New Hyundai Electric car has 300 mile range and could cost between $22,700 and $35,000 dollars. Could put Tesla's Model 3 to Shame.

Hyundai Kona Electric car is a 'game changer' - EV SUV with 300-mile range hailed ahead of

Hyundai Kona Electric has been labelled a "game-changer" ahead of its launch later this year. Geneva Motor Show 2018 will see Hyundai reveal the brand-new Kona EV. The combustion-powered Kona debuted last year with a bold and youthful design. Specs for the new EV were revealed a few weeks ago and could be a promising vehicle when it debuts.

From article, (Hyundai Kona Electric has been labelled a “game-changer” ahead of its launch later this year. 

Geneva Motor Show 2018 will see Hyundai reveal the brand-new Kona EV. 

The combustion-powered Kona debuted last year with a bold and youthful design. 

Specs for the new EV were revealed a few weeks ago and could be a promising vehicle when it debuts. 

It will have around 300-miles of range from a single charge which means that it is up there with certain Model S and Model X models and with the long-range Model 3, which are the cars to beat. 

This is also double the range of the upcoming Nissan Leaf 2018. 

“The KONA Electric is a game-changer; a fashionable small SUV with a 300-mile all-electric range - it’s exactly the product needed to make electro-mobility mainstream. 

 “We’re confident that the KONA Electric’s impressive range, distinctive styling, and exceptional refinement will make it very appealing when it is launched later this year.”

It will become available from mid-2018 and comes with a five-year unlimited mileage. 

In Express.co.uk’s review of the car, it scored an 8/10 rating ands praised for its competitive price, standard kit and broad appeal. 

Prices for the car range from £16,195-£24,995, ($22,681 to $35,031) but you can expect the Kona Electric to cost significantly more. 

However, if its prices are significantly less than the Model X, the Kona Electric could become an extremely popular car.) 

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Anti-satellite weapons on the way from Russia and China. What else lies ahead? The U.S. has to prepare, or become a diminutive world power. The Best Offense is the Best Defense.

U.S. intelligence: Russia and China will have 'operational' anti-satellite weapons in a few years - SpaceNews.com

New report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence: China and Russia "would justify attacks against U.S. and allied satellites." WASHINGTON - Experts have warned for some time that wars in space are not just Hollywood fiction. And the scenario appears increasingly more likely, according to the latest analysis by the U.S.

 From article, (Experts have warned for some time that wars in space are not just Hollywood fiction. And the scenario appears increasingly more likely, according to the latest analysis by the U.S. intelligence community.

“We assess that, if a future conflict were to occur involving Russia or China, either country would justify attacks against U.S. and allied satellites as necessary to offset any perceived U.S. military advantage derived from military, civil or commercial space systems,” warns the 2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, released this week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The United States has benefitted from a tidal wave of innovation in the space industry, but so have many other nations. “Foreign countries — particularly China and Russia — will continue to expand their space-based reconnaissance, communications, and navigation systems in terms of the numbers of satellites, the breadth of their capability, and the applications for use,” said the report.

Both Russia and China continue to pursue anti-satellite weapons knowing that, if successfully employed, could undermine U.S. military capabilities, analysts noted. “Russia and China aim to have nondestructive and destructive counter-space weapons available for use during a potential future conflict.”

U.S. intelligence predicts that “destructive” Russian and Chinese anti-satellite weapons probably will reach “initial operational capability in the next few years.” China’s military is setting up specialized units and has begun “initial operational training with counter-space capabilities that it has been developing, such as ground-launched anti-satellite missiles.”)

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Me, "You know? People talk about how great President Obama was, but for 8 years, he let Russia and China develop advanced weapons, either through outright theft or reducing the Armed Forces' budgets. 
Now we need to spend a lot more to protect the U.S. 

There is no more excuses. 

We need to protect ourselves. 

The world is a dangerous place. It's best to be over prepared than under prepared. Don't listen to Russia, Don't listen to China. They are building up their armed forces while playing on our weakness of indecision. We don't have to publicise every new thing we are doing, classified, etc. but we seriously need to be stepping up again. We need to realize that all it takes is a crazy leader to come to power, in Russia, China, etc. and things can go wacko. The best offense is the best defense."

How to rewrite government rules, originally created for human drivers, for autonomous cars?

U.S. transportation agency calls March 1 'summit' on autonomous cars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Auto manufacturers, technology companies, road safety advocates and policy makers will attend a March 1 conference over potential government actions that could speed the rollout of autonomous cars, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday.

From article, (Next month’s “summit” is to help “identify priority federal and non-federal activities that can accelerate the safe rollout” of autonomous vehicles, the department said. It will also be open to the public.

 The March 1 meeting at the department’s headquarters in Washington will include “several stakeholder breakout sessions on various topics related to automation,” NHTSA said.

Legislation to speed introduction of self-driving cars unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September but stalled in the Senate over concerns from a small number of Democrats.

Automakers must meet nearly 75 auto safety standards, many of which were written with the assumption that a licensed driver will be in control of the vehicle.

General Motors Co, Alphabet Inc, Tesla Inc and others have lobbied for the landmark legislation, while auto safety groups urged more safeguards.

Last September, Chao announced the first set of revisions to the guidelines unveiled by the Obama administration.

In early January, GM filed a petition with NHTSA requesting an exemption to have a small number of autonomous vehicles operate in a ride-share program without steering wheels or human drivers that could begin in 2019. NHTSA is reviewing the petition and has not yet certified it as complete, an interim step before deciding on the merits of the proposal.)

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Russia shows it can intercept a nuclear missile with a nuclear bomb. What if the U.S. just used a stronger conventional, non-nuclear bomb, to blow up ballistic missiles within a certain range? Instead of having to directly hit it?

Watch: Russian military tests new missile-destroying rocket for Moscow

The Russian military has announced successful tests of a new rocket designed to nuke any missiles fired towards Moscow, hailing the weapon as a major defense upgrade. Russia has several programs geared towards modernizing defensive and offensive missile systems as the Kremlin continues to transition away from Soviet-era kit.

 From article, (The Russian military has announced successful tests of a new rocket designed to nuke any missiles fired towards Moscow, hailing the weapon as a major defense upgrade.

Russia has several programs geared towards modernizing defensive and offensivemissile systems as the Kremlin continues to transition away from Soviet-era kit. The Ministry of Defense posted video of the test launch, which took place at Kazakhstan’s Sary Shagan test range.

The latest launch appeared to check the readiness of a “modernized” version of a rocket for Russia’s current anti-missile system, A-135. Reports did not reveal the name of the new item or in what way it outperforms current rockets, but the Air Gorce’s deputy commander told military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda that the rocket’s success was a leap forward in capability.

Statistically, such missile defense tactics stand a much better chance of eliminating threats with fewer anti-missile rockets fired but there are significant risks. A higher elevation blast, while avoiding close contact with Moscow residents, could cause electromagnetic interference with satellites or energy supply.  Russia’s most popular city is perpetually surrounded by 68 nuclear missiles, which would exponentially raise the impact of any fire or mishap.

During the Cold War, the United States and Russia struck an arms control deal to limit the number of defensive weapons each side had, which spurred additional investment in offensive weapons. Per the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, each side was allowed to keep a site of its choice. Absent Moscow's level of centralized national government and population density, Washington chose to guard its formidable arsenal at a base in North Dakota before shutting the program down in 1975. Russia retained its program throughout the Cold War.)

Me, "This is why you can't trust Russia. On the one hand they are claiming that the limited missile defense of Europe from an Iranian missile can be used against Russian nuclear weapons, and is a threat to Russia. On the other hand, they are continuing to build their own missile defense systems. 

They are not only building a missile defense, but are using Nuclear bombs to blow up in coming Ballistic missiles. You can't say Russia does not think big about accuracy problems. If you can't hit a missile directly, just get close enough.

 The U.S. has an on again off again Missile Defense System that does not use nuclear Bombs. I am not saying that the U.S. should use Nuclear bombs as a way of definitely blasting a nuclear missile out of the air, because of the negative problems with Nuclear Blasts, but maybe it should use bigger conventional bombs in rockets so as to not need to directly intercept a missile with a missile, which is hard to do. If anything? We can learn from the Russians." 

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How much does a Model X Cost in China? And, can the lower priced Model 3 make a dent in the chinese market?

Tesla's China Dream Threatened by Standoff Over Shanghai Factory

Tesla Inc., the biggest-selling electric carmaker in the U.S., is in danger of being relegated to an expensive niche in China because Elon Musk can't clinch a deal to open a factory there.

From article, (Tesla Inc., the biggest-selling electric carmaker in the U.S., is in danger of being relegated to an expensive niche in China because Elon Musk can't clinch a deal to open a factory there.

More than seven months after Tesla said it was working with Shanghai's government to explore assembling cars, an agreement hasn't been finalized because the two sides disagree on the ownership structure for a proposed factory, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. China's central government says the plant must be a joint venture with local partners, while Tesla wants to own the factory completely, the people said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Currently, all foreign automakers must partner with Chinese companies in order to manufacture locally.

 The disagreement doesn’t mean a deal won’t be reached in the future. Tesla currently sells cars in China, but an import tax of 25 percent catapults the sticker price beyond the means of most consumers. A Tesla Model X made in the U.S. and shipped to China costs about 835,000 yuan ($132,000), providing openings for cheaper models from domestic rivals such as BAIC Motor Corp., Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. and startups NIO and Byton. 

“I am very into Tesla for its battery technologies, but I can only afford a Tesla if its price falls below 300,000 yuan,” Li said. “It will take years before that happens, so I had to make do with a domestic EV.”

BYD's top seller—the e5—costs 129,900 yuan after subsidies from the central government, according to its website. NIO and Byton also beat Tesla on price. NIO's ES8, with a range of 355 kilometers (221 miles) on a single charge, sells for 448,000 yuan ($71,000).)

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From article, https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2017/07/30/how-much-will-teslas-model-3-really-cost/#59eb02f67dcb

(the [Model 3 price] “options” are:

• Base car with a 220 mile range for $35,000
• Extended range of 310 miles for $44,000
• Add Enhanced Autopilot feature for $49,000 (40% higher than the base price)
• Add “Full self-driving capability” for a total of $52,000 (49% higher)

Me, "This got me thinking. How much would a basic Model 3 cost in China? 
If we take the Model 3 base price of $35,000 dollars and add 25 percent Chinese import tax you get a Model 3 selling price in China of $43,750. Well, within 300,000 yuan at 277,672 yuan that Li would want to spend. If you take into consideration that there are a bunch of Lis (Chinese) out there, willing to spend money, the Model 3 has sale value in China. Obviously, building the Model 3 in China would get rid of the 25 percent import tax which hits the base Model 3 at $8,750. 
But, now, you have to take into consideration the new Subsidies that China wants to add to Electric cars to spur their use." 

From article, https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/2018/02/13/china-raises-subsidies-to-reward-longer-traveling-electric-cars

(The central government incentive for electric cars that have a range of 400 kilometers (249 miles) and beyond on a single charge has been raised to 50,000 yuan ($7,900) from 44,000 yuan, the finance ministry said in a statement dated Tuesday. At the same time, vehicles have to be able to go at least 150 kilometers on a single charge to be eligible for incentives, up from 100 kilometers previously.)

Me, "If you include a subsidy of 7,000 let's say, knock off a few hundred dollars because the base Model 3 has a 220 mile range, (not 249 miles.) You get a final base price of $36,750, (233,363 yuan in China). Even though Tesla is hit with a 25 percent import tax the new chinese subsidies reduce this affect. Sure, domestic chinese car companies will be lower in sale price, because they don't have to worry about import tax, but Tesla has its name brand going for it. We don't know if Li is middle class, but he likes Tesla. He just wants a Tesla that is cheaper. I think the Model 3 fits his and other chinese desires. 
It is not absurd for Tesla to be creating a huge supercharger network in China. 
Even without the new subsidies, a Model 3 can be competitive in China. 
Let's look at RORO's ships to get a sense as to how the Japanese have been importing Cars into the U.S. They must have done it cheaply and in mass to generate huge incomes on cars and trucks."

From Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll-on/roll-off

(Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter. This is in contrast to lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) vessels, which use a crane to load and unload cargo.

 During the 1970s, the market for exporting and importing cars has increased dramatically and the number and type of ROROs has increased also. In 1970 Japan’s K Line built the "Toyota Maru No. 10", Japan's first pure car carrier, and in 1973 built the European Highway, the largest pure car carrier (PCC) at that time, which carried 4,200 automobiles. 

Today’s pure car carriers and their close cousins, the pure car/truck carrier (PCTC), are distinctive ships with a box-like superstructure running the entire length and breadth of the hull, fully enclosing the cargo. They typically have a stern ramp and a side ramp for dual loading of thousands of vehicles (such as cars, trucks, heavy machineries, tracked units, Mafi trailers, and loose statics), and extensive automatic fire control systems.

The PCTC has liftable decks to increase vertical clearance, as well as heavier decks for "high-and-heavy" cargo. A 6,500-unit car ship, with 12 decks, can have three decks which can take cargo up to 150 short tons (136 t; 134 long tons) with liftable panels to increase clearance from 1.7 to 6.7 m (5 ft 7 in to 22 ft 0 in) on some decks. Lifting decks to accommodate higher cargo reduces the total capacity.

These kinds of vessels perform a usual speed of 16 knots at eco-speed, while at full speed can achieve more than 19 knots.

With the building of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics's 8,000-CEU car carrier Faust out of Stockholm in June 2007 car carriers entered a new era of the large car and truck carrier (LCTC).^[20] Currently, the largest are Wilh. Wilhelmsen's "Mark V" ships, led by MV Tønsberg.

The car carrier Auriga Leader, belonging to Nippon Yusen Kaisha, built in 2008 with a capacity of 6,200 cars, is the world's first partially solar powered ship.^[21])

Me, "Even if you take on shipping expenses, the Japanese shipped 1.5 million cars into the U.S. in 2016, that works out to 4,110 a day. A single RORO ship can carry almost double that!! Making it a cheap form of delivery in mass to China or around the world.
Someone at Tesla must look at these numbers."

Things are Looking Up for Spacex's Broadband Satellite Service.

SpaceX hits two milestones in plan for low-latency satellite broadband

SpaceX's satellite broadband plans are getting closer to reality. The company is about to launch two demonstration satellites, and it is on track to get the Federal Communications Commission's permission to offer satellite Internet service in the US. Neither development is surprising, but they're both necessary steps for SpaceX to enter the satellite broadband market.

From article, (SpaceX's satellite broadband plans are getting closer to reality. The company is about to launch two demonstration satellites, and it is on track to get the Federal Communications Commission's permission to offer satellite Internet service in the US.

Neither development is surprising, but they're both necessary steps for SpaceX to enter the satellite broadband market. SpaceX is one of several companies planning low-Earth orbit satellite broadband networks that could offer much higher speeds and much lower latency than existing satellite Internet services.

Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed approving SpaceX's application "to provide broadband services using satellite technologies in the United States and on a global basis," a commission announcement said. SpaceX would be the fourth company to receive such an approval from the FCC, after OneWeb, Space Norway, and Telesat. "These approvals are the first of their kind for a new generation of large, non-geostationary satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service systems, and the Commission continues to process other, similar requests," the FCC said today.

SpaceX's application has undergone "careful review" by the FCC's satellite engineering experts, according to Pai. "If adopted, it would be the first approval given to an American-based company to provide broadband services using a new generation of low-Earth orbit satellite technologies," Pai said.

 SpaceX has said it will offer speeds of up to a gigabit per second, with latencies between 25ms and 35ms. Those latencies would make SpaceX's service comparable to cable and fiber. Today's satellite broadband services use satellites in much higher orbits and thus have latencies of 600ms or more, according to FCC measurements.

The demonstration satellites will orbit at 511km, although the operational satellites are planned to orbit at altitudes ranging from 1,110km to 1,325km. By contrast, the existing HughesNet satellite network has an altitude of about 35,400km, making for a much longer round-trip time than ground-based networks.

We asked SpaceX for an update on its satellite broadband plans today, but the company declined to comment.

OneWeb was the first company to seek FCC approval to enter the US broadband market with low-Earth orbit satellites and received approval in June 2017. OneWeb wants to offer service in Alaska as early as 2019. Boeing is also planning to offer satellite broadband.

Pai praised SpaceX and other companies for using "innovative technologies" to improve broadband access. "Satellite technology can help reach Americans who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach," Pai said. "And it can offer more competition where terrestrial Internet access is already available.")

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Think of it as a much more Advanced Answering Machine. A friend texts. It picks up if you are busy. The friend text a few questions, your answering machine texts back, and asks questions too. Later, when you have time, the data is given to you.

Humans no longer required: Google tests robot to chat with friends for you

With its new Reply system the firm is taking the art of conversion one step forwards - or should that be backwards? Are you tired of the constant need to tap on that glass keyboard just to keep up with your friends?

 From article, (Google’s experimental product lab called Area 120 is currently testing a new system simply called Reply that will work with Google’s Hangouts and Allo, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Android Messages, Skype, Twitter direct messages and Slack.

The system can apparently work out what people are saying to you and suggest one-tap answers, but Google says it will go further, taking your location, your calendar and other bits of information into account. One example was using your location to send and instant response to “when can you be home?” using your preferred method of transport and the time it’ll take to wherever your home is.

Reply will also be able to tell everyone you’re on holiday, automatically checking your calendar and replying as appropriate. Plus it will have an advanced do not disturb mode that will silence your phone and tell people you can’t chat right now, but also scan incoming messages for important stuff so that “Reply can make sure to get your attention even when your phone is silent”. There will be no escape.)

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Thermal imagery may be a second pair of eyes besides LiDAR for your autonomous vehicle. My opinion? While some systems rely on less data. I think there is a safe middle point between too little and too much.

Thermal cameras could be key to safer self-driving vehicles

The Israeli startup is only a few months old, but it's already built a thermal camera for a demo vehicle I had a chance to ride in. The device passively collects thermal data from the world, then converts it into a high-resolution video that the company drops into its computer-vision system.

From article, ([This] device passively collects thermal data from the world, then converts it into a high-resolution video that the company drops into its computer-vision system. Then whatever it sees is classified as a car, person, animal, road and so on.

That's pretty much how other sensors work, too, but during the demo, it became clear that the system could see and classify items that could be difficult to parse with the typical cameras on an autonomous car. The in-car monitor showed and classified people and animals based on their thermal signature. Even if a system like this can't immediately determine something it sees is a person, the heat signature would at least show that it's probably alive.

While a camera and LiDAR could have seen these things as well, in the sunny Las Vegas weather it was easy to imagine them getting lost in fog, dust and even direct sunlight with those vision-based sensors. Being able to see the difference in temperature, even on things like the road, is important.

The team behind Adasky is using its years of experience developing thermal cameras for the military to make the leap into automobiles. Considering how often armed forces use thermal imaging for drones, manned vehicles and on-the-ground troops, it's a good background to have.

Whether or not automakers are keen to add another sensor to self-driving cars of the future is yet to be seen. The companies would have to add another device to their cars. But more importantly, they would have to ingest and crunch even more data than what's already being done. That means faster processors, quicker in-vehicle network speeds and more storage, plus figuring out how to make it all work together.)

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China Encourages Longer Range Electric Cars with Varying Subsidies. Hey. If it works in the U.S....

China Raises Subsidies to Reward Longer Range Electric Cars

China is increasing subsidies for electric vehicles that can travel longer distances on a single charge, while also making it more difficult for battery-powered automobiles to qualify for any new incentives under a central government plan.

From article, (China is increasing subsidies for electric vehicles that can travel longer distances on a single charge, while also making it more difficult for battery-powered automobiles to qualify for any new incentives under a central government plan.

The central government incentive for electric cars that have a range of 400 kilometers (249 miles) and beyond on a single charge has been raised to 50,000 yuan ($7,900) from 44,000 yuan, the finance ministry said in a statement dated Tuesday. At the same time, vehicles have to be able to go at least 150 kilometers on a single charge to be eligible for incentives, up from 100 kilometers previously.

Incentives at central and provincial levels have been key to making electric vehicles more affordable in China, helping the market surpass the U.S. as the world’s biggest in 2015. The Chinese government is leaning toward allowing provinces to continue with local subsidies for EVs to sustain the rising demand for new-energy automobiles in the country, Bloomberg News reported.

The new rules, which went into effect Feb. 12, also cut subsidies by varying degrees for cars with a driving range of less than 300 kilometers, according to the statement. Separately, only electric cars with battery energy density above 105 watt-hours per kilogram are eligible for the subsidies under the new rule. The threshold was raised from 90 watt-hours per kilogram.)

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At Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX is Slowly Building Up a New Launch Site. Does State Economic Incentives Drive this and the Rest of The Space Industry?

SpaceX success gives Texans reason to cheer

The world swooned as SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off from a Florida launchpad with a cherry-red sports car in the hold. Gilberto Salinas savored the moment from his office in Texas, having helped lead the effort to convince Elon Musk and his groundbreaking company to do some of its work in the Rio Grande Valley.

 From article, (Boca Chica beach proved an ideal place to launch rockets, thanks to its remote location, ability to launch over the ocean and proximity to the equator, said Bill Ostrove, a space market analyst for Forecast International. The earth's surface rotates faster at the equator, and the spin gives rockets an additional boost to escape gravity and stay in orbit.

SpaceX is permitted to launch up to 12 rockets a year. Two of those can be night launches and two can be Falcon Heavy launches. None have occurred so far.

Construction was delayed when SpaceX discovered the ground was unstable. The company had to truck in 310,000 cubic yards of soil, enough to cover a football field that's 13 to 14 stories tall. It was put on top of the sand and left to settle and compress before construction.

Plus, anomalies during a flight to the International Space Station in 2015 and a launchpad test a year later also forced the company to put Boca Chica on the back burner. Both incidents grounded SpaceX launches temporarily.

Still, some work has begun. There's a staging area for equipment, and solar panels are being installed to augment electricity. The STARGATE Technology Center - a partnership between SpaceX, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. - is expected to be used to track SpaceX missions ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station as well as other missions.

Salinas also noted that S-Band tracking antennas, measuring some 30 or 40 feet tall, have been installed. The rocket company last week reaffirmed its intentions.

Competition will be stiff from other states offering economic incentives, said Alexander William Salter, an economist and faculty member with Texas Tech University's Space Hub Research Group.

"Whoever gets the reputation of being the new place to do space commerce first is going to have a big advantage," he said.

Alabama offered $39.4 million in tax breaks and a $10 million grant to win the Blue Origin rocket engine manufacturing facility. Similarly, it offered $21.6 million in tax breaks, an $8 million grant and $6.5 million in workforce development services to Aerojet Rocketdyne for building a rocket engine manufacturing facility in Huntsville and relocating some programs from California.

Texas is a wealthier state and could afford to offer more incentives than Alabama, said Rice's Abbey, a former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

He said Texas' congressional delegation needs to be more vocal. When the lawmakers support space projects, they need to be aware of where those jobs will materialize. They supported NASA's Space Launch System rocket, for instance, but that work isn't being done in Texas, he said.

In fact, a lot of work that used to be done in Houston for the Johnson Space Center has moved out of Texas over the past 20 years. Abbey said Texas should be more active in supporting university laboratories that could be used to perform more NASA-level work. This would also prepare the state's future workforce.)

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Me, "So, Depending on the Economic Incentives, Space Companies go where they feel wanted."

Another Pale Blue Dot.

Feast your eyes on the first ever photo of a single atom hovering in thin air

If you paid attention in science class you know that atoms make up everything. They're the smallest unit of matter, and everything you've ever touched, felt, or breathed is made up of matter, include your own body. They're so small, in fact, that actually seeing an individual atom is pretty much impossible without the use of high-powered microscopes.

 From article, (If you paid attention in science class you know that atoms make up everything. They’re the smallest unit of matter, and everything you’ve ever touched, felt, or breathed is made up of matter, include your own body. They’re so small, in fact, that actually seeing an individual atom is pretty much impossible without the use of high-powered microscopes. I say “pretty much,” because there is apparently an exception to that rule, and a truly remarkable photo showing a single atom captured in space has been awarded a first place prize in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s annual photography competition.

In the photo, a single atom of strontium is held almost perfectly still by an electrical field generated by a pair of electrodes. A laser excites and illuminates the atom, which shines like a tiny speck of dust caught in the glare of the sun. Still, you probably have to squint to see it.

“The idea of being able to see a single atom with the naked eye had struck me as a wonderfully direct and visceral bridge between the minuscule quantum world and our macroscopic reality,” the photographer, David Nadlinger, explains. “A back-of-the-envelope calculation showed the numbers to be on my side, and when I set off to the lab with camera and tripods one quiet Sunday afternoon, I was rewarded with this particular picture of a small, pale blue dot.”)

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The world is going to end? It's just a plot perspective to sell merchandise. Selling inspired works, where the world is a great place to live, and the future is bright, is harder to write. Writers say, "Where is the Plot and Conflict to Drive the Story?"

'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' TV Series Will Return in 2019

LOS ANGELES -- Get ready, space fans: " Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" has been renewed for a second season. Fox and National Geographic announced yesterday (Jan. 13) that the series will return in the spring of 2019. Astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson will return as the series' host.

From article, (Get ready, space fans: "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" has been renewed for a second season.

Fox and National Geographic announced yesterday (Jan. 13) that the series will return in the spring of 2019. Astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson will return as the series' host.  

"Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" is a follow-on to the 1980 TV series "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage," which was co-created and hosted by the late astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan. Sagan's widow and frequent collaborator, Ann Druyan, was a writer on the original series and created the new iteration of "Cosmos." She will also return for the second season as an executive producer and writer. [Inside 'Cosmos': Q&A with Host Neil deGrasse Tyson] 

"Following a wildly successful run in 2014 as the most-watched series ever on National Geographic Channels internationally, and seen by more than 135 million people worldwide on National Geographic and FOX, the new season will once again premiere in the U.S. on both FOX and National Geographic and globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 43 languages," according to a news release from National Geographic.

"'Cosmos' has a view of the future which I believe has the power to inspire people," Duyan said. "So much of what we see and so much of what our kids and grandchildren see is so dystopic and despairing. It's like … our punishment for all our sins is just around the corner, and humanity doesn't have a future except the one that's choking and dying. And in 'Cosmos' we imagine the future that we can still have.")

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Me, "While the theme of 'the world is going to end' is seen as a way of selling merchandise, there is a way of selling inspiring works. As this article says its just a little harder from a plot perspective, if your selling good, where is the conflict, etc." 
But I tend to agree, being inspired about the future is important. We need TV Shows, Movies, and Books that inspire, instead of saying, 'the world is going to end.' If we are inspired, we really see the world as a good place where anything good is possible. 
This can lead to less suicides, less murders, less crime. There may still be some bad in the world, but overall inspiring people about the future is an important thing to do. People need hope.
If people can see that the future is something to look forward too, they are more motivated to strive for that future today, and tomorrow."