Antineutrinos were first detected in 1956 near a nuclear reactor. Reines and Cowan used two targets containing a solution of cadmium chloride in water. Two scintillation detectors were placed next to the cadmium targets. Antineutrinos with an energy above the threshold of 1.8 MeV caused charged current interactions with the protons in the water, producing positrons and neutrons. The resulting positron annihilations with electrons created photons with an energy of about 0.5 MeV. Pairs of photons in coincidence could be detected by the two scintillation detectors above and below the target. The neutrons were captured by cadmium nuclei resulting in gamma rays of about 8 MeV that were detected a few microseconds after the photons from a positron annihilation event.

This experiment was designed by Cowan and Reines to give a unique signature for antineutrinos, to prove the existence of these particles. It was not the experimental goal to measure the total antineutrino flux. The detected antineutrinos thus all carried an energy greater 1.8 MeV, which is the threshold for the reaction channel used (1.8 MeV is the energy needed to create a positron and a neutron from a proton). Only about 3% of the antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor carry enough energy for the reaction to occur.

Today, the much larger KamLAND detector uses similar techniques and 53 Japanese nuclear power plants to study neutrino oscillation.

Chlorine detectors consist of a tank filled with a chlorine containing fluid such as tetrachloroethylene. A neutrino converts a chlorine atom into one of argon via the charged current interaction. The fluid is periodically purged with helium gas which would remove the argon. The helium is then cooled to separate out the argon. A chlorine detector in the former Homestake Mine near Lead, South Dakota, containing 520 short tons (470 metric tons) of fluid, made the first measurement of the deficit of electron neutrinos from the sun (see solar neutrino problem).

A similar detector design uses a gallium → germanium transformation which is sensitive to lower energy neutrinos. A neutrino is able to react with an atom of gallium-71, converting it into an atom of the unstable isotope germanium-71. The germanium was then chemically extracted and concentrated. Neutrinos were thus detected by measuring the radioactive decay of germanium. This latter method is nicknamed the “Alsace-Lorraine” technique because of the reaction sequence (gallium-germanium-gallium) involved. These chemical detection methods are useful only for counting neutrinos; no neutrino direction or energy information is available. The GALLEX experiment used about 30 tons of gallium as reaction mass. This experiment is difficult to scale up due to the prohibitive cost of gallium. Larger experiments have therefore turned to a cheaper reaction mass.

Čerenkov detectors

“Ring-imaging” detectors take advantage of the Čerenkov light produced by charged particles moving through a medium faster than the speed of light in that medium. In these detectors, a large volume of clear material (e.g., water or ice) is surrounded by light-sensitive photomultiplier tubes. A charged lepton produced with sufficient energy typically travel faster than the speed of light in the detector medium (though slower than the speed of light in a vacuum). This generates an “optical shockwave” known as Čerenkov radiation which can be detected by the photomultiplier tubes. The result is a characteristic ring-like pattern of activity on the array of photomultiplier tubes. This pattern can be used to infer direction, energy, and (sometimes) flavor information about the incident neutrino.

Two water-filled detectors of this type (Kamiokande and IMB) recorded the neutrino burst from supernova 1987A. Kamiokande was able to detect the burst of neutrinos associated with this supernova, and in 1988 it was used to directly confirm the production of solar neutrinos. The largest such detector is the water-filled Super-Kamiokande. This detector uses 50,000 tons of pure water surrounded by 11,000 photomultiplier tubes buried 1& km underground.

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) uses heavy water. In addition to the neutrino interactions available in a regular water detector, the deuterium in the heavy water can be broken up by a neutrino. The resulting free neutron is subsequently captured, releasing a burst of gamma rays which are detected. All three neutrino flavors participate equally in this dissociation reaction.

The MiniBooNE detector employs pure mineral oil as its detection medium. Mineral oil is a natural scintillator, so charged particles without sufficient energy to produce Cherenkov light can still produce scintillation light. This allows low energy muons and protons, invisible in water, to be detected.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the ANTARES telescope has been fully operational since May 30, 2008. This telescope uses the sea water as the detector mass.

The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) operated from 1996 to 2004. This detector used photomultiplier tubes mounted on strings, buried deep (1.5–2& km) inside the glacial ice at the South Pole in Antarctica. The ice itself is used as the detector mass. The direction of incident neutrinos is determined by recording the arrival time of individual photons using a three-dimensional array of detector modules containing one photomultiplier tube each. This method allows detection of neutrinos above 50 GeV with a spatial resolution of approximately 2 degrees. AMANDA has been used to generate neutrino maps of the northern sky in order to search for extraterrestrial neutrino sources and in searches for dark matter. AMANDA is currently in the process of being upgraded to the IceCube observatory, eventually increasing the volume of the detector array to one cubic kilometer.

Radio detectors

The Radio Ice Cerenkov Experiment uses antennas to detect Cerenkov radiation from high-energy neutrinos in Antarctica. The Antarctic Impulse Transient Antenna (ANITA) is a balloon-born device flying over Antarctica and detecting Askaryan radiation produced by ultra-high energy neutrinos interacting with the ice below.

Tracking calorimeters

Tracking calorimeters such as the MINOS detectors use alternating planes of absorber material and detector material. The absorber planes provide detector mass while the detector planes provide the tracking information. Steel is a popular absorber choice, being relatively dense and inexpensive and having the advantage that it can be magnetised. The NOνA proposal suggests eliminating the absorber planes in favor of using a very large active detector volume. The active detector is often liquid or plastic scintillator, read out with photomultiplier tubes, although various kinds of ionisation chambers have also been used.

Tracking calorimeters are only useful for high energy (GeV range) neutrinos. At these energies, neutral current interactions appear as a shower of hadronic debris and charged current interactions are identified by the presence of the charged lepton’s track (possibly alongside some form of hadronic debris.) A muon produced in a charged current interaction leaves a long penetrating track and is easy to spot. The length of this muon track and its curvature in the magnetic field provide energy and charge (mu^+ versus mu^-) information. An electron in the detector produces an electromagnetic shower which can be distinguished from hadronic showers if the granularity of the active detector is small compared to the physical extent of the shower. Tau leptons decay essentially immediately to either pions or another charged lepton and cannot be observed directly in this kind of detector. (To directly observe taus, one typically looks for a kink in tracks in photographic emulsion.)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Neutrino detector, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Two main types of improvement can be made to a building’s energy efficiency:

Insulation

Improvements to insulation can cut energy consumption greatly, making a space cheaper to heat and to cool. However existing housing can often be difficult or expensive to improve. Newer buildings can benefit from many of the techniques of superinsulation. Older buildings can benefit from several kinds of improvement:

* Solid wall insulation: A building with solid walls can benefit from internal or external insulation. External wall insulation involves adding decorative weather-proof insulating panels or other treatment to the outside of the wall. Alternatively, internal wall insulation can be applied using ready-made insulation/plaster board laminates, or other methods. Thicknesses of internal or external insulation typically range between 50 and 100& mm.

* Cavity wall insulation: A building with cavity walls can benefit from insulation pumped into the cavity. This form of insulation is very cost effective.

* Programmable thermostats allow heating and cooling of a room to be switched off depending the time, day of the week, and temperature. A bedroom, for example, does not need to be heated during the day, but a living room does not need to be heated during the night.

* Roof insulation

* Insulated windows and doors

* Draught proofing

Underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is substantially more energy efficient than traditional methods of heating:

* Water circulates within the system at low temperatures (35°C – 50°C) making gas boilers, wood fired boilers, and heat pumps significantly more efficient.

* Rooms with underfloor heating are cooler near the ceiling, where heat is not required, but warmer underfoot, where comfort is most required.

* Traditional radiators are frequently positioned underneath poorly insulated windows, heating them unnecessarily.

Waste-water heat recovery

It is possible to recover significant amounts of heat from waste hot water via hot water heat recycling. On average 90% of a property’s domestic hot water is used for showering. Incoming fresh water is typically of a far lower temperature than the waste water from a shower. An inexpensive heat exchanger recovers up on average 40% of the heat that would normally be wasted, by warming incoming cold fresh water with heat from outgoing waste water.

== External links

* Heat pumps based on R744 (CO2) [http://www.r744.com/knowledge/faq_a.php FAQ]

* [http://www.hptcj.or.jp/about_e/contribution/pdf/hpe-all.pdf Heat pumps Long Awaited Way out of the Global Warming] – Information from Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan

* Department of Trade and Industry, 2005 study on [http://www.dti.gov.uk/renewables/policy_pdfs/heatreportfinal.pdf Renewable Heat]

* [http://www.icax.co.uk/renewable_heat.html Renewable Heat] combining asphalt solar collectors, thermal banks and ground source heat pumps.

* Energy Saving Trust information on [http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/insulation/ Home Insulation]

* [http://www.bioenergygroup.org/more_information9.php Useful wood fuel information]

* [http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/acu/energy/biomass-taskforce/index.htm The Gill report on biomass in the UK] – download

* [http://www.alternative-heating.com Information and videos about non-conventional and renewable heating solutions]

* [http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements/Home-insulation-glazing/Solid-wall-insulation Solid wall insulation]

* [http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements/Home-insulation-glazing/Cavity-wall-insulation Cavity wall insulation]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Renewable heat, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Emergy accounting uses the thermodynamic basis of all forms of energy, resources and human services, and converts them into equivalents of one form of energy, usually solar emergy. To evaluate a system, first a system diagram is drawn to organize the evaluation and account for all inputs and outflows. A table of the actual flows of resources, labor and energy is constructed from the diagram and all flows are evaluated. The final step of an emergy evaluation involves interpreting the quantitative results. In some cases, the evaluation is done to determine the fit of a development proposal within its environment. In others, it may be a question of comparing different alternatives, or the evaluation may be seeking the best use of resources to maximize economic vitality (Table 4, below lists some of the many published emergy evaluations of systems and processes).

Emergy evaluations are both synthetic and analytic. Synthesis is the act of combining elements into coherent wholes for understanding of the wholeness of systems, while analysis is the dissection or breaking apart of systems to build understanding from the pieces upward. In the emergy method of evaluation, sometimes called ”emergy synthesis”, first the whole system is considered through diagramming, then the flows of energy, resources and information that drive the system are analyzed. By evaluating complex systems using emergy methods, the major inputs from the human economy and those coming “free” from the environment are integrated to analyze questions of public policy and environmental management.

1. Energy Systems Diagram

Systems diagrams are used to show the inputs that are evaluated and summed to obtain the emergy of a resulting flow or storage. The purpose of the system diagram is to conduct a critical inventory of processes, storages and flows that are important “drivers” of the system (all flows that inflow across the system boundary) and are therefore necessary to evaluate. A simple diagram of a city and its regional support area is shown in Figure 1 (many example diagrams can be found at the [http://emergysystems.org/symbols.php EmergySystems.org] web site).

2. Preparation of an Emergy Evaluation Table

A table (see example below) of the actual flows of resources, labor and energy is constructed from the diagram. Raw data on inflows that cross the boundary are converted into emergy units, and then summed to obtain total emergy supporting the system. Energy flows per unit time (usually per year) are presented in the table as separate line items. Tables are usually constructed in the same format, as given by the column headings and format below:

::

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Emergy, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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In addition to the ATLAS-03 investigations, the mission included deployment and retrieval of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometer Telescope for Atmosphere, or CRISTA. Mounted on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite, the payload is designed to explore the variability of the atmosphere and provide measurements that will complement those obtained by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite launched aboard ”Discovery” in 1991. CRISTA-SPAS is a joint U.S./German experiment.

Other payloads in ”Atlantis”’s cargo bay included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV-7) payload and the Experiment on the Sun Complementing ATLAS (ESCAPE-II). Payloads located in the middeck include the Physiological & Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE/NIR-R), Protein Crystal Growth-Thermal Enclosure (PCG-TES), Protein Crystal Growth- Single Locker (PCG-STES), Space Tissue Loss/National Institute of Health (STL/NIH-C), Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and the Heat Pipe Performance-2 Experiment (HPP-2).

STS-66 further advanced comprehensive effort to collect data about sun’s energy output, chemical makeup of the Earth’s middle atmosphere, and how these factors affect global ozone levels. Seven instruments on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) also flew on first two ATLAS flights. No other collection of space-based instruments provides the same extensive range of atmospheric measurements. Also considered a primary payload was the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), continuing joint NASA-German Space Agency (DARA, now the DLR) series of scientific missions. ATLAS-3 and CRISTA-SPAS considered as joint mission with single set of science objectives. During mission, crew divided into two teams for around-the-clock research.

ATLAS-3 instruments, mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay, included Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS), which collected more data on trace gases in the atmosphere than on all three of its previous flights combined; Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SSBUV), which took ozone measurements to calibrate ozone monitor on aging NOAA-9 satellite as well as cooperative measurements with other ATLAS-3 instruments; Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), which took extremely precise measurements of the sun’s total radiation for 30 orbits as calibration reference for sister instrument on Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) launched in 1991; Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON), provided by Belgium, which also measured solar radiation but as reference point to track changes over years; Solar Spectrum Measurement ([http://www.aerov.jussieu.fr/projet/SOLSPEC SOLSPEC]), French instrument, measured sun’s radiation as function of wavelength; and Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM), which collected its highest precision solar ultraviolet radiation measurements in its 15-year lifetime. Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS), collected nine hours of observations, measuring distribution of water vapor, chlorine monoxide and ozone at altitudes between 12 and 60 miles (20 to ), before computer malfunction halted instrument operations.

CRISTA-SPAS released from orbiter’s Remote Manipulator System arm on second day of mission. Flying at distance of about 25 to 44 miles (40 to ) behind Shuttle, payload collected data for more than eight days before being retrieved and returned to cargo bay. CRISTA instrument gathered first global information about medium and small scale disturbances in trace gases in middle atmosphere, which could lead to better models of the atmosphere and Earth’s energy balance. Second CRISTA-SPAS instrument, the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) measured amounts of ozone-destroying hydroxyl and nitric oxide in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere from 24 to 72 miles (40 to ). MAHRSI yielded first complete global maps of hydroxyl in atmosphere.

For retrieval of CRISTA-SPAS, a different approach method to the spacecraft was successfully tested as prelude to upcoming U.S. Shuttle/Russian Space Station Mir docking flights. Called R-Bar approach, it is expected to save propellant while reducing risk of contamination to Mir systems from orbiter thruster jet firings. STS-66 was the last solo shuttle flight for Atlantis for over 14 years, as her upcoming missions were dedicated to Mir, and ISS flights. Atlantis would not fly solo again until STS-125 (The final Hubble Space Telescope Mission).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article STS-66, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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In ”Adventures of Superman” #509 (February 1994), Auron meets Superman in space near a Virago Cruiser to team up against Massacre. At first believing Superman is an imposter, the two fight until Superman convinces Auron he is the genuine article. During their fight with Massacre Auron is hit by Massacre’s energy blast and killed. Superman buries Auron on an isolated planet.

Auron’s backpack, however, ends up damaged and in the hands of a scrap metal merchant. It is sold for booze.

Powers and abilities

Auron has a jetpack containing a binary computer that is cyber-linked into his mind. He does not need to breathe, eat, or sleep.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Auron (comics), under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Retail operations in the low-carbon economy will have several new features. One will be high efficiency lighting such as compact fluorescent, halogen, and eventually LED light sources. Many retail stores will also feature roof-top solar panel arrays. These make sense because solar panels produce the most energy during the daytime and during the summer. These are the same times that electricity is the most expensive and also the same times that stores use the most electricity.

Transportation Services

* More energy efficiency and alternative propulsion:

** Increased focus on fuel efficient vehicle shapes and configurations, with more vehicle electrification, particularly through plug-in hybrids.

** More alternative and flex-fuel vehicles (based on local conditions and availability)

** Driver training for more fuel efficiency.

** Low carbon-biofuels cellulosic (biodiesel, bioethanol, biobutanol )

** Petroleum fuel surcharges will be a more significant part of consumer costs.

* Less international trade of physical objects, despite more overall trade (as measure by value of goods)

* Greater use of marine and electric rail transport, less use of air and truck transport.

* Increased bicycle and public transport usage, less reliance on private motor vehicles.

* More pipeline capacity for common fluid commodities such as water, ethanol, butanol, natural gas, petroleum, and hydrogen (in addition to gasoline and diesel).

See

Health Services

There have been some moves to investigate the ways and extent to which health systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and how they may need to change to become part of a low-carbon world. The Sustainable Development Unit of the NHS in the UK is one of the first official bodies to have been set up in this area, whilst organisations such as the Campaign for Greener Healthcare are also producing influential changes at a clinical level. This work includes

* Quantification of where the health services emissions stem from.

* Information on the environmental impacts of alternative models of treatment and service provision

Some of the suggested changes needed are:

* Greater efficiency and lower ecological impact of energy, buildings, and procurement choices (eg. in-patient meals, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment).

* A shift from focusing solely on cure to prevention, through the promotion of healthier, lower carbon lifestyles, eg. diets lower in red meat and dairy products, walking or cycling wherever possible, better town planning to encourage more outdoor lifestyles.

* Improving public transport and liftsharing options for transport to and from hospitals and clinics.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Low-carbon economy, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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A close encounter with Earth is predicted for the comet’s return to the inner solar system in the year 4479, around Sept. 15; the closest approach is estimated to be 0.03-0.05 AU, with a probability of impact of 1. Subsequent to 4479, the orbital evolution of the comet is more difficult to predict; the probability of Earth impact per orbit is estimated as 2. As the largest Solar System object that makes repeated close passes of Earth, and which does so at a relative velocity of 60& km/sec, leading to an estimated impact energy of ~27 times that of the K-T impactor, Comet Swift-Tuttle has been described as “the single most dangerous object known to humanity”.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article 109P/Swift-Tuttle, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article Epcard, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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*The DiA placement scheme, which provides opportunities for volunteers to learn about, and participate in the work of its various partner organisations in India. Activities include teaching, field work/research, child-care, health education and administrative work. In every placement, the aim is for the volunteer to learn from and with their fellow workers and the local community.

*The volunteer ‘DIA Project’, where each volunteer is encouraged to produce a project/develop resources during their time in India. This can be in any form that the volunteer feels is appropriate to their material and theme, although DiA suggests different methods and approaches during training. Past volunteers have worked on activity worksheets, articles, information sheets and photography stretching over a variety of topics such as recycling, solar energy, children’s position in the community and the empowerment of women. Volunteers also use their DiA resources and the experiences they have gained from the volunteer placements in India for development education activities in the UK.

*A DIA newsletter which is produced quarterly and is a product of volunteers experiences and knowledge from India, DiA activities in the UK, topical educational development activities in the UK and the voice of our partner organisations in India. The publication aims to facilitate increased understanding of international issues to a broad-based audience.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Development in Action, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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