linkedy links xx : Dynamics of Cats

~~JDEM~~ ~~Euclid~~ er whatever they want to call the new joint mission is having a catfight ,
Nature News (sub) has the nasty details.

And for this they shot down LISA? A factor of two descoped, still overpriced mission?
JDEM's strength in the NAS review was that the 2m concept was TRL9+ - that something like it had already flown and costs were known.
So now they want to do a smaller less instrumented telescope for more cost. Pah.

Which reminds me, I need to cover HETDEX/BigBOSS concepts soon.
Has Fermi Seen New Evidence for Dark Matter.
No, probably not.
Ok, it is possible, but an awful lot of people are spending a lot of time worrying about annihilation spectra and photon branching ratios of particles whose mass, interaction cross-section or general nature we do not know; nor do we know within several orders of magnitude what the density of any dark matter particles might be in galactic centers.
On the other hand, what could possibly produce a hard photon spectrum... thinking, thinking, thinking...
It would be very amusing if Dark Matter turns out to be Fuzzy after all this.
Next Big Future blog has an interesting short on Zn-Air batteries.
Supposedly, ReVolt Technologies is claiming a breakthrough in multiply rechargable zinc slurry batteries - with energy density of 700+Wh/kg - getting close to the theoretical maximum, and much higher than current Lithium-Ion or Nickel-Hydride batteries.
They claim to have overcome drying of the Zn slurry and electrode degradation.
Also claim design allows slurry refilling and air cathode replacing without having to replace entire battery. Battery charge is stable and lifetime long. No need for heating.
Zinc is cheap. Non-toxic and non-flammable.
Recharge is slow - hence interest in replacing Zn slurry directly.
I hope they are for real, we'll see.
Hm, a carbon free technology for ZnS roasting would be needed if serious Zn-O electrochemical economy gets established.
ZnSO₄ electrolysis could be conveniently done through hydroelectric or even solar electric facilities. In principle.

I like the Al-Air battery concept ;-)
I think ADS does this relatively trivially. It would be cool to track citations to the primary source - how deep is the tree back to Principia
Look, a sunspot!
Just one though. This is getting a bit worrying.
Iceland Weather Report tells the Grauniad about McDs abandonment of Iceland
Carnival of Space: 123 124 125 126

PS: almost forgot
Academia Not a Fucking Care Bears' Tea Party (note - it is "Fucking Care Bears" not "Fucking Tea Party" - i've been to Tea Parties that'd make Academia feel like Care Bears' Picnics- except they were of course Academic Fucking Tea Parties...).
Updated Illustrated Version

Classic.