New Mars Forums

The three obstacles I see for making this work with the hydrogen atoms/IONs is;

1.Storage: how do we store the hydrogen atoms/IONs so they can be useful?

2.Adding/Removing electrons. Shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.

3. How to read the atom/ION to tell if it has one electron two electrons or no electrons. This shouldn’t be too difficult either.

A computer stores data with switches that are either turned on or off. If the switch is on, the value is a 1; if off the value is 0. This is a ‘bit’ of data.

By arranging these 0 and 1 in different ways, we tell the computer what to do. This is called the Binary Language. For example this arrangement of 0s and 1s- 01100101- tells the computer it is an “e”.

Anyway, for a science fiction story I was writing, I was wondering how small can computer storage get? At the atomic level? Subatomic level?

I started thinking how an atom might be used for storage. What if we used the state of the electron field around an atom to give us some varable?

Lets take a the simplest atom, a hydrogen atom. I hydrogen atom can have no electrons, making it a positive hydrogen ion; a single electron, making a neutral hydrogen atom; two electrons making it a negative hydrogen ion.

Say our computer chip is has hydrogen atoms/ions at the end of each switch and say we can add or remove electrons. We now have a very tiny 3-way switch. Instead of on/off (1/0) we have X,Y, and Z giving us far more combinations than 0 and 1. We now have 0,1, 2.

Such a system would be small, and it could store massive amounts of data compared to its silicon counterparts.

We could use larger atoms, but they would take up more space, however, they would have more combinations. Larger atoms have several Energy Levels (Shells) These are, if I remember my chemistry correctly, the K,L,M,N and O shells. As energy is applied or removed from an atom, its electrons jump between shells. This could give us many combination for data storage with each atom.

As I get time, I will explore this idea further. It makes good science fiction, and who know, maybe it will lead to something useful.

Robert E. Bleier

Looks like Opportunity is at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ … tml]Vostok

I have been an Armature Astronomer and Geologist for about 25 year. I was a professional Astronomer during my college years- I did get paid for my work at the observatory.

I also taught Astronomy at the High School and college level. And I taught Geology at the Junior High School level.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an Astronomer or Geologist. But I couldn’t make a living doing either so now I am a programmer. Sometime I wish I was out in the field doing Geology or Astronomy.

I have found that being a Scientist in the Academic area is very similar to being a programmer in the Business area- at least with the way non-scientist and non-programmer people look at you, and treat you.

In both, you have most fooled to thinking you are brilliant
And if you don't have an answer for them, throw in a bunch of technogarbage and buzz words That usually sends them away thinking you know what you are talking about

The  Jupiter Equatorial  Bands

And they play South of the border music.

It is my understanding that Venus and Earth both have the similar amounts of Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. With Venus, it is all in the atmosphere. With the Earth, most of the Carbon Dioxide is locked away in carbonate rocks like limestone (Thank you oceans!) and a nice chunk of Earth’s nitrogen is locked away in Nitrates.

I would think Mars would have started out with a similar ratio. If you take in account that the there is a higher ratio of lighter elements as you get farther from the Sun, then Mars should have started out with a higher percentage of Nitrogen.

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15 … .html]Some more of that weird Hellas terrain like I posted a few months ago.

This is very near the lowest point on Mars, where temperature and pressure are sometimes where liquid water can exist on the surface. Of course, in Mars’ dry air, any such water would quickly evaporate, but in the soil, it would stay liquid.

I have not looked at MOC pictures much in the last three months. Have they added more?

Cal’s (Calet) hatred for the Earth goes back to his childhood when he and his father were visiting the Moon. He saw the blue Earth shining brightly in the lunar sky and he asked his father when they could visit Earth. His father said, “We can never visit the Earth. Its gravity would kill us.”

From then on he looked at Earth as an enemy, something that would kill him if he got too close.

And now the Terrans were terraforming Venus, giving them another world to possess- another world Cal could never land on. “No!”, he would not let that happen. If they would not meet his demands, he would use the very technology the Terrans were using to terraform Venus to make the Earth uninhabitable.

Because of Cal’s actions, our heros are stranded on Venus. With colossal rainstorms pounding on them, lightning as their only light, they have to make it to higher ground as a new ocean is rising around them.

Cal survives but his gang is destroyed in their terrorist attack on the Venus terraformers. He meets up with them our heroes in Part two, as they explore the Alpha Centauri System, and discover some strange aliens.

I almost got the story published. I had a publisher interested, but I didn’t like the publisher’s contract, and I wasn’t happy with certain parts of the story. I have plans on rewriting it.

Thar on the guitar, his Sis on the mike, and Bulge on the drums.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 194]Clouds have picked up at the pole.

Perhaps that is the source of the methane rain? I wonder how far from the poles the clouds will extend? I am curious if this pole is warming up, causing an increase in methane clouds. Eventually they’ll extend closer to the equator?

or

Mars, Wind & No Fire (No Oxygen)

Did anyone else catch Cylon Number 6 telling Dr. Baltar, “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I am angry.”

If you grew up watching the original Battlestar Galatica, you probably watched the Incredible Hulk TV show. Both were on the air at the same time and both were produced by Universal Studios. In 1980, I went to Universal Studios and I got to see them shoot both shows on the lot.

“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I am angry.” is a direct Incredible Hulk quote, and I think they did it on purpose, perhaps because both show share a sort of kinship.

In last Friday's show, we got to see Adama get tougher. He seems to be doing that with each show.

This Friday's show looks interesting.