Short Takes – 9-18-24

Eating gamma radiation for breakfast. RSB.org.uk article. Pull quote: “A better understanding of the properties of fungal melanin could lead to interesting applications in a number of areas. Some groups are looking to make synthetic melanins for use as protectorants against UV or other forms of radiation. Others think fungi could find a use in the bioremediation of radioactive waste. Dadachova is particularly interested in how melanin could be used to help protect patients undergoing radiation therapies. She is also working on a collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and scientists from the Brookhaven National Laboratory on melanin-based spacesuits that could protect astronauts from the effects of radiation in space. (The work has so far involved making tiny melanin helmets to protect the brains of mice.)”

The empire of C++ strikes back with Safe C++ blueprint. TheRegister.com article. Pull quote: “The Safe C++ project adds new technology for ensuring memory safety, Baxter explained, and isn't just a reiteration of best practices. "Safe C++ prevents users from writing unsound code," he said. "This includes compile-time intelligence like borrow checking to prevent use-after-free bugs and initialization analysis for type safety."”

Caterpillars Sense Hungry Wasps’ Electrical Field. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Pauline N. Fleischmann, a neuroethologist at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenberg in Germany, says this study is a great example of “the impressive variety of cues that animals—in contrast to humans—can detect and actually use in their everyday tasks.” She adds that “the most fascinating follow-up question is how wasps might try to mask their charge and how the evolutionary arms race between prey and predators continues.””

Science Improves When People Realize They Were Wrong. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “In the years that followed, Lamont scientists made many crucial contributions to plate tectonics, and Le Pichon became one of the leading earth scientists of his generation, garnering numerous awards, distinctions and medals, including (ironically) the Maurice Ewing Medal from the American Geophysical Union. In science, as in life, it pays to be able to admit when you are wrong and change your mind.”

Europa Clipper: 8 things to know about NASA's mission to an ocean moon of Jupiter. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Jupiter is, on average, some 480 million miles (about 770 million kilometers) from Earth; both planets are in motion, and a spacecraft can carry only a limited amount of fuel. Mission planners are sending Europa Clipper past Mars and then Earth, using the planets' gravity as a slingshot to add speed to the spacecraft's trek. After journeying about 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) over 5.5 years, the spacecraft will fire its engines to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030.”

Experimental investigation of explosion hazard from lithium-ion battery thermal runaway effluent gas. ScienceDirect.com journal article. Abstract: “Fire and explosion hazards present a serious concern to the widespread adoption of battery technology. This work experimentally investigates the explosion hazards associated with synthesized lithium-ion battery thermal runaway effluent gases (TREG) in an enclosed garage space typical of modern construction in North America. Pressure rise inside the compartment is examined using high-frequency piezoelectric pressure transducers. Data on overpressure and impulse is compared with known ranges for structural damage and bodily injury thresholds and calculation methods for maximum overpressure. Data on time-resolved overpressure are compared with a vented explosion model from literature. These comparisons support that existing models for maximum overpressure and time-resolved pressure rise remain valid for the examined synthesized TREG. Correlations are developed between gas volume and measured impulse and overpressure. An extension of this analysis with values of TREG production from literature supports that pressures measured in these experiments can be generated from ignition of gases released from batteries sized in the range of 3300 Wh to 80 500 Wh.”