Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 3, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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To honor the start of Women's History Month, we're covering Grace Hopper, affectionately known as "Amazing Grace" for her groundbreaking contributions to computer science, which helped make computers accessible to the general public. Then, with the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider's shutdown last month, we were inspired to break down particle accelerators. Finally, we'll take a look at the technology behind solar power.
Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.
—Marco Daniel Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor |
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Who was Grace Hopper?
Grace Murray Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and US Navy rear admiral who demonstrated how everyday languages could be converted into code that computers could understand. COBOL, the mainframe programming language behind $3T in daily transactions worldwide, originated from a language created by Hopper, the first female individual recipient of the National Medal of Technology.
Born in New York City in 1906, Hopper earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Vassar College, followed by a master's degree and PhD in mathematics from Yale, before joining the US Naval Reserve in 1943. She served as one of three programmers on the Mark I, a machine that performed calculations needed to build the atomic bomb, and wrote the first computer manual.
After World War II, Hopper advocated for programming in user-friendly, everyday language to make computers more accessible and wrote programs to that end (watch example). She helped implement standards to ensure software could work across different hardware and organized workshops to promote understanding of computers (watch example). Despite retiring at 60, Hopper was repeatedly recalled for her expertise, retiring a final time as the US Armed Forces' then-oldest serving member in 1986.
Hopper was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on Grace Hopper here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> The terms "bug" and "debugging" were popularized by Grace Hopper's team. (View)
> Grace Hopper was named the 1959 Time magazine "Woman of the Year." (View)
> ... and also won a computer science association's first "Man of the Year" award. (Read)
> Grace Hopper's interview with David Letterman, after 43 years of service in the Navy. (Watch) |
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Particle accelerators 101
Particle accelerators are machines that accelerate and steer beams of charged particles, such as electrons, into collisions with one another or with another target. More than 30,000 exist worldwide, with most used to sterilize medical equipment, produce radiopharmaceuticals for cancer therapy, and detect chemical contaminants (explore uses).
Based on the path taken by particles, they are categorized as either linear accelerators (linacs) or circular accelerators. Both types include four key components: a source that produces charged particles, electric fields to accelerate them, magnetic fields to steer and focus them, and a vacuum within which they can travel unobstructed to their target (see diagram).
Particle accelerators are sometimes referred to as "atom smashers" because the first generation of these devices used atoms as collision targets rather than subatomic particles (learn more). Today, the largest accelerators most often use protons to probe subatomic structures and the origins of the universe by reaching temperatures in the trillions and accelerating matter up to 99.9999991% the speed of light (learn how).
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on particle accelerators here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> In 1971, a $35 ferret helped clean the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. (View)
> A 36-year-old physicist survived a particle accelerator beam to the head. (Watch)
> The particle accelerator analyzing art at the Louvre. (View)
> Take a 3D tour of the Large Hadron Collider's particle detector. (Watch) |
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Solar power, explained
One of the most common renewable energy sources, solar power technologies capture radiant energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity or thermal energy. Solar is part of an emerging class of renewable energy sources that can diversify a region's or nation's power generation portfolio while reducing reliance on fossil fuels (explore global solar resources).
Solar power harnesses radiation from the sun to generate electricity, typically through devices known as photovoltaics—commonly referred to as solar panels. When light falls on photovoltaic materials, it is absorbed by electrons, making them conductive, much like the electrons flowing through a metal wire (watch explainer). Concentrated solar power systems instead use fields of mirrors to redirect sunlight toward a thermal fluid, which heats up. The fluid is used to turn water into steam, which spins a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity (watch explainer).
Since their development, solar cells have become faster, more efficient, and cheaper, with costs decreasing from roughly $1,500 per watt in the 1950s to less than $1 per watt today. This has made solar power the fastest-growing source of electricity in the US (view data).
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on solar power here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> Solar power was harnessed for heating and cooling 6,000 years ago. (Read)
> A 1,000-square-kilometer patch of solar panels in Africa could power most of Europe. (Watch)
> How solar power complicates energy management on the electric grid. (Watch)
> See how solar panels are manufactured. (Watch) |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> Trees observed to give off electricity during thunderstorms
American Geophysical Union | Sean Cummings. For the first time, researchers have seen and measured weak electrical discharges, known as coronae, on trees during thunderstorms. Because coronae burn the tips of leaves, scientists speculate that they may have shaped the evolution of trees to limit the damage they cause. (Read) | Learn about lightning by exploring our write-up and findings here.
> The color of a theater is shown to impact the perception of sound
American Institute of Physics | Staff. A team from the Technical University of Berlin discovered a clear correlation between the visual design of a concert hall and the perceived timbre of the music. The study suggests that architects and acousticians should consider a venue's color elements to enhance the music experience. (Read)
> A new method to measure the universe's expansion with gravitational waves
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Maddie Stover. The stochastic siren method works on the principle that if the universe has expanded more slowly, it has less volume, meaning that collisions between massive objects and the subsequent production of gravitational waves should be more frequent. (Read) | Learn about the general theory of relativity and how gravitational waves are created here.
> Horses whistle and sing at the same time
University of Copenhagen | Elodie Briefer and Michael Skov Jensen. When a horse whinnies, they whistle through their larynx while vibrating their vocal folds, as a human does while singing. Biologists suggest these vocalizations likely evolved to enable horses to convey multiple messages to one another at once. (Read) | Learn more fascinating details about animals by exploring our write-up and findings here.
> Identifying the effects of volcanic eruptions and wildfires on climate
MIT News | Jennifer Chu. Scientists have developed a method to discern the emissions impacts of wildfires and volcanic eruptions from signals of background atmospheric phenomena. This new understanding will help scientists further pin down the effect of human-related emissions on global temperature change. (Read) | Learn about volcanoes by exploring our write-up and findings here. |
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"The most important thing I've accomplished, other than building the compiler, is training young people. They come to me, you know, and say, 'Do you think we can do this?' I say, 'Try it.' And I back 'em up. They need that. I keep track of them as they get older and I stir 'em up at intervals so they don't forget to take chances." |
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