| VOLUME 40 2010/11 |
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NATURE'S CHEMICAL WONDER - Acid Caves Explored |
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Deep in Southern Mexico’s jungle, the Villa Luz limestone caves support an ecosystem that thrives in a highly poisonous, acidic
environment. This rare type of cave is found in few spots on Earth. Geologists and biologists wear gas masks and protective
outerwear to explore the caves. All life forms, from microbial colonies to spiders, fish and bats, are interdependent upon the toxic soup of
water, sulphur-oxide and hydrogen monoxide for survival.
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FOREST MANAGEMENT - Conserving our Resources |
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Trees are still an indispensable resource that we rely upon for a multitude of everyday needs. Meeting the world’s increasing
demands for wood products and by-products, while complying with conservation guidelines requires new arboriculture technology.
The computer inside the sawmill sends data (species of tree, type of cut, finished dimensions) to harvesting machinery in the forest.
Botanists are growing transgenic (genetically-manipulated) trees to learn if they are suitable for integration into a natural multi-species
environment.
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RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY - Waste Not, Want Not
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Modern waste-management systems are integrating a variety of recycling processes. Transforming waste into energy and waste into
new products is at the forefront of new technologies. For example, light is used to separate glass from minerals, while magnets and
whirlstreams separate metals from non-metals. Inside the eponymous ‘rotting boxes’, organic waste is recycled by organic materialeating
micro-organisms into re-usable products. Understanding the environmental necessity of recycling and how it is changing the
world in which we live, is at the core of this program.
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FUEL TECHNOLOGY - Transportation Innovations |
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An alphabet of new terminology has evolved over the past decade to define the non-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) inventions that
are fueling the next generation of vehicular design. DNGVs (dedicated natural gas vehicles) are already on the road, along with
vehicles with Flexible-Fuel tank design for blended fuels. HEVs (hybrid electric vehicle) utilize two different energy sources for
environmental efficiency. The invention of the fuel cell, an electrochemical engine, has revolutionized our concept of how we can
ecologically travel in the near future.
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SOLAR POWER - An Alternative Energy Source
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Our Sun remains our primary source of renewable energy; it is the driver behind all of Earth’s surface organic processes. Scientists in
a variety of industries around the globe are exploring how we can reduce our carbon foot-print by incorporating solar power into
our everyday lives. From solar-powered radios, telephones and heating systems to automobiles, patent offices are overflowing with
new inventions that work without the direct use of fossil fuels. |
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LIGHT-WAVE TECHNOLOGY - New Advances |
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Shorter wavelengths of invisible ultra-violet light, measured in Nanometers (nm), transport more energy than longer wave-lengths of
visible light. That energy is finding its way into an increasing variety of high-tech applications, such as disinfecting water of
hazardous micro-organisms or in the development of paint that dries in seconds. The highly competitive field of computer chip
lithography has chemists and physicists working with EUV – Extreme ultra-violet light technology. |
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BIOENGINEERING - Science by Design |
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Bio-chemical engineering is used to improve our daily lives – from waste management to antibiotics to processing cheese. Scientists
from a variety of disciplines are transforming elemental materials, through chemical and genetic processes, to improve on existing
products, as well as, create new types of fuels, biodegradable plastics, alternatives to plastic and more.
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TELESCOPE - New Eyes on the Cosmos & X-RAY - Invisible Astronomy |
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The basic design and use of the telescope to view the planets, moons and asteroids began centuries ago. This program presents and
explains the designs, uses and output of different types of telescopes currently used to see our universe. From the Keck in Hawaii
and the not-yet-built OWL. In X-Ray, we learn more about visible light (7 colors and gradations) and infra-red light (outside the scope of
human visibility). The application of X-Ray technology makes the previously invisible infrared light, visible. We see in these two
programs extraordinary images of atmospheric and galactic events.
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