Radio Show

The Mars Society wants to settle Mars

Host Intro: HEADLINES:  Global Warming Increases Heavy Rain; Bendy, Stretchy Electronics; Visual Memory.  MAIN FEATURE:  The Mars Society Director Chris Carberry talks about the society and this week's annual convention, taking place at CU Boulder

Groups Featured in this report include:
Mars Society, marssociety.org
Mars Society - Extended Interview, http://hoe.kgnu.net/hoeradioshow.php?show_id=349


Full Text:

[J  ] I’m ___JOEL PARKER____  And This is How On Earth for Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

[J  ] Coming Up:  The Mars Society comes to Boulder


[J  ] 2: We begin with a look at some of the recent news in science.  

STORY 1:  
Heavy rainfall is occurring more frequently as global warming continues, and also more often than current climate models have predicted, according to researchers from the University of Miami and colleagues in the United Kingdom.. These findings imply that changes in the global water cycle due to global warming could be more severe than ever imagined. Richard Allan and Brian Soden used satellite observations and model simulations to examine the relationship between tropical rainfall and changes in surface temperature of the Earth as well as in atmospheric moisture. Their observations reveal a direct link between warmer climate and  extreme precipitation. However, the observed increase in extreme precipitation is much larger than the increases predicted by current simulations, The researchers say that it is crucial to determine the cause for this discrepancy so we can have more accurate predictions regarding heavy weather.


STORY 2:   Bend Me, Stretch Me, Connect Me.  That’s what Japanese researchers hope people will be doing soon, thanks to their design for a super-stretchy, rubbery material with excellent electronic properties.  This new substance, which has been described as a stretchy film somewhat like a woman’s nylon stockings – but with embedded electrical circuits, makes it more likely that someday, you might be able to fold your laptop computer and stuff it in your pocket.  Or, technicians might be able to put an electronic devices into the joints of a robot arm so that it moves, and responds, more like a real arm.  To make these stretchy, flexible electronic prototypes, Tsuyoshi Sekitani, at the University of Tokyo, and colleagues developed a carbon nanotube-elastomer composite material and incorporated it into an active matrix array of organic transistors.  That’s the technical side of how it works.  For what it might lead to, in terms of products, picture roll-up computer screens, those robot arms, and maybe a new rage in touchscreen tights and video stretchpants.

STORY 3:  Imagine this:  You drive through an intersection, then police lights flash, signaling for you to pull over.  Do you tell the policeman, “But officer, I didn’t run that red light!”  Do you trust that you must be right?

If you do, you are probably wrong, according to research from University College London.  They report that unless for some reason the traffic lights had grabbed your attention in a novel kind of way, you probably wouldn't remember whether the signal was red or green.  That’s because humans have a much poorer visual memory than we generally realize, and most people can’t keep track of more than four objects in a visual scene.  So think about it.  At a traffic light, you’re watching for whether cars have stopped going left and right.  That’s two things.  You’re watching where to go.  That’s three.  You’re watching whether the cars you’re facing are starting to move ahead..  That’s four . . . so, now what color was that  traffic light?.  Fortunately, the London researchers say, there is a way to remember a few more things.  Paul Bays and Masud Husain tested volunteers' ability to remember the location and orientation of multiple shapes on a computer screen and found that there is no upper limit on the number of objects we can remember. IF they’re grabbing our attention.  Which leaves the question – just how badly do you want to remember the color of that traffic light?  The scientists have not figured out a way to measure that.

This Wednesday, mark your calendars to hear Nathan Lewis, an internationally known chemistry Professor from Cal-Tech.   He’ll be giving a talk on:  "The Global Energy Perspective: Chemical
Challenges and Sustainable Energy Conversion."   The talk will involve global fossil fuel estimates and comparisons to renewable fuels plus what kind of scientific innovation will be required for the transition.  
Free and open to the public, the talk starts at 7:30 p.m. in Duane
Physics room G1B30 at CU-Boulder.   For more information visit the website: Coloradocollaboratory.org.

Or, if painting and artistic pursuits are more your interest, tomorrow evening, you can explore Climate Change and the Arts at the Boulder Café Sci, with celebrated artist David Curtis.  The Wednesday Café Sci starts at 5:30 at Boulder’s Redfish Brewpub.

MUSIC BREAK  - Gustav Holtz MARS


FEATURE 1  Up next, We talk with Chris Carberry, Director of the Mars Society, about the goals of the society and this week's annual convention, taking place this week at CU-Boulder.


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That’s all for this edition of How on Earth.

Tim Morton wrote our theme music.  Tom Wasinger produced it.  Additional Music by

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