Losing Weight to Get to Mars

Losing Weight to Get to Mars Losing Weight to Get to Mars A new ultralight material has one aerospace company pondering applications in the manufacturing of airliners, primarily within the plane, that could greatly reduce the weight of an aircraft. The lightest metal ever, recently acknowledged by Boeing and developed by HRL Laboratories, is made from a microlattice core that is 99.99% air and has aufsaugen properties that enable it to spring back into shape.Developers say it has the potential to be used within an airplane for flooring and structural uses within a fuselage. Dr. Tobias Schaedler, HRL senior scientist, says ultralight cores could be used for sandwich panels, overhead bins or similar pieces. With the potential to greatly reduce the weight of an aircraft, airlines could save millions of dollars in fuel costs.HRL and research partners the University of California at Irvine and the California Institute of Technology describe the material as a 3D open cellular polymer struc ture and illustrate the material by placing a cube on top of a germinating dandelion. The dandelion supports the tiny cube. Another video shows the cube compressing and returning to its original shape, something like an elastomer that cushions for shock.It is a microlattice of hollow tubes of nickel, says Schaedler, with a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter. That is less than the density of water. Its much thinner than a human hair, more than 1,000 times thinner, says Schaedler.Strength and record-breaking lightness make microlattice a potential metal for future planes and vehicles. Image BoeingPorositySchaedler says research first began with interest from DARPA, which was interested in creating white space materials using architecture as another dimension in materials design. Before we were always using solid materials, says Schaedler. But you can make lightweight materials using porosity. When we introduced porosity to materials, we achieved some properties not seen be fore. Thats where the lattice comes in. It has better mechanical properties at lower density.Fabricating and building the lattice takes distributions-mix over several steps. First, a mask is applied to a reservoir holding liquid resin. We then expose ultraviolet light through holes in the mask and at different angles, says Schaedler. When the light hits the resin, it forms polymer fibers and the fibers follow the path of the light. The multiple beams create multiple interconnected fibers.The remaining resin is then washed away, leaving the polymer fibers. The fibers are then coated with a very thin layer of nickel after which the fibers are dissolved. What remains is the metal lattice. Size and dimension can be altered by varying the size of the holes in the mask through which the ultraviolet light travels.This could help Boeing save a lot of weight and make airplanes more fuel efficient, said Boeing research scientist Sophia Wang in a video announcing the material. HRL also thinks it has potential for air-cooling devices in computers and electrodes in lithium ion batteries.HRL, which is partly owned by Boeing and General Motors, is continuing its work with the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. Earlier this year, it announced it would supply NASA with ultralight materials through NASAs Game Changing Development Program. The goal is to reduce the mass of spacecraft for deep space exploration by 40%, a necessary step for NASAs plans to journey to Mars.Wed like the microlattice core to replace honeycombs, says Schaedler, who will head the new program. The researchers want to develop lighter and stronger cores with innovative struss architectures to be combined with carbon fiber composite facesheets, according to HRL.The HRL approach combines ultra-stiff and ultra-strong materials (such as nanocrystalline metals) that provide higher strength than conventional materials with highly optimized truss architectures that enable unprecedented degrees of freed om to tailor the mechanical performance, according to the laboratory. Were building on our breakthrough invention of ultralight metallic lattices and will mature the technology to apply to the next generation of space vehicles, stated Schaedler.ArchitectureIn 2011, when HRL researchers published their findings in Science, Dr. Bill Carter, head of HRLs Architected Materials Group, likened the microlattice to larger buildings such as the Eiffel Tower. verkommen buildings, exemplified by the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge, are incredibly light and weight-efficient by virtue of their architectures.We are revolutionizing lightweight materials by bringing this concept to the materials level and designing their architectures at the nano and micro scales.The researchers demonstrated a fabrication process for making sandwich structures roughly the thickness of a quarter, but 97% to 99.6% lighter. Image HRL LaboratoriesThe ultralight paper was published in 2011 and that started a comp etition, says Schaedler. We cant claim the lattice material alone. Among others, he says researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are working with similar nickel lattices, and researchers in China are working with carbon for even lighter materials.HRL scientists are also exploiting the microlattice to form ultrathin sandwich structures that could be used as a platform for unmanned micro aerial vehicles. Sandwich structures improve the performance of weight-sensitive vehicles like airplanes and helicopters because they are lighter than other materials, said Dr. Christopher Roper, HRL senior research staff engineer in announcing the labs success. Roper co-authored the paper Enabling Ultra-Lightweight Structures Microsandwich Structures with Microlattice Cores, published in APL Materials.Traditional methods of producing sandwich structures do not scale down to the thickness and densities needed for micro drones, he said. Using the microlattice fabrication process, they mad e micro sandwich structures roughly the thickness of a quarter, but 97% to 99.6% lighter.Roper said the low densities are impossible with traditional sandwich structure fabrication techniques because the weight of the adhesive is greater than the weight of the facesheet and core it holds together. Researchers used the technique to produce the photopolymer waveguide microlattice material, allowing the microlattice core to perform as both adhesive and the core.Researchers think microsandwich structures could auffhrungually be used in the wings of insect-like robots or similar unmanned aerial craft. Such devices could be used to inspect hard-to-reach infrastructure or fit through difficult spaces to locate survivors in the event of a natural disaster. For Further Discussion We are revolutionizing lightweight materials by bringing this concept to the materials level and designing their architectures at the nano and micro scales.Dr. Tobias Schaedler, HRL Laboratories

Can a happier spouse help you live longer

Can a happier spouse help you live longerCan a happier spouse help you live longerMy husband Don is generally a pretty cheerful guy. He has a great network of friends, takes good care of himself, and does work that is meaningful to him.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraCertainly, Dons happy disposition is a boon for me, as his happiness makes our relationship run more smoothly. But could it have any impact onmyhealth- perhaps even extending my life? Anew studyby Olga Stavrova of Tilburg University in the Netherlands looked at that very question.Stavrova analyzed data on over 4,300 couples from theHealth and Retirement Studyat the University of Michigan, an ongoing project studying adults ages 50 and older. She specifically wanted to understand the relationship between a spouses life satisfaction at one point in time and their partners survival over the eight years that followed fr om that point. This welches a little tricky to figure out, as there are so many factors to consider when looking at longevity- for example, age, ethnicity, or race socioeconomic status (SES) the baseline health (of both partners) and more. Stavrova statistically controlled for these other factors to see if a partners happiness affected ones longevity above and beyond them.Her findings were pretty remarkable When a parties partner welches significantly happier- in science-speak, one standard deviation higher than average in life satisfaction- that person had a 13 percent lower chance of dying within the eight-year period. This was true regardless of the persons age, ethnicity, SES, or health when their partners happiness was meaayad.Though I was surprised by this finding, Stavrova wasnt.Previousresearchhas already shown that well-being in one spouse is associated with positive health outcomes in the other one, she says. So, this study extends these findings to mortality.As expected, a personsownhappiness was also tied to their mortality- for every one standard deviation higher, the person had an 18 percent lower chance of dying. But, when Stavrova considered how healthyeithermember of the couple was at the beginning of the study, and whether or not a persons partner died during the eight-year window, being happy didnt affect a persons longevity while having ahappy partnerstill did.This suggests that a spouses happiness could be even more relevant than ones own- it may be what keeps us alive longer. In other words, the association between ones life satisfaction and ones mortality might be explained away by a confounding with having poor health initially (at least, in this dataset), while the association between ones partner life satisfaction and ones mortality cannot, says Stavrova.How could this possibly be? Stavrova considered one explanation. Someresearch suggests that feeling supported socially is an important factor in staying healthier longer, and she thou ght happier partners might offer more support to their significant other. But the data she had didnt support that hypothesis.However, Stavrova did find evidence for another explanation A happier partner tended to exercise more, which was tied to a persons own willingness to exercise more. And since more exercise is tied to greater longevity, its possible that this social influence around exercising is whats making the difference.Still, its impossible to know that for sure, says Stavrova, since exercise patterns in both partners were measured simultaneously. It could be the opposite- that when you exercise more, your partner is happier. Plus, there could be other reasons for the findings Maybe a happy person eats healthier food or makes more time for social activities, which could indirectly affect their partners longevity, as these activities tend to be shared within couples.So, can we say anything for sure? Yes, says Stavrova Our partners life satisfaction affects our own longevity , even if we arent well to begin with.Does this imply that we should leave an unhappy spouse for fear of putting ourselves into an early grave? Though Stavrova fears people might interpret her findings that way, she insists its the wrong approach. Instead, she says, it may only mean that doctors and others should widen their view when considering patient health and consider the role partner happiness may play in healing. A more humane implication is that healthy lifestyle recommendations should target couples (or households) rather than individuals, she says.In other words, if we want to be happier and live longer, we might want to focus on not just our own well-being, but that of our partner, too. Encouraging them to have healthy social relationships, exercise regularly, and engage in meaningful activities could lead to greater longevity for themandfor you.Luckily for me, Don is already there.This article first appeared on The Greater Good.

Another 5 Power Words to Make Your Resume Get Noticed

Another 5 Power Words to Make Your Resume Get NoticedAnother 5 Resume Power WordsAnother 5 Power Words to Make Your Resume Get NoticedYouve probably read or heard it before, but its worth saying again Your resume must grab the hiring managers attention within the first 10 seconds, or it will likely get tossed.Want to boost your chance of being called in for an interview? Use strong action verbs to describe your accomplishments from current and previous roles. Here are five such power words that may intrigue hiring managers. These five should be especially appealing to companies that strive for efficiency and teamwork, two widely sought hallmarks for much of todays workforce. (This post offers the third set of five resume power words check out the first two, which appeared in May and July.)COORDINATEDMeaning and Context To coordinate is to combine in harmonious relation or action. Employers like people who have team-building skills since much work is conducted that way. Use coordinate d if the accomplishment youre describing was more as a facilitator or manager than of a leader who drove a project and assigned roles to team members.Example Coordinated efforts of seven colleagues from four departments to produce critically needed corporate operations manual.Alternatives to Avoid Brought together, combined, linked. Employers would rather be looking for someone who can coordinate than someone who can link, combine, or bring together. Coordinated speaks directly to that need.ELIMINATEDMeaning and Context Removed or got rid of, such as high costs, inefficient labor, or non-essential steps in a process. All organizations share this one goal when it comes to how they operate How can we do things faster, better, and cheaper? If you removed some barrier to help an employer reach that goal, eliminated is a strong word to describe it.Example Eliminated three unnecessary steps in a project approval process, helping accelerate deployment schedules for three new applications t o 2,500 end users.Alternatives to Avoid Cut, omitted, got rid of, killed, disposed of. Like coordinated, eliminated resonates better with just about any employer since it can cover nearly everything in the workplace that carries a cost, from process steps to positions.MOTIVATEDMeaning and Context Someone who motivates, compels, or inspires others to do something. For instance, a manager can motivate an employee to take on a thankless or mundane task, if just to win the managers admiration or recognition. In a financial context, thats what bonus pay is for. If youve managed or led anything from a project to a corporation, you can probably identify with this. Many employers looking for managers or leaders will likely notice this word on your resume.Example Motivated a team of six IT hilfe professionals to increase face time with end users, helping increase user satisfaction 25% within one year.Alternatives to Avoid Moved, led, pushed, provoked, incited. The first three are just weak. The other two carry more negative connotations, such as provoked anger or incited a riot.SIMPLIFIEDMeaning and Context Made something easier to understand or execute, especially a process that saved money or enhanced a customers experience.Example Simplified the user interface so customers could log into their accounts and review account information easier, resulting in a 15% increase in customer satisfaction within six months.Alternatives to Avoid Reduced, shortened. These two really arent bad they just dont carry the impact that a word such as simplify carries.TARGETEDMeaning and Context Targeted could mean took aim at negatives such as costs or redundant processes, or positives such as new sources of revenue.Example Targeted a new demographic group to boost sales of a traditional widget line, leading to 5% jump in revenue ($4 1000000 to $4.2 million) within one year.Alternative to Avoid Designated. Its a nice word but it just doesnt make an impact.As I mentioned in the first two power words posts, choosing action verbs that generate powerful images in the minds eye is a key ingredient in a truly impressive resume that will grab the readers attention. Use them to help make your accomplishments stand out.