The Eye of Osiris

"The Eye of Osiris" is a novel written by Richard Austin Freeman (1862 - 1943). He was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology. In this crime novel, Dr Thorndyke solved the mistery using a X-ray photography of a mummy.

"It was all clear enough so far. The peculiar sound that filled the air was the hum of the interrupter; the bulb was, of course, a Crookes' tube, and the red spot inside it, the glowing red-hot disc of the anti-cathode. Clearly an X-ray photograph was being made; but of what? I strained my eyes, peering into the gloom at the foot of the gallows, but though I could make out an elongated object lying on the floor directly under the bulb, I could not resolve the dimly seen shape into anything recognisable. Presently, however, Dr. Norbury supplied the clue. 'I am rather surprised,' said he, 'that you chose so composite an object as a mummy to begin on. I should have thought that a simpler object, such as a coffin or a wooden figure, would have been more instructive.' "
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0605551h.html

Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet. The name Wadjet is derived from 'wadj' meaning 'green' hence 'the green one' and was known to the Greeks and Romans as 'uraeus' from the Egyptian 'iaret' meaning 'risen one' from the image of a cobra rising up in protection. More at Wiki
Wadjet was one of the earliest of Egyptian deities who later became associated with other goddesses such as Bast, Mut, and Hathor, who is also depicted with this eye. Burial amulets were often made in the shape of the Eye of Horus, to protect the owner in the afterlife and to ward off evil. Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern sailors would frequently paint the symbol on the bow of their vessel to ensure safe sea travel (Charles Freeman, The Legacy of Ancient Egypt, Facts on File, Inc. 1997. p.91).
"Horus was the ancient Egyptian sky god who was usually depicted as a falcon. His right eye was associated with the sun Ra. The eye symbol represents the marking around a Peregrine Falcon's eye that includes the "teardrop" marking sometimes found below the eye."
It is interesting to note that, in the ancient egyptian calculus, the Eye Of Horus defined number one (1) = 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64, by throwing away 1/64. The parts of the Eye were used to represent fractions.

Amulets on display at the Egyptian Museum, Torino

Second sight

In English, "second sight" indicates a form of extrasensory perception - a supposed power to perceive things that are not present to the senses - by means of which a person gains information in the form of a vision. The person "sees" future events before they happen (precognition), or  things  at remote locations (remote viewing). "Second sight" is so called because normal vision is coming as first, while supernormal vision is a secondary thing, confined to certain individuals.

In Italian, we call it the "doppia vista", that is the double sight, physical and spiritual. It is considered an  awakening of consciousness.

Ecco una divinita' solare mesoamericana (cultura Chupicuaro), che con i suoi occhi raddoppiati evoca il dono della "doppia vista". Il giallo, colore del Sole, simboleggia la perfezione spirituale ed è specifico dell'intelligenza; è stato spesso usato negli oggetti di culto e magici. Bella statuetta che illustra chiaramente il concetto della doppia vista.

Museo Barbier-Mueller

Centenario - Emilio Salgari

Quest'anno è il centenario della morte di Emilio Salgari.
Chi non ha letto un libro o visto un film  il cui protagonista è Sandokan, la Tigre della Malesia?
Read more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandokan

"Eye" of Sahara

During a survey by means of Google Maps of the desert near the Nile, I have seen this structure, which seems an eye on the sand.

It is small when compared to the huge Richat structure in Mauritania.

Richat Structure

The Richat Structure is a huge circular feature in the Sahara desert of Mauritania near Ouadane. It has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it forms an eye. The structure has a diameter of approx 50 kilometres. It was initially supposed a meteorite impact structure.

Image obtained by Google Maps

Arabia: craters and stone circles

The Arabia Shield has a volcanic nature inside. A region of the Western Saudi Arabia is in fact covered with vast fields of lava known as harraat. These lands are spotted by many stone circles and other quite interesting archaeological remains of the Neolithic period, such as the "desert kites", the hunters used to guide the game across the harrah in some corrals. With Google Maps, we can observe both sceneries, the volcanic nature of the land and a portrait of Arabia during the Neolithic times.

More

Arabia: from craters to stone circles, by Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, arXiv, 9 Nov 2010
Keywords: Satellite maps, Landforms, Artificial landforms, Image processing, Archaeology
Subjects: Geophysics (physics.geo-ph), Cite as: arXiv:1011.2111v1 [physics.geo-ph]
http://arxiv.org/abs/1011.2111

Arabia: from craters to stone circles - di Amelia Carolina Sparavigna
Archaeogate, 19-11-2010

Paper cited by
New Evidence for a Large Prehistoric Settlement in a Caldera-Like Geomorphological
Structure in Southwest Morocco, by M. Huebner and S. Huebner
asalas.org, Germany
Abstract: In this article, the results of two expeditions to a prehistoric settlement
in southwest Morocco are summarized. It is situated in the Souss-Massa plain inside an annular
(circular) geomorphological structure and once covered about 20 km2.
The center was densely populated and surrounded by a 9 km long wall.
The authors found many ruins of houses, large monuments, caverns, cisterns, kilns, tumuli, paths, rock
carvings and various types of landscaping.

To see the paper: Archaeogate
http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1011/1011.2111.pdf

http://www.archaeogate.org/classica/article/1327/1/arabia-from-craters-to-stone-circles-di-amelia-carolina.html

Woodhenge

Woodhenge is a Neolithic henge and timber circle monument located in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. Woodhenge was identified in 1925 after an aerial archaeology survey by Alexander Keiller and OGS Crawford. Crawford credits the discovery to an aerial photograph.

Most of the 168 post holes held wooden posts, although Cunnington found evidence that a pair of standing stones may have been placed between the second and third post hole rings. The positions of the postholes are currently marked with modern concrete posts which are a simple and informative method of displaying the site. Further comparisons with Stonehenge were quickly noticed by Cunnington; both have entrances oriented approximately on the midsummer sunrise. 

more wiki

Crop circles - 2

Crop circle near Avebury

Crop circles - 1

Crop circle, near the ancient monument of Avebury, UK

"Avebury is the site of an ancient monument consisting of a large henge, several stone circles, stone avenues and barrows, surrounding the village of Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is one of the finest and largest Neolithic monuments in Europe, about 5,000 years old. Although older than the megalithic stages of Stonehenge 32 kilometres (20 mi) to the south, the two monuments are broadly contemporary overall. ... Avebury is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, a World Heritage Site, and a National Trustproperty." More Wiki

Archimedes's steam cannon

A steam cannon is a cannon where projectiles are launched by steam. The first steam cannon was designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse. Leonardo da Vinci was also known to have designed one. The device is metal tube, which would be placed in a furnace: one end of the tube is closed and the other loaded with a projectile. Once the tube reached a high enough temperature, a small amount of water in injected in behind the projectile. Leonardo da Vinci guessed that the water would rapidly expand into vapour, blasting the projectile out the front of the barrel.
See how the  ArchiMITes cannon is working: http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www//experiments/steamCannon/ArchimedesSteamCannon.html

Thermal water pump

A water pump that uses thermal energy from the sun is to undergo field testing before potentially being used by farmers in the developing world for irrigating fields. The device uses a non-inertive-feedback thermofluidic engine (NIFTE) that converts relatively small temperature differences between its heat source and heat sink into mechanical force.
Thermal water pump could aid farmers in developing nations | News | The Engineer
NIFTE is the core product of an univerisyt spin-off, http://www.thermofluidics.com/ . It would be interesting to have more details.

Thermodynamic solars: a new italian technology

"Encouraging news in the renewable energy come from solar thermal industry that, in 2009, has experienced considerable growth and that seems destined to play an even more important in coming years. The U.S., in fact, intend to achieve by 2020 the technology for new power plants with a total capacity of 10.3 GW of power.
Also Italy is taking decisive steps in this field, as evidenced by the recent birth of a company called Archimedes Solar Energy, which produces the key component of solar thermal power plants, pipes receptors, according to a new technology patented by ENEA." World of Solar Thermal - Solar Thermal Energy Daily News, Events, Companies, Products, Jobs and more - Thermodynamic solars: a new italian technology

Why the name "Archimedes"? Let us remember what the 2nd century AD author Lucian wrote about.
"During the Siege of Syracuse (c.214–212 BC), Archimedes destroyed enemy ships with fire. Centuries later, Anthemius of Tralles mentions burning-glasses as Archimedes' weapon. The device, sometimes called the "Archimedes heat ray", was used to focus sunlight onto approaching ships, causing them to catch fire. This purported weapon has been the subject of ongoing debate about its credibility since the Renaissance. René Descartes rejected it as false, while modern researchers have attempted to recreate the effect using only the means that would have been available to Archimedes. It has been suggested that a large array of highly polished bronze or copper shields acting as mirrors could have been employed to focus sunlight onto a ship. This would have used the principle of the parabolic reflector in a manner similar to a solar furnace." More  wiki

Wind turbines need more studies

Wind turbines need to be farther apart, suggests study | News | The Engineer
"Currently, turbines on large wind farms are spaced about seven rotor diameters apart. The new spacing model developed by Meneveau and Johan Meyers, an assistant professor at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, suggests that placing the wind turbines 15 rotor diameters apart - more than twice as far apart as in the current layouts – results in more cost-efficient power generation. Large wind farms - consisting of hundreds or even thousands of turbines - are planned or already operating in the western United States, Europe and China."

Museo in 3D

Dettaglio di una scultura indiana, da vedere in 3D con gli occhialini rosso/ciano.

Museo Arte Orientale

Profiles - Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph (1840 – 1904) was the chief of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce during General Oliver O. Howard's attempt to forcibly remove his band and the other "non-treaty" Nez Perce to a reservation in Idaho. For his principled resistance to the removal, he became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker.

From Wiki

Joseph the Younger succeeded his father as chief in 1871. Before his death, the latter counseled his son:

"My son, my body is returning to my mother earth, and my spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit Chief. When I am gone, think of your country. You are the chief of these people. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your father never sold his country. You must stop your ears whenever you are asked to sign a treaty selling your home. A few years more and white men will be all around you. They have their eyes on this land. My son, never forget my dying words. This country holds your father's body. Never sell the bones of your father and your mother." Chief Joseph commented "I clasped my father's hand and promised to do as he asked. A man who would not defend his father's grave is worse than a wild beast."

...

Chief Joseph formally surrendered to General Nelson Appleton Miles on October 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles south of Canada in a place close to the present-day Chinook in Blaine County. The battle is remembered in popular history by the words attributed to Chief Joseph at the formal surrender:
"Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

The image shows Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Chief Joseph at the Nez Percé Lapwai Reservation in Idaho, where Fletcher arrived in 1889. The image is adapted from the original photograph by Jane Gay. This image is in the public domain due to its age.

Alice Cunningham Fletcher (1838 - 1923) was an American ethnologist who studied and documented American Indian culture. More  Wiki and also http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/fletcher/ (this web page has an image archive with original stereoscopic pictures).

Caligula's Tomb

"Hallan la tumba de Calígula", Tras dos milenios de su muerte, hallaron la tumba del emperador Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, más conocido como Calígula, de quien se decía que era promiscuo, depravado, cruel y demente, en el sur de Roma. El lugar fue detectado cuando la policía descubrió a un hombre que trataba de contrabandear una estatua del emperador robada del sitio, de dos metros y medio de alto. Calígula murió a los 28 años, cuando sus propios guardaespaldas acabaron con su vida en el año 41 A.C. Una de las locuras más célebres de Calígula fue nombrar consejero y sacerdote a su caballo favorito, Incitatus. http://connuestroperu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14915&Itemid=1

"Caligula's tomb found after police arrest man trying to smuggle statue"
Police arrest tomb raider loading part of 2.5 metre statue into lorry near Lake Nemi, south of Rome, where Caligula had a villa. The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/17/caligula-tomb-found-police-statue   The lost tomb of Caligula has been found, according to Italian police, after the arrest of a man trying to smuggle abroad a statue of the notorious Roman emperor recovered from the site. ...  The emperor had a villa there, as well as a floating temple and a floating palace on the Lake Nemi.

La tomba perduta di Caligola è stata trovata, secondo la polizia italiana, dopo l'arresto di un uomo che cercava di contrabbandare all'estero una statua dell'imperatore romano famigerato recuperata dal sito.

Emperor Caligula, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. (courtesy, Louis le Grand)

Caligula's Floating Palaces

"Caligula was a man of many passions, and he indulged nearly all of them, including his passions for chariot racing, theatrical performances, gladiatorial games, and ships. During his brief rule from A.D. 37 to 41, he had two enormous ships--a sailing ship and an oared galley--built and anchored on Lake Nemi as pleasure craft. Pillaged and deliberately sunk later in the first century, they were recovered in a feat of engineering sponsored by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s, but destroyed during a German retreat in 1944."  http://www.archaeology.org/0205/abstracts/caligula.html

Here an interesting description, written by Colonel Maceroni, in 1838.

A very singular piece of antiquity exists in the lake of Nemi, of which I have never seen any mention made by travellers. On the north-east side of the lake, in about forty feet water, lie the ruins of a large floating palace constructed by the Emperor Claudius or by Nero (in fact, Caligula). The lakes of Albano and Nemi are the craters of extinct volcanos, from which, at the time when they were covered by the sea, has proceeded all that vast quantity of tuffo and puzzolana which covers the Campagna di Roma. The high, steep banks of these circular lakes, covered with most beautiful trees and villas, cause one side of the water below to be constantly sheltered from the wind. Hence a floating habitation will give the choice of shade and shelter, or sunshine as the season may require. The way in which I became acquainted with this sunken palace was quite accidental. Being one evening in my punt about to lay some eel lines, the fisherman whom I employed told me, that the best place in that vicinity was "about the old palace". I stared and looked about. "What palace?" said I. I see plenty of houses and cottages, and ruins, on the hills around, but they are not even quite at the water's edge. My man rejoined : "I mean about the wooden palace under water in which the Emperor Claudius used to live." Delighted and excited by this announcement more than I should have been by the capture of a thousand eels as big as the mast of a ship, I hastened to the spot, but the declining sun had sunk below the high crater wood-clothed margin of the lake, and looking down into the limpid waters, all seemed dark and blue, and nothing could be seen but the hills and trees, and my own anxious physiognomy reflected in the watery mirror. However, I laid my lines, the hooks being baited with the thighs of frogs, and next morning I found fourteen eels, all about a pound a piece, and some of three pounds weight. Moreover, a brilliant sunshine enabled me to see the sunken palace, which appeared to be about one hundred feet square and fifteen to twenty feet high. How did I then regret not having the command of a diving-bell! What most curious and precious objects of antiquity might not be found in the interior of this construction? But this discovery I must leave to some future traveller, who may have the means of causing a diving-bell to be constructed at Rome, and know how to use it. As for myself, I mentioned the discovery to General Miolis, the imperial locum tenens, or Governor of Rome, and also to the learned antiquary, Mr. Norviuse de Monbreton, but nothing was done.

From the MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI. LATE AlDE-DE'-CAMP to JOACHIM MURAT, King of NAPLES etc.
LONDON, JOHN MACRONE, ST. JAMES' SQUARE, MDCCCXXXVIII

Star and Stripes - Geoglyphs Titicaca

A geoglyph of Titicaca - As seen by Google Maps

Coordinates -15.544474,-70.03443

Note that this structure is superimposed to an older one. Is it an incongruent restoration?

More at https://sites.google.com/site/geoglyphssatelliteimagery/

The star viewed from the ground (Courtesy, Gary Mariscal Herrera, Director Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Peru)

Manidhara-Nagaraja

Un grande frammento, forse parte dell’alone luminoso di una statua, è esposto al Museo d'Arte Orientale ed è una tipica produzione degli artigiani Newar operanti in Tibet alla metà del secolo XV.  Un vegetale rampicante disegna le volute al cui interno si collocano le figure di un Nagaraja (re dei serpenti e protettore dei tesori contenuti nelle profondità delle acque) e di Manidhara (il Portatore del Gioiello). Manidhara e Nagaraja insieme rimandano al mito di Nagarjuna (Acharya Nāgārjuna,  150-250 AD, filosofo indiano, fondatore di una scuola buddista) che portò agli iuomini il gioiello della Prajñaparamita (La perfezione della saggezza trascedente) ricevuto dal re dei Naga.

Arte tibetana, Museo Arte Orientale, Torino

Gandhara

Gandhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. This Kingdom lasted from early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. Gandhāra is known for the distinctive Gandhāra style of Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BC – AD 75). Gandhāran style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. It declined and suffered destruction after invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century.
By the time Gandhara had been absorbed into the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni, around 1000 AD, Buddhist buildings were already in ruins and Gandhara art had been forgotten. In the 19th century, British soldiers and administrators started taking interest in the ancient history of the Indian Subcontinent. In the 1830s very old coins were discovered and decipherment of some  Chinese records provided locations of Buddhists shrines. Along with the discovery of coins, these records provided necessary clues to piece together the history of Gandhara. In 1848 Gandhara sculptures have been discovered north of Peshawar. From then on a large number of Buddhist statues have been discovered in the Peshawar valley.

Se all details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara

Headless Standing Buddha, II Century AD, Museo Arte orientale, Torino

Human, All Too Human - 4 - Lifespan

"A new study by a Washington University in St. Louis suggests life expectancy was probably the same for early modern and late archaic humans and did not factor in the extinction of Neanderthals. Our species, Homo sapiens, is the only surviving lineage of the genus Homo. Still, there once were many others, all of whom could also be called human. One puzzle was the lack of elderly individuals. It was therefore suggested that early hominins might have had a shorter life expectancy than early modern humans, with our lineage ultimately outnumbering Neanderthals, contributing to their demise." But  Neanderthals and early modern humans had same lifespan.

Read more http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/longevity-unlikely-to-have-aided-early-modern-humans

Pella in Giordania

"Pella is located in the eastern foothills of the north Jordan valley, around five kilometres east of the Jordan River in the modern-day Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It overlooks the north/south road that runs up the Jordan Valley, as well as the east/west trade route west down the Jezreel Valley to the coast at Haifa...The high cone-shaped largely natural hill of Tell Husn dominates the southern approaches to the site....The landscape surrounding the main mound is rich in archaeological remains stretching back deep into the Palaeolithic period. The first trace of hominid occupation dates from the Lower Palaeolithic, around 250,000 years ago. Survey and excavation in the Wadi Hammeh, five kilometres north of the main mound, have recorded a long sequence of Middle (80,000-40,000) and Upper (35,000-20,000) Palaeolithic campsites in the hills surrounding Pella." Read more http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/11/2010/exploring-pella-bronze-age-temple-complex

The 'millicrab'

"One of the most studied objects in the sky, the Crab Nebula is the remnant of an exploded star 6500 light-years away from Earth. At its core is a neutron star that spins 30 times per second, driving processes that are responsible for it X-ray and gamma-ray emissions. Until recently the X-ray intensity of the Crab was considered to be so stable that it is used as a "standard candle" to judge the relative brightness of other objects in the sky. Indeed, X-ray brightness is often expressed in units of "millicrab"." X-ray astronomers have for decades calibrated their detectors using the Crab Nebula, but now an international team of astronomers has discovered that the X-ray output of the Crab has dropped by 7% in the last two years.
Astronomers say goodbye to the 'millicrab' - physicsworld.com

Gulf Stream edging northwards along Canadian coast

The Gulf Stream off eastern Canada appears to have advanced northward of its historical position in recent decades, possibly in response to anthropogenic climate change. That is according to researchers in North America and Switzerland who say that the changes could have some profound implications for marine life off the coast of Canada.

Gulf Stream edging northwards along Canadian coast - physicsworld.com

Acoustic archaeology

Acoustic archaeology is an emerging field that melds acoustical analysis and old-fashioned bone-hunting. Ancient people created fun house-like temples that featured scary sound effects. More http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/acoustic-archaeology-chavin-mayan.html

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/conch-ancient-trumpet-sounds.html
and also "Scientists analyze tunes from 3,000-year-old conch-shell instruments for insight into pre-Inca civilization"
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/65784/title/Ancient_trumpets_played_eerie_notes

The Fourth Dimension of Space

"For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollow groans, and emitting a ghastly green light. Just, however, as he reached the top of the great oak staircase, a door was flung open, two little white-robed figures appeared, and a large pillow whizzed past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, hastily adopting the Fourth Dimension of Space as a means of escape, he vanished through the wainscoting, and the house became quite quiet." Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Canterville_Ghost/Chapter_I
Curioso richiamo alla quarta dimensione.

Venus

A hemispheric view of Venus was created using more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, and is centered on the planet's North Pole. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of the planet Venus and a mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base.
The image in full resolution http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/508439main_PIA00007_full.jpg

Molecular motors

"Inside cells there are proteins that convert chemical energy into useful work. For example, kinesins and dyneins haul cargo around the cell. Myosin molecules can bind to actin filaments and exert forces, which is how our muscles work. Other molecules rotate, such as the protein that creates the molecules that are the prime fuel of our cells. The general method by which these molecular motors operate is through a Brownian ratchet mechanism. However, whereas the classic Brownian ratchet does not actually work, molecular motors harness molecular binding energies to satisfy the second law of thermodynamics. Typically, binding of an ion or molecule (such as ATP) to the motor leads to a conformational change in the protein. This conformational change can act like a power-stroke in the motor. Hydrolysis of ATP or release of the bound ion then returns the motor to its original state, thereby completing a cycle (or, in the case of rotational motors, a binding and release event typically only produces a substep of a complete rotation)." from  Does cell biology need physicists?, by
Charles W. Wolgemuth, http://physics.aps.org/articles/v4/4

"The busy life in living cells involves a great deal of transport activities and mechanical tasks, which are undertaken by motor proteins* —molecular machines that convert chemical energy into mechanical work. In recent years, these remarkable machines have inspired artificial devices that deliver mechanical work  or propel themselves in a viscous environment. We do not yet understand the mechanism behind the complex mechanochemical coupling in motor proteins. Standard rules used in macroscale engineering do not work at the nanoscale. New strategies are needed for the development of artificial nanoscale machines." http://physics.aps.org/articles/v3/108

*Motor proteins are a class of molecular motors that are able to move along the surface of a suitable substrate. They are powered by the hydrolysis of ATP and convert chemical energy into mechanical work. more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_protein

Carbon nanotubes spin a yarn

Researchers in US are the first to produce electrically conducting yarns from webs of carbon nanotubes and various powders and nanofibres. The yarns, made by a technique called biscrolling, are very strong and can be woven, sewn, knitted and braided into a variety of structures. They could find applications in energy storage and harvesting, structural composites, photocatalysis and intelligent textiles. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/44733

Strain on Earth’s biological resources

"NASA satellite images have revealed that the biosphere is being placed under increasing strain as rising population on a global scale is accompanied by increased consumption of crops and animals per capita."
http://physicsworld.com/blog/2010/12/satellite_reveals_strain_on_ea.html

Il satellite Planck per capire le origini dell'Universo

"Da oggi, 11/1/2011 c'è in rete un nuovo tesoro, anzi una vera e propria miniera di tesori. Si tratta del catalogo preliminare dei dati del satellite europeo Planck, un catalogo di dati per astrofisici specialisti, ma che rappresenta un notevole balzo in avanti per la conoscenza del nostro Universo. Ed è solo l'inizio perché il satellite è a metà circa del suo lavoro che terminerà, fondi permettendo fra un paio di anni. Poi ce ne vorranno anche una diecina per pulire e analizzare a fondo la massa enorme di dati che Planck sta trasmettendo."

http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/tecnologie/2011-01-11/ecco-planck-catalogo-aiutera-193041.shtml?uuid=AYjdy3yC&cmpid=nl_7%2Boggi_sole24ore_com

Profiles - Hero of Alexandria

The idea using the power of steam is quite old. A Greek mathematician and engineer who resided in the Ptolemaic Egypt, named Hero, wrote a manuscript describing various devices and ideas of the time. Although it is not sure that Hero was the inventor of  these devices, he is credited for the earliest mention of steam power. Hero describes a method to open the doors of a temple with the action of a fire on an altar at the front of the temple. A series of pipes runs between altar and the temple doors: it is the steam created by the fire on the altar and the suitable syste of pipes to open the temple doors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria

Figure from http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/hero/section37.html
This is a page of  "THE PNEUMATICS" of HERO OF ALEXANDRIA, from the original greek.
See also http://library.thinkquest.org/C006011/english/sites/steam_first_experiments.php3?v=2

Antikythera mechanism

Antikythera is a Greek island. It is known for being the location of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism and for the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck from the 1st or 2nd century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers in the early 1900s. The wreck produced numerous statues and a mechanism, considered as the world's oldest known analog computer.

In October 1900, a team of sponge divers led by Captain Dimitrios Kondos began diving off the coastline of Antikythera island. At that time, divers  wore as diving equipment a canvas suit and copper helmet, which allowed them to dive deeper and to stay submerged longer. "The first to lay eyes on the shipwreck 60 metres down was Elias Stadiatos, who quickly signaled to be pulled to the surface. He described the scene as a heap of rotting corpses and horses lying on the sea bed. Thinking the diver had gone mad from too much carbon dioxide in his helmet, Kondos himself dove into the water, soon returning with a bronze arm of a statue." more Wiki.

On 17 May 1902, archaeologist Valerios Stais made the most celebrated find. He was diving to search the area of the wreck and noticed that one of the pieces of rock near him had a gear wheel embedded in it. He found what is now known as the "Antikythera mechanism".

Il meccanismo è un "antichissimo calcolatore per il calendario solare e lunare, le cui ruote dentate potevano riprodurre il rapporto di 254:19 necessario a ricostruire il moto della Luna in rapporto al Sole (la Luna compie 254 rivoluzioni siderali ogni 19 anni solari). L'estrema complessità del congegno era inoltre dovuta al fatto che tale rapporto veniva riprodotto tramite l'utilizzo di una ventina di ruote dentate e di un differenziale, un meccanismo che permetteva di ottenere una rotazione di velocità pari alla somma o alla differenza di due rotazioni date. Il suo scopo era quello di mostrare, oltre ai mesi lunari siderali, anche le lunazioni, ottenute dalla sottrazione del moto solare al moto lunare siderale.Sulla base della sua ricerca, Price concluse che, contrariamente a quanto si era creduto in precedenza, nella Grecia del II secolo a.C. esisteva effettivamente una tradizione di altissima tecnologia." More http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchina_di_Anticitera and also, a longer discussion, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

I have prepared the following image, using a picture after enhancement and a schematic view, both from Wiki. 

Crystal skull

Small crystal skull, a few centimeters size, Palazzo Madama, Torino

Legend of the crystal skulls

Double-layers and supercapacitors

A double layer (DL), or electrical double layer, is a charge distribution that appears on the surface of an object when it is placed into a liquid. The object might be a solid particle, a gas bubble or a liquid droplet. The double layer is created by two parallel layers of charge, surrounding the object. The first layer is attached to the surface, with a charge either positive or negative. This layer is built by the ions adsorbed* onto the object due to chemical interactions. The second layer is composed of ions attracted to the surface charge via the coulomb force, electrically screening the first layer. This second layer is loosely associated with the object: it is made of free ions which move in the fluid under the influence of electric attraction and thermal motion rather than being firmly anchored. It is thus called the diffuse layer.
DL plays a fundamental role in many real-world systems. For instance, milk exists only because fat droplets are covered with a double layer that prevent their coagulation into butter. DLs exist in practically all heterogeneous fluid-based systems, such as blood, paints, inks, ceramic slurries and cement slurries.

* In general, adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate (the molecules or atoms being accumulated) on the surface of the adsorbent.
More on double-layers at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_layer_(interfacial)
http://depts.washington.edu/solgel/pages/courses/MSE_502/Electrostatic_Stabilization.html

An electric double-layer capacitor, also known as supercapacitor, supercondenser, pseudocapacitor, electrochemical double layer capacitor(EDLC), or ultracapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with relatively highenergy density, typically on the order of thousands of times greater than anelectrolytic capacitor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor

Supercapacitors are able to store about a million times more charges than conventional capacitors. The principle is that of the "double layer". The charge is stored in the so called Helmholtz double layer. When voltage is applied, ions of opposite charge accumulate at the electrodes and the double layer is formed. Its thickness is in the range of several angstroms. Usually, highly porous carbon is used as electrode material, to create a fractal surface. Due to this very high specific electrode surface and the very small distances within the double layer, capacities of several hundreds farads can be achieved. As charge storage is only physical and not chemical, as in the case of batteries.

Some researchers in the US have made the first high-frequency AC supercapacitors containing graphene electrodes. The devices, which are much smaller than conventional capacitors, could be used in applications like computer processing units and other tiny integrated circuits.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/43828

Google Earth Engine

Google Earth Engine, mette online mappe e ambientali per la possibilità di analisi e confronti incrociati su deforestazione, desertificazione e risorse idriche. "Un nuovo strumento online per salvaguardare il pianeta. Alla conferenza Onu sul clima di Cancun, in Messico, è stato presentato in questa veste Google Earth Engine, nuova piattaforma targata Mountain View che mette a disposizione della comunità scientifica internazionale 25 anni di dati e immagini satellitari - e gli strumenti per analizzarli."

http://www.corriere.it/scienze_e_tecnologie/energia_e_ambiente/11_gennaio_07/google-engine-curzel_7b09180e-1a8b-11e0-91c1-00144f02aabc.shtml

Dante's portrait by Longfellow

Tuscan, that wanderest through the realms of gloom,With thoughtful pace, and sad, majestic eyes, Stern thoughts and awful from they thoughts arise, Like Farinata from his fiery tomb. Thy sacred song is like the trump of doom;Yet in thy heart what human sympathies,What soft compassion glows...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://www.sonnets.org/longfell.htm

Dante e l'America, Henry Longfellow

"La presenza di Dante nella cultura americana risale al 1867, quando il poeta Henry Wadsworth Longfellow completò la prima traduzione americana della Divina Commedia", dice Giuliana Fazzion, James Madison University. Longfellow fondò nel 1865 un circolo per la traduzione di Dante nella sua casa a Cambridge, Massachusetts. Altri studiosi collaborarono con Longfellow alla prima intera traduzione della Divina Commedia. Il  gruppo di lavori si battezzo “Dante Club”  e nel 1881 divenne  “The Dante Society of America”.

Il Caronte di Virgilio

Il post precedente  riporta la descrizione di Caronte fatta da Dante nell'Inferno, con la traduzione Longfellow. Chi era Caronte? Nella mitologia, Caronte, figlio di Erebo e Notte, era il traghettatore dell'Ade. Trasportava le anime da una riva all'altra del fiume Acheronte, ma solo se i loro corpi avevano ricevuto i rituali funebri, con un obolo per pagare il viaggio; chi non aveva l'obolo, era costretto vagare tra le nebbie del fiume per cento anni. Si metteva così una moneta nella bocca del defunto prima della sepoltura. Alcuni ricercatori sostengono che il prezzo era di due monete, sistemate sopra gli occhi. Pochissime anime vive son state trasportate da Caronte, tra di loro Enea, Ulisse, Orfeo e Dante.
Caronte viene descritto nell'Eneide da Virgilio al libro VI con le seguenti parole:

"Portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat
terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento
canities inculta iacet, stant lumina flamma,
sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus.
Ipse ratem conto subigit velisque ministrat
et ferruginea subvectat corpora cumba,
iam senior, sed cruda deo viridisque senectus."

Ecco che Dante segue il suo maestro Virgilio e riprende la figura di Caronte, la barba bianca, gli occhi di fuoco, ma sembra renderlo meno demone e più dannato egli stesso come le anime che traghetta.