that's at just the right density to carry these songs all over the world. Modern shipping is super noisy and basically destroyed the ability for isolated populations to communicate using this method.
It turns out some of the very basic facts we know about them are wrong. Way, way wrong. Recent research is radically changing the way we classify dinosaurs. The Atlantic has a great article about it.
As they put it, "It's like if someone told you everything you knew about cats and dogs were wrong, and that some things you call 'dogs' are actually cats."
It turns out some of the very basic facts we know about them are wrong. Way, way wrong. Recent research is radically changing the way we classify dinosaurs. The Atlantic has a great article about it.
As they put it, "It's like if someone told you everything you knew about cats and dogs were wrong, and that some things you call 'dogs' are actually cats."
Man, I remember being at a talk Dr. Robert Bakker did in the summer of 1993 where he ended the thing with the fucking mindblowing idea that the great T-Rex could possibly maybe be the long lost ancestor to the Chicken.
Compared to how Dinosaurs were thought of for the previous 100 years or so, it is rather amazing how quickly science can change things.
So tonight was apparently a "3-star" opportunity to watch the ISS pass overhead, and it was close enough to just past their bedtimes, so I made my kids stand outside with me and watch "the spaceship."
My 5-year-old wanted to know if 1) aliens were going to come visit, and when I told him it was people up there, he changed his questions to 2) whether or not the spaceship had toilets, and 3) whether or not they had to wear helmets all the time.
So a while back something called the TimPix project was launched by the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS), which gives students across the UK the chance to work on data from the International Space Station, looking for anomalies and patterns that might lead to further discoveries.
What's the issue with the upper stage that makes it harder than the first stage? More re-entry heat?
Ya, even for LEO missions it's going over three times as fast as the stage 1 booster. And with the fairing and payload gone it's not much more aerodynamic than a brick with a big fragile vacuum engine sticking out like a sore thumb. I can't imagine a way to do it that doesn't involve using a large chunk of its fuel to slow down which would dramatically reduce its payload capacity its able to boost into orbit. Maybe they can install a heat shield in between the main body and the payload and just Kool-Aid man their way through the atmosphere? Plus there's the issue of where you're going to land, do a full orbit and drop down into the atlantic?
What's the issue with the upper stage that makes it harder than the first stage? More re-entry heat?
Partially that, I would think, and also partially that it has traveled farther than the first stage and so might need a different landing spot. It would also presumably require more fuel to land from higher up / further away, which would cut into payload I bet. The technical hurdles are probably fairly significant, but worth looking into at the very least.
Also don't vacuum nozzles have exhaust instability problems at sea level?
Certainly a nozzle optimized for vacuum isn't going to perform as well at sea level. I wouldn't be surprised if there were stability issues as well. Technical hurdles abound! Then again, there are plenty of technical hurdles to even landing the first stage, but they managed that, so I wouldn't be confident saying it is impossible. For all we know, Elon Musk has a design for a variable geometry rocket nozzle in his back pocket.
+1
Tynnanseldom correct, never unsureRegistered Userregular
cross-posted from SE++:
Multiple views of SpaceX B1021 (SES-10 mission) landing on Of Course I Still Love You:
A new strain of red-eyed mutant wasps has been brought into the world by a team of scientists. The wasps were created to prove that CRISPR gene-slicing technology can be used successfully on the tiny parasitic jewel wasps, giving scientists a new way to study some of the wasp's interesting biology, such as how males can convert all their progeny into males by using selfish genetic elements.
Look, Science, we gotta talk. Can we just agree to not test out the genetic mutation technique on creatures that resemble real world chestbursters? I know it's safe, but all the same you gotta know this isn't going to go over well outside the community.
So a friend linked me this article http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fluid-negative-mass-1.4073937 which talks about a negative mass fluid. I seem to recall that the Alcubierre Drive requires negative mass to function (in addition to rather large amounts of energy) but are they talking about the same thing? I know sometimes terms can mean different things depending on who you are talking to.
Posts
From 'Popular Science'
"Humpback whales are organizing in huge numbers, and no one knows why."
Submit your theories below!
(Mine is "so long and thanks for all the fish!")
A sadder guess (but still kind of happy in a way) is that as populations continue to recover from near extinction we are seeing the effect of lost "culture" - things that used to be taught to young rather than driven by instinct died with generations of heavy whaling and now rebounding populations need to learn how to whale all over again, and won't necessarily learn the same ways.
Alternately we never really knew the culture to begin with, low population numbers meant that small pods were a necessity rather than a choice.
Also, maybe plotting how to deal with a bunch of bipedal apes with nukes?
https://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/2017/03/these-recently-declassified-nuclear-test-videos-are-utterly-mesmerizing-terrifying/
https://youtu.be/uYbNlgQyz84
Sharknado 6: Whalenado
WE GOT MECHS
Still cool.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
For some reason I am picturing this whole series of events taking place via Outlook meeting notifications
It turns out some of the very basic facts we know about them are wrong. Way, way wrong. Recent research is radically changing the way we classify dinosaurs. The Atlantic has a great article about it.
As they put it, "It's like if someone told you everything you knew about cats and dogs were wrong, and that some things you call 'dogs' are actually cats."
Man, I remember being at a talk Dr. Robert Bakker did in the summer of 1993 where he ended the thing with the fucking mindblowing idea that the great T-Rex could possibly maybe be the long lost ancestor to the Chicken.
Compared to how Dinosaurs were thought of for the previous 100 years or so, it is rather amazing how quickly science can change things.
My 5-year-old wanted to know if 1) aliens were going to come visit, and when I told him it was people up there, he changed his questions to 2) whether or not the spaceship had toilets, and 3) whether or not they had to wear helmets all the time.
My 18-month-old waved and said, "oooooh."
So. Damn. Cool.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
I don't know, but for historic leaps, SpaceX is going to (try!) to launch one of their "flight proven" rockets today.
If this works, spaceflights is going to keep getting cheaper.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/live-today-spacex-attempts-to-launch-a-flight-proven-rocket/
Should be launching soon. No dates were given before but we're nearing the end of the window they discussed.
China has claimed to have sent one up into space and produced results but everybody is kinda "eh" on that.
Edit: Holy moly they landed it too!
A 17 year old was going over the data in class when he noticed an error.
He and his teacher e-mailed NASA and are now helping them to figure out the source of the problem.
WOOOHOOO!
#afewhourslate
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Re-using part of a rocket has gone straight to Elon's head. He really wants the Falcon Heavy concept video to be completely true -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ca6x4QbpoM
Next step- SpaceX manages to reuse rocket fuel
play this over it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0wKqCOcUQ&index=7&list=PL1ajHA6kMkCxODYbuPJveV5gUgRtKtclX
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Partially that, I would think, and also partially that it has traveled farther than the first stage and so might need a different landing spot. It would also presumably require more fuel to land from higher up / further away, which would cut into payload I bet. The technical hurdles are probably fairly significant, but worth looking into at the very least.
Certainly a nozzle optimized for vacuum isn't going to perform as well at sea level. I wouldn't be surprised if there were stability issues as well. Technical hurdles abound! Then again, there are plenty of technical hurdles to even landing the first stage, but they managed that, so I wouldn't be confident saying it is impossible. For all we know, Elon Musk has a design for a variable geometry rocket nozzle in his back pocket.
Multiple views of SpaceX B1021 (SES-10 mission) landing on Of Course I Still Love You:
(loud and distorted, because rocket)
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
https://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2017/04/watch-militarized-microbes-use-some-sophisticated-weapons-to-snare-prey/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170419091616.htm
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]