I was filled with amazement as I read that scientists from Texas and around the world  created a material that, by density, is lighter than air yet, when it’s electrified, it instantly and powerfully contracts. In other words, the lightest material on our planet is capable of providing quite a powerful punch! Wow, a material that is both strong and flexible and can contract like a muscle.

“These artificial muscles are very lightweight and can do wonderful things,” said Ray Baughman, the study author from the University of Texas at Dallas.  And, while these artificial muscle is unlikely to be used in humans or prosthetic limbs (yet), Baughman says “these sheets of carbon nanotubes … are of great practical interest for LEDs, solar cells, and other applications.” The scientists’ work was detailed in the journal Science.

Aerogels (so called because 99.8 percent of the material is air) and artificial muscles have apparently been around for decades, but only recently astronomers have launched spacecraft containing aerogelsto that gently capture space dust and keep it safe for the return journey to Earth.  Meanwhile, material scientists have created a variety of different artificial muscles, or materials that expand and contract when an electrical charge is applied.

Science, once again, has expanded beyond the whimsy of science-fiction to create a substance that has real unlimited potential.

The article is wonderfully informative and well-worth a trip to http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/19/aerogel-nanotube-muscle.html to read it in its entirety.  And, while you’re on the Discovery website, browse around, but make sure you’re not scheduled to be anywhere, anytime soon. I know, from experience, that it’s easy to get lost in the wonderful of science.

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, scientific discovery, whimsy

The article began by relaying information, according to files released by the National Archives on Monday, that a cluster of UFO sightings over Britain in 1996 may have had more to do with public fascination with TV shows like the “X Files” than extraterrestrial activity. Documents from Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) indicated there were 609 UFO sightings in 1996, compared with 117 in 1995. This coincided with the rise in popularity of the X Files and the release of the alien blockbuster film “Independence Day.”

The files, which span 15 years and contain more than 4,000 pages, show that for most cases the UFO sightings had ordinary explanations such as bright stars and planets, meteors, artificial satellites and balloons.  So, apparently, 90% of UFO sightings have been explained away as having “mundane” reasons behind them. That, of course, is no surprise when it comes to government explanations for almost everything. The part I found fascinating was that 10% of the sightings were classified as “unexplained.”

I’ll take the conclusion of 10% whimsy any day when it comes to “factual” documents. In fact, the article concluded with a new detail  found in the files on Britain’s best known UFO incident, the Rendlesham Forest sightings of December 1980 in which “American airforce men” saw a series of mysterious lights:  “The then government of Margaret Thatcher summarily dismissed the affair but a letter from a former chief of defense staff in 1985 warned it not to be so cavalier. ‘The case has puzzling and disquieting features which have never been satisfactorily explained … which continue to preoccupy informed sections of the public,” said the letter.”

So, take a moment today to give your mind flight. Who knows what UFO you might discover there!

Full article at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE57G2EU20090817?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews&rpc=76

Technorati Tags: chiropractor, San Jose, UFO sightings, whimsy