March Science Tidbits

Earth Science History

In 1977, the rings of Uranus were discovered from earth by stellar occultation experiments made when Uranus occulted (passed in front of) a star and it was noticed that there were dips in the brightness of the star before and after it passed behind the body of Uranus. This data suggested that Uranus was surrounded by at least five rings. Four more rings were suggested by subsequent occultation measurements from the Earth, and two additional ones were found by space probe Voyager 2, bringing the total to 11. Direct observations of the rings from earth had not been possible, because the rings are lost in the planet's glare as seen through terrestrial optical telescopes. Most of the rings are not quite circular, and most are not exactly in the plane of the equator.

Physics History
In 1950, a new radioactive element, element 98, named "californium" was announced by scientists at the University of California at Berkeley. This is a synthetic chemical element of the actinide series in Group IIIb of the periodic table, isotope californium-245. The scientists Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street, Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn T. Seaborg produced it by bombarding curium-242 (atomic number 96) with helium-ions in the 60-inch cyclotron. Since then, longer lived isotopes have been created, including californium-251 with an 800-year half-life, and microgram quantities of compounds such as the oxychloride CfOCl, the oxide Cf2O3, and the trichloride CfCl3. Also, californium-252, with a half-life of 2.65-years, has industrial and medical applications as a very intense point source of neutrons.

Chemistry History
In 1960, the first U.S. offshore sulphur mine began extracting sulphur. The Grand Isle offshore mine was built and operated by the Freeport Sulphur company, about 7 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. A steel structure with drilling rigs stood in 50-ft of water to reach the deposit 2,000-ft below the ocean bed. The rig also carries generators and boilers to generate the superheated water injected into the bore in the Frasch extraction process to melt the sulphur and help drive the molten material to the surface. Humble Oil & Refining Co. discovered sulphur-bearing limestone while test drilling for oil in 1949, and within five years had eight more sulphur prospect holes. Freeport Sulphur Co. acquired the mineral rights on 19 Sep 1956. More than $22 million was spent on pre-production construction.

Quote
You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw