The Planck spacecraft was designed to detect minute variations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation – investigating the deep history of the cosmos.  Its detectors got down to operating temperature on 2nd July.

Two things are interesting about the Planck spacecraft:-

1. It is officially the coldest spacecraft ever – practically at absolute zero. It gets to – 230c by using passive systems (effectively shields from the distant sun) and then gets down the rest of the way, to -273c, by active refrigeration systems.

2. It is orbit around the second Lagrange point of the Earth – Sun system. This is a point beyond the Earth’s orbit around the sun where the spacecraft’s centrefugal force is matched by the combined gravitational pull of the Earth and Sun.

2nd Lagrange Point

Officially one cool spacecraft!!

Lunar surface from LRO

The mission is focusing on the polar regions due to the potential presence of water in the regions in permanent shadow and to complete a “comprehensive atlas of the moon’s features and resources”. To do this it will use many tools including laser technology altimeters that will map the surface for future landing sites.

It is fantastic to see the first step back to the moon after so many years, especially as it is being seen as a test-bed for technologies to be used to explore Mars.

Firstly the bad bits:- The book is riddled with American cultural references that, for readers from the UK or any other country, could become slightly irritating.  There are also many puns or plays on words that are, at times, clever but other times appear a little desperate.  It is as if the author feels that we need a smile on our faces to deal with challenging concepts.  Perhaps she is right!

With the exception of these slight reservations, I found the book a delightful refresher that put many major scientific concepts in perspective and in context.

The layout and order of the book is thoughtful.  For example, the main area discussed in the chapter on physics is that of atomic structure.  This then leads seamlessly into the chemistry chapter, where the importance of the bonds between atoms were the key themes; one concept built on another.

As a phsysist I thought I would enjoy the chapters on physics and astronomy most.  However it was the section on DNA and the miraculous division of cells that captivated me.

This is not a overly large book and it is very readable for everyone from high school kids to oldies wanting to revisit those science lessons at school that they didn’t “get”.  The author has been selective and has had to miss out or skim over many important areas.  She has done a good job doing this, but you are bound to feel cheated if your taste buds have been tickled but not satisfied.  You could think of this book as a taster lesson from which you could drill down deeper into subjects that interest you.

Buy this book if you have a spark of curiosity about how science “fits together”.  It is a one stop shop that takes you one a whistle-stop tour of the key scientific concepts that you need to know.

Super-Kamiokande: Neutrino Detector – City of Ember | Underground Blog

It strikes me that this is a wake-up call for those cultures that have wallowed in the self-satisfied mire of excess, waste and extravegance.  It is time that we in the west realise that the prespective of limitless consumption (of electricity, food, water, even computing power) cannot be sustained.  There is a general levelling across the globe.  Emerging nations are getting more access to resources, we are (through market prices and lower purchasing power) beginning to learn to get by with less.  This can feel painful.

This recession is simply another kick in that direction.

One important thing to understand is that this is not charity – this is a business proposition.  Microloans are not interest free.  In fact the loans can carry a substantial rate of interest.  But, for the entrepreneur involved, the returns are still positive.  If, for example, they are pulled up from living on $1 a day to earning $10 a day by borrowing $100 at, say 20%, this is a fantastic business proposition.  These loans are usually very small and used to fund working capital (buying a load of fish wholesale, to on-sell retail for example).  Some of the benefits of Microfinance are shown below but a more comprehensive account is given in the book “A Billion Bootstraps“

Microfinance is better than charity for many reasons:-

• It creates a sustainable income (teach a man to fish…….)
• It has a ripple effect across the local community (the entrepreneur becomes a consumer and an employer)
• The capital is recycled (when the loan is repayed – as it usually is – it can be re-lent)
• Families benefit – the children of entrepreneurs can go to school, creating an economically useful future generation

“How can I get involved?” you may ask.  Surely these international financial transactions are beyond my reach?  The answer is Kiva.org – the internet age comes to microfinance.

Kiva Microfinance

Through Kiva I have made 18 loans of $25 each (this amount is converted to sterling or euros or whatever currency zone you are living in).  Here are my stats – note the zero default rate:-

Users of Kiva can choose who to lend to by reading a list of requests – for example:-

“Edorh Hokinde is a fish seller at the Angré open market (eastside of Abidjan). Born in Nigeria in 1966 and married, she is the mother of three children who are completing their education in Abidjan. She started her fish selling business in September, 1999. The benefits from her activities have permitted her to help her husband (a taxi driver) to pay for their children’s education expenses. She requests a loan from AE&I to purchase fish in bulk in order to satisfy retailers’ orders and improves her margin.”

So, as Kiva say – “Be a loaner…!!”

Could this be extended to other aspects of environmental activity such as recycling?  If the local authority told us that our neighbours recycled then would we be more likely to?  What about car sharing?  Using plastic bags?  Buying organic or local food?  Would we be better at saving the world if we were told that everyone else was?

The solution is synchronisation.  And it can be simple.  First make sure you are using firefox as a browser.  Next download the addin called “FoxMarks” on all your computers.  Register and all your bookmarks are held somewhere in the digital cloud, to be, forever, synchronised between your computers.  It helps if you organise them a little first.  Tagging helps too, but Firefox is the best for searching through your history, tagged or bookmarked items to lead you to where you want to be.

The next thing to do is to download Syncplicity.  This great tool allows you to automatically back-up and share files between your computers.  It does it quietly annd unobtrusively in the background as you work away.  (As I type this, hovering over the icon in the systems tray, a message tells me that I am currently 53% synchronised and clocking upwards).  Now all my vital bits of information (tax returns, quickbooks files, and other bits and pieces) are sitting in a secure cloud somewhere.  The service is free unless your storage requirements get too extensive.

I am writing this on Google Docs.  It reassuringly tells me every few seconds that it is saving my words as I type them.

So it is possible to easily set your digital life up so that you have no more data loss wories and no more annoying “where-the-heck-did- I-save-that-file” moments.