Stories tagged google
Google Doodle for 7/20/2011: In honor of Gregor Mendel, father of genetics.Courtesy Google
Today is the 189th anniversary of Gregor Mendel's birth. You can learn all you need to know about him from this great little Washington Post animation.
Tags : Google is holding a science fair. According to the contest website, the search-engine giant is "looking for the brightest young scientists from around the world to submit interesting, creative projects that are relevant to the world today."
The contest is open to anyone in the world who is aged 13-18. Contestants can work alone or in teams, and who knows, maybe you and your project could win the fabulous Grand Prize which includes a $50,000 scholarship, AND a 10-day expedition to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions (not to mention the opportunity to spend 3 days at CERN or at the Google research site in Zurich)! Geez Louise, these really are grand prizes. It'd be so cool to win.
So, if you think you have a science project that could wow the judges, you should definitely enter. All the information and details you need can be found at the contest website. You have until the April 4, 2011 to enter. Good luck!
Googling the Dead Sea Scrolls, coming soon to a computer near you
While you've got just four days left to see real samples of the Dead Sea Scrolls here at the Science Museum of Minnesota, in a few months you'll be able to view many of them in the comfort of your own home, local library or anywhere with Internet access. Google and the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced this week that they are working together to put digitized versions of 900 sections of scrolls on the net in the coming months. Here's the full story and a photo slide show about the process.
Check out this very cool demonstration of Liquid Galaxy. Using eight 1080p HD displays, connected to eight powerful quad-core computers, a 3D mouse, and the already remarkable Google Earth, users can take an unprecedented self-guided, simulated tour of our planet. This amazing set-up can transport you from Paris to Google headquarters in California, or from outer space to beneath Earth’s oceans in a matter of seconds. All in three dimensions, and with a nearly 360° view.
Want one for your media room but don't think you can afford it? No problem - you can now build one yourself because Liquid Galaxy has gone open source. Here's a website that will get you started. Want to delve deeper? Go here.
Pompeii ruins street view: Visit the Pompeii ruins via Google Maps street view.Courtesy Google Maps You can now visit the Pompeii ruins via Google maps "street view". The link takes you to an overhead view. Click on the "A" and then click on "street view". You can zoom in or out and look around using your mouse movements. To walk down the streets click on ovals further up the road or on the arrowheads.
My homepage: This is my homepage with a couple of the mentioned gadgets.Courtesy JoeIf you are interested in tracking hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, etc. there is a cool gadget available for your Google hompage (and probably others) that allows you to view, track and interact with maps that show the most current active of these tropical weather systems. Its an interesting way to keep up and monitor the systems - and remind yourself that they happen all over the world. The one I use is here but I am sure there are others that are similar.
There are also gadgets for earthquakes, volcanoes and even one specific to world disaster photos.
Google Sky now works in a web browser (without a download). From within a web browser one can navigate the sky in a way similar to using Google Maps. Zoom or drag your way through a universe of stitched together images from telescopes and satellites. Try it out. It is lots of fun.
Making the world a better place
A philanthropic arm of the Google Foundation called Goggle.org drawing upon its nearly $2 billion in Google stock will invest "hundreds of millions" in companies specializing in renewable energy, co-founder Larry Page said.
"If we achieve these goals, we are going to be in the (electricity) business in a very big way," Page said. "We should be able to make a lot of money from this."
One gigawatt of renewable energy
Google's plan, known as RE< C, is to develop a gigawatt of electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from burning coal. Google is betting its R&D dollars on advanced solar thermal power, wind power, and enhanced geothermal technologies. Google's headquarters already draws some of its power from one of the country's biggest solar power installations.
"Cheap renewable energy is not only critical for the environment but also vital for economic development in many places where there is limited affordable energy of any kind," added Sergey Brin, Google Co-founder and President of Technology.
Google.org grants and investments
Two companies Google.com is working with are eSolar Inc. and Makani Power Inc. By focusing sunlight with mirrors, eSolar Inc. hopes to generate utility-scale power cheaper than with coal. Makani Power Inc. is developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies (Get more information via pdf downloads by clicking the company names).
"Google.org's hope is that by funding research on promising technologies, investing in promising new companies, and doing a lot of R&D ourselves, we may help spark a green electricity revolution that will deliver breakthrough technologies priced lower than coal." (Nov 27 Google press release)
Sources & resources: Yahoo News and Google.com and FAQ
From the comfort of your PC. Visit Google Moon or Google Mars.
How do you get started on the internet looking for science information? I jump on Google and get searching. But this can cause you to miss a ton of great science resources that are invisible to the search engine. Too dig a little deeper check out the Online Educational Database's Research Beyond Google -- science resources for some stuff you won't see on Google.
