[Unmuseum_newsletter] The UnMuseum Newsletter for July 2007

[A Monthly Update on the World of Science]

The UnMuseum Newsletter for July 2007

Science Over the Edge

A Roundup of Strange Science for the Month

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In the News:

*Scientists Recreate Ancient Rome - A group of researchers spearheaded by 
the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of 
Virginia have re-created ancient Rome inside a computer. The project, named 
"Rome Reborn 1.0" allows virtual time travelers to walk through the ancients 
streets of the city as if they were there in June 320 A.D.. The computer 
model allows visitors to navigate with complete freedom, moving up, down, 
left and right at will. They can enter important public buildings such as 
the Roman Senate House, the Coliseum, or the Temple of Venus and Rome, the 
ancient city's largest place of worship. The location and appearance of the 
buildings is based on archeological data gathered by scientists over the 
past five centuries. Diane Favro, a founder of the project said, "This 
amazing model allows us to appreciate individual buildings of ancient Rome 
within a broad urban context, and thus also to understand how the modern 
city took shape over time." Video clips and still shots of the model can be 
viewed at http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu.

*Dinos Probably Contorted by Death - Fossilized dinosaurs that have died 
with their mouths wide-open, heads thrown back and tails that curved toward 
the head may be showing signs of asphyxiation and brain damage. Scientists 
have long thought that these dinosaurs had died in water and the currents 
pushed the bones into that position, or that rigor mortis contorted the 
body. "I'm reading this in the literature and thinking, 'This doesn't make 
any sense to me as a veterinarian,'" said Cynthia Marshall Faux, a 
veterinarian-turned-paleontologist at the Museum of the Rockies. Faux thinks 
that animals found in this posture may have suffocated in ash during a 
volcanic eruption or may have been contorted at death by disease, brain 
trauma, severe bleeding, thiamine deficiency or poisoning. One interesting 
observation is that modern animals found in this posture during death are 
almost those with high metabolic rates, giving support to the idea that 
dinosaurs were warm blooded animals.

*Weapon Found in Whale Dates from 1800's - The tip of a lance over a 
hundred-years-old was found in the shoulder of a 50-ton bowhead whale caught 
off the Alaska. The weapon, used to hunt whales around 1890, was launched 
from a heavy shoulder gun. Finding this object buried deep in the whales 
blubber allows scientists to get a better fix on how long whales can live. 
The 3½-inch arrow-shaped projectile is estimated between 115 and 130 years 
old. Scientists' think that this means the whale was at least 130-years-old. 
Researchers were unaware of exactly how long a bowhead whale could live, but 
other species of whale are estimated to be able to survive up to centuries 
in rare cases.

*Ancient People Ate On-the-Run - A new study shows that the ancient 
residents of Pompeii may have a lot in common with today's families as far 
as eating fast food goes. According to archaeologist Penelope Allison of the 
University of Leicester, the majority people in the city ate "on the run." 
She noticed that may middle-class households in the ancient city lack of 
tableware and a formal dining or kitchen areas. Instead her examination 
found plates here and there around the household, such as in the sleeping 
quarters. "Similar to how children today bring a plate of food to their 
rooms before watching TV or playing on the computer, my guess is that Roman 
youths would tote food to certain areas where they possibly engaged in other 
activities," she said.

*Mickey Back to the Future? - In a dig in Uppåkra in Sweden scientists have 
discovered a thousand year old bronze brooch that looks a lot like it should 
have been sold at a gift shop in Disney World. The object, which most likely 
was worn on the clothing of an Iron Age woman, bares a remarkable 
resemblance to Mickey Mouse. Is this a case of a modern souvenir falling 
into a time-warp? No, according to archaeologist Jerry Rosengren from Lund 
University the jewelry most likely supposed to represent a lion. Lions were 
important symbols to royals and warlords, said Rosengren, especially after 
Christianity was introduced to the Scandinavia. The broach was likely 
created by a French artist, who probably never had seen a lion in his entire 
life and came up with a fantasy version.


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What's New at the Museum:

*Benedict Arnold: The Father of Our Country? Arnold saved the Revolution 
once, then he saves it again - before betraying it. (Part 2) 
 >(http://www.unmuseum.org/barnold2.htm)

*Notes from the Curator's Office: The Time Tunnel to Fourth Grade- An 
obscure 60's SciFi TV show bridges the generation gap. 
 >(http://www.unmuseum.org/notescurator/timetunnel4th.htm)


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Ask the Curator:

*Before Big Bang - I'm a 60 year old scientist and I have a rock-solid 
understanding of the concept of entropy, including the idea of life as a 
temporary bump in the overall decline of order and organization in a system. 
All I want before I die is to know if there is any credible scientific 
theory about how the spring originally got wound 14-or-so billion years ago 
- Bob W.

Let me re-phrase you question as, "What was there before the Big-Bang and 
where did all the energy it requires come from?" At this point I don't 
believe there are any "credible" theories to explain this as none of the 
ideas scientists have about this area can be tested by experimentation. In 
fact, there is not likely to be anything testable until scientists can first 
create a Grand Unified theory of everything combining Einstein's General 
Relativity with Quantum Physics. That quest, which has been pursued by 
physicists like the Holy Grail for almost a century, so far does not seem 
near a conclusion.

So the best I can do is to throw out one of the more intriguing ideas 
floating around cosmology circles these days. This particular model comes 
out of string theory (One possible candidate for the Grand Unified Theory 
that says all energy and matter is composed of super-small vibrating loops 
of strings.) This idea was worked out by Paul Steinhardt (Princeton 
University) and Neil Turok (Cambridge University). They suggest our universe 
is part of a much larger universe. The model says that our universe exists 
on a three dimensional membrane ( or "Brane" in string theory lingo) and 
there are other branes close to ours, only millimeters away, but invisible.

Every trillion years or so these branes are drawn together and when they 
collide a huge amount of energy is released making a "Big Bang" that creates 
a universe on the brane (other universes can be created at other locations 
of the brane that may collide at other times) This process of collision 
Steinhardt and Turok named ekpyrosis which is the Greek word for 
conflagration. In addition to creating a smaller universe, ekpyrosis also 
pushes the branes apart.

Over the life of the universe some of the big bang energy turns into matter 
which becomes stars, galaxies and, of course, us. Eventually the energy 
involved in our universe spreads out as stars burn out and the universe 
grows cold. According to this idea, however, the branes which still contain 
the energy, and they are drawn back together again to collide and create 
another universe in an eternal cycle.

They only problem with this, and alternate theories like it, is that there 
is no way to test these theories experimentally to know if there is any 
evidence that they are true. Even if this idea is true, however, we may have 
just moved the question back a little bit further: What created that greater 
universe and where did all its energy come from?

Have a question? Go here to send it to the curator: 
(http://www.unmuseum.org/postmail.htm)


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In History:

*Wisconsin Lake Monster - In July of 1892 two boys were fishing along the 
shore of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, when they were startled by the sight of the 
head of a serpent-like creature rising out of the water only about 75 feet 
away. According to the boy's story, the monster opened its mouth showing 
rows of sharp, hook-like teeth. The animal started toward them, but then 
made a sudden U-turn and headed out into the middle of the lake. The boys 
said the animal was at least a hundred feet long and three feet around. 
While this tale appeared in a newspaper at the time, lack of other 
supporting evidence suggests it was a hoax.


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In the Sky:

*Color of the Stars - This is a good month to do some star comparisons. 
Early in the month, just after sunset, look directly overhead and try to 
locate a bright red-orange star. This is the star Arcturus, in the 
constellation Bootes. Now look low in the northeastern sky for a bright 
blue-white star. This is Vega. Why do they have different colors? The color 
is a direct result of the temperature of the star. Arcturus is a cool star 
and Vega a hot one. Our own sun gives off a yellowish color and is in 
between Arcturus and Vega in warmth.


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Observed:

*Big Foot Alive and Well in India? - Authorities are searching the jungles 
of India's remote northeast after a string of reports last month about 
"bigfoot"-type hairy giants roaming the area. Stories about these mysterious 
"Mande Burung" (translated as Jungle Man) have been around for decades, but 
a rash of recent sightings has made government investigate. "A team of 
wildlife officials and other experts will conduct a study to find out if 
there is any truth in the locals' claims about these hairy giants," declared 
a district magistrate in the West Garo Hills region. A local farmer who saw 
some reported, "The sight was frightening: two adults and two smaller ones, 
huge and bulky, furry. Their heads looked as if they were wearing caps, and 
their color was blackish-brown." One local group investigating the claims 
says it has hair samples of the creature and will send them for DNA testing.


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On the Tube:

Currently we are only able to give accurate times and dates for these 
programs in the United States. Check local listings in other locations.

*Utah's Dino Graveyard - Follow the excavation and research of a new species 
of theizinosaur, the most primitive member of a bizarre group of feathered 
dinosaurs. They are believed to be most closely related to raptors-a group 
that became that became today's birds. On The Science Channel: Jul 09, 9:00 
pm, Jul 10, 12:00 am, Jul 10, 4:00 am, Jul 10, 10:00 am, Jul 14, 4:00 pm, 
ET/PT.

*Starship Orion: The Future of Space Travel - NASA has taken the lead in 
designing the new space exploration vehicle, ORION, with which man will go 
back to the Moon; go on to Mars, and beyond. . On The Science Channel: Jul 
17, 8:00 pm, Jul 17, 11:00 pm, Jul 18, 3:00 am, Jul 18, 9:00 am, Jul 21, 
8:00 pm, Jul 21, 11:00 pm, Jul 22, 3:00 am, Jul 22, 4:00 pm, ET/PT.

*King Tut's Mystery Tomb Opened - In the first tomb found in Egypt's Valley 
of the Kings in 84 years, scientists find 7 coffins, plus a golden 
infant-size coffin, but one coffin remains sealed. Now, in a Discovery 
exclusive, they race to reach it, read the markings, and lift the lid... On 
the Discovery Channel: Jul 15, 8:00 pm, Jul 16, 12:00 am; ET/PT.

*Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen - More powerful than Cleopatra or Nefertiti, 
Hatshepsut was Egypt's greatest female ruler. And then she disappeared. 
Egypt's preeminent archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, investigates several mummies 
that may well be the remains of this powerful queen. On the Discovery 
Channel: Jul 15, 9:00 pm, Jul 16, 1:00 am, Jul 21, 9:00 pm, Jul 22, 1:00 am 
; ET/PT.

*The Universe: The End of the Earth: Deep Space Threats to Our Planet - 
Asteroids, comets, gamma ray bursts and the sun all combine to make the 
Earth a dangerous place to live. NASA's top brass and other scientists are 
arming themselves with the latest technology to pre-empt an apocalyptic 
attack. Watch and investigate bizarre, and terrifying apocalyptic scenarios 
and the ways that scientists are racing against the clock to develop 
technology to defend our planet. Rating: TVPG On the History Channel: 
Tuesday, July 03 08:00 PM Wednesday, July 04 12:00 AM; ET/PT.

*Rogue Waves - Join us for the amazing story of one of nature's most 
terrifying forces. With striking visuals from ships in storm-tossed seas, 
the special presents dramatic tales of rogue wave disasters throughout 
history, and explores the astonishing scientific discoveries surrounding 
this deadly phenomenon. Aided by mind-blowing CGI footage from the motion 
picture Poseidon by Wolfgang Petersen, director of The Perfect Storm, we 
reveal the awesome power of this ocean menace as it really is--a monster 
rising from the deep! Rating: TVPG. On the History Channel: Tuesday, July 10 
08:00 PM Wednesday, July 11 12:00 AM; ET/PT.



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*LGM: Check out the antics of Meep and Zeep as they try to find their flying 
saucer! (http://www.unmuseum.org/soearch/over.htm#lgm)

Copyright Lee Krystek, 2007.