Sunday, May. 20, 2012 |
National Science Foundation is studying Grecian urns to make better spacecraft
Page last updated at 13:54 GMT, Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - 18:54 EST
Popular Science:
Discovery's Heat Shield In this file image, space shuttle Discovery does a belly flip for the ISS, so astronauts on the station
All photographs come from the aforementioned news sources, and full copyright ownership is maintained by those sources. This site uses the images purely for reference to the original source and educational purposes, and does not profit in any way from their use.
Upon examining a piece of Attic pottery, certain words may come to mind: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” — and some would have you believe that is all you need to know here on Earth. But in space, you need to know a bit more. Like “how did this thing last so long?” Understanding how a Grecian urn survives for 2,500 years could yield improved ceramics — not for leaf-fringed scenes of deities or mortals, but for the sake of heat shields, and therefore safer astronauts.
Ancient Greek pottery remains quite robust, with perhaps 100,000 vases surviving two and a half millennia after their creation. Now the National Science Foundation would like to uncover the secrets kept by these foster children of silence and slow time.
Ceramics are vital to protecting spacecraft from the normal temperatures of Earth, the deep freeze of space, and the searing heat of reentry. Not many substances can handle the whole spectrum of stresses quite so well.
Read the whole story: Popular Science
- Login or register to post comments
Greece-World News
Nightmare foretold if Greece heads for euro exit (Reuters India: May. 18)
Former Thessaloniki mayor sent to court (May. 16)
Greeks withdraw money from banks as worries grow (BBC: May. 16) 
2 comments
2 comments Suicides up 22% in 2009-2011 (May. 12)
Greece's media crisis (Al Jazeera: May. 11)
Greece bridles at Merkel referendum suggestion (AFP: May. 19)
Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership' (BBC: May. 18) 4 comments
4 comments Threats against the country will be faced effectively, caretaker FM said (May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Merkel urges Greece to resolve political instability (CNN: May. 18) 1 comment
1 comment Greek party most extreme of Europe's far right (CBS News: May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Greek bank credit ratings cut (May. 18)
Greek banks strain for cash (CNN Money: May. 18)
End of the Marathon: The Meaning of Greece's 'Bank Jog' (The Atlantic: May. 17)
Greek banks may be nearing complete collapse (CBS News: May. 16)
Greek GDP dives as crisis hammers economy (Reuters UK: May. 15)
A random act of kindness lifts spirits in London (MSNBC: May. 19)
Cameron backs Hollande deficit plans (AFP: May. 18)
Europe thinks the unthinkable on Greece (Reuters: May. 18)
Beckham thrilled about carrying Olympic flame (Associated Press: May. 18)
EU seeks fresh start with Turkey on membership bid (BBC: May. 17)
Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies-Pentagon (Reuters: May. 19)
G8 leaders take up eurozone crisis, possible Greek exit (CNN: May. 19)
Thousands protest in Chicago ahead of NATO summit (Reuters India: May. 18)
Forget Greece, China Biggest Risk to Global Economy: Faber (CNBC: May. 18)
Greek euro exit looms as G8 gathers (AFP: May. 18)
Top Stories - Picks
Nightmare foretold if Greece heads for euro exit (Reuters India: May. 18)
Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership' (BBC: May. 18) 4 comments
4 comments Greek party most extreme of Europe's far right (CBS News: May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Greek Americans give ailing tourism another boost (eKathimerini: May. 18)
Greece bridles at Merkel referendum suggestion (AFP: May. 19)
Europe thinks the unthinkable on Greece (Reuters: May. 18)
Merkel urges Greece to resolve political instability (CNN: May. 18) 1 comment
1 comment Threats against the country will be faced effectively, caretaker FM said (May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Cameron backs Hollande deficit plans (AFP: May. 18)
Greek government talks turn ugly (CNN: May. 13) 1 comment
1 comment The Greek run (The Economist: May. 17) 4 comments
4 comments Greeks withdraw money from banks as worries grow (BBC: May. 16) 2 comments
2 comments Greek Syriza leader Tsipras attacks EU and Merkel (BBC: May. 16) 2 comments
2 comments Santos names experienced Greece provisional squad (Reuters: May. 17) 1 comment
1 comment JPMorgan executive out after $2bn loss (BBC: May. 14)
Light-powered bionic eye invented (BBC: May. 14)
Chrysi Avgi blasted over Holocaust comments (eKathimerini: May. 15) 1 comment
1 comment Athens in limbo as radical leftist waits in the wings (The Telegraph: May. 16) 2 comments
2 comments Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership' (BBC: May. 18) 4 comments
4 comments The Greek run (The Economist: May. 17) 4 comments
4 comments Wordpress suspends Chrysi Avgi's blog (May. 10) 4 comments
4 comments Thessaloniki mayor proposes ban on any 'Nazi parties' (May. 9) 4 comments
4 comments Greece stalls on cabinet as EU pressure mounts (AFP: May. 11) 3 comments
3 comments Greek coalition talks end in stalemate (May. 7) 3 comments
3 comments Greek conservatives must form coalition government (May. 7) 3 comments
3 comments Threats against the country will be faced effectively, caretaker FM said (May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Greek party most extreme of Europe's far right (CBS News: May. 18) 2 comments
2 comments Greek Syriza leader Tsipras attacks EU and Merkel (BBC: May. 16) 2 comments
2 comments -
Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership'
-
Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership'
-
Greek party most extreme of Europe's far right
-
Apocalypse Fairly Soon
-
Greek party most extreme of Europe's far right
-
Merkel urges Greece to resolve political instability
-
Threats against the country will be faced effectively, caretaker FM said
-
Merkel 'suggests Greek referendum on euro membership'
-
Credit conditions deteriorate in Greece
-
The Greek run
