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This is SpaceTime series 29,
episode 97 for broadcast on the
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14th of August 2026. Coming up
on SpaceTime, the world watches
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as a SpaceX rocket crashes into
the Moon, the radiation eating
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mutant fungus from Chernobyl,
and NASA's Habitable Worlds
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Observatory. All that and more
coming up on SpaceTime.
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Welcome to space time with
Stuart Garry.
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A disused SpaceX Falcon 9 upper
stage has crashed into the Moon,
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providing scientists with useful
data on the effects of impacts
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hitting the lunar surface. The
4000 kg vehicle hit the ground
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at some 87,000 kilometers per
hour, gouging a 27 m wide crater
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and leaving a dark impact
ejector scar across the lunar
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regolith.
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A thin plume of dust was
detected following the impact.
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The European Southern
Observatory's Very Large
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Telescope in Chile observed
temporary sodium and lithium
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signatures in the crash, and the
Korean Pathfinder lunar orbiter
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spacecraft Danuri was able to
capture images of the crash site
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both before and after the
impact.
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The events provided scientists
with the opportunity to observe
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the high velocity kinetic strike
as a way of studying lunar
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subsurface materials without
needing to drill for them.
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Falconine's mission was launched
back in January 15th last year,
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carrying two lunar landers to
the Moon, Firefly's Blue Ghost
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and IceSpace's Resilience.
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After their deployment, Blue
Ghost landed successfully on the
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Moon on March 2nd last year.
However, Resilience crashed
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during its landing attempt. As
for Danuri, it was launched on
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the Falcon 9 on August 4th,
2022, as South Korea's first
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ever lunar mission. On board is
NASA's shadow cam instrument
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which searches the lunar surface
looking for signs of water ice
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in permanently shadowed craters
near the lunar poles.
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Five other payloads from Korean
universities and technical
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research institutes are also
mounted on the orbiter. This is
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SpaceTime. Still to come, the
radiation eating mutant fungus
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from Chernobyl and NASA's
Hareables Observatory moves a
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step closer. All that and more
still to come on SpaceTime.
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Scientists say there's a black
fungus in the highly radioactive
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ruins of the Chernobyl power
station that's now evolved to
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feed on radiation. Not only did
the fungus survive, but it
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actually grew towards the
radiation source, primarily
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Cesium 137. The fungi's black
color is due to massive amounts
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of melanin contained in the
organism's cell walls.
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The fungus is actually a mold
formed out of a number of
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different fungi, which was
discovered growing and thriving
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directly on the walls of reactor
number 4, which just happens to
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be considered as one of the most
radioactive places on Earth. So
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how does this fungus flourish?
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Well, it uses a process called
radiosynthesis, which is similar
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to photosynthesis in plants, but
instead of using sunlight, it
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absorbs high energy gamma
radiation and then converts that
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into chemical energy.
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A report in the journal
Frontiers Of Microbiology found
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that when scientists sent
samples of the fungus called
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Caldosporum spirosperma to the
International Space Station, it
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not only survived but grew,
forming a thin biofilm that
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blocked up to 84% of incoming
cosmic radiation. The study's
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authors say it means the fungus
could eventually be developed to
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act as a sort of living
radiation shield for crew on
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deep space missions.
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See, radiation is one of the
biggest risk factors for long
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duration space flights to the
Moon, Mars and beyond. Existing
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radiation shielding is both
bulky and heavy, so a
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self-regenerating biological
layer that grows in response to
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radiation could be a game
changer, and of course it could
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also be used for radioactive
biomemediation works here on
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Earth.
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The Chernobyl nuclear power
station's number 4 reactor
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exploded during the early hours
of April 20th, 1986 due to a
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series of failures both in the
design of the Soviet-Era reactor
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and from multiple errors during
its operation in a test.
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The then Soviet Union initially
tried to cover up the disaster,
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but the blast released a massive
radioactive cloud which spread
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across Europe, contaminating
vast areas and which was quickly
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detected by radiation sensors in
numerous countries including
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Great Britain and Sweden, and
that forced the communist
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government to admit something
was wrong.
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Radioactive iodine was the
leading cause of death from
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Chernobyl, resulting in a rise
in thyroid cancer in the most
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heavily contaminated regions,
including Belarus, Ukraine, and
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parts of Russia. This is
SpaceTime. Still to come, NASA's
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Habitableward Observatory, and
later in the science report, a
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strong correlation found between
dementia death rates and living
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in suburbia. All that and more
still to come on SpaceTime.
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Scientists have designed two
revolutionary new computer chips
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to process data from a new space
telescope being developed called
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the Habitable Worlds
Observatory, which NASA says
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will search the skies for signs
of Earth-like planets that could
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potentially host life.
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The Habitable Worlds Observatory
is a future flagship space
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telescope mission for NASA,
building on the achievement of
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Hubble, Webb and the soon to be
launched Roman Space Telescope.
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Its primary mission will be to
search for and image Earth-sized
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exoplanets orbiting in the
Habitable zones of their host
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stars where liquid water can
exist on their surface.
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The observatory will orbit along
the Sun-Earth Lagrangian L2
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position, the same region where
the Webb Space Telescope orbits,
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about 1.5 million kilometers
away from the night side of the
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Earth. This position keeps the
sun, Earth, and Moon behind the
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observatory, thereby allowing a
single sunshield to block out
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light and heat from all three
sources.
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The telescope will use another
shield called a chronograph to
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block out light from the target
planet's host star and then
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search for signs of life on that
planet using ultraviolet optical
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and infrared spectrometers.
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But to image Earth-like
exoplanets, future space
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telescopes will need to process
data in real time as they
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constantly correct tiny optical
distortions to block out
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starlight and reveal the faint
light coming from a nearby
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planet. Today's radiation
hardened space processes are
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simply too slow for this task,
and powerful GPU based systems
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require too much power to be
cost effective in space.
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So to overcome these problems,
scientists developed two new
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kinds of memory chips which have
just been presented to the
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Institute Of Electrical And
Electronics Engineers Space
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Computing Conference in
Pasadena, California.
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The study's lead author,
Nathaniel Blair from the
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University Of Michigan, says the
key insight of the research is
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that future space missions don't
just need more computing power,
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they need the right kind of
computing power. For these
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workloads, the bottleneck is
moving data, not doing
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calculations. And that's where
these new custom memory chips
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come in.
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They could dramatically reduce
power consumption with the
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strongest designer static random
access memory architecture,
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reducing power use by up to a
factor of 59 compared to GPU
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based alternatives. See, imaging
exoplanets would require dense
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matrix operations and low
arithmetic intensity.
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So Blair and colleagues designed
two custom hardware
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architectures. A high bandwidth
memory approach lays out 27 high
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bandwidth memory chips
horizontally, each made of a
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stack of 16 dynamic random
access memory chips, and then
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connects them to a custom
designed processor. This
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creates, I guess you'd call it a
sort of superhighway, allowing
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more data to be transferred.
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The second architecture is
similar, but splits the data and
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processing across 56 custom
chilets, each with about 2
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gigabytes of distributed static
random access memory. This
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solution brings the raw data to
the superhighway, splitting it
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into individual packets, each
with a calculator that reports
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its results to a central
manager.
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For a spacecraft, every extra
watt of power requires larger
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solar panels, heavier batteries,
and cooling radiators to keep
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the satellite from melting. The
authors calculated that by
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shrinking the computing power
needed from 3000 watts to just
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51 watts, that would shrink the
satellite's overall mass from
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1100 kg down to just 193 kg.
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As a next step, the researchers
plan to manufacture the chilets
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and test them in laboratory
settings. The proposed launch
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date for the Hubbard Awards
Observatory will be the early
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2040s. This report from NASA TV.
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The stars above What secrets do
they keep? One of our biggest
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questions has always been, are
we alone?
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We've now discovered thousands
of planets beyond our solar
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system, but how many of those
distant worlds have the
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conditions for life as we know
it?
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How many have water vapor? A
beacon indicating that oceans
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might be present.
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How many of gasses like oxygen
and methane possible signs of
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life itself?
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And of those which might truly
have life.
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After decades of asking, a
future NASA telescope could
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bring us the answers.
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The Habitable Worlds Observatory
is a future mission designed in
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the tradition of the Hubble and
Webb Space telescopes.
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It will use its unique and
sensitive eyes to see planets
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like our own, hiding in the
light of their distant stars.
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Astronomers could then point
this mighty space observatory to
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the most promising planets,
those that may hold liquid
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water.
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With the help of its coronograph
instrument, which blocks out the
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dazzling starlight, the
telescope will look for
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undiscovered Earth-sized planets
in the star's Habitable zone
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where liquid water could exist.
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The light from each planet will
be split into a vibrant spectrum
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of colors revealing clues to the
chemical signatures we seek.
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From there we can attempt to
discover if a planet's
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atmosphere contains water.
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And from there, other signals
like oxygen or mage.
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Should all these signs of lying.
The Habitable world's
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observatory would delve deeper
to reveal other hidden clues of
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life.
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With further study, we could
find signs of sprawling oceans
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and rugged continents. And if
signs of life are revealed, keep
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a watchful eye for changes over
time.
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This magnificent observatory
could discover dozens of worlds
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akin to our own in its 1st 5
years.
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The telescope will gather data
on a wide variety of worlds,
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placing our own solar system in
the context within the grand
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tapestry of existence.
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And the Habitable Worlds
Observatory will, like the other
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great cosmic watchers Hubble,
Chandra, Spitzer, Webb, and soon
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Roman, also conduct a wide range
of revolutionary observations of
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our cosmos, improving our
understanding of how our
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universe led to potentially
Habitable worlds.
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Thus, the Habitable Worlds
Observatory will help us embark
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on a quest as grand as any.
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To tell the story of life in the
cosmos.
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And whether or not We are alone.
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This is space time.
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And time Mata take another brief
look at some of the other
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stories making news in science
this week with a science report.
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A new study has shown a strong
correlation between dementia
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death rates and living in the
suburbs as opposed to either
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living in the city or in country
areas. The findings reported in
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the Journal Of The American
Medical Association shows the
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link of dying from or with
dementia was closely correlated
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with population densities of
around 200,000 to 400,000 per
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square kilometer.
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That's roughly the population
density of the suburbs of most
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Australian cities. Now the
authors say this could be
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because inner cities have better
access to diagnostic care and
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services or country areas have
fewer environmental stresses
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such as noise, air pollution,
and heat.
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A new study shows improvements
in trees, shrub and grass
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plantings along city streets can
substantially improve
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pedestrians' thermal comfort.
The findings reported in the
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journal Urban Climate have
demonstrated how tree plantings
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provided significant relief from
summer heat.
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The authors from the James Cook
University and the University Of
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The Sunshine Coast found
optimizing street vegetation to
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reduce urban heat through better
landscaping on the city streets
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of Townsville and Ipswich
improved thermal comfort by up
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to 2 °C.
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A new study claims one of the
world's most enigmatic animals,
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the Australian platypus, has an
exotic origin story.
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Paleontologists at Flinders
University have described rare
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25 million year old fossils
found east of the Flinders
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Ranges in remote outback South
Australia, which show an ancient
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platypus with well-formed teeth.
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The findings reported in the
Journal Australian Zoology,
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claims the monotrene was able to
munch on a varied diet in large
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inland lakes and rivers,
probably with other animals such
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00:14:21,309 --> 00:14:24,979
as ancient lungfish, flamingo,
and freshwater dolphins.
234
00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:28,469
Today's platypus do not have
teeth, instead they have rough
235
00:14:28,469 --> 00:14:31,669
flat keratin pads in their jaws
that grind up small river
236
00:14:31,669 --> 00:14:34,510
animals, often with the help of
tiny bits of gravel they scoop
237
00:14:34,510 --> 00:14:36,250
up from the bottom of the
stream.
238
00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:41,010
A new study has shown that New
Zealand's endangered yellow-eyed
239
00:14:41,010 --> 00:14:44,570
penguin is actually three
genetically distinct subspecies
240
00:14:44,570 --> 00:14:48,330
that have been separated for
thousands of years. The findings
241
00:14:48,330 --> 00:14:51,109
reported in the journal Nature
analyzed data from more than 200
242
00:14:51,109 --> 00:14:53,690
penguins across mainland New
Zealand and the subantarctic
243
00:14:53,690 --> 00:14:56,369
islands while investigating why
chicks have been dying from
244
00:14:56,369 --> 00:14:58,909
respiratory disease syndrome in
the northern population.
245
00:14:59,780 --> 00:15:03,309
The authors found 3 deeply
divergent subspecies with no
246
00:15:03,309 --> 00:15:06,390
evidence of migration between
them, and that suggests the
247
00:15:06,390 --> 00:15:09,239
populations were separated much
earlier than previously thought.
248
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,109
The authors also identified
genes linked to immune and
249
00:15:12,109 --> 00:15:14,909
respiratory function that may
help explain why mainland
250
00:15:14,909 --> 00:15:17,619
yellow-eyed penguins appear
especially vulnerable to the
251
00:15:17,619 --> 00:15:21,349
deadly respiratory disease, with
fewer than 115 breeding pairs
252
00:15:21,349 --> 00:15:22,289
now remaining.
253
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,969
In the modern computer age, even
the grand old con of water
254
00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:29,969
divining has gone high-tech,
with dowsers now adopting their
255
00:15:29,969 --> 00:15:32,619
own versions of high-tech
equipment in order to gain
256
00:15:32,619 --> 00:15:36,570
people's trust. And their latest
ploy involves so-called
257
00:15:36,570 --> 00:15:39,849
groundwater detectors. These
devices are promoted as
258
00:15:39,849 --> 00:15:43,369
geophysical instruments that can
find groundwater, but in reality
259
00:15:43,369 --> 00:15:44,919
this is not what they do.
260
00:15:45,369 --> 00:15:48,169
They do measure some geophysical
properties, but not the presence
261
00:15:48,169 --> 00:15:50,989
of water. There are a number of
different types around, but the
262
00:15:50,989 --> 00:15:54,270
one in vogue at the moment comes
out of China, and according to
263
00:15:54,270 --> 00:15:56,789
their accompanying brochures,
they claim to study the
264
00:15:56,789 --> 00:15:58,989
electrical structure inside the
Earth.
265
00:15:59,510 --> 00:16:01,830
They're said to measure
electrical potential differences
266
00:16:01,830 --> 00:16:04,909
between two points on the ground
surface, presenting that data as
267
00:16:04,909 --> 00:16:08,070
colorful computer graphs that
supposedly reveal the subsurface
268
00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:12,150
structure to great depths.
However, real geophysicists
269
00:16:12,150 --> 00:16:15,070
question the assumptions made by
the groundwater detectors which
270
00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:17,710
appear to contradict the very
theory they're allegedly based
271
00:16:17,710 --> 00:16:18,090
on.
272
00:16:18,609 --> 00:16:21,640
In addition to the questionable
application of theory, concerns
273
00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,409
are also raised about field
practices, data processing, and
274
00:16:25,409 --> 00:16:29,349
the repeatability of results.
The skeptics' Tim Minham says
275
00:16:29,349 --> 00:16:31,890
the geophysical community has
long dealt with
276
00:16:31,890 --> 00:16:35,159
pseudo-scientific claims of
miraculous detection methods.
277
00:16:35,289 --> 00:16:38,000
Now the skeptics have been
involved with diviners ever
278
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,489
since they started. In fact, a
test of diviners was the thing
279
00:16:40,489 --> 00:16:43,770
that set the skeptics off back
in 1980, and since then we've
280
00:16:43,770 --> 00:16:46,320
tested hundreds of water
diviners for the skeptics'
281
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,690
$100,000 challenge, and no one
has been able to prove what they
282
00:16:49,690 --> 00:16:50,859
can do under test conditions.
283
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:54,453
Now most of those people use.
Metal rods that cross over when
284
00:16:54,453 --> 00:16:56,833
you hold them in your hand,
sticks, fork sticks, little
285
00:16:56,833 --> 00:16:59,343
balls, pendulums hanging from
things. One person used a
286
00:16:59,343 --> 00:17:01,953
cricket ball. We saw another
person used to jump in the air
287
00:17:01,953 --> 00:17:04,083
when he passed water through
energy in his hands.
288
00:17:04,343 --> 00:17:06,713
Most of them are pretty low tech
systems, but now, of course,
289
00:17:06,784 --> 00:17:08,634
people find that hard, so they
actually wanted something sort
290
00:17:08,634 --> 00:17:11,894
of more techy, more sciencey. It
's an article that came out of
291
00:17:12,073 --> 00:17:15,163
South Africa, and they're using
sort of groundwater detectors,
292
00:17:15,274 --> 00:17:17,234
but the scientists point out
that these groundwater.
293
00:17:17,378 --> 00:17:19,657
Detectors aren't actually very
powerful. They're promoted as a
294
00:17:19,657 --> 00:17:23,537
geophysical instrument that can
find groundwater. They basically
295
00:17:23,537 --> 00:17:26,537
look at potential differences,
electrical potential differences
296
00:17:26,537 --> 00:17:27,937
between two points on the
ground.
297
00:17:28,017 --> 00:17:30,458
But as they point out, these
things don't work very well.
298
00:17:30,817 --> 00:17:33,458
Studying the electrical
structure inside the Earth, as
299
00:17:33,458 --> 00:17:36,078
they claim is a bit of a
grandiose claim, and some of the
300
00:17:36,078 --> 00:17:38,618
geologists and geophysicists are
saying there's only one
301
00:17:38,618 --> 00:17:41,858
geophysical instrument, the
scienty thing, that can directly
302
00:17:41,858 --> 00:17:42,057
detect.
303
00:17:42,261 --> 00:17:45,401
Water and that's nuclear
magnetic resonance which is say
304
00:17:45,401 --> 00:17:48,281
similar principles to the
magnetic resonance imaging MRI
305
00:17:48,281 --> 00:17:50,842
used in medicine actually used
to be one used in medicine used
306
00:17:50,842 --> 00:17:53,001
to be called nuclear magnetic
resonance until someone
307
00:17:53,001 --> 00:17:54,741
discovered they didn't like the
word nuclear.
308
00:17:54,921 --> 00:17:58,761
Anyway, NMR is applied to
borehole logging to quantify
309
00:17:58,761 --> 00:18:02,722
free water in soil and rocks and
assesses porosity and water
310
00:18:02,722 --> 00:18:05,401
content and permeability. These
machines are expensive. The
311
00:18:05,401 --> 00:18:09,385
little equipment that is. Not in
some of these online sites for
312
00:18:09,385 --> 00:18:12,066
groundwater detectors probably
priced a lot lower, less than
313
00:18:12,066 --> 00:18:13,745
$1000 US.
314
00:18:13,865 --> 00:18:18,026
The MMR machines can get up to
$100,000 plus probably a lot
315
00:18:18,026 --> 00:18:20,826
more. You have to lug these
things around and you need a
316
00:18:20,826 --> 00:18:23,666
special expertise to use them,
but this is not what you see in
317
00:18:23,666 --> 00:18:26,745
your average everyday water
diviner. It's a far cry between
318
00:18:26,745 --> 00:18:27,135
the two.
319
00:18:27,225 --> 00:18:29,865
I'm still trying to get the
picture out of my head of
320
00:18:29,865 --> 00:18:31,605
jumping in the air and passing
water.
321
00:18:32,979 --> 00:18:35,819
When they are passing, it is the
case, and a fairly common case
322
00:18:35,819 --> 00:18:38,579
where people are suddenly using
computers and all sorts of stuff
323
00:18:38,579 --> 00:18:41,540
to do the same old pseudoscience
but to try and give it the
324
00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:44,300
imprimatur of technology. A
picture comes up on a computer
325
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:46,939
and people go, Ooh, that must be
true because it's on a computer.
326
00:18:46,979 --> 00:18:49,300
It's the modern day version of
it's there in black and white,
327
00:18:49,420 --> 00:18:50,180
therefore it must be true.
328
00:18:50,319 --> 00:18:53,275
So it's there on a Computer
monitor, it must be true. It's
329
00:18:53,275 --> 00:18:55,635
just throwing in a bit of
totally inappropriate irrelevant
330
00:18:55,635 --> 00:18:58,234
science onto this pseudo science
to try and make it sound good
331
00:18:58,234 --> 00:19:01,574
and water diviners moving on
from their sticks to these
332
00:19:01,574 --> 00:19:05,555
groundwater detectors that don't
do the work, buyer beware of the
333
00:19:05,555 --> 00:19:06,025
old story.
334
00:19:06,114 --> 00:19:09,594
That's the skeptics Tim Mind,
and this is Space time.
335
00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:28,660
And that's the show for now.
SpaceTime is available every
336
00:19:28,660 --> 00:19:32,520
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
through Bytes.Com, SoundCloud,
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00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:36,380
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SpaceTime's also broadcast
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through the National Science
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00:19:47,250 --> 00:19:50,130
And you can help to support our
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episode commercial free versions
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bonus audio content which
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exclusive Facebook group, and
other rewards. Just go to
347
00:20:07,609 --> 00:20:10,819
SpaceTime with Stuart Garry.Com
for full details.
348
00:20:11,420 --> 00:20:14,060
You've been listening to
SpaceTime with Stuart Garry.
349
00:20:14,579 --> 00:20:17,469
This has been another quality
podcast production from
350
00:20:17,469 --> 00:20:18,479
Bytes.Com.
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,239
This is SpaceTime series 29,
episode 97 for broadcast on the
2
00:00:04,239 --> 00:00:09,680
14th of August 2026. Coming up
on SpaceTime, the world watches
3
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,840
as a SpaceX rocket crashes into
the Moon, the radiation eating
4
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,700
mutant fungus from Chernobyl,
and NASA's Habitable Worlds
5
00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:22,079
Observatory. All that and more
coming up on SpaceTime.
6
00:00:23,370 --> 00:00:26,750
Welcome to space time with
Stuart Garry.
7
00:00:42,630 --> 00:00:46,540
A disused SpaceX Falcon 9 upper
stage has crashed into the Moon,
8
00:00:46,630 --> 00:00:49,909
providing scientists with useful
data on the effects of impacts
9
00:00:49,909 --> 00:00:53,990
hitting the lunar surface. The
4000 kg vehicle hit the ground
10
00:00:53,990 --> 00:00:59,110
at some 87,000 kilometers per
hour, gouging a 27 m wide crater
11
00:00:59,110 --> 00:01:02,270
and leaving a dark impact
ejector scar across the lunar
12
00:01:02,270 --> 00:01:02,990
regolith.
13
00:01:03,430 --> 00:01:06,650
A thin plume of dust was
detected following the impact.
14
00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:09,300
The European Southern
Observatory's Very Large
15
00:01:09,300 --> 00:01:12,190
Telescope in Chile observed
temporary sodium and lithium
16
00:01:12,190 --> 00:01:16,069
signatures in the crash, and the
Korean Pathfinder lunar orbiter
17
00:01:16,069 --> 00:01:19,580
spacecraft Danuri was able to
capture images of the crash site
18
00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:21,050
both before and after the
impact.
19
00:01:22,099 --> 00:01:25,599
The events provided scientists
with the opportunity to observe
20
00:01:25,599 --> 00:01:28,860
the high velocity kinetic strike
as a way of studying lunar
21
00:01:28,860 --> 00:01:31,879
subsurface materials without
needing to drill for them.
22
00:01:32,370 --> 00:01:35,739
Falconine's mission was launched
back in January 15th last year,
23
00:01:35,860 --> 00:01:39,699
carrying two lunar landers to
the Moon, Firefly's Blue Ghost
24
00:01:39,699 --> 00:01:41,639
and IceSpace's Resilience.
25
00:01:42,019 --> 00:01:44,779
After their deployment, Blue
Ghost landed successfully on the
26
00:01:44,779 --> 00:01:48,940
Moon on March 2nd last year.
However, Resilience crashed
27
00:01:48,940 --> 00:01:52,220
during its landing attempt. As
for Danuri, it was launched on
28
00:01:52,220 --> 00:01:56,339
the Falcon 9 on August 4th,
2022, as South Korea's first
29
00:01:56,339 --> 00:02:00,500
ever lunar mission. On board is
NASA's shadow cam instrument
30
00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:03,699
which searches the lunar surface
looking for signs of water ice
31
00:02:03,699 --> 00:02:06,639
in permanently shadowed craters
near the lunar poles.
32
00:02:07,019 --> 00:02:09,979
Five other payloads from Korean
universities and technical
33
00:02:09,979 --> 00:02:13,820
research institutes are also
mounted on the orbiter. This is
34
00:02:13,820 --> 00:02:18,179
SpaceTime. Still to come, the
radiation eating mutant fungus
35
00:02:18,179 --> 00:02:22,050
from Chernobyl and NASA's
Hareables Observatory moves a
36
00:02:22,050 --> 00:02:26,619
step closer. All that and more
still to come on SpaceTime.
37
00:02:32,179 --> 00:02:35,580
Scientists say there's a black
fungus in the highly radioactive
38
00:02:35,580 --> 00:02:38,740
ruins of the Chernobyl power
station that's now evolved to
39
00:02:38,740 --> 00:02:42,490
feed on radiation. Not only did
the fungus survive, but it
40
00:02:42,490 --> 00:02:45,419
actually grew towards the
radiation source, primarily
41
00:02:45,419 --> 00:02:49,699
Cesium 137. The fungi's black
color is due to massive amounts
42
00:02:49,699 --> 00:02:52,539
of melanin contained in the
organism's cell walls.
43
00:02:52,979 --> 00:02:55,580
The fungus is actually a mold
formed out of a number of
44
00:02:55,580 --> 00:02:58,589
different fungi, which was
discovered growing and thriving
45
00:02:58,589 --> 00:03:01,750
directly on the walls of reactor
number 4, which just happens to
46
00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:05,779
be considered as one of the most
radioactive places on Earth. So
47
00:03:05,779 --> 00:03:07,529
how does this fungus flourish?
48
00:03:07,860 --> 00:03:11,179
Well, it uses a process called
radiosynthesis, which is similar
49
00:03:11,179 --> 00:03:14,649
to photosynthesis in plants, but
instead of using sunlight, it
50
00:03:14,649 --> 00:03:17,740
absorbs high energy gamma
radiation and then converts that
51
00:03:17,740 --> 00:03:18,970
into chemical energy.
52
00:03:19,410 --> 00:03:22,139
A report in the journal
Frontiers Of Microbiology found
53
00:03:22,139 --> 00:03:24,740
that when scientists sent
samples of the fungus called
54
00:03:24,740 --> 00:03:28,139
Caldosporum spirosperma to the
International Space Station, it
55
00:03:28,139 --> 00:03:31,580
not only survived but grew,
forming a thin biofilm that
56
00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:36,089
blocked up to 84% of incoming
cosmic radiation. The study's
57
00:03:36,089 --> 00:03:38,960
authors say it means the fungus
could eventually be developed to
58
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,720
act as a sort of living
radiation shield for crew on
59
00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:42,880
deep space missions.
60
00:03:43,369 --> 00:03:46,240
See, radiation is one of the
biggest risk factors for long
61
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,289
duration space flights to the
Moon, Mars and beyond. Existing
62
00:03:50,289 --> 00:03:53,570
radiation shielding is both
bulky and heavy, so a
63
00:03:53,570 --> 00:03:56,649
self-regenerating biological
layer that grows in response to
64
00:03:56,649 --> 00:03:59,449
radiation could be a game
changer, and of course it could
65
00:03:59,449 --> 00:04:02,369
also be used for radioactive
biomemediation works here on
66
00:04:02,369 --> 00:04:02,860
Earth.
67
00:04:03,539 --> 00:04:06,860
The Chernobyl nuclear power
station's number 4 reactor
68
00:04:06,860 --> 00:04:11,380
exploded during the early hours
of April 20th, 1986 due to a
69
00:04:11,380 --> 00:04:15,000
series of failures both in the
design of the Soviet-Era reactor
70
00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,359
and from multiple errors during
its operation in a test.
71
00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:22,579
The then Soviet Union initially
tried to cover up the disaster,
72
00:04:22,709 --> 00:04:26,269
but the blast released a massive
radioactive cloud which spread
73
00:04:26,269 --> 00:04:29,589
across Europe, contaminating
vast areas and which was quickly
74
00:04:29,589 --> 00:04:33,029
detected by radiation sensors in
numerous countries including
75
00:04:33,029 --> 00:04:36,390
Great Britain and Sweden, and
that forced the communist
76
00:04:36,390 --> 00:04:38,489
government to admit something
was wrong.
77
00:04:39,359 --> 00:04:42,089
Radioactive iodine was the
leading cause of death from
78
00:04:42,089 --> 00:04:45,410
Chernobyl, resulting in a rise
in thyroid cancer in the most
79
00:04:45,410 --> 00:04:49,209
heavily contaminated regions,
including Belarus, Ukraine, and
80
00:04:49,209 --> 00:04:54,649
parts of Russia. This is
SpaceTime. Still to come, NASA's
81
00:04:54,649 --> 00:04:58,410
Habitableward Observatory, and
later in the science report, a
82
00:04:58,410 --> 00:05:02,010
strong correlation found between
dementia death rates and living
83
00:05:02,010 --> 00:05:06,570
in suburbia. All that and more
still to come on SpaceTime.
84
00:05:21,540 --> 00:05:24,790
Scientists have designed two
revolutionary new computer chips
85
00:05:24,790 --> 00:05:28,350
to process data from a new space
telescope being developed called
86
00:05:28,350 --> 00:05:31,149
the Habitable Worlds
Observatory, which NASA says
87
00:05:31,149 --> 00:05:34,869
will search the skies for signs
of Earth-like planets that could
88
00:05:34,869 --> 00:05:36,619
potentially host life.
89
00:05:37,070 --> 00:05:40,149
The Habitable Worlds Observatory
is a future flagship space
90
00:05:40,149 --> 00:05:43,109
telescope mission for NASA,
building on the achievement of
91
00:05:43,109 --> 00:05:46,269
Hubble, Webb and the soon to be
launched Roman Space Telescope.
92
00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,200
Its primary mission will be to
search for and image Earth-sized
93
00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,320
exoplanets orbiting in the
Habitable zones of their host
94
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,350
stars where liquid water can
exist on their surface.
95
00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,839
The observatory will orbit along
the Sun-Earth Lagrangian L2
96
00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,109
position, the same region where
the Webb Space Telescope orbits,
97
00:06:03,119 --> 00:06:06,070
about 1.5 million kilometers
away from the night side of the
98
00:06:06,070 --> 00:06:09,959
Earth. This position keeps the
sun, Earth, and Moon behind the
99
00:06:09,959 --> 00:06:13,079
observatory, thereby allowing a
single sunshield to block out
100
00:06:13,079 --> 00:06:15,239
light and heat from all three
sources.
101
00:06:15,670 --> 00:06:18,640
The telescope will use another
shield called a chronograph to
102
00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,230
block out light from the target
planet's host star and then
103
00:06:22,230 --> 00:06:25,920
search for signs of life on that
planet using ultraviolet optical
104
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:27,670
and infrared spectrometers.
105
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,720
But to image Earth-like
exoplanets, future space
106
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,279
telescopes will need to process
data in real time as they
107
00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,320
constantly correct tiny optical
distortions to block out
108
00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,279
starlight and reveal the faint
light coming from a nearby
109
00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:44,019
planet. Today's radiation
hardened space processes are
110
00:06:44,019 --> 00:06:48,350
simply too slow for this task,
and powerful GPU based systems
111
00:06:48,350 --> 00:06:51,320
require too much power to be
cost effective in space.
112
00:06:51,899 --> 00:06:55,059
So to overcome these problems,
scientists developed two new
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00:06:55,059 --> 00:06:57,899
kinds of memory chips which have
just been presented to the
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00:06:57,899 --> 00:07:00,720
Institute Of Electrical And
Electronics Engineers Space
115
00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,359
Computing Conference in
Pasadena, California.
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00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,869
The study's lead author,
Nathaniel Blair from the
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00:07:06,869 --> 00:07:09,679
University Of Michigan, says the
key insight of the research is
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00:07:09,679 --> 00:07:12,880
that future space missions don't
just need more computing power,
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00:07:12,959 --> 00:07:15,760
they need the right kind of
computing power. For these
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00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,440
workloads, the bottleneck is
moving data, not doing
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00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,989
calculations. And that's where
these new custom memory chips
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00:07:21,989 --> 00:07:22,480
come in.
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00:07:22,910 --> 00:07:25,549
They could dramatically reduce
power consumption with the
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00:07:25,549 --> 00:07:29,029
strongest designer static random
access memory architecture,
125
00:07:29,109 --> 00:07:32,950
reducing power use by up to a
factor of 59 compared to GPU
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00:07:32,950 --> 00:07:37,029
based alternatives. See, imaging
exoplanets would require dense
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00:07:37,029 --> 00:07:40,170
matrix operations and low
arithmetic intensity.
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00:07:40,690 --> 00:07:43,290
So Blair and colleagues designed
two custom hardware
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00:07:43,290 --> 00:07:47,570
architectures. A high bandwidth
memory approach lays out 27 high
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00:07:47,570 --> 00:07:50,250
bandwidth memory chips
horizontally, each made of a
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00:07:50,250 --> 00:07:53,489
stack of 16 dynamic random
access memory chips, and then
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00:07:53,489 --> 00:07:56,649
connects them to a custom
designed processor. This
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00:07:56,649 --> 00:07:59,570
creates, I guess you'd call it a
sort of superhighway, allowing
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00:07:59,570 --> 00:08:01,250
more data to be transferred.
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00:08:01,679 --> 00:08:04,809
The second architecture is
similar, but splits the data and
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00:08:04,809 --> 00:08:08,089
processing across 56 custom
chilets, each with about 2
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00:08:08,089 --> 00:08:12,109
gigabytes of distributed static
random access memory. This
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00:08:12,109 --> 00:08:15,209
solution brings the raw data to
the superhighway, splitting it
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00:08:15,209 --> 00:08:18,609
into individual packets, each
with a calculator that reports
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00:08:18,609 --> 00:08:20,489
its results to a central
manager.
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00:08:21,010 --> 00:08:24,429
For a spacecraft, every extra
watt of power requires larger
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00:08:24,429 --> 00:08:27,750
solar panels, heavier batteries,
and cooling radiators to keep
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00:08:27,750 --> 00:08:31,049
the satellite from melting. The
authors calculated that by
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00:08:31,049 --> 00:08:34,359
shrinking the computing power
needed from 3000 watts to just
145
00:08:34,359 --> 00:08:37,809
51 watts, that would shrink the
satellite's overall mass from
146
00:08:37,809 --> 00:08:41,559
1100 kg down to just 193 kg.
147
00:08:41,929 --> 00:08:45,159
As a next step, the researchers
plan to manufacture the chilets
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00:08:45,159 --> 00:08:48,890
and test them in laboratory
settings. The proposed launch
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00:08:48,890 --> 00:08:51,729
date for the Hubbard Awards
Observatory will be the early
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00:08:51,729 --> 00:08:55,669
2040s. This report from NASA TV.
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00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:03,159
The stars above What secrets do
they keep? One of our biggest
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00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:06,239
questions has always been, are
we alone?
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00:09:07,340 --> 00:09:10,219
We've now discovered thousands
of planets beyond our solar
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00:09:10,219 --> 00:09:13,900
system, but how many of those
distant worlds have the
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00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:15,320
conditions for life as we know
it?
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00:09:16,950 --> 00:09:21,669
How many have water vapor? A
beacon indicating that oceans
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00:09:21,669 --> 00:09:22,369
might be present.
158
00:09:23,479 --> 00:09:27,950
How many of gasses like oxygen
and methane possible signs of
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00:09:27,950 --> 00:09:28,619
life itself?
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00:09:29,510 --> 00:09:33,309
And of those which might truly
have life.
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00:09:34,450 --> 00:09:38,489
After decades of asking, a
future NASA telescope could
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00:09:38,489 --> 00:09:39,669
bring us the answers.
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00:09:42,710 --> 00:09:48,000
The Habitable Worlds Observatory
is a future mission designed in
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00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,340
the tradition of the Hubble and
Webb Space telescopes.
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00:09:52,580 --> 00:09:56,500
It will use its unique and
sensitive eyes to see planets
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00:09:56,500 --> 00:10:00,359
like our own, hiding in the
light of their distant stars.
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00:10:03,619 --> 00:10:08,380
Astronomers could then point
this mighty space observatory to
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00:10:08,380 --> 00:10:12,619
the most promising planets,
those that may hold liquid
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00:10:12,619 --> 00:10:13,000
water.
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00:10:16,059 --> 00:10:19,780
With the help of its coronograph
instrument, which blocks out the
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00:10:19,780 --> 00:10:22,619
dazzling starlight, the
telescope will look for
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00:10:22,619 --> 00:10:27,419
undiscovered Earth-sized planets
in the star's Habitable zone
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00:10:27,419 --> 00:10:29,119
where liquid water could exist.
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00:10:31,830 --> 00:10:35,469
The light from each planet will
be split into a vibrant spectrum
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00:10:35,469 --> 00:10:39,739
of colors revealing clues to the
chemical signatures we seek.
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00:10:40,270 --> 00:10:42,619
From there we can attempt to
discover if a planet's
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00:10:42,619 --> 00:10:44,130
atmosphere contains water.
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00:10:45,770 --> 00:10:48,849
And from there, other signals
like oxygen or mage.
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00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,479
Should all these signs of lying.
The Habitable world's
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00:10:55,479 --> 00:10:59,549
observatory would delve deeper
to reveal other hidden clues of
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00:10:59,549 --> 00:10:59,950
life.
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00:11:04,099 --> 00:11:08,900
With further study, we could
find signs of sprawling oceans
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00:11:09,219 --> 00:11:15,260
and rugged continents. And if
signs of life are revealed, keep
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00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:18,099
a watchful eye for changes over
time.
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00:11:21,219 --> 00:11:26,460
This magnificent observatory
could discover dozens of worlds
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00:11:26,460 --> 00:11:30,200
akin to our own in its 1st 5
years.
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00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:34,840
The telescope will gather data
on a wide variety of worlds,
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00:11:35,039 --> 00:11:39,080
placing our own solar system in
the context within the grand
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00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:40,770
tapestry of existence.
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00:11:42,530 --> 00:11:45,650
And the Habitable Worlds
Observatory will, like the other
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00:11:45,650 --> 00:11:49,690
great cosmic watchers Hubble,
Chandra, Spitzer, Webb, and soon
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00:11:49,690 --> 00:11:55,090
Roman, also conduct a wide range
of revolutionary observations of
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00:11:55,090 --> 00:12:00,369
our cosmos, improving our
understanding of how our
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00:12:00,369 --> 00:12:03,989
universe led to potentially
Habitable worlds.
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00:12:05,869 --> 00:12:10,000
Thus, the Habitable Worlds
Observatory will help us embark
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00:12:10,359 --> 00:12:13,289
on a quest as grand as any.
197
00:12:14,340 --> 00:12:18,229
To tell the story of life in the
cosmos.
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00:12:19,219 --> 00:12:22,510
And whether or not We are alone.
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00:12:22,789 --> 00:12:24,150
This is space time.
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00:12:39,729 --> 00:12:42,140
And time Mata take another brief
look at some of the other
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00:12:42,140 --> 00:12:45,159
stories making news in science
this week with a science report.
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00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:49,409
A new study has shown a strong
correlation between dementia
203
00:12:49,409 --> 00:12:52,599
death rates and living in the
suburbs as opposed to either
204
00:12:52,599 --> 00:12:56,719
living in the city or in country
areas. The findings reported in
205
00:12:56,719 --> 00:12:59,359
the Journal Of The American
Medical Association shows the
206
00:12:59,359 --> 00:13:02,760
link of dying from or with
dementia was closely correlated
207
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,000
with population densities of
around 200,000 to 400,000 per
208
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,039
square kilometer.
209
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,280
That's roughly the population
density of the suburbs of most
210
00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,280
Australian cities. Now the
authors say this could be
211
00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,200
because inner cities have better
access to diagnostic care and
212
00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,479
services or country areas have
fewer environmental stresses
213
00:13:19,479 --> 00:13:21,760
such as noise, air pollution,
and heat.
214
00:13:23,289 --> 00:13:26,450
A new study shows improvements
in trees, shrub and grass
215
00:13:26,450 --> 00:13:29,210
plantings along city streets can
substantially improve
216
00:13:29,210 --> 00:13:32,729
pedestrians' thermal comfort.
The findings reported in the
217
00:13:32,729 --> 00:13:35,799
journal Urban Climate have
demonstrated how tree plantings
218
00:13:35,799 --> 00:13:38,200
provided significant relief from
summer heat.
219
00:13:38,599 --> 00:13:41,849
The authors from the James Cook
University and the University Of
220
00:13:41,849 --> 00:13:45,130
The Sunshine Coast found
optimizing street vegetation to
221
00:13:45,130 --> 00:13:48,169
reduce urban heat through better
landscaping on the city streets
222
00:13:48,169 --> 00:13:51,010
of Townsville and Ipswich
improved thermal comfort by up
223
00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:52,549
to 2 °C.
224
00:13:54,239 --> 00:13:57,169
A new study claims one of the
world's most enigmatic animals,
225
00:13:57,250 --> 00:14:00,190
the Australian platypus, has an
exotic origin story.
226
00:14:00,849 --> 00:14:04,169
Paleontologists at Flinders
University have described rare
227
00:14:04,169 --> 00:14:07,330
25 million year old fossils
found east of the Flinders
228
00:14:07,330 --> 00:14:10,210
Ranges in remote outback South
Australia, which show an ancient
229
00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:11,950
platypus with well-formed teeth.
230
00:14:12,590 --> 00:14:15,309
The findings reported in the
Journal Australian Zoology,
231
00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,469
claims the monotrene was able to
munch on a varied diet in large
232
00:14:18,469 --> 00:14:21,309
inland lakes and rivers,
probably with other animals such
233
00:14:21,309 --> 00:14:24,979
as ancient lungfish, flamingo,
and freshwater dolphins.
234
00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:28,469
Today's platypus do not have
teeth, instead they have rough
235
00:14:28,469 --> 00:14:31,669
flat keratin pads in their jaws
that grind up small river
236
00:14:31,669 --> 00:14:34,510
animals, often with the help of
tiny bits of gravel they scoop
237
00:14:34,510 --> 00:14:36,250
up from the bottom of the
stream.
238
00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:41,010
A new study has shown that New
Zealand's endangered yellow-eyed
239
00:14:41,010 --> 00:14:44,570
penguin is actually three
genetically distinct subspecies
240
00:14:44,570 --> 00:14:48,330
that have been separated for
thousands of years. The findings
241
00:14:48,330 --> 00:14:51,109
reported in the journal Nature
analyzed data from more than 200
242
00:14:51,109 --> 00:14:53,690
penguins across mainland New
Zealand and the subantarctic
243
00:14:53,690 --> 00:14:56,369
islands while investigating why
chicks have been dying from
244
00:14:56,369 --> 00:14:58,909
respiratory disease syndrome in
the northern population.
245
00:14:59,780 --> 00:15:03,309
The authors found 3 deeply
divergent subspecies with no
246
00:15:03,309 --> 00:15:06,390
evidence of migration between
them, and that suggests the
247
00:15:06,390 --> 00:15:09,239
populations were separated much
earlier than previously thought.
248
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,109
The authors also identified
genes linked to immune and
249
00:15:12,109 --> 00:15:14,909
respiratory function that may
help explain why mainland
250
00:15:14,909 --> 00:15:17,619
yellow-eyed penguins appear
especially vulnerable to the
251
00:15:17,619 --> 00:15:21,349
deadly respiratory disease, with
fewer than 115 breeding pairs
252
00:15:21,349 --> 00:15:22,289
now remaining.
253
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,969
In the modern computer age, even
the grand old con of water
254
00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:29,969
divining has gone high-tech,
with dowsers now adopting their
255
00:15:29,969 --> 00:15:32,619
own versions of high-tech
equipment in order to gain
256
00:15:32,619 --> 00:15:36,570
people's trust. And their latest
ploy involves so-called
257
00:15:36,570 --> 00:15:39,849
groundwater detectors. These
devices are promoted as
258
00:15:39,849 --> 00:15:43,369
geophysical instruments that can
find groundwater, but in reality
259
00:15:43,369 --> 00:15:44,919
this is not what they do.
260
00:15:45,369 --> 00:15:48,169
They do measure some geophysical
properties, but not the presence
261
00:15:48,169 --> 00:15:50,989
of water. There are a number of
different types around, but the
262
00:15:50,989 --> 00:15:54,270
one in vogue at the moment comes
out of China, and according to
263
00:15:54,270 --> 00:15:56,789
their accompanying brochures,
they claim to study the
264
00:15:56,789 --> 00:15:58,989
electrical structure inside the
Earth.
265
00:15:59,510 --> 00:16:01,830
They're said to measure
electrical potential differences
266
00:16:01,830 --> 00:16:04,909
between two points on the ground
surface, presenting that data as
267
00:16:04,909 --> 00:16:08,070
colorful computer graphs that
supposedly reveal the subsurface
268
00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:12,150
structure to great depths.
However, real geophysicists
269
00:16:12,150 --> 00:16:15,070
question the assumptions made by
the groundwater detectors which
270
00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:17,710
appear to contradict the very
theory they're allegedly based
271
00:16:17,710 --> 00:16:18,090
on.
272
00:16:18,609 --> 00:16:21,640
In addition to the questionable
application of theory, concerns
273
00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,409
are also raised about field
practices, data processing, and
274
00:16:25,409 --> 00:16:29,349
the repeatability of results.
The skeptics' Tim Minham says
275
00:16:29,349 --> 00:16:31,890
the geophysical community has
long dealt with
276
00:16:31,890 --> 00:16:35,159
pseudo-scientific claims of
miraculous detection methods.
277
00:16:35,289 --> 00:16:38,000
Now the skeptics have been
involved with diviners ever
278
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,489
since they started. In fact, a
test of diviners was the thing
279
00:16:40,489 --> 00:16:43,770
that set the skeptics off back
in 1980, and since then we've
280
00:16:43,770 --> 00:16:46,320
tested hundreds of water
diviners for the skeptics'
281
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,690
$100,000 challenge, and no one
has been able to prove what they
282
00:16:49,690 --> 00:16:50,859
can do under test conditions.
283
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:54,453
Now most of those people use.
Metal rods that cross over when
284
00:16:54,453 --> 00:16:56,833
you hold them in your hand,
sticks, fork sticks, little
285
00:16:56,833 --> 00:16:59,343
balls, pendulums hanging from
things. One person used a
286
00:16:59,343 --> 00:17:01,953
cricket ball. We saw another
person used to jump in the air
287
00:17:01,953 --> 00:17:04,083
when he passed water through
energy in his hands.
288
00:17:04,343 --> 00:17:06,713
Most of them are pretty low tech
systems, but now, of course,
289
00:17:06,784 --> 00:17:08,634
people find that hard, so they
actually wanted something sort
290
00:17:08,634 --> 00:17:11,894
of more techy, more sciencey. It
's an article that came out of
291
00:17:12,073 --> 00:17:15,163
South Africa, and they're using
sort of groundwater detectors,
292
00:17:15,274 --> 00:17:17,234
but the scientists point out
that these groundwater.
293
00:17:17,378 --> 00:17:19,657
Detectors aren't actually very
powerful. They're promoted as a
294
00:17:19,657 --> 00:17:23,537
geophysical instrument that can
find groundwater. They basically
295
00:17:23,537 --> 00:17:26,537
look at potential differences,
electrical potential differences
296
00:17:26,537 --> 00:17:27,937
between two points on the
ground.
297
00:17:28,017 --> 00:17:30,458
But as they point out, these
things don't work very well.
298
00:17:30,817 --> 00:17:33,458
Studying the electrical
structure inside the Earth, as
299
00:17:33,458 --> 00:17:36,078
they claim is a bit of a
grandiose claim, and some of the
300
00:17:36,078 --> 00:17:38,618
geologists and geophysicists are
saying there's only one
301
00:17:38,618 --> 00:17:41,858
geophysical instrument, the
scienty thing, that can directly
302
00:17:41,858 --> 00:17:42,057
detect.
303
00:17:42,261 --> 00:17:45,401
Water and that's nuclear
magnetic resonance which is say
304
00:17:45,401 --> 00:17:48,281
similar principles to the
magnetic resonance imaging MRI
305
00:17:48,281 --> 00:17:50,842
used in medicine actually used
to be one used in medicine used
306
00:17:50,842 --> 00:17:53,001
to be called nuclear magnetic
resonance until someone
307
00:17:53,001 --> 00:17:54,741
discovered they didn't like the
word nuclear.
308
00:17:54,921 --> 00:17:58,761
Anyway, NMR is applied to
borehole logging to quantify
309
00:17:58,761 --> 00:18:02,722
free water in soil and rocks and
assesses porosity and water
310
00:18:02,722 --> 00:18:05,401
content and permeability. These
machines are expensive. The
311
00:18:05,401 --> 00:18:09,385
little equipment that is. Not in
some of these online sites for
312
00:18:09,385 --> 00:18:12,066
groundwater detectors probably
priced a lot lower, less than
313
00:18:12,066 --> 00:18:13,745
$1000 US.
314
00:18:13,865 --> 00:18:18,026
The MMR machines can get up to
$100,000 plus probably a lot
315
00:18:18,026 --> 00:18:20,826
more. You have to lug these
things around and you need a
316
00:18:20,826 --> 00:18:23,666
special expertise to use them,
but this is not what you see in
317
00:18:23,666 --> 00:18:26,745
your average everyday water
diviner. It's a far cry between
318
00:18:26,745 --> 00:18:27,135
the two.
319
00:18:27,225 --> 00:18:29,865
I'm still trying to get the
picture out of my head of
320
00:18:29,865 --> 00:18:31,605
jumping in the air and passing
water.
321
00:18:32,979 --> 00:18:35,819
When they are passing, it is the
case, and a fairly common case
322
00:18:35,819 --> 00:18:38,579
where people are suddenly using
computers and all sorts of stuff
323
00:18:38,579 --> 00:18:41,540
to do the same old pseudoscience
but to try and give it the
324
00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:44,300
imprimatur of technology. A
picture comes up on a computer
325
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:46,939
and people go, Ooh, that must be
true because it's on a computer.
326
00:18:46,979 --> 00:18:49,300
It's the modern day version of
it's there in black and white,
327
00:18:49,420 --> 00:18:50,180
therefore it must be true.
328
00:18:50,319 --> 00:18:53,275
So it's there on a Computer
monitor, it must be true. It's
329
00:18:53,275 --> 00:18:55,635
just throwing in a bit of
totally inappropriate irrelevant
330
00:18:55,635 --> 00:18:58,234
science onto this pseudo science
to try and make it sound good
331
00:18:58,234 --> 00:19:01,574
and water diviners moving on
from their sticks to these
332
00:19:01,574 --> 00:19:05,555
groundwater detectors that don't
do the work, buyer beware of the
333
00:19:05,555 --> 00:19:06,025
old story.
334
00:19:06,114 --> 00:19:09,594
That's the skeptics Tim Mind,
and this is Space time.
335
00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:28,660
And that's the show for now.
SpaceTime is available every
336
00:19:28,660 --> 00:19:32,520
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337
00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:36,380
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SpaceTime's also broadcast
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and on both IHeartRadio and
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And you can help to support our
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bonus audio content which
doesn't go to air, access to our
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exclusive Facebook group, and
other rewards. Just go to
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SpaceTime with Stuart Garry.Com
for full details.
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You've been listening to
SpaceTime with Stuart Garry.
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This has been another quality
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Bytes.Com.
