LearnedGuy

LearnedGuy t1_j6olrcv wrote

It appears that the U.S. CIA has been making contributions to universities for the study of extremophiles. Do you know wgat the use-case would be for them? They are at such depths and pressures that they might be a stepping stone organusm to study. If ghey could be coaxed to work in a more moderate context , then they might be able to assist in processing magnesium, iron, or rare earth minerals.

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LearnedGuy t1_is42k1y wrote

One effect that is interesting is the precession of organic (kerosene) molecules in a proton procession magnetometer. Ever time a square wave cycle is imposed on the hydrocarbon using a wrapping coil the protons align the the coil. When the square wave amplitude drops to zero the protons return to align with the Earth's magnetic field. But they don't snap back immediately because they are spinning. Instead they proceed back, and the precession can be read on the same coil as an imposed decaying sine wave. The stronger the Earth's field, the faster the precession takes place. Using a crystal oscillator as a reference the Earth's field can be read to 1 part in 50,000 (lambdas). Submarines sometimes use these measurements of known magnetic fields to navigate through undersea mountain ranges.

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LearnedGuy t1_is3z6mp wrote

The costal areas along Vietnam has much lower salinity due to the Monsoon rains. The corals don't like that so they disappesf. No corals, no fish. The coasts are mostly barren sand. Harvard is looking in to low-salinity corals, but it's still early in that research. Tuburtity is also a concern because the silica cuts the fishes gills.

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