Welcome to My New solar system Blog
Haumea – Goddess of Childbirth for The Kuiper Belt
Shown above is arguably one of the most unique objects in our solar system. Located in The Kuiper belt, this dwarf planet was named after the place where researchers discovered it, Hawaii. What makes this dwarf planet special is its peculiar shape, giving it the nickname “santa”. But why is this one planet shaped like…
How many suns can a solar system have?
Growing up on earth with a singular sun, it is hard to imagine what life would be like with two (like the planet Tatooine in Star Wars) or more. In fact, many systems have been discovered with two suns and one was named in fact Tatooine. Furthermore, the planet HD 131399 was just discovered orbiting…
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Blog 3 – Nuclear Fusion!
Nuclear power has always been an interesting field to me, causing me to take the class “Nuclear Power” here at Vanderbilt with Dr. Strauss. In the course we cover both fission and fusion, and when we discuss nuclear power for energy generation it was almost entirely about fission. Fusion technology has really only been mastered thus far for its use as a weapon. This is a shame because the availability of the raw materials needed for fusion are much more abundant than those needed for nuclear fission. Furthermore, the nature of fusion yields the possibility for much more energy generation.
While the research on nuclear fusion is still a couple decades out on producing a viable nuclear fusion power generator, it is important to consider that it will still just be one of many complex answers to the energy crisis. Slowing down the effects of global warming won’t look like one new technology that will save mankind; but instead a vast array of different and unique partial answers that will together provide us the possibility of having a small carbon footprint. Nuclear fusion will hopefully be one of these small answers that will give humanity more freedom from fossil fuels.
Astr2110 