
NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space - jedp
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/van-allen-probes-spot-impenetrable-barrier-in-space/
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pjungwir
It's amazing how much they look like electron orbitals. . . . Sometimes its
seems like the reason we see nature reuse the same patterns is not from any
physical mechanism but simply because math only has so many "shapes." I am
perpetually in awe at this mysterious order to our universe.

Also: if these belts block high-energy electrons, can they teach us to build a
force field that does the same? And can that solve the problem of fast-moving
spacecraft being destroyed by the first spec of dust they encounter? Or of
radiation killing the crew?

What if the only way to protect life against cosmic radiation is to build a
planet-sized spacecraft?

Another question due to my weak grasp of modern physics: to a fast-moving
spacecraft, are all electrons "high energy"?

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mturmon
You may already know this, but in your observation about "math having only so
many shapes" has been explored in some depth. There is a wikipedia page:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterns_in_nature](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterns_in_nature)

but I first learned about it from the book, "Patterns in Nature", by Peter S.
Stevens ([http://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Nature-Peter-S-
Stevens/dp/031...](http://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Nature-Peter-S-
Stevens/dp/0316813311)), which was recommended to me by a noted poet.

~~~
davidw
I'm glad that page linked to this:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli)

The first time I saw it in a store here in Italy I got all excited and started
staring at it up close.

~~~
mturmon
My daughter loves that stuff. I was pleased.

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jedp
The title is a bit hyperbolic. The article shows how the Van Allen belts
constitute a "nearly impenetrable" barrier preventing "ultra-fast electrons"
from approaching the earth.

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dreamweapon
Yeah -- from the sound of the title, you'd think they'd discovered this thing:

[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Galactic_barrier](http://en.memory-
alpha.org/wiki/Galactic_barrier)

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lifeisstillgood
I find that the more we know about this planet that keeps us safe, a large
moon to keep asteroids away and tectonics hot, a mass just enough to keep an
atmosphere around us and a spinning iron core to provide "impenetrable
barriers", the more I learn of this the less I think Fermi found a paradox and
just that it's hard for life to stay alive in this universe.

~~~
JetSpiegel
Life finds a way.

~~~
Balgair
It's the day before turkey day, you don't deserve the negative links, even if
it was a cheap comment, as you made me think of that ma's laugh:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9D6w1GzGY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9D6w1GzGY)

Also, is laughter a conserved 'shape' in nature, and what is the shape space
of nature anyways, is it restricted to the 4 dimensions we inhabit in a way?

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krmtl
Here is a related article that discusses removing the Van Allen belts:

[http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/astrophysics/hacking-
the-...](http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/astrophysics/hacking-the-van-
allen-belts)

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tomelders
Moron here. So what are the ramifications of this? Does it inhibit our ability
to observe the universe? Dare I ask, does this offer any protection from
anything nasty the universe might send our way?

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kilroy123
This certainly seems like something we need to duplicate for spaceships, to
more safely travel to mars and beyond.

I don't know much about the dangers of these particles on the human body. I'm
going to assume any environment different to the one on earth poses great
risk.

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carapace
Electromagnetic aspects of the "Gaia" hypothesis?

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atorralb
glass sky theory anyone?

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drew-r
Space ship passes through it = not impenetrable

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ZenoArrow
Clearly it's possible to escape Earth orbit, but would point out that the Van
Allen belts have been used by conspiracy theorists to 'prove' that the moon
landings were faked.

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graycat
> Impenetrable Barrier in Spac

Gee, then, how'd various spacecraft get through it?

Ah, now that I read the details, it's a "nearly impenetrable barrier" to
electrons. Okay, now not so amazing! No need to call Captain Kirk!

Such titles are called "click bait" or some such, right?

