that's 7 years away though, and works almost exclusively in infrared. In fact the shortest wavelength it can detect is red, and that's the color with the longest wavelength, so from what I can tell it wont take very good natural color images of pretty galaxies. I imagine the scientists will be able to create spectacular virtual images from the data though.

>> ^Ryjkyj:

Eh... it's no James Webb...

>> ^deathcow:

So how does it work?? as metal heats it emits infrared, which we sense as heat. As it keeps getting hotter, the emissions move into the visible light? If you keep heating does it move into still faster light like UV?


Yeah, most materials behave like black bodies and the wavelength of peak radiance increases with temperature ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body ).

Humans can easily feel the heat from infrared, visible, or ultraviolet radiation of high enough intensity. Actually, I assume we can sense the heat from any type of radiation. Radio (in a microwave), x-ray, or gamma ray. But obviously you don't ever want absorb intense radiation at those wavelengths.

So how does it work?? as metal heats it emits infrared, which we sense as heat. As it keeps getting hotter, the emissions move into the visible light? If you keep heating does it move into still faster light like UV?

Those sort of statistics are created by calculating that a chicken eats a said amount of corn, or grain, which is farmed using petro-chemical fertilizers, and gas guzzling tractors, not to mention carbon emitted through the practice of fallow fields. Such feeds are transported by truck to the factory farms where the chickens, cows and pigs (just as beautiful of creatures as your beloved pets) are raised in often abhorrent conditions.

Of course, if you still think these stats are bunk, add up the transportation of the animals to slaughter, then packaging (in cans or plastic which of course use fossil fuels) and again, more fossil fuels consumed through additional transportation to retail outlets, where they sit on shelves in a heated or air conditioned box store, and are finally driven in your 4x4 to your suburban home.

Furthermore if your dog eats beef, instead of chicken, theres the added fun of methane (which cows can produce abundantly due to their unnatural diet of corn, which their stomachs aren't evolved to properly digest without the added methane creation, but makes them fatter faster). Methane is a much more powerful GHG (measured by it's ability to trap infrared radiation as well as its longer decay rate in the atmosphere).

Personally, I think you should get rid of your car before your pet, but that's because I understand the psychological importance of pets in today's age of "social networking." Also, bikes are fucking fun to ride, and you feel great after a month or so of bicycle commuting.

Oh, and if I haven't pissed off pet lovers enough by backing these QI statistics, think about how many people will starve to death while your obese dog bongo fills up your back yard with shit today.

Wow this is really cool.

I play with infrared lasers sometimes at work;
we have a burn mark in one of the computer displays from another person not being careful;
good reminder of the power of a concentrated beam of light

...500mW !? wow.
I work with communications grade lasers. Infrared, non-columnated. Hold the fibre to your hand, you can feel its heat. This is at 50mW at most. We dont produce anything higher, because its dangerous. We dont look at open fibres either, even a small 20mW laser can cause retinal damage.

500mW!!!!??? and it goes to 1000mW too!?

....wow. This thing should be classed as a weapon.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

Orbs! I knew it. It's powered by the souls of the dead.


Is that where Xenu put them?

Your video, Kinect + Infrared = WOAH!, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

I've got some clutch broritos you could scope

>> ^Asmo:

All that infrared light makes me hungry, anyone got a chup bro??

All that infrared light makes me hungry, anyone got a chup bro??

>> ^Unsung_Hero:

>> ^westy:
Nice story ,
having said that if i was in a war zone id rather not have some guy next to me playing tunes on the trumpit.

You have to remember that this was WW2 and there were no thermal scopes, infrared, ect... So when it got dark it was pretty much a stalemate between sides and they would wait til dawn to resume fighting. On an off chance they would attack under the light of flares but that was few and far between. So playing music didn't necessarily expose you or your mates to enemy fire.


dude thay had carrots in ww2 widely known fact that carrots give you 20/20 night visoin , how do u think we bombed them crouts !

>> ^westy:

Nice story ,
having said that if i was in a war zone id rather not have some guy next to me playing tunes on the trumpit.


You have to remember that this was WW2 and there were no thermal scopes, infrared, ect... So when it got dark it was pretty much a stalemate between sides and they would wait til dawn to resume fighting. On an off chance they would attack under the light of flares but that was few and far between. So playing music didn't necessarily expose you or your mates to enemy fire.

Asil Shaar and Nour Alarda, Nablus, West Bank, Palestine

When Asil Shaar and Nour Alarda observed the struggles of sight-impaired neighbors attempting to navigate the hills and war-torn streets of their hometown, Nablus, and find their way around the refugee camp where they lived, they decided to do something about it. They created an obstacle-detecting cane for the blind.

The process wasn’t easy, especially considering how difficult it was to obtain electronic parts such as sensors and circuits in the West Bank. The determined pair made multiple trips to Ramallah, about 45 minutes away and through two military checkpoints, to find the materials they needed to complete the task.

Though previous “laser canes” existed, these models were flawed in that they were unable to detect uneven surfaces or holes in the ground. In contrast, the girls’ design incorporates two infrared sensors into a pine walking stick, one front-facing and one down-facing, to detect both obstacles and drop-offs.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Here is the Maddow/Warmer position, if I were to plot it out as an argument...
1. Earth's climate has changed in the past.
2. Past climate changes are science.
3. Anthropogenic C02 emissions caused recent climate changes (AGW).
4. Those who disagree with AGW are therefore arguing against 1 & 2.

Actually the argument is:

1. By studying climate changes in the past, scientists have determined that the two big factors affecting global temperature levels are insolation (the amount of energy falling to Earth from the sun) and the infrared transparency of the atmosphere, which is governed by the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
   
2. Solar radiation rises and falls in predictable, 11-year cycles, and we have lots of historical data on it, and it's been stable for more than a century
   
3. The makeup of the atmosphere can also be measured, and we have lots of historical data on that as well
   
4. Since the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been going up at a rate that roughly matches the rate at which humans have increased their output of CO2
   
5. We've been having record high temperatures at the nadir of the 11-year solar cycle
   
6. We've been seeing changes in weather patterns that are affecting crop yields, as well as an uptick in the number of extreme weather events, confirming the predictions of the theory
   
7. Therefore, we should do something to curtail our CO2 emissions, the way the nice people who study this stuff for a living say we should.
   

The center of the galaxy is observed in infrared, which passes right through obscuring dust clouds.