To Infinity, and Beyond!

[nathaniel 0]

the best of nasa's spinoffs

* laser angioplasty
* heart imaging
* advanced pacemakers
* infrared thermometers
* thermal imaging
* digital signal processing - used just about everywhere from medical imaging to cellphones and stereos
* burn treatment assessment techniques
* gait (walking) analysis
* speech aids for the deaf
* heat-controlled clothing
* advanced wheelchairs
* vehicular controllers
* microbe detectors
* food processing techniques
* radiation blocking lenses (eg, for sunglasses)
* those grooves on runways and highways
* advanced x-ray imaging
* advanced aircraft de-icers
* collision avoidance systems
* anti-rust coatings
* cordless tools
* space blankets
* memory metals - unbreakable eyewear frames
* scratch-resistant glass coatings (eg, for sunglasses)
* heart-rate monitors - portable
* water purification techologies
* laptop computers
* lightweight cables used in aircraft
* x-ray materials testing
* solid state lasers
* high pressure waterstripping
* composite materials - carbon fiber
* dry lubricants - cutaway cables anyone?
* ferrofluids
* robot hands
* clean rooms for electronics

nathaniel

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[Zenister 0]

Quote

Microwaves are not from the space program.

Its from the defense program and they were an accident.

The short story is an engineer with Raytheon accidently melted a Hersey's candy bar in his shirt pocket while near some microwave equipment (apparently used in radar and such things), got a crazy idea and got Raytheon to make a few of them.

This was in 1958 if I remember correctly. The units cost a bit over $14k to make and took a shitload of power. They were also using VERY powerful microwave emmiters to do the job.

The CEO's wife had one and loved it.

It just took time for the technology to get smaller (it was the size of a refridgerator and required extra plumming to cool the device) and more cost efficient.

Thus now, you can pick one up for under $50.

they dont talk much about the number of people who died from exposure to the same emitters during the early testing..

ps. LOTS of radar research was developed for and continued for NASA applications as well as DOD use

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[AggieDave 6]

Ok, for those that are actually interested in the history of the microwave, here's a link.

Oh, btw, I was off a decade on the date, it was in the '40s. Eh, win some, loose some.

http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[fudd 0]

It seems totally unlikely now, but I believe that we one day will have a human population on mars.

With the advances in technology we can create an atmosphere on mars. Release a bunch of bacterias, nano machines, algea or something that multiplies and create oksygen and nitrogen from whatever they can eat on Mars.

I also think there is a good chance that we might find traces of life there (or even living alien life)
Even though it would most likely only be som e sort of micro organism, studying alien life would probably make us understand more about life on Earth.
Not to mention the philosophical ramifications of proof that we are not alone!

Even though it's probably mostly to collect votes, going to Mars is one thing I support Bush in.
I only wish that we could have spent the world resources on going to Mars instead of building more that 60 000 nuclear warheads. Never understood what we are going to do with them...unless we want to anihilate ourself that is.

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[AggieDave 6]

All of those warheads and military build up is one of the reasons (one of the main reasons) the US was able to defeat the USSR without actually going to war. Forcing the already fragile Soviet economy to spend the majority of their money on the military, which the economy could not handle.

There are many other reasons as well, infact entire books have been written about it, but that's one big reason.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Amazon 7]

Quote

I only wish that we could have spent the world resources on going to Mars instead of building more that 60 000 nuclear warheads. Never understood what we are going to do with them...unless we want to anihilate ourself that is.

Bottom line... NO BUCKS.. No Buck Rogers. discuss the details amoungst yourselves.

[fudd 0]

I'm counting both the US and the USSR warheads.

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[dustin19d 0]

Quote

the best of nasa's spinoffs

* laser angioplasty
* heart imaging
* advanced pacemakers
* infrared thermometers
* thermal imaging
* digital signal processing - used just about everywhere from medical imaging to cellphones and stereos
* burn treatment assessment techniques
* gait (walking) analysis
* speech aids for the deaf
* heat-controlled clothing
* advanced wheelchairs
* vehicular controllers
* microbe detectors
* food processing techniques
* radiation blocking lenses (eg, for sunglasses)
* those grooves on runways and highways
* advanced x-ray imaging
* advanced aircraft de-icers
* collision avoidance systems
* anti-rust coatings
* cordless tools
* space blankets
* memory metals - unbreakable eyewear frames
* scratch-resistant glass coatings (eg, for sunglasses)
* heart-rate monitors - portable
* water purification techologies
* laptop computers
* lightweight cables used in aircraft
* x-ray materials testing
* solid state lasers
* high pressure waterstripping
* composite materials - carbon fiber
* dry lubricants - cutaway cables anyone?
* ferrofluids
* robot hands
* clean rooms for electronics

nathaniel

--------------------------------------
not to mention better tasting MRE's

[AggieDave 6]

I do realize that. The development was going on around the world by different countries the same time we (the US) were building ours. We got ours first. We also proved that it could be done when we very dramaticly (and by saving hundreds of thousands of American troops) put the smack down.

The fact that the US's ability to practically rise out of no where and become such a fighting power, economic power and world political power scared the shit out of the Soviets. Thus they strived at every turn to basically try to out-do the US. To prove that their perverted form of Marxism was infact the true doctrine.

The US saw a threat to not only them, but the entire world (think about it, Soviet doctrin sought to have a world revolution), so the US worked to defeat the giant of a nation.

Basically, it was going to happen, there wasn't anything that could have been done to prevent it happening. Saying you wish it wouldn't have happened is similar to saying you wish it wouldn't rain this weekend. If it is going to rain, it will rain and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

It is the nature of man to have war and to create weapons of war that is better then his friends/enemies. That has been proven quite well through the course of history.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[scottbre 0]

Quote

Don't forget " Tang " and all those wonderfull products they sell on late night television. All NASA space age technology.

"And now, from the makers of Tang: The breakfast treat for a small yellow bear: pooh-tang."
-UCB

"Your mother's full of stupidjuice!"
My Art Project

[Taylor610 0]

Hi Nightingale...I have to strongly disagree with you on the loosening of Environmental Regulations. I work for an Environmental Engineering and Consulting firm and the regs get tougher every day. In mid Dec the CWT Standards came into effect and they are the toughest we have ever seen. Technology has been forced to advance our methods and as far as environmental concerns go, America is the world leader in Clean Air and Clean Water programs tougher regs than any other nation. Speaking in terms of regulations and enforcement, GWB and his administration have done a wonderful job protecting the environment.

[n2skdvn 0]

as far as cost nice article here

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
my site

[BETO74 0]

Space exploration provides an excuse to develop technology, for one dollar invested in the space program the nation gets $7 dollars due to reseach patent new product etc, so is not just our sense of adventure

http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html

[Nightingale 0]

Bush's environmental record, and this is just back to January of '03.

White House seeks to overturn ban on mining near streams (01/07/04)

$175 million Superfund shortfall stalls cleanups (01/06/04)

Bush administration streamlining oil and gas permits (12/23/03)

Forest Service opens grizzly bear habitat to snowmobiles (12/22/03)


EPA proposes industry-preferred mercury pollution plan (12/15/03)

Park Service says 'Let 'em snowmobile' in Yellowstone (12/11/03)

BLM wants to weaken grazing protections to help livestock industry (12/05/03)

Bush signs bill allowing lots more logging (12/04/03)

EPA planning to loosen mercury pollution rules (12/03/03)

Alaskan wilderness: Open for business (11/21/03)

Bush administration admits fault for Klamath fish kill (11/18/03)

EPA moves to fill landfills with radioactive waste (11/18/03)

EPA considers streamlining of toxics release inventory (11/17/03)

Bush administration seeks increase in use of ozone-depleting pesticide (11/14/03)

EPA considers exempting small business from toxic release reporting (11/12/03)

EPA flushes mandatory sewage treatment rule (11/03/03)

White House considers dropping some fish protections to promote logging (10/31/03)

EPA may allow continued phosphate dumping in Gulf of Mexico (10/28/03)

EPA changes rule to exempt hazardous waste requirements (10/23/03)

EPA developing ways around the Clean Water Act (10/22/03)

EPA will not regulate dioxins from sewage sludge (10/17/03)

Forest Service lets snowmobiles roam through caribou range (10/15/03)

Judge orders Interior Department to stop stalling on owl habitat protection (10/10/03)

Interior Department eases mining rules (10/09/03)

EPA shields pesticide makers from lawsuits (10/06/03)

BLM opens millions of acres of wilderness to energy development (09/29/03)

EPA strikes deal with polluting factory farms (09/25/03)

GAO finds that energy production pollutes wildlife refuges (09/24/03)

Corps of Engineers violates judge's ruling, won't lower Missouri River flows for wildlife (09/24/03)

Interior Department promotes offshore oil and gas drilling in Alaska (09/14/03)

EPA balks at court ruling to protect waterways from pesticide pollution (09/03/03)

Bush administration offers to double logging in Northwest (08/08/03)

Bush administration calls for more gas drilling on public lands (06/24/03)

Fish and Wildlife Service reduces protected habitat for threatened mouse by half (06/23/03)

DOD reneges on plan to test for perchlorate pollution at U.S. bases (06/20/03)

Bush administration undermines critical habitat designations (06/18/03)

Forest Service plan would triple logging limits in Sierra Nevada (06/05/03)

DOE helps oil drilling in Alaska (06/03/03)

DOE moving ahead with new nukes (06/02/03)

White House buries mountaintop mining regulation (05/30/03)

EPA failing to keep track of water quality (05/27/03)

Bush administration cuts wildlife protection, boosts logging in Northwest forests (05/27/03)

BLM opens fragile dunes ecosystem to off-road recreation (05/23/03)

GAO chides Department of Agriculture for lax enforcement of wetlands protections (05/22/03 )

Pentagon accused of covering up perchlorate pollution (05/16/03)

White House transportation plan steamrolls environmental protections (05/14/03)

Department of Interior official under ethics investigation (05/13/03)

Park Service pushes for personal watercraft on Lake Powell (05/13/03)

Fish and Wildlife Service signs off on mining in Montana wilderness (05/13/03)

Navy's illegal use of sonar blasts dolphins, whales in Puget Sound (05/08/03)

Energy Department illegally approved Mexican power plants, says judge (05/05/03)

Fish and Wildlife Service drops manatee rules (05/05/03)

BLM approves Powder River Basin development (04/30/03)

White House bans EPA from discussing perchlorate pollution (04/28/03)

White House unveils its pro-industry chemical security bill (04/24/03)

Forest Service permits grazing in violation of federal law, says judge (04/24/03)

New Missouri River management plan imperils protected birds (04/22/03)

Independent panel challenges Bush administration air pollution policies (04/21/03)

White House favors offshore oil drilling in Alaska (04/21/03)

Bush administration considers delaying endangered species protection (04/19/03)

EPA cleaning up far fewer toxic waste sites (04/18/03)

BLM moves to overturn drilling ban in Alaska's Western Arctic Reserve (04/15/03)

BLM to relax permitting process for oil and gas development (04/14/03)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife signs off on plan to reopen Imperial Dunes to off-road vehicles (04/10/03)

Bush administration abandons protection plan for California coastal treasure (04/08/03)

Corps keeps oil spill secret, citing national security concerns (04/08/03)

Bush administration attacks world heritage status of Yellowstone (04/07/03)

Bush administration begins diverting water from Klamath River -- where salmon kill occurred -- to farmers (04/03/03)

Bush administration giving away federal water rights in national park (04/03/03)

Interior Department favors boosting offshore drilling by reducing corporate costs (03/26/03)

Bush administration proposes stripping protections for endangered wolves (03/18/03)

EPA allows sludge dumping in Potomac River to continue for seven more years (03/18/03)

Forest Service to double logging in Sierra Nevada forests (03/18/03)

EPA withdraws water-pollution cleanup rule (03/13/03)

Pentagon proposal to exempt the military from environmental laws (03/13/03)

EPA exempts oil and gas industry from water pollution rules (03/10/03)

Bush administration intervened in Nevada mining dispute at request of industry (03/03/03)

Bush administration rejects wilderness protection in Alaska's Tongass (02/28/03)

U.S. EPA seeks to weaken endangered-species protections (02/27/03)

Scientists debunk Bush's global warming plan (02/25/03)

EPA delays report on mercury risk for children (02/20/03)

BLM opening sensitive Wyoming lands to drilling (02/18/03)

EPA plans to relax toxic air pollution standards (02/11/03)

Bush official touts Western coal, weaker mining regulations (02/10/03)

Spotted owl denied federal protection despite additional logging threat (02/10/03)

Bush administration pushing for pesticide exemptions from international environmental treaty (02/07/03)

Bush administration seeks waiver on ozone-destroying pesticide (01/30/03)

Bush administration says logging good for wildlife (01/14/03)

Bush administration planning to remove federal protection for America's wetlands and small waterways (01/10/03)

Despite scientific concerns, Interior Department approves power plant near Yellowstone (01/10/03)

[diverdriver 6]

Quote

Ok, for those that are actually interested in the history of the microwave, here's a link.

Oh, btw, I was off a decade on the date, it was in the '40s. Eh, win some, loose some.

http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html

They didn't call them a "radar range" for nothing.

[fudd 0]

Quote

The US saw a threat to not only them, but the entire world (think about it, Soviet doctrin sought to have a world revolution), so the US worked to defeat the giant of a nation.

Well, some people started PNAC and said:

Quote

We aim to make the case and rally support for American global leadership.

Look at who signed these principles at the bottom of the page. So now the "good guys" are seeking world domination...

Anyway...

My point wasn't that we could have prevented the cold war, but looking back we could have used our resources a little better than building nukes.
Like ending world hunger or going to Mars. If we had had a vote for "Cold War" vs "Sending people to Mars" in 1970 i think the vast majority of people on earth would have voted for the Mars thing.
But the world just wasn't, and still is not that kind of place. Would be nice though....

(However I do believe that we CAN change the course of history. The cold war COULD have been prevented if there were somebody else in power on one or both sides, or if ...)

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[AggieDave 6]

It really just falls back to Stalin. If you've never studied him, you really should. One, it'll send shivers down your spine and two, it'll give you a really good base of knowledge to disect the beginnings of the Cold War as well as the Soviet/German relations then war during the 1930s-1945.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Taylor610 0]

Thanks for doing you homework. Most of what you listed actually has nothing to do with the Bush administration. If all you want to do is bash the administration, then go ahead. That is certainly your right. If you would look at most of the Bush projects, they actually HELP the cause of Environmental Protection. I could respond to most of your "listed examples" individually, however I think that you are trying to post on a political point of view, not an environmental point. Certainly wasn't trying to ruffle your feathers, just trying to help people understand that there is allot more to environmental protection than just screaming it's all GWB's fault. That would be far from the truth. Your list was also "very selective".

[Nightingale 0]

what got me into researching Bush's environmental policies was his plan to open the Arctic to drilling and logging.

he and his administration are loosening environmental regulations regarding logging, drilling, and endangered species protection across the board.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Quote

America is the world leader in Clean Air and Clean Water programs tougher regs than any other nation.

Sorry but I gotta call bullshit on that one. I'm not sure if I have ever heard a phrase that is further from the truth than that. I know you come up against a lot of regs in your line of work but they are nothing by comparison to what is going on arround the world.

America's refusal to accede to the Kyoto agreement on carbon dioxide emissions is just one example of that.