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- Fish Driver | A$teroid | Terrestrial Suns - The Convo Kit #30
Fish Driver | A$teroid | Terrestrial Suns - The Convo Kit #30
I like to think of each newsletter as a conversation between us, but I had a couple wisdom teeth taken out this week so….
I hobpe ooo ebjoy ths won. Iz reely coo!
-Steve
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Fish Drives Tank
Goldfish took to land in their very own FOV, Fish Operated Vehicle. Researchers in Israel designed a wheeled water tank controlled by fish movements.
6 fish test-drove the tank
Various target locations validated navigation over memorization
Successfully reaching a target = food pellets
The study was designed to measure goldfish navigation skills in unnatural environments. A FOV-mounted camera communicated tank-wall proximity as driving instructions. Color-coded decoy targets were used to rule out mindless wall-bonking as a path to success.
A$teroid
Most asteroids are made of rock and ice. “Psyche” is one that could be worth more than our entire global economy. NASA thinks it’s a former planet’s exposed nickel-iron core and will send a probe to investigate.
Orbits the sun every 5 Earth-years
Spacecraft launch: August, 2022
Commute: 3.5 years
NASA’s mission, also named “Psyche”, will first determine if the asteroid is indeed a core, or just unmelted metal. From there, it will explore the space rock and learn as much as possible over 21 months while we act out the plot of “Don’t Look Up”.
Terrestrial Suns
China’s EAST nuclear fusion tokamak reactor maintained record plasma temperatures for over 17 minutes. Exact numbers vary from 126 to 216 million °F depending on the source.
EAST = Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak
Sun core temperature: 27 million °F
Fusion energy: Atom A + atom B = lighter atom C + excess mass, aka thermal energy
The “artificial sun” is designed to mimic our nearest star’s fusion process in hopes of generating sustainable energy through nuclear fusion. Tokomak reactors currently use more energy than they create, but a recent breakthrough in superconducting magnets could reduce cooling costs by 50%.
Fossil Free Floating Fort
A man and his dog live in their custom catamaran without using fossil fuels. Old Dog (the boat, not the best friend) is primarily solar-powered and is more spacious than you may think.
Build time: 3.5 years
Powered by sixteen 330-Watt solar panels
Battery backups for cloudy days
Life off the grid is pretty suite — full kitchen and electric appliances like a washing machine and an espresso maker. Ironically the boat is yet to use a sail, but the owner plans to add mini wind turbines to the roof to capture a bit more power.
Drone v Drone
One of our best bets in drone defense may be…drones. DroneHunter autonomously hunts threatening drones and drags them home in a net.
Carrying capacity: 20 lbs
Non-lethal capture is ideal for public events
Includes police-like warning lights
DroneHunter tows its catch to a safe drop-off point for disposal. As drones continue to become more accessible, non-lethal anti-drone defense will find its way into events like concerts and pro sports.
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