Science Illustrated

auddev

auddev — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:59:00 GMT

Breaking the Sound Barrier

cpsarakis — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:00:57 GMT

It’s a venture that began as a balloon voyage, turned into a mission from the edge of space, and then ended as a parachute jump. When Austrian sky diver Felix Baumgartner stepped out of his capsule on Oct. 14, wearing nothing but a spacesuit, he fell more than 24 miles, breaking the sound barrier — and, perhaps, new ground in making space travel safer. Science Illustrated goes behind the scenes of Baumgartner’s first test jump — and looks at the technology that made his daring feat possible.

A giant leap for a man

Images

Main Photo:

Photo by: Jay Nemeth/EPA/Scanpix

Test Jump #1

Felix Baumgartner prepares for his first test jump from the edge of space.

Breaking the Sound Barrier

cpsarakis — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:46:51 GMT

Dek:

Felix Baumgartner takes one small step out of his space capsule and makes a giant leap for mankind.

It’s a venture that began as a balloon voyage, turned into a mission from the edge of space, and then ended as a parachute jump. When Austrian sky diver Felix Baumgartner stepped out of his capsule on Oct. 14, wearing nothing but a spacesuit, he fell more than 24 miles, breaking the sound barrier — and, perhaps, new ground in making space travel safer. Science Illustrated goes behind the scenes of Baumgartner’s first test jump — and looks at the technology that made his daring feat possible.

A giant leap for a man

Author:

Antje Gerd Poulsen and Ib Salomon

Images

Main Photo:

Test Jump #1

Thumbnail Image:

Test Jump #1

onlineads@bonniercorp.com

onlineads@bonniercorp.com — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:41:29 GMT

amanda_harris

amanda_harris — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:18:33 GMT

eagle

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:51:22 GMT

Shark

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:51:21 GMT

lion

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:51:21 GMT

Top Predators in Crisis

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:32:38 GMT

Humans have a long history of usurping the habitats of large predators, in addition to overhunting and overfishing them. Lion populations alone have fallen from around 400,000 to just 20,000 worldwide since the 1940s. Some populations of sharks have fallen by 90 percent in the last few decades, and similarly alarming trends can be seen in populations of other large predators, including eagles. In most of Western Europe and the United States, the brown bear has long since disappeared; in the forests of Asia, there are only small, isolated populations of tigers.

Images

Main Photo:

Photo by: Science Illustrated Editor

Top Predators

Large predators such as sharks, eagles and lions have all seen their numbers decline. The disappearance of top predators may have serious consequences.

Australia

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:47:01 GMT

Predators protect endangered Australian animals

bill_carr — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:44:33 GMT

At least 29 species have disappeared from mainland Australia, 19 of which are now completely extinct. Most affected are rodents and marsupials. Many of the problems are caused by two foreign predators — the fox and the domestic cat. These two medium-size predators have no natural enemies because Australia’s top predators, the Tasmanian devil, marsupial lion and thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, have been extinct in mainland Australia for at least 4,000 years.

Images

Main Photo:

Photo by: Science Illustrated Editor

The Dingo

Though the dingo also eats local bilbies and mice, it has lower reproduction rates than foxes and domesticated cats, which may help the local mammals survive.

Wind Turbines of the Future

bill_carr — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:00:48 GMT

Dek:

With the costs of oil, coal and gas rising ever higher, alternative forms of energy are being considered as replacements or supplements.

One of the most promising is wind energy; wind turbines today are much more than tall towers with slowly rotating blades.

Throughout the world, intensive pioneering efforts are under way to develop new methods for harnessing the power of the wind. Ideas include positioning helium-filled, floating turbines over large, windcapturing Kevlar sails and using “forests” of carbon-fiber stalks to generate electricity.

Images

Main Photo:

Wind Dam, Large Sail captures wind

Vegetables

amanda_harris — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:29:46 GMT