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May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
How Stuff Works: How space stations work
By
Marshall Brain
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT)
The International Space Station is nearing the end of its construction phase. It has become a giant orbiting laboratory that is bigger than a football field. It is so big that, if you know when it will be flying by, it is easy to see it pass overhead in the night sky with the naked eye.
But have you ever thought of how this huge lab works? What does it take to keep people alive in the vacuum of space? Let's take a look at how all the parts of the space station work together.
We can start with something simple. Imagine that we launch a big, sealed aluminum tube full of air into orbit. Say the tube is as big as a bus. A yellow school bus is about 40 feet long and 8 feet wide. So we build a tube this size and get inside. We load the tube into the Space Shuttle's cargo bay and we release it into orbit 200 miles up.
Because we are in a big aluminum tube full of air, everything is going to be fine for the first few minutes. We are protected from the vacuum of space. But we are going to have some big problems very quickly.
The first problem is the accumulation of carbon dioxide. Every time a person exhales, there is carbon dioxide coming out. As the amount of carbon dioxide in the air rises, it becomes a poison. This problem is more important than the falling oxygen level — carbon dioxide poisoning would kill astronauts faster than lack of oxygen would in a sealed tube. The space station solves this problem with a CO2 scrubber — chemical beads or granules that absorb carbon dioxide. Periodically the carbon dioxide gets dumped into space so the beads can be reused.
Next we do need to solve the oxygen problem, because the passengers in the tube use oxygen with every breath. On the space station, the main way to create oxygen is to split water molecules using electrolysis. But for backup there are oxygen tanks and also solid oxygen canisters. This also means that the space station needs to have a lot of water on board. Much of it is stored in 20 gallon bags called contingency water containers.
Two other things you have to worry about in a sealed tube are humidity and other chemicals. Every breath contains moisture (breathe onto a mirror and you can see it). And every human farts 15 to 20 times a day (there is no way to stop it), releasing methane and other chemicals. The water can be condensed out of the air and is actually reused in the space station. Stray chemicals like methane are trapped with activated charcoal.
Speaking of farting, our sealed tube is going to need some kind of restroom. Without gravity or running water, this gets a little complicated. On the space station, urine is collected by a tube with a vacuum system. The water in the urine is recycled and reused. Astronauts strap themselves to a space toilet to handle the solid waste. A strong current of air pulls solid waste into a collection bag. The bags get burned up during re-entry like other trash.
Now that the air is breathable and the restroom facilities are taken care of, it might be nice to have some electricity to run lights, computers, radios (to communicate with earth) and so on. On the space station, electricity comes from large solar panels that are not that different from the ones people put on their homes. Batteries can store energy for use when the space station is in the earth's shadow.
The radios, computers, lights and human bodies will all generate heat, however. This is a problem because the vacuum of space acts like a giant thermos. Every large space vehicle needs radiators to take heat out of the cabin. On the space shuttle, the radiators are located in the cargo bay doors. On the space station, the radiators are huge because of all of the electronic equipment on board.
Now that all the basics are taken care of, it would be possible to live comfortably in the tube. But there are many other systems that would be nice to have. An airlock and space suits allow people to go outside. Reaction wheels and thrusters keep the space station pointing in the right direction. And so on. Living in space is an adventure that takes a lot of specialized equipment.
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Previously:
How toasters work
How a cell phone works
What went obsolete in the last decade?
How cholesterol works
How leather works
How vaccines work
How the smart grid works
How sea level works
How employee screening works
How to avoid catching a cold
How bread works
How a home energy audit works
How Omega-3 fatty acids work
Social networking
How trick birthday candles work
How electric cars like the Nissan Leaf work
How a manned mission to Mars works
How gold works
How bad breath works
How the ultimate sunglasses work
Any rocket is easily converted to a missile
How to have a great staycation
How a black box works
How a solar roof works
How nuclear bombs work
How the Hubble Space Telescope works
How hay fever works
How to know when to rent vs. buy
How swine flu works
How a kidney dialysis machine works
How children die in hot cars
How a trillion dollars works
How electronic cigarettes work
How chimpanzees work
How in vitro fertilization works
How supertankers work
How poisons work
How corn works
How dog ID chips work
How President Obama's limousine works
How emergency power works
How aircraft carriers work
How antibiotics and vaccines work
How mucus works
How iron and steel work
How aspirin works
How igloos work
How the Predator UAV works
How retention ponds work
How water absorbers work
How melamine works
How digital music works
How coal mining works
How an economic depression works
How the liver works
How 3D movies work
How oil pipelines work
How jet packs work
How seismographs work
How Olympic technology works
How Personal Rapid Transit works
How 3G works
How the Global Position System (GPS) works
How octane works
How cruise missiles work
How submarines work
How miles work
How octane works
How food preservation works
How beer works
How holding your breath works
How smoke detectors work
How heat pumps work
How your night vision works
How concentrating solar collectors work
How your key fob works
How the common cold works
How the Large Hadron Collider Works
How making a TV show works
How dry cleaning works
How exoskeletons work
How an oil refinery works
How landfills work
How the Orion spacecraft works
The cutting edge in HDTV
Redefining the CD
How the HDMI cable scam works
How glow-in-the-dark toys work
How the subprime mortgage crisis works
How gift cards work
How Tasers work
How giant TV screens work
How foreclosure works
How Air Force One works
How wildfire fighting works
How vitamins work
How ejection seats work
How reattaching limbs works
How hot air balloons work
How paparazzi work
How counterfeiting works
How CDs work
How the Edsel worked
How Stinger missiles work
How hybrid cars work
How sharks work
How mosquitoes work
How diesel engines work
How water towers work
How the Dawn mission works
How Kassam rockets work
How the North American Eagle works
Why aren't we flying to work?
How tofu and soy milk work
How Colony Collapse Disorder works
How airbags work
How the U.S. income tax works
How gum works
How caffeine works
How Daylight Saving Time works
How a cruise missile works
How snow making works
© 2007, How Stuff Works Inc. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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