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A health check for rain forests
KELLY HARRIGER/CORBIS
Technology HOT-AIR BALLOONS POWER UP
AN IMAGING device is being used to assess the plant diversity within a rainforest without setting foot there. Greg Asner, an ecologist at the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, is developing it as a way of measuring deforestation, and the damage done by logging. Asner uses a laser scanner linked to a spectrometer on board an aircraft to fire visible light towards the ground and analyse the wavelengths that are reflected from the leaves. This generates a three-dimensional map of the chemical composition of the trees, from the canopy to the forest floor, and hence the biodiversity of the forest. The system is being upgraded to detect infrared wavelengths, too. Asner says this will allow it to spot more chemicals and so detect more subtle differences among tree species.
10
–An alternative energy source–
Meet your virtual mum and dad IT IS a poor substitute for the real thing, but the US government is hoping a “virtual parent” could provide emotional support for the children of servicemen and women while they are away on active duty. The Department of Defense is soliciting proposals for a computer program that would enable young children to interact
million iTunes tracks are to be made copiable. Apple is dropping copy protection in response to pressure from consumers
Most American teenagers say they have encountered racial abuse while online 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
African-American White Other/mixed race
Witnessed racism directed at others
with a virtual version of their parent. Officials hope it could provide reassurance and general chat when phone or internet contact is not possible. The DoD believes that “the stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses and especially children could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence”. More than 155,000 kids have at least one parent deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan on military duty.
GIZMO
RACISM ON THE NET
Subjected to racist comments
SOURCE: JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Flying eye maps rainforest’s health
and a frequency of one revolution per hour,” says Edmonds. For roughly the same cost as wind power, Edmonds has calculated that a large 44-metre-diameter recreational balloon could generate 50 kilowatts, enough to supply energy to about 10 homes. Doubling the diameter of the balloon would increase power production tenfold, substantially reducing costs, he says. Using air heated by the sun to generate power has been attempted before: solar towers use the rising air to turn turbines. But a prototype solar tower in Manzanares in Spain proved too short even at 200 metres, limiting the amount of energy that could be captured from the rising air. Building towers of 500 metres or more has so far proved too expensive.
Per cent
For those who dislike the sight of wind turbines on the horizon, would a spectacular hot-air balloon farm be more acceptable? Ian Edmonds, an environmental consultant with Solartran in Brisbane, Australia, has designed a giant engine with a balloon as its “piston”. A greenhouse traps solar energy, providing hot air to fill the balloon. As the balloon rises, it pulls a tether, which turns a generator on the ground. Once the balloon has reached 3 kilometres, air is released through its vent and it loses buoyancy. This means less energy is needed to pull the balloon back down again, resulting in a net power gain (Renewable Energy, DOI: 10.1016/ j.renene.2008.06.022). “It is like a huge two-stroke engine, with a capacity of 45 million litres, a stroke of 3 kilometres,
Future gadgets will not only be transparent – they will also be bendy. Researchers at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, South Korea, have deposited carbon atoms on a nickel base, then etched away the nickel to leave transparent sheets of graphene. The material’s high conductivity is not affected by bending and stretching, making it ideal for electrodes in wearable computers (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature07719). Time was when the Palm Pilot was the trendy hand-held gadget of choice, but it has long since been overtaken in the fashion stakes by the BlackBerry and Apple iPhone. Now Palm hopes to strike back with its forthcoming “Pre” phone, which it promises will feature similar touch-screen technology to the iPhone, plus a pull-out keyboard. It will also offer instant messaging, and will be charged up wirelessly.
“I didn’t go near it. I was worried it might explode and kill me” Kamal Prasad Sharma, a 12-year-old student at Saraswati Secondary School near Kathmandu in Nepal, on his first sight of a computer. The school is taking part in the E-library project, initiated by the Help Nepal Network to improve literacy and computer awareness (BBC online, 5 January)
www.newscientist.com
17 January 2009 | NewScientist | 19
Technology HOT-AIR BALLOONS POWER UP
AN IMAGING device is being used to assess the plant diversity within a rainforest without setting foot there. Greg Asner, an ecologist at the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, is developing it as a way of measuring deforestation, and the damage done by logging. Asner uses a laser scanner linked to a spectrometer on board an aircraft to fire visible light towards the ground and analyse the wavelengths that are reflected from the leaves. This generates a three-dimensional map of the chemical composition of the trees, from the canopy to the forest floor, and hence the biodiversity of the forest. The system is being upgraded to detect infrared wavelengths, too. Asner says this will allow it to spot more chemicals and so detect more subtle differences among tree species.
10
–An alternative energy source–
Meet your virtual mum and dad IT IS a poor substitute for the real thing, but the US government is hoping a “virtual parent” could provide emotional support for the children of servicemen and women while they are away on active duty. The Department of Defense is soliciting proposals for a computer program that would enable young children to interact
million iTunes tracks are to be made copiable. Apple is dropping copy protection in response to pressure from consumers
Most American teenagers say they have encountered racial abuse while online 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
African-American White Other/mixed race
Witnessed racism directed at others
with a virtual version of their parent. Officials hope it could provide reassurance and general chat when phone or internet contact is not possible. The DoD believes that “the stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses and especially children could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence”. More than 155,000 kids have at least one parent deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan on military duty.
GIZMO
RACISM ON THE NET
Subjected to racist comments
SOURCE: JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Flying eye maps rainforest’s health
and a frequency of one revolution per hour,” says Edmonds. For roughly the same cost as wind power, Edmonds has calculated that a large 44-metre-diameter recreational balloon could generate 50 kilowatts, enough to supply energy to about 10 homes. Doubling the diameter of the balloon would increase power production tenfold, substantially reducing costs, he says. Using air heated by the sun to generate power has been attempted before: solar towers use the rising air to turn turbines. But a prototype solar tower in Manzanares in Spain proved too short even at 200 metres, limiting the amount of energy that could be captured from the rising air. Building towers of 500 metres or more has so far proved too expensive.
Per cent
For those who dislike the sight of wind turbines on the horizon, would a spectacular hot-air balloon farm be more acceptable? Ian Edmonds, an environmental consultant with Solartran in Brisbane, Australia, has designed a giant engine with a balloon as its “piston”. A greenhouse traps solar energy, providing hot air to fill the balloon. As the balloon rises, it pulls a tether, which turns a generator on the ground. Once the balloon has reached 3 kilometres, air is released through its vent and it loses buoyancy. This means less energy is needed to pull the balloon back down again, resulting in a net power gain (Renewable Energy, DOI: 10.1016/ j.renene.2008.06.022). “It is like a huge two-stroke engine, with a capacity of 45 million litres, a stroke of 3 kilometres,
Future gadgets will not only be transparent – they will also be bendy. Researchers at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, South Korea, have deposited carbon atoms on a nickel base, then etched away the nickel to leave transparent sheets of graphene. The material’s high conductivity is not affected by bending and stretching, making it ideal for electrodes in wearable computers (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature07719). Time was when the Palm Pilot was the trendy hand-held gadget of choice, but it has long since been overtaken in the fashion stakes by the BlackBerry and Apple iPhone. Now Palm hopes to strike back with its forthcoming “Pre” phone, which it promises will feature similar touch-screen technology to the iPhone, plus a pull-out keyboard. It will also offer instant messaging, and will be charged up wirelessly.
“I didn’t go near it. I was worried it might explode and kill me” Kamal Prasad Sharma, a 12-year-old student at Saraswati Secondary School near Kathmandu in Nepal, on his first sight of a computer. The school is taking part in the E-library project, initiated by the Help Nepal Network to improve literacy and computer awareness (BBC online, 5 January)
www.newscientist.com
17 January 2009 | NewScientist | 19