What is 4D printing?

We've all heard of 3D printing - the future of printing many things ranging from equipment to even food!

4D printing is basically 3D printing but with the added dimension of time. This may sound strange but the objects are configured to change shape over time. In some materials this is configured by a simple change in temperature. Some materials could even change shape simply by being poked or prodded.

Although this is a very new field, surely objects that can change at your command sounds exciting?

Does your brain shink with age?

It actually does, aged 80 your brain typically weighs 15% less than it did when you were 20. Neurones aren't normally replaced with minor damage also, your neurones get less effective with age too. This is one of the consequences of our extended lifespan, like arthritis and cancer. But studies have shown that if you remain physically active in your seventies then brain shrinkage slows down!
 

Why is yawning contagious?

As promised... here is my #WeekofScience post 4 of 7.

Take a look at this video - see if the chimps can make you yawn!

To many people's surpise yawning becomes contagious around age 4, if you have autism yawning is less likely to be contagious for you. If you watch somebody yawn or sometimes even read about yawning it can be impossible to resist, a new study now offers an answer as to why yawning is so contagious.
Scientists say that yawning might eventually help doctors diagnose developmental disorders and it could allow us to gain a better understanding into how people communicate and connect.
A graduate student in clinical psychology has done  a study at the University of Connecticut said her inspiration for the study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an aeroplane. She repeatedly yawned at him hoping he would yawn back and he never did.

Foetuses begin yawning in the womb as early as 11 weeks old. For reasons scientists still can't explain, spontaneous yawning continues throughout life. (Studies have shot down theories about yawning to bring in more oxygen.) In fact, all vertebrates yawn, including snakes and lizards.

Contagious yawning is a different story. Only humans, chimpanzees and possibly dogs have been shown to do it.
Like contagious laughter and contagious crying, scientists have theorized that contagious yawning is a shared experience that promotes social bonding. Specifically, the founder of the study said that it could diffuse stress after a period of being on high alert and spread a feeling of calm through a group.

#WeekofScience

Post #4 and #5 will be coming tonight!

Waves have been detected on Titan's surface

Researchers believe they have detected the first liquid waves on the surface of another world. Cameras have shown isolated ripples in a sea called "Pugna Mare" on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan.

However these seas aren't filled with water but with various hydrocarbons like methane and ethane. On Titan they exist in their liquid state, where the surface temperature averages about -180C

Scientists view Titan as kind of like a looking-glass version of Earth with a substantial atmosphere and a seasonal cycle. Wind and rain shape the surface to form river channels, seas, dunes and shorelines. You could say that it's like our moon combined with some features from Earth.

The vast majority of Titan's lakes and seas are concentrated around the north polar region. Just one of these bodies of liquid - Ligeia Mare - is estimated to contain about 9,000 cubic km of mostly liquid methane, equating to about 40 times the proven reserves of oil and gas on Earth.

• It is the only moon in the Solar System with clouds and a substantial atmosphere
• Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second biggest in the Solar System
• Wind and rain create similar features to those found on Earth, such as dunes, lakes and rivers
• But on Titan it rains liquid methane, filling the rivers, lakes and seas with hydrocarbons (molecules made up of just hydrogen and oxygen)

 

Channel 4 - Live in Space

As promised - this is the 2nd post in my #WeekofScience series. Last night Channel 4 - with Dermot O'Leary broadcast live from Houston's Mission Control linking live to the ISS (International Space Station). Astronauts on-board the ISS showed the nation around the football-pitch sized orbiting laboratory to give us an insight into how it works. Throughout the show in 102 minutes they completed a lap of the planet- showing us some incredible live images of the Earth from the Cupola Module of the ISS.  One of the astronauts, Mike landed back on Earth after a six months stint aboard the ISS, we were shown the footage of his re-entry into the atmosphere. Here are some pictures from the ISS.

This has to be one of the coolest 'selfies' out there! This is one of the Astronauts on a Christmas Eve space walk

Robert Goddard - One Man and His Rocket

On 16th March 1926 Robert Goddard launched the first ever liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Mass. The rocket reached an altitude of 41 ft, lasted 2 seconds and averaged about 60mph.

Goddard wrote in his autobiography about an inspiration that came to him as a boy while up in a cherry tree pruning branches: "I imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars. I was a different boy when I descended the tree from when I ascended, for existence at last seemed very purposive." 

In 1907, while a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Goddard experimented on a rocket powered by gunpowder in the basement of the physics building. Clouds of smoke caused a lot of commotion and the faculty, rather than expel him, took an interest in his work.

By 1914, Goddard already had received two U.S. patents: one for a rocket using liquid fuel and the other for a two- or three-stage rocket using solid fuel. Until that time, propulsion was provided by various types of gunpowder, widely available in the 1920's. 

Goddard began teaching physics in 1914 at Clark University in Worcester and was named director of the Physical Laboratory in 1923. His thoughts on space flight started to emerge in 1915, when he theorized that a rocket would work in a vacuum, and didn't need to push against air in order to fly. This meant that in the vacuum of space, rocket engines would be able to produce thrust.

Goddard's discoveries were given very little attention by the U.S. government. A modest man, Goddard paid for the rocket experiments from his own savings. Funding from the Smithsonian Institution allowed Goddard to continue his rocket research and develop the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion. In 1920, the Smithsonian published his original paper, "A Method for Reaching Extreme Altitudes," in which he included a small section stressing that rockets could be used to send payloads to the Moon. 

Unfortunately, the press got wind of this and the next day, the New York Times wrote a scathing editorial denouncing his theories as folly. Goddard was ridiculed and made to look like a fool. He responded to a reporter's question by stating, "Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace."

In 1930, Goddard and a small crew of workers moved to New Mexico to continue his research in seclusion. Goddard died on Aug. 10, 1945, holding 214 patents in rocketry but having received little attention for his propulsion research. 

When American rocket scientists began to earnestly prepare for space exploration, they discovered it was almost impossible to build a rocket or launch a satellite without acknowledging the work of Goddard, as he paced the way for bigger and better rockets that would be able to function in space. 

He is now known as the father of modern rocketry, Goddard's significant achievements in rocket propulsion have contributed immensely to the scientific exploration of space. Goddard didn't live to see the age of space flight, but his foundation of rocket research became the fundamental principles of rocket propulsion, eventually this allowed the US to go on and win the space race. 

A day after Apollo 11 set off for the Moon, in July of 1969, the New York Times printed a correction to its 1920 editorial section, stating that "it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error."

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., a major space science laboratory, was named in his honour. 

 

Tim Peake's Mission Needs a Name

The European Space Agency is asking people to choose a name for British astronaut Tim Peake's next mission. Any person within Europe can take part  and the winning entry needs to be snappy and it will be the official mission name, incorporated into the logo.

Major Tim Peake is due to go to the ISS towards the end of 2015 and will spend six months carrying out scientific experiments in a zero gravity environment. This actually happens each time a European astronaut goes into orbit. They encourage names that reflect an astronaut's nationality are encouraged, but they should also have a wider European flavour, and be easy to pronounce.

Tim Peake also wants to prioritise getting other people involved and engaged in the mission similar to how Chris Hadfield, former Commander of the ISS did during his stay aboard the ISS.