CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (IV)

Pentagon Studies Reveal Major Nuclear

The New York Times                                                                                                            13/11/14

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/us/politics/pentagon-studies-reveal-major-nuclear-problems.html?ref=science

SCIENTIFIC SHIELD: Nuclear security and society

SUMMARY:

After the Cold War the nuclear weapons have aged because of his disuse. 

Countries like Russia and The United States are armed with nuclear weapons that at this moment are useless.

Talking specifically about The United States case we can say that his armament its too old.

The Pentagon will have to spend billions of dollars over the next five years to make emergency fixes to its nuclear weapons infrastructure, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will announce on Friday, after two separate Pentagon studies concluded that there are “systemic problems across the nuclear enterprise,” according to senior defense officials.

Mr. Hagel commissioned two reviews, one by senior Pentagon staff members and one led by two retired officers. Separately, they visited all operational nuclear bases and interviewed roughly 1,500 people, from commanders to enlisted personnel and contractors. While their reports varied on details, their overall assessments were similar: In the long, tedious work of nuclear readiness, a culture of micromanagement and attention to the smallest detail flourished, creating busy work while huge problems with equipment and readiness, most arising from the age of the systems, were ignored.

In conclusion the ignorance against a problem like this is going to cost to Obama's Government millions of dollars and a lot of criticals by the Americans and by the other countries that have dismantled their nuclear weapons.

Hagel talking about the nuclear weapons

CRITICAL APPRAISAL:

United States is the country that always tries to remove the nuclear weapons in the world. On the other hand is the country that possesses more nuclear weapons except Rusia.

Besides this their are having problems with the weapons. 

In my opinion all the countries have to stop this armament competition because its only cause problems.

In case of a nuclear leak the problem will be catastrophic. A nuclear war will cause the world's destruction. Then I don't understand why they continue with this armament competition.

GLOSSARY:

The Cold War: The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc (theUnited States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact).

Nuclear weapons: A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (IV), by Marina Dorca

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (IV)

News' title: Landing on a Comet, a European Space Agency Mission Aims to Unlock the Mysteries of Earth.

Date of publication: November 12, 2014.

Source of information: The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/science/space/european-space-agencys-spacecraft-lands-on-comets-surface.html?_r=0

Scientific field: Astronomy (space and cosmos).

Extract:

The Rosetta mission is a project that has lasted ten years and that has costed $1.75 billion. Its lander, named Philae, landed last Wednesday on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Although there were some problems with the landing, the European Space Agency is satisfied with the results. The first touchdown mechanism didn't work, but the emergency harpoons fired and the lander could finally be fixed to the comet. Even so, there's a possibility that it's not absolutely fixed, and in this case Philae may not operate as long as hoped, but it's still been a feat.
The spacecraft's observations are expected to offer important clues to how the solar system came together 4'5 billion years ago.

Scheme of the Philae's touchdown

Comet's photo

Philae's lander

   

Critical appraisal:

This mission, which has set an unprecedented feat in the astronomy field, has both good and bad sides.

From my point of view, I think it's necessary to spend and invest in research, to make science advance. I realize that knowledge and research are causes worth spending for. Furthermore, I value very highly all the information that this lander will surely give us, which might lead to other discoveries. So I think the countries, within its economic capacity, should never stop investing part of its GDP in research, as it is one of the most important elements and shows the potential of the country.

On the other hand, although I've said I agree to set aside money for investigations, I found the $1.75 billion budget incredibly high. I guess it was all necesasary, as the equipment and the technology are really expensive, but still I think that the European Space Agency should have done everything possible to reduce the cost of the mission, because in this context of crisis we all have to reduce our expenses. Moreover, this new feat has raised quite a stir, but there are still years to start seeing results and discoveries by means of the spacecraft and the comet.

Glossary:

Feat: an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength.

Remnant: a small remaining quantity of something.

Spray: liquid that is blown or driven through the air in the form of tiny drops.

Fluctuation: an irregular rising and falling in number or amount; a variation.

Thruster: an object having a three-dimensional shape like that of a wire wound uniformly in a single layer around a cylinder or cone, as in a corkscrew or spiral staircase.

Harpoons: a barbed spear-like missile attached to a long rope and thrown by hand or fired from a gun, used for catching whales and other large sea creatures.

Touchdown: the moment at which an aircraft's wheels or part of a spacecraft make contact with the ground during landing.

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