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The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

arstechnica.com

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Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#11

Post by kjs3 »

melling wrote: post #4
sanxiyn wrote: post #2

Isn't the largest science project in US the Superconducting Super Collider? Yes, it was cancelled, but JWST was almost cancelled as well.

I'm not sure what you are trying to reason. X was cancelled but Y was almost cancelled. That makes no sense. According to Wikipedia, $2.2 billion was spent on the SSC before it was cancelled in 1993. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collid... It's unfortunate that it was never completed, it was going to be bigger than the LHC. Everything we are learning now could have been learned a generation ag…

Claiming we'd have learned everything the LHC taught us a generation ago also doesn't make much sense, considering the vast improvements in sensor technology and data handling that happened between the last generation and this. It's just as likely we'd have seen little or nothing because our "eyes" weren't sensitive enough or we couldn't find the needle in the data haystack.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#12

Post by nickhalfasleep »

This article also fails to mention that this beautiful, shiny telescope will assemble itself with atomic precision after having the snot shook out of it at several G's by the launch vehicle to get it there.

In exoplanet identification and characterization is where I bet the Webb will make it's place in history for the researchers. IR is a great frequency to show liquid / gaseous water in an atmosphere of an earth like planet, and if all goes well, this telescope will be able to detect that.

That is something a spy satellite doesn't have to do, have decent resolution for items next to suns many orders of magnitude larger and brigher than they are.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#13

Post by jjoonathan »

madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Bet you a dollar that you've got an unmodulated electromagnetic audio signal not two feet from where you're sitting (if not stuck directly into your ears).

More importantly: I think it's fair to assume that someone reading an EM spectrum has the knowledge to figure out what they mean.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#14

Post by aylons »

madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Audio signals may - and usually are - represented by EM waves. Do not confuse "audio signals" with "acoustic signals". The diagram is not only easy to understand, but also technically correct.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#15

Post by noselasd »

aylons wrote: post #14
madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Audio signals may - and usually are - represented by EM waves. Do not confuse "audio signals" with "acoustic signals". The diagram is not only easy to understand, but also technically correct.

The same image appears on https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum with the text:

"NOTE: The AUDIO entry in this graphic is there for comparison only. Sound waves and light are two different things entirely."

Imo still somewhat confusing. I've never heard anyone refer to something on the EM spectrum as audio before.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#16

Post by leephillips »

madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Author here. "Audio" is there for reference. It never occurred to be that this would cause confusion, but you're not the only one to object to it.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#17

Post by basch »

sanxiyn wrote: post #2

Isn't the largest science project in US the Superconducting Super Collider? Yes, it was cancelled, but JWST was almost cancelled as well.

I'd argue Manhattan Project and Apollo are tied. They both could be measured in % of GDP, at .4% each.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#18

Post by leephillips »

basch wrote: post #17
sanxiyn wrote: post #2

Isn't the largest science project in US the Superconducting Super Collider? Yes, it was cancelled, but JWST was almost cancelled as well.

I'd argue Manhattan Project and Apollo are tied. They both could be measured in % of GDP, at .4% each.

I think it might have been better if the "largest" claim had not wound up part of the title, because it's led to a great deal of distracted quibbling. NASA claims that the Webb is its largest-ever science project, and others have judged it to be the largest in US history. If it's important, we can note that the Manhattan project was military, not science, although of course plenty of science was done there. Apollo might not be counted as a single project, or perhaps put in a different category (exploration rather than science?).

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#19

Post by madaxe_again »

jjoonathan wrote: post #13
madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Bet you a dollar that you've got an unmodulated electromagnetic audio signal not two feet from where you're sitting (if not stuck directly into your ears). More importantly: I think it's fair to assume that someone reading an EM spectrum has the knowledge to figure out what they mean.

I'm a physicist and I have absolutely no idea what you mean by an "electromagnetic audio signal". I think what you mean is an EM wave which happens to carry an amplitude-modulated audio signal , which is not an audio wave.

Audio waves are compressional waves formed in a medium, and require a medium for transmission through, such as air, or rock, or water, or even interstellar gas.

Electromagnetic waves require no medium, and are brought about by energy transference between electric and magnetic fields in free space.

Re: The James Webb Telescope, the largest science project in US government history

#20

Post by [deleted] »

aylons wrote: post #14
madaxe_again wrote: post #7

Nice article, but the diagram halfway down that shows the EM spectrum.... I'm scratching my head over why "Audio" is apparently now electromagnetism.

Audio signals may - and usually are - represented by EM waves. Do not confuse "audio signals" with "acoustic signals". The diagram is not only easy to understand, but also technically correct.

[deleted]
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