science illustrated australia - issue 33 2014.pdf

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ISSUE #33SCIENCEILLUSTRATE

HOLOGRAMSARE HERE!The ultimatein 3D TV

HOW HUMANS ARE PREPARINGTO COMMUNICATE WITH ALIENS

FIRST

CONTACT

THE CHICKFROM HEMore terrifyingthan a T. Rex!

LANDBEYOND TIMEThe amazing beauty ofLitchfield National Park

TOP 10ENGINEERINGDISASTERSWhen bad mathscan kill

THE CALL

THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING

GENETICDETECTIVESCould police use your DNA...to recreate your face?

UNTAPPEDENERGYReal tech that willmake coal obsolete

N O T S C I - F I : S E R I O U S S C I E N C E


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COM.AU OXFORD STREET LEEDERVILLE


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During theproduction of thisissue of ScienceIllustrated, there

was a bit of a hullaballooin the media aboutcelebrity scientist BrianCox. In his BBC show

Human Universe, he suggested that humansmay be the only advanced, technologicalspecies in the entire Milky Way galaxy.

Mainstream media, including the SydneyMorning Herald jumped on this for some reason,yet initially (and mistakenly) claimed Cox saidhumans were alone in the entire universe.

Cox in turn jumped on Twitter to expressdispleasure at this misinterpretation of his show,and all the stories were edited accordingly - theword universe replaced by galaxy.

But the whole incident highlights an oddattitude out there - some people really, reallywant to insist that humans are unique. That weare the only life, and that aliens dont exist.

However, every decent scientist knowsthat making a denite negative statement is arecipe for looking like an id iot a decade or twolater. We will NEVER be able to y in heavier-than-air machines. We will NEVER break thesound barrier. We will NEVER be able to mine

enough uranium to build a funct ioning reactor.Computers will NEVER be small or cheapenough for use in everyday appliances.

Today, the tedious song goes on: we willNEVER generate signicant power fromrenewable sources, electric cars will NEVERreplace internal combustion, we will NEVER getfusion working commercially, we will NEVERlive on Mars. Etc and etc.

One of the biggest negative claims continuesto be this almost shrill insistence that aliensdont exist. People have constructed elaborate,

mathematically-backed arguments for why theconditions on Earth were so unlikely, so one-of-a-kind, that any species surviving long enoughto develop advanced technology is essentiallyimpossible. Except for us.

For some reason its important to these peoplethat we are alone. Perhaps because the idea ofother planets teeming with life and society andtechnology is just too overwhelming. Maybe they

just cant wrap their heads around it.All I know for sure is that the ultimate

truth of whats really going on out there in thewider universe will be much stranger thananything a scientist or a science-fiction writercan think up on paper.

The question of just how many technologicalcivilisations exist within this galaxy will one daybe answered, and the answer will change us inways we cant even conceive.

The other thing I know is that the never-heads will keep up their chant, no matterwhat happens. Find another civilisationtomorrow? Well, there are only TWO in thewhole galaxy. Find thousands? Well, there areNO civilisations in OTHER galaxies. Figure outinterstellar travel? Well, we will NEVER haveintergalactic travel. Figure that out too? Well,we will NEVER be able to travel in time orfold space... or do any of the really cool things

that quantum physicists (or whatever comesAFTER quantum physics) think up.

Just like we could never cross the Atlanticocean, or visit the great southern continentthat didnt exist. The future will be strange, anddifferent, and not exactly like what even themost optimistic of us can predict.

But never say never.

Anthony FordhamTwitter: @sci_illustrated

Facebook: facebook.com/ScienceIllustratedAus

Things we learned in this issue+ Smartphones and TVs could soon haveHOLOGRAPHIC displays (right).+ The Earth is full ofENERGY SOURCESand we are getting better at using them.+ When we nallyMEET REAL ALIENSwewill establish dialogue with them usingpure mathematics.+ After T.rex and before tigers, the scariestpredator was the CHICKEN FROM HELL.

Issue #33 (20th November 2014)

EDITORIALEditor Anthony [email protected]

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Science Illustrated is published7 times a year by nextmedia Pty LtdACN: 128 805 970Building A, 207 Pacific HighwaySt Leonards, NSW 2065

Under license from Bonnier InternationalMagazines. 2014 Bonnier Corporationand nextmedia Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.Reproduction in whole or part withoutwritten permission is prohibited. ScienceIllustrated is a trademark of Bonnier Cor-poration and is used under limited license.

The Australian edition contains materialoriginally published in the US and UK edi-tions reprinted with permission of BonnierCorporation. Articles express the opinionsof the authors and are not necessarily thoseof the Publisher, Editor or nextmedia PtyLtd. ISSN 1836-5175.

Privacy Notice We value the integrity of your personal infor-mation. If you provide personal informationthrough your participation in any competi-tions, surveys or offers featured in this issueof Science Illustrated, this will be used toprovide the products or services that youhave requested and to improve the content ofour magazines. Your details may be providedto third parties who assist us in this purpose.In the event of organisations providing prizesor offers to our readers, we may pass yourdetails on to them. From time to time, wemay use the information you provide us toinform you of other products, services andevents our company has to offer. We may alsogive your information to other organisationswhich may use it to inform you about theirproducts, services and events, unless you tellus not to do so. You are welcome to access theinformation that we hold about you by gettingin touch with our privacy officer, who can becontacted at nextmedia, Locked Bag 5555, StLeonards, NSW 1590

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THE SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED CREDO We share with our readers a fascinationwith science, technology, nature, cultureand archaeology, and believe that througheducation about our past, present and future,we can make the world a better place.

EDITORS LETTER

The truth willalways be stranger...

scienceillustrated.com.au | 3


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CONTENTSSCIENCE ILLUSTRATED AUSTRALIAN EDITIONPUBLISHED 20TH NOVEMBER 2014

24UNLIMITED POWER

Digging stuff up and burning it has to endsome day. But how can we meet our energyneeds? The planet already has the answers.

56HOLOGRAMS

The dead will rise... and sing. Holograms arehere and coming to a concert venue nearyou. After than, theyll be on your phone...

ISSUE # 33

48FIRST CONTACT COVER STORY

Imagine we found a bunch of aliens.How would we talk to them? Will theylook like anything like us? And couldmaths be our common tongue?

4 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED


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REGULARS6MEGAPIXELAmazing pictures (and stories) from thelatest in science and nature.

10SCIENCE UPDATEAll the latest developments in science,

technology, archaeology, biology and more

18ASK USThe science answers you demand!

2HELL CREEK DINOSAURSFossil evidence that shows T.rex gotout-evolved by a giant killer chook...

8TOP 10 ENGINEERINGDISASTERSWhen you do some bad maths at work,do entire towns get wiped off the map?

80TRIVIANow with more cladistic conundrums!

82BIODIVERSITYAustralias answer to the poison arrow frog

36ANCIENT IRON MAKERS

How an African culture from the MiddleAges set up iron-making at industrial scale -centuries before Europe had the same idea.

42EXTREMOPHILES

Life is tough. Really tough. Tough enough tosurvive - even thrive - in boiling temperatures,dry deserts, and radioactive wastelands.

64LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK

Another jewel in Australias amazingcrown of natural beauty. Wet season or

dry, theres always something to see.

0GENETIC DETECTIVES

Forget CCTV or drone surveillance. What ifcomputers could reconstruct an accuratepicture of your face.. from DNA in a flake of skin?

SUBSCRIBENOW! 62Get Australian ScienceIllustrated delivered toyour door and save $$$!



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H &

H K

O C H / I N A A G E N C Y

MEGAPIXEL ENTOMOLOGY

CONFUSING PATTERN

FOOLS HONEY BEE BRAINHoney bees think that the distance to their food islonger when they pass through a tunnel lined withan elaborate pattern. Scientists base their conclusionon an experiment, in which bees ew past differentpatterns, as scientists decoded the dance that the beesuse to let each other know how far away the food is. Thestudy also reveals that the expression of genes in somecerebral centres such as those for memory and visionchange, as bees are fooled to believe that the distance islonger. As a result, bee behaviour can alter bee genes.


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H &

H K

O C H / I N A A G E N C Y

NORTH AMERICASLONGEST RIVERERODES A SHORT CUT

At 3,767 km, the Missouri River is the longestin the US. As it winds its way throughthe country, the river ows into thisdistinctive, U-shaped bend calledLake Sharp in South Dakota. There,the rapid waters of the legs of theU are slowly eroding the soil at thecentre, so the distance betweenthe legs is now only about akilometre. The photo was takenfrom the International SpaceStation, in December, when, likethe circular elds of the peninsula,the river was covered by ice. Theshape of the elds is due to rotatingirrigation sprinklers in their centres. N A

S A

MEGAPIXEL GEOGRAPHY


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SCIENCE UPDATE


Editors: Karen Grubbe & Rasmus Palludan

LATEST NEWS AND DISCOVERIES

NASATESTS FLYINGSAUCER

LONELY BACTERIAMUTATE FASTBIOLOGY Friendless bacteria get weird. That isthe surprising conclusion reached by scientistsfrom the British University of Manchester.

In their lab, the scientists cultivated E. colibacteria, which exist in great numbers in ourintestines, and discovered that bacteria whichlive far away from their peers mutate threetimes faster than bacteria living close together.

If scientists can make the bacteria feel lesslonely, they can reduce the speed at which thebacteria mutate. In the long term, scientists can

reduce the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria produced when the

genetic material of bacteria mutates.

Mars is the final destination of a new, UFO-like craftwhich NASA is testing near Hawaii.

AEROSPACE Could the first humans travel toMars by flying saucer? The NASA American

space agency is testing the UFO-like Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD).The craft is launches from Hawaii under a

huge helium balloon, after which a rocketengine is ignited to take the flying saucerfurther away from Earth. The test flightsstretch all the way to the stratosphere,where the thin air resembles the Martianatmosphere. The LDSD could carry up tothree tonnes of equipment and, at a laterpoint, humans to Mars.

Further exploration of Mars requires NASAto be able to land heavy and fragileequipment on the surface. The new craftbegins its 55-million-km voyage to the RedPlanet at a speed of around Mach 4. As the

craft approaches the planet, a kind of swimring is released around it, increasing its

surface area and reducing speed. Thelanding itself is carried out by means of ahuge parachute, oversized for the thinatmosphere, for a soft landing on Mars.

A helium balloon lifts

NASAs new toy to analtitude of 35 km.

Weight (including fuel): 3,120 kg

Diameter: 4.7 m

Helium balloon for launch:140 m wide and 120 m tall

Braking parachute for landing:has a diameter of 30.5 m

Maxium speed:Mach 4 or 4,900 km/h

FLYING SAUCER BY THE NUMBERS

E. coli bacteria, whichexist in great numbers in

our guts, mutate fasterfar away from peers.

During test flights, the craft lands in the oceanafter an approx. 650 km test flight.

BACTERIA MUTATION RATE:

M U T A T I O N S P E R C E L L

1 2 5

10

5

2

1

Bacterium

POPULATION DENSITY

SHORT MENLIVE LONGERA team of scientists has studied8,006 Japanese-American menand discovered that the lengthof our lives has (a little bit) todo with our height. The shortmen of the study more oftenpossessed a specific version ofthe FOXO3 gene which hasbeen linked with longevity.Scientists do not know whyshort men have the gene.

N A S A

N A S A

SPL/SCANPIX

NEWS FLASH!


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A chemical substanceblocks the suckers'ability to suck.

NEANDERTHALSUSED THEIRMOUTHS AS A

THIRD HANDA unique aspect of Neanderthalanatomy was an impressive set ofteeth. Analyses carried out bySpanish scientists demonstrate that thehominid evolved the big teeth early.According to the scientists, theNeanderthals used the teeth as a kindof third hand, gripping objects that theythen cut with tools.

35 km

75-280 km 370 km

Length of flight(km)

A l t i t u

d e

( k m

)

55 km

A helium balloonhoists the craftto an altitudeof 35 km, wherethe balloon isdisconnected.

ASCENT The speed-reducingparachuteunfolds, and thecraft lands softlyin the ocean.

LANDING

The rocket enginetakes the craft to an

altitude of 55 km ata speed of Mach 3.8or 3,675 km/h.

FLIGHT

The swim ringis inflated,reducing speed to

Mach 2 orapproximately2,450 km/h.

GLIDING

N A T

U R E P L

N A

S A

A L A M Y / I M A G E S E L E C T

ChemistrypreventsoctopusentanglementZOOLOGY The eight arms of anoctopus are lined with suckers,and scientists have long wonderedhow the animal prevents the armsfrom tangling up.

Now, scientists from theHebrew University in Jerusalemhave solved the mystery: The

octopuses' skin secretes achemical substance, which

briefly prevents the suck-ers from working, when

the arms touch.The octopus arms

are highly independententities. If an arm isamputated, it keepson moving and suckingfor an hour. So, the

octopus will not touchthe part of the amputated

arm on which the suckersare located. Instead, it holds on

to a place where the flesh isexposed. The scientists also dis-covered that octopuses know thedifference between their ownarms and those of peers.

CRAFT TESTED AT AN ALTITUDE OF 55 KMNASAs new spacecraft is tested at an

altitude of 55 km, where the air resemblesthe Martian atmosphere.


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STRANGE BUT TRUE!

WIND TURBINE

generates power.

THERMALCHIMNEY sucks in and purifiesair, as electricity isgenerated.

SOLAR CELLS

convert solarenergy intoelectricity.

SYSTEM for harvesting andreusingrainwater.

GREEN WALLS in the shape ofvertical gardens.

INSECT HOTELS

designed toattract insects,which will eat andbreed.

SCIENCE UPDATE


Milky Way galactic coresmells like berriesMax Planck Institute astronomershave used the Spanish IRAMtelescope to study the Sagittarius B2dust cloud, which is located close tothe centre of the Milky Way. One ofthe chemicals of which astronomersfound signals was ethyl formate,the dominant flavour of raspberries.

Sunbathing is addictiveYou can become addicted tosunbathing, US scientists warn.Experiments show that sunbathingmice produce endorphins,a type of happiness-inducingchemical often implicated in theaddictiveness of various drugs.

of forest was destroyed in fireslast summer. That is the lowestworldwide loss in 10 years.6,879.7 km2

NERVOUS TEENAGERSCRASH CARS LESS

For 1.5 years, scientists haveobserved the driving of 40teenagers, measuring thelevel of cortisol stresshormone in their blood. Theresult: the higher cortisollevel, the fewer accidents.

F L I C K R

CHINA TOBUILD GREENSKYSCRAPERSPhoenix Towers will be the tallest and greenest.

TECHNOLOGY Wuhan in Central China isabout to make history as the city with thetallest and greenest structures in theworld. In late 2014, the first turf will be cutfor the large-scale Phoenix Towers project,which involves two skyscrapers that will

both rise more than 1000 m into the sky.Together, the structures will easilyoutcompete the present record holder, the828-m-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai. But theheight is not the only trump card held bythe British Chetwoods architectural studio.The Phoenix Towers are designed withfocus on sustainability. According to plan,the skyscrapers will not only be self-sufficient in energy, they will also helpcombat the massive air pollution in the city.

The two towers have been named Fengand Huang. Feng will include offices,homes, and shops, whereas Huang willfeature a 100-storey vertical garden.

1000 metre towersThe twin towers of Huang andFeng will have a footprint of70,000 square metres and risemore than 1 km into the sky.

C H E T W O O D S A R C H I T E C T S

HUANG

FENG


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For three weeks, an ROV has livestreamed from the depths of the Gulf ofMexico, providing the internet with sensational video from an otherwiseinaccessible world. A sea lily, which belongs to the phylum ofechinoderms, is one of the odd creatures captured in the depths.

ROV films sea lily

D .

G E R O N D I D A K I S / N A S A

New birth dates for theEarth and the MoonGas pockets in ancient rocks haverevealed that the Earth and the Moon are60 million years older than previouslybelieved. So, the two were formed only 40million years after the birth of the SolarSystem. The discovery was made byscientists from the Universityof Lorraine in Nancy, whodetermined ages of thegases in the rocks.

6 METRE LONGDINOSAUR WITHBEAK AND WINGSPALAEONTOLOGY It was six metres long, weighedtwo tonnes, and had a parrot beak. Meet a newlydiscovered dinosaur of which palaeontologistshave found fossils in the US state of Montana andthe Canadian province of Alberta.

The huge lizard lived some 77 million years agoand only fed on plants. Despite being a herbivore,it had a fearsome appearance. Apart from thepeculiar beak, the dinosaur had a pair of massivebone plates mounted on its head. The animalprobably used the plates to impress mates and todefend itself. Scientists have named the newdinosaur Mercuriceratops Gemini - for the Romangod Mercury who had wings on his helmet.

The wingeddinosaur probablyused its head gearto impress matesand defend itselfagainst enemies.

GLOBAL FOCAL POINTGulf of Mexico

T H I N K S T O C K

D . D U F A

U L T

& N A T U R WI S S E N

S C H A F T E N


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MATHEMATICIANS MAKAPP TO BEAT JET LAGJet lag occurs, when your circadian (sleep)rhythms are out of sync with yoursurroundings, and it can easily ruin yourholiday. But now, scientists have made an appwhich tells you when to expose yourself tolight and darkness to beat the jet lag.

NEWS FLASH!


SCIENCE UPDATE

Astronomers have discovered an ocean below theice-covered surface of Saturns sixth biggestmoon, Enceladus.

NASA FINDS OCEANON SATURN MOON

New plane

needs no runwayThe S2 plane takes off verticallylike a helicopter and uses 12compact electric motors, which arethree times as energy-efficient asthose of a traditional two personplane. The plane has not yet beenbuilt, but according to plan, it isgoing to take its passengers the300+ km from New York to Boston in one hour.

KOALAS COOL

OFF IN TREESZOOLOGY When koalas get too hot, theyhug a tree. That is the conclusion of anew scientific project revealing that toa koala, a tree trunk is an air conditioner.

Normally, the hairy and disagreeablemarsupial licks its fur to cool off, butduring heatwaves, it clings to a treeinstead. This strategy makes good sense,as the trees are cooler than the air in somecases by up to 10 degrees C.

ASTRONOMY Deep below the ice cap ofSaturn's moon Enceladus, there is a huge,liquid ocean which contains the basicingredients of life: salt water and organicmolecules. The measurements were madeby NASAs Cassini space probe, and thediscovery has excited scientists, as itsupports the theory of Enceladus being oneof the most obvious places to look formicroscopic life in space.

The the ocean is 30-40 km below themoon's ice-covered surface and holds 245times as much water as Lake Garda in

Italy. With a diameter of approximately500 km, Enceladus is Saturns sixthbiggest moon. Back in 2005, Cassiniregistered water squirting out of cracksclose to the moons south pole.

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

Very hotLess hot

Share of observations

The chart indicates theshare of observations invery hot and less hotweather.

Koala posture

The ocean is located 30-40 kmbelow the surface.

N A T U R E P L

N A S A

The warmer it is, the more thekoala hugs the tree.

J O B Y A V I A T I O N

Fossilised tartar has revealed thatour ancestors consumed healthy,varied meals 7,000 years ago.


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SCIENCE UPDATE

MAPPING THEMOUSE BRAIN

Mouse brain exposed to light

MEDICINE The human brain will not be mapped anytime soon, but scientists have managed to producea map of a mouse brain, which is also the very firstmap of a mammal brain.

The mouse brain map is in 3D, revealing howgroups of nerve cells are linked to big highway

systems or nerve pathsrunning in all directionsthroughout the brain. Amouse brain is only the sizeof a hazelnut, but itcontains more than 86million nerve cells whichare each linked to morethan 1,000 other nervecells in extremely complex

interaction. As mammal brains are basically verymuch alike, the brain map also provides scientistswith more knowledge about the interactionbetween the different networks of the human brain.

So, the mapping makes scientists more well-equipped to solve the major mysteries of modernbrain research such as how diseases likeAlzheimer's, dementia, and schizophrenia arise andhow they could eventually be cured.

The mouse brain map is not yet complete.Expressed in popular terms, it only indicates themotorways of the brain and says nothing about thesmall roads or about the traffic on the roads. Inother words, the map functions as an outline of themost important routes of neural networks, but itdoes not represent the working brain.

Rodent brain map provides scientists with new weapons against brain disorders.

MICROSOFT FORTUNESUPPORTS PROJECTThe brain mappingproject is funded by PaulAllen, who foundedMicrosoft together with BillGates back in 1975.Paul Allen supports theresearch,hoping thatthe humanbrain willone day bemapped.

1. Scientists injected a luminoustracer in different places of morethan 1,000 mouse brains.

2. The tracer moves in the same direction asthe nerve signals. The connecting roads of thenerve cells are revealed in scans.

3. All observation data was collected intoa 3D map of the mouse's neural network, whichis freely accessible on the Internet.

A L L E N

I N S T I T U T E F O R

B R A I N

S C I E N C E & O H

E T A L

.

DICTIONARYNeural network:

The nerve cells of the

brain are linked in a

neural network,

allowing them to

send/receive signals

to/from each other.


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The Bok Prize for outstanding research by an Honours/Masters student

The Charlene Heisler Prize for most outstanding astronomy PhD thesis

The Louise Webster Prize for excellence by an early career researcher

The Ellery Lectureship for outstanding contributions in astronomy

The David Allen Prize for exceptional astronomy communication

The Berenice & Arthur Page Medal for excellence in amateur astronom

The Richard Cole Fund to support training for postgraduate students

The Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomsupporting excellence

The Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomy, established by the Astronomical Society of Australia, recognises excellence through the Society

Astronomical Society of Australia IncThe organisation of professional astronomers in Australia asa.astronomy.org.au

Donate to the Foundation for the Advancement of AstronomyABN: 37 660 297 848 asa.astronomy.org.au/FAA

Amount A$: $25 $50 $100 $200 Other:___________________________

Preferred prize/activity to support (not compulsory): ________________________________________________

Cheques payable to Foundation for the Advancement of AstronomyCredit Card Payments: o Mastercard o Visa

Card Number ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ Expiry Date ___ / ___

Cardholder Name ________________________________________________________ Date ____________

Cardholder signature ______________________________________________________________________

Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible for Australian residents. Donors can choose to select which Foundation activities they would like to support.The Foundation exists through the suppAustralian astronomers and the general public. Please submit your payment to the ASA Treasurer, Dr Katrina Sealey c\- Australian Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 915, North Ryde, 167


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THE ANSWERSTO LIFESLITTLE MYSTERIES

ASK US

EDITOR: Anne Lykke

Can a baby transferstem cells to mum?Can a pregnant woman get stem cells from herbaby? And can they repair damage in her body?

During pregnancy, mother and baby exchange cellsthrough the placenta. Studies have shown thatsome 80% of all mothers who just gave birth to a

boy have cells with the male Y chromosome intheir bodies coming from the baby. The majority ofthe cells flow in the mothers blood and areremoved by the immune system within a fewhours. But some end up in the mothers tissue,where they grow and become a permanent part ofher. The opposite may also happen: The baby couldinclude some of the mothers cells and even passthem on to his/her own kids. So, all humans involvecells from several generations. Human studies andrat experiments have demonstrated that the

mothers liver, kidneys, and thyroid gland maycontain cells from the baby and that the new cellsfunction just like the mothers own cells. Accordingto scientists, the stem cells have "travelled"through the placenta to the mothers organ, whichwas probably damaged. The unborn baby's stem

cells came to the rescue, developing into the verycell type needed to repair the damage.The exchange of cells between mother and

baby could also cause autoimmune diseases, ifthe mothers immune system attacks theforeign cells. A study of 20 women who all gavebirth to sons and developed a disease of thethyroid gland demonstrated that 12 in 20women featured male cells. In eight womenwith healthy thyroid glands, the scientistsfound no trace of male cells.

Natures own stem cell therapyA mother-to-be can get stem cells from her baby via theplacenta. The stem cells migrate to the mothers organs suchas the liver and the kidneys, where they can repair damagedtissue: natural stem cell therapy from baby to mother.

1. During pregnancy, stemcells can migrate throughthe placenta to the

mother's damaged organs.

2. When the baby is born, themother's body will often takecells from the baby and vice versa.

3. When the girl becomespregnant herself, she has cellsfrom three generations.

Cells from mother

Kidney

Thyroid gland

Cells from baby

Cells from grandchild


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WHICHMATERIAL ISTHE STRONGESTRELATIVE TO

WEIGHT?

TOP 5

1. Carbyne*Strength: 60-75 MNm/kg*

2. GrapheneStrength: 47-55 MNm/kg

3. Carbon nanotubesStrength: 43-50 MNm/kg

4. DiamondStrength: 25-65 MNm/kg

5. ZylonStrength: 3.8 MNm/kg

* CarbyneCarbyne is a new materialconsisting of carbon atomchains linked by alternatetriple and single bonds or byconsecutive double bonds.Carbyne is stronger and stifferthan any other material.

* MNm/kgThe unit for the specificstrength of materials ismeganewton metres per kg,i.e. the force that one fibreof the material can resistdivided by its density.

T H I N K S T O C K

DOES A DISCHARGEDCOMPUTER WEIGH LESS?A charged battery weighs more than adischarged one, and the calculation canbe made using Einsteins equationE = mc2. As the speed of light (c) isconstant, a charged computer with a highenergy level will have a bigger mass. Thedifference is a few billionths of agramme and cannot be felt ormeasured by ordinary scales.

Is 27 a risky age?When Amy Winehouse died, she became a memberof the 27 Club. Do rock stars tend to die at 27?

Statistically speaking, 27 is not a risky age for rock

stars, but they suffer a 2-3 times greater risk of dyingaged between 20 and 40 than the average person,according to a new research project from theQueensland University of Technology. Scientists studiedthe hypothesis that rock stars are more likely to die at27. The study involved 1,046 soloists and bandmembers, of whom 71 died in 1956-2007. Only three ofthose artists died at 27, which is not unusual. Thereason why rock musicians often die young may be thatthey live harder lives than other young people.

Stem cells from thebaby can repair

damage in the

mothers body.

Singer Amy

Winehouse, whodied at 27, lived ahard life withalcohol and drugs.

BABY CELLS MAKEMOTHER SICK In very few cases, themothers immune systemwill attack the foreign stemcells. If they are located inher brain, the mother

could develop multiplesclerosis.

Sclerosis is caused bynerve cell insulation beingdamaged.

Stem cells

N a m e :

Am y Winehouse Alcohol poisoning.

Janis Joplin Presumed o verdoseJimi Hendrix Aspirated vomit and chok

ed.

Kurt Cobain Suicide

Jim Morrison Cardiac arrest

Ca u s e o f d e a t h :

Me mbe rs o f t he 27 Club

S . G S C H ME I S

S N E R

/ S P L

/ G E T T Y I MA

G E

S G E T T Y ,MI K K E L

J U U L

J E N

S E N

ALAMY/IMAGESELECT

A .P I E R

D OME N I C

O / R E

U T E R

S / S C A N P I X

T H I N K S T O C K

Carbyne

A R

C H I V E


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ASK US

CAN PLANTS FEEL PAIN?In the 1960s, CIA agent Cleve Backster used alie detector to test plants, holding a matchunder a leaf or cutting it off. The plant reactedlike a stressed out person, and it also reacted,when he tortured other plants in front of it,making Cleve Backster conclude that plantscan communicate with each other.

Today, scientists are quite convinced thatplants cannot feel pain as we know it,because they have no central nerve system.However, plants respond to light, sounds,smells, and touch. They can alsocommunicate with other plants for instanceby releasing chemical warning substances,when they are attacked by herbivores. Cutgrass smell is a chemical distress signal.

Why is the sea salty?

How fast could the T. rex run? The big predatory dinosaur had a top speedof 40 km/h - very difficult to outrun!

The sea is salty due to minerals, whichhave been added very slowly over time

by rivers from the continents. Theminerals are released from the land viaa process named disintegration - thechemical decomposition of rock.Disintegration dissolves the rock intoions such as sodium and chlorine which combine into sea salt.

Very soon after its formation, Earthdeveloped water in huge lakes inmeteor craters and other crevices. Thewater of the first seas fell as rain andwas fresh, but slowly grew more saltyover time. Today, the ocean has anaverage salinity of 3.5%.

The saltiest waters in the world(salt content percentage)

Plants can smell,see, and feel

Plants do not feelpain like animals,but they reactstrongly to theirsurroundings.

Three plants withstrong responses

The water of the Dead Seais so salty that it is almostimpossible not to float.

40%

35% 34.8% 33.7%

27%

D o n

J u a n s a

l t l a k e

A n

t a r c

t i c a

G a r a

b o g a z

k l l a g o o n

T u r k m e n

i s t a n

, C e n

t r a l

A s i a

A s s a

l s a

l t l a k e

D j i b o u

t i , A

f r i c a

T h e

D e a

d S e a

I s r a e l a n

d J o r d a n

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l t L a

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U S A

Sundew a carnivorous plant thatcaptures small insects by wrappingits leaves around the prey.

Mimosa when humans or animalstouch the leaves, they close in a few sec-onds and droop.

Squirting cucumber the ripe fruit fliesseveral metres through the air,squirting seeds to all sides.

In the 1960s, interrogation specialist CleveBackster used a lie detector to show thatplants react to torture.

SMELL

Parasitic plants especiallyuse smells to find theirpreferred hosts.

SOUND

Plants either grow towardsor away from sound sources,depending on the frequency.

LIGHT

Plant shoots grow in thedirection of light. Theirroots do the opposite.

Sundew

Mimosa

Squirting cucumber

T . F

R A Z I E R M

. / G E T T Y I M A G E S

S H U T T E R S T O C K

G E T T Y I MA

G E

S ,T H I N K

S T

O C K


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HOW THINGS WORK

IN SHORT

WHY DO SOME PEOPLEHAVE CURLY HAIR?A child can get curly hair by in-heriting one single gene fromone parent. The degree of curlvaries. Hair grows from scalpfollicles, and flat follicles pro-duce curly hair, whereas roundfollicles produce straight hair.

WHY DO WE CROSS OUR FINGEThe practice of crossing our fingers, hoping that

something goes well is common in Christian countries.The crossed fingers portray a cross, which defends

against evil. The expression touch wood toward off misfortune after making afavourable statement is older than

Christianity, and invokes protectionfrom tree-dwelling Dryads in

Germanic folklore.

HOW DO GPS NAVIGATORSKNOW SPEED LIMITS?Based on a cars whereabouts, the GPS navigator cancalculate very accurately how fast it is moving. The GPSmap includes all speed limits, and so, the technology canwarn the driver if they are speeding. In case of roadwork,the GPS will often not be updated on speed limits.

2. The GPS is updated severaltimes per second by satellite, soit knows the speed of the carquite accurately.

3. The GPS signals if thespeed is too high, for instanceby indicating the currentspeed in red, or the numbermay begin to flash.

1. A car passes by a placewith a speed limit of 60 km/h,which is already included inthe GPS navigator map.

Asteroid heading for Earth?The Apophis asteroid may strike Earth in2036, but according to NASA, the risk of the270-m-big asteroid hitting Earth is only 1:250,000

THINKSTOCK


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NATURE IN PRACTICE



ASK US

GravityOn Huascarn, gravityis 9.76392 m/s, lessthan at the surface.Air resistanceThe air is very thin,so the stone will fall faster.

GravityAt the surface, gravity isapproximately 9.81 m/s2

Air resistanceAt the surface, air resistance issubstantial, and the stone falls

more slowly than on a mountain.

Do stones fall more slowlyfrom a high mountain?A stone will fall faster from the peak of a mountain thanin the valley, as the air is much thinner on the mountain.If the air resistance did not exist, the stone would fallslightly more slowly from the mountain, as it is furtheraway from the centre of the Earth, reducing gravity.

WHEN WAS DEODORANT INVENTED?In 1888, an American company, Mum,introduced the worlds first deodorant.Developed by an inventor fromPhiladelphia, the wax-like creamcontained bactericidal zincoxide. In 1940, the very samecompany thought of using a ballto apply liquid deodorant from abottle and so the roll-ondeodorant was born.

The first deodorant was a creamthat could eliminate both armpitand foot sweat.

How sweaty smell wasconcealed before Mum

Everest knocked out by Huascarn

EARTH'S SURFACE

At 8,848 m, Mount Everest is the highest mountainin the world, but it is not the place with the mostreduced effect of gravity. That you will find on the 6,768 mMount Huascarn in Peru, which is closer to the Equator.

MOUNT HUASCARN

S U I Z A P E R U A N A

A R C H I V E

, S C A N P I X

Egypt: The Ancient Egyptiansinvented the precursor of com-mercial deodorant. They appliedscented oils including forinstance cinnamon or citrus totheir armpits to prevent smell.

Middle East: Scented,alcohol-based liquids werewidely used to mask BO.

Asia: In Asia, it wascommon to rub yourarmpits with bacterio-static mineral salts.


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1993


2. PICKS UP WAVES

A 305m-wide, bowl-shaped satellite dishreflects waves from space,sending them to the cupola.

3. INTERPRETS SOUND

The cupola includestwo reflecting tele-scopes that capture anysignals from space.

1. SENDS SIGNAL

The platform aerials and focusmake sure that signals of afrequency of 430 MHz aresent into outer space.

What became of the ... search for ET?

In 1974, astronomers sent the first real radiomessage into space from the Arecibotelescope in Puerto Rico, only to encounter aroaring silence. Apart from a few short radiosignals of an unknown origin, which werecaptured in 1977 and 2008, the telescopehas not picked up any usable signals fromother life forms. However, that does notnecessarily mean that we have given up theidea of finding intelligent life in space. Today,we focus particularly on exoplanets - Earth-

like planets orbiting another star. For almostfive years, the Kepler space telescope hascollected data from more than 15,000 MilkyWay stars, and there is every indication thata handful of exoplanets meet therequirements of life, though at this earlystage we are talking about bacteria ratherthan super intelligent creatures.

The plans of finding intelligent life are sofar very optimistic, but nevertheless, thesearch is still going on. According to one

theory, sophisticated civilisations couldhave completely shielded their local star toharvest energy. The concept is named aDyson sphere after physicist FreemanDyson, who introduced the theory in the1960s (albeit as a sort of joke). Utilising new,huge telescopes, astronomers will try tofind energy discharges from the cosmicspheres or similar energy systems. For moreon what we might do if contact isestablished, check our feature on p.48!

21 years ago, American astronomerspredicted that we would make contactwith intelligent life in space before2000. What went wrong?

HUGE ANTENNA TO FIND LIFENASA and other space experts expect to have aninterplanetary dialogue with ET within 10 years.The optimism spreads to Science Illustrated,which introduces the message in No. 5/1993 thatwe will soon be in direct contact with aliens. Thecommunication is to be facilitated by the Areciboradio telescope in Puerto Rico, which listens forintelligent calls from space.

2014: Exoplanets may have conditions for life

30thANNIVERSARY

The first issue of Science Illustrated was published in 1984. We now look backon 30 years of scientific discovery to see if scientists' expectations were correct.

N A I C

The Arecibo telescope from1963 listens for signals

from space, but has not yetmade contact with aliens.


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Submarine kiteharvests energyThe Deep Green submarine kite utilises the energy of oceancurrents and the currents produced by tide. The method isbeing tested in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.The kite is attached to the ocean floor, and its 8-14-m-longwing is shaped in a way that forces it to move in an figure-of-eight pattern at a much higher speed than thesurrounding water. 1 km 2 of ocean floor fits in 50 kites.

Submarine kites

The kites can operate even in weak ocean currentsand will not mar the landscape. However, one singlekite does not generate much power.Low High

POTENTIAL

The potential is a an overall ratingof the power that the technologycan generate, the price, and thelikelihood of it becoming a success.

The generatorgenerates electricity.

The rudder keepsthe kite on course.

The wing pulls thekite about the ocean.

The turbine is rotatedby the ocean current.

Tethers keep the kiteattached to the ocean floor.

1

2

3

4

5


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25scienceillustrated.com.au | 25

At a time when wind turbines and solar farms are being built in increasing

numbers, engineers are developing the next generation of energy sources,hoping to harness the power in oceans, deserts, or even in space.By Ib Salomon. Art: Mikkel Juul Jensen

UNLIMITEDPOWERACCESSING EARTH'S HIDDEN

RESERVES OF ENERGY

12PAGESPECIAL

EARTH'S UNTAPPEDENERGY


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T he beach is deserted. All you can hear is thesound of the ocean and of the wind. The beachisn't covered with machines or structures thatmar the landscape. But hidden below the waves, aswarm of kites are ploughing through the water. Theflying motion generates power for coastal towns

nearby. The kites are being tested in Northern Ireland,in an area known for its stable ocean currents. TheDeep Green method was recently named one of themost promising power technologies in the world bythe reputable British Power Technology magazine. Thesubmarine kite is made of light materials, and its wingspan is designed to provide lift, pushing the kite

forwards, when water flows across it. Under the wing,there is a turbine which is literally powered by themotion of the ocean. Even weak ocean currents of1.2-2.5 metres a second are sufficient for the kite togenerate power, and such currents exist in mostwaters. Some of the currents are caused by the

changing tide. Others are stable ocean currents.The kite moves through the water at a speed 10

times faster than the ocean current. The speed has acubic relationship to the power that can be harvested.Ten times higher water speed results in 1,000 timesmore power. However, water power is not the only thingthat humans try to harvest, using devices located in

Solar power facilitiesMirror fields can generate lots of electricity also during thenight. The drawback is that they require lots of land and canonly be established in areas with sunny, clear weather.Low High

POTENTIAL

SOLAR POWER

The Sun melts saltThis newly established solar power facility in Ivanpah,California, deploys 173,500 heliostats, each featuring twomirrors. The facility can generate 392 MW or enough powerto supply 280,000 Americans with electricity.

The heat from the focusedsunlight is so intense thatit can melt salts in the tower.

The 565-degree-hot salt flows througha heat exchanger, bringing water to

the boil. The vapour spins a turbine anda generator that generates power.

Sunlight falls on heliostats,flexible mirrors. A computer con-trols the mirrors, ensuring thatsunlight is constantly focused atthe top of a 165 m tower.

1

2

3

E T H A N M I L L E R

/ A F P / S C A N P I X

To we r

M i r ro r s


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places where we will notimmediately see them.

SOLAR ENERGYAT NIGHT

When we were children, many of usused magnifying glasses to burnleaves by focusing the intense heat

of sunlight. The same principle isnow applied in solar power facilitiesgenerating power for hundreds ofthousands of households neardeserts. In 2011, Spain was the firstnation to introduce solar power, andglobally, solar power facilities nowgenerate more than 2,500megawatts (MW) enough to meetthe power needs of 3,630,000Europeans. According to calculations,the method could provide 25 % of theworlds energy needs by 2050.

In California, some 60 kmsouthwest of Las Vegas, a huge part of the desert hasbeen converted into a construction site for years. Theworlds biggest solar power facility is being built there,covering 14,000 hectares of desert in mirrors. Robotsplaced mirrors in holders, and subsequently, buildersfastened them with bolts and adjusted the mirrors tofocus the sunlight at a boiler at the top of a high tower.A solar power facility consists of thousands of bigmirrors that focus sunlight at the top of the tower,where a mixture of sodium and potassium salts melt inthe intense heat. The molten salts are 500+ degreeshot and directed through a heat exchanger includingwater that will immediately start to boil. The watervapour spins turbines attached to huge dynamos,which generate electricity, just like in traditional power

plants. The only difference being that the Sunsupplies the heat energy, not oil, gas, or coal. With

its 173,500 mirrors and three boilers, the solarpower facility will be able to generate 392 MW

at peak performance, or enough to supply a nentire city with power. The huge mirrors the

size of garage doors are called heliostats and arecontrolled by computers to follow the Sun across thesky, constantly focusing the reflected sunlight at thecentral tower. The facility can also generate power

during the night, as some of the molten, super hot saltsare stored in highly insulated tanks. The heat from thestorage is enough to power the turbines for up to 16hours without sunlight. In February 2014, Ivanpah putthe first of three solar power towers into service.Another solar power facility in Nevada, SolarReserve,was also deployed in 2014. In can generate a total of110 MW, or enough power for 75,000 households.These huge solar power facilities are typically locatedin desolate desert regions with many sunlight hoursand little risk of causing inconvenience.

SOLAR CELLS HIDDEN EVERYWHERE

The potential of utilising solar energy is huge: in just 90minutes, the Earth receives just as much energy fromthe Sun as we consume during an entire year. The priceof solar energy is tumbling and will soon be

Solar cells

Can be incorporated into building materials and embedded intoalmost any surface from roof tiles to road paving. Solar cells willsoon be an invisible part of our everyday lives.

3 TYPES OF SOLAR CELLS

Solar cells can be embedded into more and morematerials and even painted onto house walls. The

following are examples of invisible solar cells thatmay soon be embedded into new houses and roads.

Solar panels pla ted w i th s turd y, tran

sparen t

glass can be used as road pa v ing. T

he panels

can w i ths tand the we igh t o f b ig ve

h icles, fea-

ture in tegra ted LED l igh t, and are pr

esen tl y be-

ing tes ted in US carpark s.

New roof tiles feature integratedsolar panels. Some involve super-capacitors special rechargeablesuper batteries which can storethe energy for days when the Sunis not shining.

Th is t ype o f ul tra th in solar cells for w

indo ws pr i-

mar il y absorb in frared l igh t no t v i

s ible l igh t

mak ing them 70 % transparen t to th

e human

e ye. The in frared l igh t is con ver ted i

n to elec tr ic i-

t y and also reduce the glare o f the su

n. W in w in!

Low High

POTENTIAL

WINDOWS

ROAD PAVING

ROOF TILESSOLAR ROADWAYS, NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, INC., SRS ENERGY


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WATER AND WIND IN THE LEADToday, the wind and water power capacity ismuch bigger than any other green energy.But solar power is gaining ground fast.

competitive compared to coal, oil, and natural gas.For instance, solar cells are becoming very popular andgaining ground in the energy market. The general trendinvolves integrating solar cells into materials, so theyare embedded into facades, windows, roofs, and roads.In the new main railway station of Berlin, engineers have

integrated 1,700 m 2 of solar cells into the structure.The most recent solar cells are made of plastic,

making them cheap to manufacture, as they can beprinted almost like newspapers. Plastic solar cells canonly utilise a few percent of the sunlight. The mostefficient solar cells are gallium-arsenide, allowing themto convert 35+ % of the sunlight into electricity. But onaverage, silicon-based solar cells that can be observedon the roofs of houses and in other places only utilisesome 16 % of the energy of the sunlight. The relatively

low rate of utilisation is due to the fact that the solarcells only convert a small portion of the sunlight intoelectricity. So, the aim is to develop solar cells that canutilise the entire electromagnetic spectrum, includinginfrared. Recently, scientists from the AmericanUniversity of Buffalo developed a solar cell with so

many layers that it can absorb and utilise the energyfrom the full visible spectrum and infrared light.

Others are trying to make solar cells tougher. USelectrical engineer Scott Brusaw and his wifedeveloped powerful and sturdy solar panels that can beused as road paving. The hexagonal panels are coveredin a thick layer of glass and can resist the pressure ofheavy tractors. Moreover, the solar cells are pressure-sensitive, allowing them to register and warn abouttailgating for instance. And solar panel asphalt willimprove traffic safety, as the panels generate heat,making snow and ice melt in the winter. Traffic lightscan also be embedded into the road, as the panels can

incorporate LEDs. Solar cells could become a naturaland embedded part of the city in the future.

TURBINES FLOATON THE OCEAN

Unlike solar cells, big, noisy wind turbinesare still challenging to hide, and nobodywants a turbine in their back yard. So,engineers intend to build floating windturbines far out at sea. Huge off-shorewind turbines are traditionally solidlyanchored to the ocean floor, but thatis only possible at water depths of lessthan 30 m - typically near the shore.

Since 2009, a floating wind turbineconcept, Hywind, has been tested. Five

years ago, the 65-m-high wind turbine wastugged to a depth of 200 m near the island of

Karmy, 10 km off the coast of Norway. Big tugboats brought a turbine tower and a 117-m-longsteel cylinder into open waters. First, the cylinder

was filled with ballast and anchored to the ocean

In impassable regions,flying wind turbinescan generate powerfor research stations,remote towns, etc.

WIND POWER

100

500

300

700715

1,000

88

12

139

318

8.9 2.64836

200

600

400

800

900

B i o p o w e

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p o w e r

S o l a r p o w

e r

W i n d p o w

e r

2004 2013

1,000

GW

ALTAEROS ENERGIES


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Floating wind turbinesHuge, floating wind turbines utilise the wind where it is thestrongest without bothering people on the shore. But windfarms at sea need expensive cable connections to land.

2

3

The wind turbine rises 65 m intothe air and generates 2.3 MW.

Below the surface stands a100 m steel and concrete py-lon. The pylon is filled with a

3000 tonne ballast of waterand stones enough tosteady the turbine.

The wind turbine is moored tothe ocean floor with sparbuoys, each attached to a 60 tweight. The cables arefixed to the centre ofthe pier to ensure stability,allowing the turbine to with-stand a massive 11 m swell.

Wind turbineassembledat seaHywinds big floating offshore winturbine is shipped out to sea inseveral parts and assembled on sit

floor by means of threestrong cables. A hugefloating crane placed the turbinetower on top and finally lifted the blades inposition. So far, the floating wind turbine has resistedseveral storms and swells of up to 11 m. Even in the

strongest wind, the heavy ballast keeps the windturbine upright, only tilting a few degrees. The turbineis equipped with 200+ sensors that register anything.The advantage of erecting wind turbines in open

waters is that thewind is stronger andmore constant. Thedisadvantage is thatmaintenance ismore difficult andthat it is expensiveto run cables for awind farm far from

t h e s h o r e .N e v e r t h e l e s s ,experience haswhetted expertsappetite to buildHywind 2 a farm of

five floating turbines. They will be networked 20-30km off the coast of Peterhead in northeasternScotland, where water depths are some 100 m. Eachhuge wind turbine will have a capacity of sixmegawatts or twice as much as a 80-100-m-highwind turbine on the shore with 50 m blades.

So far, the weakness of renewable energy hasbeen the difficulty of converting it to a liquid fuel forthe transport sector. Airlines require liquid biologicalor chemical fuel, as it is much more energy-denseand so weighs much less than big batteries.Recently, scientists from Zurich, Switzerland,managed to make liquid fuel from sunlight, water,and CO2 of such quality that it can be used in planes.In a few decades, sunlight, wind, and ocean currentswill not only be able to supply our households withpower. Aircraft fuel could also have its origins inharvested sunlight.

Engineers are working hard to invent new, clevermethods for storing all the power that we harvest asthe wind blows and the sun shines - even on cloudyor windless days. Scientists are primarily focusing onwater, as it can easily store the energy and releaseit again quickly.

Low High

POTENTIAL

11.5of power will beneeded by Earths

population in 2030.Half of it could comefrom wind turbines,which create almostno air pollution.

terawatts

SIEMENS, STATOIL

1


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HIGH-ALTITUDE LAKESCAN STORE POWERSurplus power from solar cells and wind turbines can beused to pump water into high-altitude lakes. Thepumping requires energy. Later, turbines generateelectricity, as the water flows back down again. The turbine

blades can be flipped, allowing them to pump the waterup and flow back down. As the demand for power varies alot, it is reasonable to pump water up when few peopleconsume power, and send it back down when demand ishigh. Belgium plans to build a 3-km-long, artificial islandoff the coast with a 30-m-deep lake at the centre, aimingto create an artificial, high-altitude water reservoir, orenergy store, in the otherwise flat country.

WATER DECOMPOSITIONGENERATES CHEMICAL ENERGY

Water can decompose into oxygen andhydrogen, and the latter can subsequently

be stored. When an electric current passesthrough water, decomposition, or electrolysis,will take place. Some of the power is lost as heat,but electrolysis is an efficient process that utilises75 % of the energy. The hydrogen gas can eitherbe stored in tanks under high pressure or bind tosolid materials in the shape of pills or powder fedto cars or planes. The contents of hydrogen pillsare often metals or nanomaterials that can bindhydrogen and hold lots of it, ensuring high ener-

gy density. However, many hydrogen-binding materials must be exposed to hightemperatures to release the gas again, and theyare expensive.

The potential of hydrogen is huge, as it can beused in so-called fuel cells, in which the process isreversed, so the hydrogen and oxygen of the airbecomes water, as power for the motor is gener-ated. The fuel cell may be placed in an electric car,which produces water on the go.

The huge pumped storagepower station in Virginia, USA,

is considered to be the worldsbiggest battery.

Turbines

Low-altitude lake

Water reservoir

P U M P S

D E C O M P O S E S

C A T H O D E C

U R R E N T

A N O D E

++WATER

HYDROGENOXYGEN At the cathode, the hy-drogen ions of the wa-

ter are provided withelectrons, turning intohydrogen gas (H2).

The anode pullselectrons out of thewater, so oxygenfrom the water isreleased as gas (O2).

ElectrolysisWater can be decomposed intohydrogen and oxygen by passing anelectric current through it: electrolysis.The process is highly efficient. Due tothe H2O formula, twice as muchhydrogen as oxygen is produced.Hydrogen gas is chemical energy thatcan be stored in cylinders for later use.

Maximum output of the worlds biggest pumped storage

power station in Virginia, USA. In comparison, an electrickettle runs at 2,000 W.

EDUCATION IMAGES/UIG/GETTY IMAGES

3,003,000,000 W


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From deep oceans to space no holds are barred in future energy generation.Scientists are looking for green energy sources that can supply us with power in the futurein Earths interior, oceans, and space. Some of these wild visions are already coming true.

LUNAR RING TO BEAMPOWER TO EARTH

Scientists from the JapaneseShimizu Corporation aimto install a small plant on theMoon in the next 10 years,including solar cells thatcapture solar power andtransmit it to Earth. Accordingto Shimizu, the Moon will be amajor supplier of solar powerto Earth in the 2030s, thanks to

a wide ring of solar cells aroundthe Moons equator. The solarcells are relatively simple,and they will be made byrobots out of elements thatalready exist on the Moon.The sophisticated electronicsneeded will be sent to theMoon aboard rockets.

The power is sent throughcables to the side of theMoon facing Earth.

The power is convertedinto either microwavesor laser beams, dependingon the receiving station.The waves are beamedto Earth using antennae.

Receiving stations onEarth convert the wavesinto power, which is fed

to the electricity grid.

Microwaves

Laser beams

SOLAR POWER FROM SPACE

Sunlight is converted into powerby solar cells on the Moon.

42

1

3

Power generatedfrom space and volcanoes


WILDVISIONS


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New solar cells willsend solar powerfrom space to Earth.They are tested in avacuum to copy theconditions in space.

Solar cell withradio transmitter

Vacuum chamber

Solar power from spaceThe potential is high, but it is very complex and ex-pensive to build the plants. Safely transmitting thepower to Earth is a massive engineering challenge.

13,000,000terawatts that is the output of a400-km-wide lunar solarcell ring. In comparison,all electrical installationsin the US only consumesome 1,051 GW.

A s they search for alternative energy source s,many scientists are looking to space. There,the Sun shines 24/7, and there is noatmosphere nor clouds to block or absorb the energyof the sunlight. So, several groups of scientists andcompanies are working hard to develop technology

that can supply us with energy from space.Japan is among the frontrunners. Since the

earthquake and resulting tsunami in 2011, whichdestroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant, thecountry has initiated efforts to scale down thereliance on nuclear power, and by 2030, Japanhopes to collect energy from space by installingsolar cells on the Moon.

ENERGY BEAMED TO EARTHThe 15,000 employee Japanese architecture,engineering, and contracting company ShimizuCorporation aims to establish a lunar ring of solar cells

around the Moons 11,000 km equator. From theoutset, the ring will be a few kilometres wide, but it willeventually be extended. The elements for building thesolar cells already exist on the Moon, and the job ofmanufacturing and positioning them will be left torobots. Only a few humans will be needed to make surethat the robots do their job properly.

The power from the solar cells will be converted intolaser beams or microwaves and sent to receivingstations on Earth. The wave power cannot be toointense, as that would cause danger to people in thereceiving area, where large antenna facilities are needed.In areas with cloudless weather, itwill be most appropriate to uselaser beams to transmit the powerto Earth, as they will hardly spreadin clear weather. In other places,the energy will arrive in the shapeof microwaves - electromagneticradiation with short wavelengths.Upon arrival to Earth, the waveenergy must be converted backinto electricity that can be fed intothe grid. In order to reduce theenergy loss across the distance of 400,000 km,scientists aim to send a localiser beam from Earth to theMoon, so the flow of energy can be guided in theopposite direction. This will ensure that the energy findsthe large receiving stations located onshore and

offshore. If the wild project succeeds, we will be able

to harvest huge amounts of energy from space a 400-km-wide ring could generate some 13,000 terawatts.That's six times more than the total power consumptionof the world today.

MILITARY TO BUILDSOLAR SATELLITEScientists from the US Navy are also among thefrontrunners, when it comes to harvesting energy fromspace. They hope that in the future, energy for largemilitary operations can be collected from satellites thatare little more than giant solar panels.

One of the major logisticalchallenges faced by the militarytoday is securing power for radarunits, f ield kitchens, andcommunication equipment duringlong operations. Often, the poweris generated by heavy dieselgenerators which are carried fromplace to place with greatdifficulty. Consequently, the USmilitary is also aiming to utilisesolar power from space. So far,

American scientists have designed light solar cellmodules that can capture and send solar power toEarth in the form of radio waves.

The challenges of harvesting energy from space aremajor: It is expensive to send equipment up there,maintenance is difficult, space is a hostile environmentwith intense radiation that will slowly break down most

materials, and the risk of colliding withspace junk is constant.

So, many scientists are moreinterested in generating untappedpower on Earth.

VOLCANIC POWERThe AltaRock Energy company has

Low High

POTENTIAL

J.J. HARTMAN/UR NAVAL RESEARCH LAB.



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video

Brussels sproutspower Christmas tree

British scientists havebuilt a battery consistingof 1,000 sprouts, which

utilises the natural, power-conducting ingredients ofthe sprouts.

http://youtu.be/9i79c5OFIYs


rock exists in the ground inmany places throughoutthe world.

However, the methoddoes involve an elementof risk. The drilling may

cause earthquakes, andso any seismic activity iscarefully monitored. Fromthe AltaRock Energyauthorisation, it appearsthat the method is only

allowed to cause earthquakes of 3.5 Richter or less.Those can be felt, but cause no significant damage.

In Iceland, geologists have taken one step further,drilling all the way down to the liquid rock or magmawhich is at 900-1,000 C. The Iceland Deep DrillingProject is the first in the world, in which the heat frommagma and water existing naturally in the ground is

used to generate energy. At this depth, the water isunder extreme pressure, passing into a so-calledsupercritical state. It flows into the drill hole from thesoil and at a temperature of 450 degrees, it speedstowards the surface, where turbines are ready to spinand generate power.

THE OCEAN IS A GIANTSOLAR COLLECTOR

Many people shook their heads at the Icelanders whenthey started to drill directly into the magma. The samewas true in connection with the OTEC technology.Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion involves exploiting

OTEC Ocean ThermalEnergy ConversionNew technology revives a familiar method with a hugepotential, from which 80 countries could benefit.

An OTEC plant is testedin Hawaii, where the

warm ocean surfaceand cold abyss createperfect conditions.

been authorised to drillinto a 500,000-year-old volcano in Oregon,USA, by the name ofNewberry, which hasnot erupted for over

7 0 0 y e a r s . T h ecompany is testing anew method forgenerating energyfrom dry, warm placesin the ground. Manycountries are already using geothermal energy, but sofar, this has only been possible in areas, in which theground contains water heated by the rock, such as inIceland. Beneath the Newberry Volcano, the rock issolid, bone-dry, porous, and over 300 degrees hot: aperfect combination for generating geothermal energyusing the new method. AltaRock Energy directs water

under very high pressure into the ground, producingtiny, 1-3-mm-wide cracks. The cracks make up a fine-meshed network, converting the rock into a hugeradiator. Up comes vapour that is hot enough to power

a turbine. Each drill hole can generate 10-15 MW or enough power to supply a small town.

ENERGY HARVESTEDFROM MAGMA

Called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), themethod is not only tested in Oregon. In Australia,you will also find a small EGS facility, and thepotential is huge, as extremely hot, dense, and dry

3

21Warm surface water makes

ammonia evaporate. Theammonia flows in a self-

contained system under highpressure, making it boil at 20 C.

After passing through theturbine, the ammoniavapour is cooled by ice-coldwater from the abyss andpumped on in the system.

The vapour from the boilingammonia produces thepressure powering a turbinethat generates power.

POWER FROM THE WARM OCEANA difference of at least 20 degrees between the bottom and surface water forms thebasis of OTEC: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. A so-called OTEC power plant canoperate 24/7, and the ocean water flowing through the plant is free.

THERMAL ENERGY

Warm ocean water

Cold ocean water

Pump

Ammonia

Heat

exchanger

Heat

exchanger

Turbine

Low High

POTENTIAL

LOCKHEED MARTIN


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Volcanic EGS

Magma contains large amounts of energy, but only existsin areas with warm underground rock. The potential is high, ifwe learn to tame the forces of Earths interior.

ocean temperature differences. The heat from thesurface water is used to evaporate a liquid with a lowboiling point, such as ammonia. Ice-cold bottom wateris pumped up to cool the vapour back into a liquid state,so the process can be repeated.

In order for the system to generate energy, thetemperature difference must be more than 20 C, andin many tropical regions, the difference is big enoughthroughout the year. One challenge is that the coldwater is found at a depth of some 1,000 m, and hugeamounts are needed to keep the process going. Thisrequires large, long pipes and high-capacity pumps,leaving only a little surplus energy.

Nevertheless, one of the worlds leading high-techcompanies, Lockheed Martin of the US, is counting verymuch on OTEC. The companys test plant in Hawaii cangenerate 10 MW, but in a few years, Lockheed Martinexpects to build a plant that can generate 100 MW orthe equivalent of 25 big wind turbines. Up to 80countries could benefit from the method, the companyestimates. The oceans are the worlds biggest solarpanels, absorbing the equivalent of 250 million barrels ofoil a day three times as much as we consume today.The majority of the energy is absorbed by surface water.

What's clear in all of this is that in the near future,these new technologies can supply all the energy thatthe world demands from roads, roofs, oceans,dormant volcanoes, and lakes without us having todestroy the planet in the process of getting it.

New laser drills vaporise therock, allowing mechanical drillsto make their way through

without being worn down.

Liquid rock generatesboiling energyA few km below Earths crust, you may find magmaor red-hot rock. Drilling down to the magma and hotrock would provide us with the opportunity to harvesthuge amounts of energy from Earths interior.

In the US, the AltaRockcompany harvests heat

from an old volcano, usingthe ground as a radiator.

Low High

POTENTIAL

SHUTTERSTOCK, THINKSTOCK

ALTAROCK


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THE LOSTLORDS OFANCIENT IRON

The long rows of fire-spittingclay furnaces allowed Beninsforgotten people to produceover a million tonnes of pig iron.CLAUS LUNAU

By Antje Gerd PoulsenPhoto: Klavs Randsborg og Inga Merkyte

FEATURE | ARCHAEOLOGY


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37scienceillustrated.com.au | 37

Huge cities dating back froman unknown and highlysophisticated civilisation areemerging from Benins redsoil. At the time when peoplein Europe were living in theruins of the Roman Empire,these Africans had masterediron. At first it made them veryrich, but ultimately it broughtthem to a sad end.

The air is vibrating with heat and

blurred by the smoke of furnacesand fires. A great noise of singing,drumming, and shouting encompasses theentire area. Row upon row of red clayfurnaces, each rising almost three metresinto the air, can be seen. There are hundredsof them with flames shooting from the top.Men operate the furnaces, as women andchildren walk to and fro with water jars andbaskets of clay, iron ore, and charcoalbalancing on their heads. Some of the menare sealing the furnaces with clay. Othersare pumping air into the bottom of thefurnaces, using bellows made of wood andleather. Somewhere in the crowd, a voodoopriest cuts the throat of a cow, directing itsblood into the red soil as a sacrifice to Ogun,the god of iron.

This is what the city of Bohicon in what isnow Benin, West Africa, was like in its heydayin 1000 AD. Danish archaeologists haveunexpectedly found evidence of a great,forgotten, African civilisation, the people ofwhich were expert extractors and processorsof iron back in a time when many Europeanpeoples had reverted to bronze.

The Africans extracted ore from pits inthe ground, built long rows of smeltingfurnaces, and produced huge amounts ofiron which they processed into ingots,weapons, and tools and sold. However, themanufacturing came at a price, and theconstant search for raw materials triggereda natural disaster that finally led to thedemise of the civilisation.

BENINS HISTORY REWRITTEN

Scientists have long known about traditionalironmaking in Northern Benin and a number

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND:

Evicence of one of Africas grandest ancient citiesBohicon covers an area of almost 6 km 2 with large,rectangular huts and long rows of smelting furnaces.Dates back to: 800 CEDocuments: A great, so far unknown civilisation in Benin

AFRICA

Benin

For 15 years, Danish archaeologistshave made excavations in theWest African country of Benin,uncovering a lost civilisationwhich produced hugequantities of pig iron.


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Magnetism revealS temples and furnacesScientists can make great discoveries by measuring Earths magnetic field. No digging involved.The magnetometer technology has revealed houses, roads, and hundreds of smelting furnaces.

Magnetic mapping has provided archaeologistswith a tool that renders exhausting and time-consuming test excavations superfluous. Themagnetometer measures Earths magnetic field inthe upper soil layers, converting the measurementsinto a map that reveals what is concealed in theground. The method is based on the fact that Earthsmagnetic field is evenly distributed in layersuntouched by humans. When humans build houses,temples, and furnaces or make fires, the magneticfield is disturbed. The archaeologists draw up a typeof index of these so-called anomalies.

Normally, the remains of a clay furnace used forironmaking will be relatively easy to see, as theanomaly curve resembles a steep mountain: a large,positive variation (black) is followed by a large,negative variation (light). But the area includes somany furnaces that they blot each other out,making them harder to identify. So, thearchaeologists had to dig in several places to checkthat they interpreted the map correctly.

A person or a car moves the magnetometer across the area.The magnetometer consists of sensors that measure

variations of the magnetic field at the ground surface. In just one day, themagneto meter can cover an area that would take months to excavate.

The measurementsare sorted out using

a computer programme andconverted into digital mapsincluding contour curves,colours, or 3D. The strengthof the magnetic field ismeasured in nanoteslas (nT).The natural magnetic fieldof a place is 0 nT, basedon which all anomalies aremeasured. Positive valuesare marked by dark colours,negative values by light ones.

Magnetometer

The archaeologistsfound furnace floors(left) and Africas oldestvoodoo temple (right).

2

1


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F ur nac es v er i f i ed by ex c av at i o n. F ur nac es t hat hav e no t been v er i f i ed by ex c av at i o n and w hi c h c an be ei t her f ur nac e r emai ns o r sl ag. Heap o f w ast e and sl ag.

Enlarged area in Bohicon.

The furnaces are located along a road marked by yellow dots.

The circular, darkanomalies have beenidentified as ironextraction furnacessurrounding a heapof iron slag and wastefrom the 900s CE.

DIGITAL MAP


Africas oldest throwing spear headDates back to: 1000 BCEDocuments: The earliest ironmaking in Africa. Consequently, iron extraction and

processing probably took place in Africa independently of other cultures.

A R E A E N L A R G E D

The underground passages wereabandoned mines dating back to 1400-1500CE, and in the city of Bohicon, evidence ofeven earlier ironmaking was found using aso-called magnetometer. Normally, Earthsmagnetic field is evenly distributed in theground, so if changes suddenly occur in thesoil layers, it is usually a sign of humanactivity. In other words, a lumpy magneticfield reveals if the ground includes the

remains of homes, roads, or other items.And the magnetometer had plenty toreveal. On the digital maps it produced, thescientists could see a huge area full ofsmelting furnaces right beneath the surface.Without doing any digging whatsoever, theyhad located an industrial city.

We love it, when we can suddenly see anintegral whole, as we could in this case. Wecould see the furnaces located in rows alongthe streets, and for the very first time, werealised the extent of our discovery, KlavsRandsborg says.

The old iron city covered an area ofalmost 6 km 2 in the eastern part of Bohicon.In comparison, the area of Middle AgeCopenhagen was only 0.6 km 2.

The city had been founded around 600

CE and consisted of rectangular, mud-builthuts and workshops. Back then, the iron orewas extracted from pits in the ground.Regular mining activities and large-scaleironmaking employing around 500 furnacesat a time did not begin until 200 years later.

3,000 YEAR OLD SPEARHEADAnd there was more to be revealed aboutBenins past. In a village in Southern Bohicon,

the remains of an even bigger and mucholder city appeared: an 8 km 2 area bearingwitness of big, closely packed, circular huts.There, archaeologists made an even moresensational find.

We were lucky enough to find a wall thatonce collapsed during a fire, and under thewall, we discovered burned pottery, palmkernel shells, and a wonderful, thin, throwingspear head, says Klavs Randsborg.

The collapsed wall revealed anundisturbed pocket of time.

The discovery of palm kernel shells and acorroded spearhead may not seem all thatimportant, but they had suddenly made Beninthe homeland of a sophisticated, ancientcivilisation. Carbon 14 dating of the palmkernel shells proved, that the discoveries

of other African countries. But the newdiscoveries made by archaeologists inSouthern Benin are much more extensive andgo much further back in time, says ProfessorKlavs Randsborg from the University ofCopenhagen, who has headed the

excavations for 15 years.The scale of our discoveries took us

aback. We have probably found Africasbiggest ironmaking area and evidence of theoldest known production.

Originally, the Danish archaeologistswent to Benin to explore large cavesdiscovered in 1998, when a new bypass roadoutside the city of Bohicon collapsed undera trencher. The ground included almost2,000 man-made caves from the mightyDahomey empire, whose kings reigned from1600-1900 CE.

The caves served as shelter, hidingplaces, and later as water tanks, explainingaccounts of entire Dahomey armiessuddenly being able to disappear andreappear unexpectedly.

So far, the history of Benin has beensynonymous with Dahomey, but as thearchaeologists explored the Dahomeyculture, they moved still further back in time,discovering an unknown, several-thousand-year-old civilisation.

INDUSTRIAL CITY APPEAREDScientists found the first evidence of Beninsancient past in a series of narrow passages1-2 m below the ground. Along withscorpions, snakes and other nasties, thepassages included lots of iron ore.


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Destroyed voodoo templesIncluded pottery and figurines of kings.

Date back to: 800 CE and onwards.Document: Voodoo belief and the establishment of new

kingdoms to protect the people and control the growing trade.Islamic merchants probably ordered the destruction of the temples.

I n the coastal zone between Ghanaand Nigeria, Benins savanna nowstretches all the way to the Atlantic,only interrupted by a few palmplantations. Named the Benin Gap,the region is surrounded byrainforest. Climatologists andbiologists have long discussed whythe forest is missing. Fossilisedplants now reveal that Benin used tohave a rainforest of tall trees, but thetrees were cut down for the ironindustry at such a rate that the forestnever recovered.

Benin

Togo Nigeria

Rainforest wentup in smoke

BENIN GAP

Bohicon

dated back from the end of the secondmillennium BCE. The palm kernel shells showthat Africans produced considerablequantities of palm oil (used for cooking, etc.)much earlier than previously believed.

The spearhead is Africas oldest ironspearhead, and a small smiths shop foundonly 15 m from the collapsed wall makes itlikely that the spearhead was made on site.In other words, African ironmaking andprocessing originated much earlier thanscientists used to think. As early as 1000BCE and perhaps even earlier Africans haddeveloped ironmaking methods at a time,

when the people of Europestill relied on softer, more

fragile bronze.

IRON FROM BENINKILLED CRUSADERS

The dating produced a new mystery. Thecity in which the palm kernel shells and thespearhead had been found showed clear

signs of being the bustling centre of a greatand powerful civilisation. But scientists hadhardly found any evidence of the civilisationand so did not have any clue as to theidentity of the ironmaking Africans.

The archaeologists found the answer,when they happened past a heap of soilincluding traditional pottery. The soil camefrom huge drainage canals that were beingbuilt outside Bohicon, and shortly after,the scientists were standing in the dry,recently established canals. They couldhardly believe their luck, as they sawpotsherds protruding from unmistakableculture layers.

Significant artefacts were just waiting tobe excavated, such as the contents of oldvoodoo temples. The structures had beendestroyed, but archaeologists could still

obtain lots of information from the ruins, andthe potsherds dated back from the sameperiod as the iron industry.

The soil included small pockets of timewith evidence of the civilisation thatorganised the ironmaking: high-qualitypottery used in ceremonies and elaboratefigurines of kings complete with jewelleryand fine clothes. Small figurines of horses

that did not otherwise exist in the area,copies of bronze vessels, and Persian glasspearls bore witness of considerable tradewith other empires.

The most likely buyers of the largeamounts of iron were medieval Middle Eastcaliphates. The people of Benin may havesold weapons to army commander Saladinand others fighting against Christiancrusaders, and the voodoo temple ruinscould be the result of an encounter withMuslims, who demanded that the paganshrines be destroyed.

EXPLOITATIONCAUSED DISASTER

Based on the finds, scientists can nowproduce an outline of Benins history:

The ironmaking started gradually inancient cities, where iron ore was extractedfrom the surface. Around 800 CE, newkingdoms organised the production, and inthe big cities, furnaces were built. After1100 CE, the ironmaking moved to theforests, probably due to lack of wood forcharcoal, and in the 1400s, mine systemswere established to collect iron ore of abetter quality.

Eventually, the ironmaking activitiescovered an area of several hundredkilometres. Even today, it's possible to stillsee thousands of big and small heaps ofslag in the landscape. Some of the biggestslag hills measure 100 x 100 metres, are upto 13 metres tall, and hold evidence ofironmaking activities involving over a milliontonnes of pig iron.

The extensive activities required thecutting down of over a hundred square

P L A N E T O B S E R V E R / S P L / S C A N P I X


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Charcoal and oreare placed in layers.

The furnace is litat the bottom.

Leather bellowssupply air in order

to increase the tempera-ture. The melting point ofiron ore is 1,250-1,400 C,and consequently, theentire process lastedtwo-three hours.

Clay plugs in the 4-5thin, up to 60-cm-

long clay pipes (tuyrs)at the bottom of thefurnace are insertedor removed toadjust the oxy-gen supply.

The iron collects intothick, pancake-like

substance (bloom), whileimpurities (slag) are directeinto a pit below the groundOnce the furnace hasproduced enough iron, it isbrought flat to the ground,

and the bloom is recovered

5

Bellows increasedthe temperatureto 1400 degrees


Hundreds ofsmelting furnacesLined up in rows and