Did You Know?
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Peak daily demand for electricity occurs between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. For more information, see: For a lesson about this topic, see: |
Ever since the space race began in the late 1950s, people have benefited from technology developments that were born in this industry: plastics, computers, advances in food preservation and packaging, to name a few. This is still true today as scientists conduct many novel scientific experiments in space. It is, and may very well continue to be, also true of nuclear technology and the space program.
Astronauts have dined on irradiated food for years and it has now been endorsed by every major food and health organization. As probes are sent deeper into space it has become necessary to find other ways of propulsion besides chemical energy (with its limitations on mass) and solar energy (as they get further away from the Sun there is insufficient light).
Increasingly, modern aircraft and space vehicles use composite materials to reduce weight and conserve fuel. In many cases these materials are treated with ionizing radiation to improve their properties. Moreover, failures of materials such as the vertical stabilizer on Canada’s F-18 aircraft have been studied with neutrons from research reactors.
As we move to the future, how will these technologies benefit society?
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Space food samples www.nasa.gov |
Electric-ion engine www.physorg.com/ |