Patterns in the Chaos
@patternsinthechaos.bsky.social
Searching for signs of intelligent life
#OTD December 31, 1999 Ellie Arroway became the first human to make Contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. She traveled aboard "The Machine" whose plans were received while she searched for signs of intelligent life by listening to radio static from space for "Patterns in the Chaos" #SciFi
December 31, 2024 at 1:08 PM
#OTD Dec 29, 1888 the Great Nebula in Andromeda (the Andromeda Galaxy), was photographed by Isaac Roberts with a 20" reflector & 4 hour exposure. It revealed the nebula was a spiral, unexpected at the time. Photos such as this changed astronomy by revealing the form of nebulae and clusters #histsci
December 29, 2024 at 5:01 AM
#OTD Dec 23, 1947 the transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Labs by Walter Brattain & John Bardeen. The PNP germanium transistor worked to amplify a microphone & headphones. In 1956 Brattain, Bardeen & William Shockley received the Nobel Prize for discovery of the transistor effect. #histtech
December 23, 2024 at 4:59 PM
#OTD December 22, 1968. The first US live TV broadcast from a manned spacecraft in space. The crew of Apollo 8 held six live telecasts during the mission to orbit the moon for the first time. #histtech #space
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1F4...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1F4...
APOLLO 8 cleaned up TV 1(1968/12/22)
YouTube video by Retro Space HD
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2024 at 6:01 PM
#OTD December 22, 1968. The first US live TV broadcast from a manned spacecraft in space. The crew of Apollo 8 held six live telecasts during the mission to orbit the moon for the first time. #histtech #space
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1F4...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1F4...
#OTD 50 years ago, the Altair 8800 microcomputer kit went on sale. It was the first commercially successful personal computer and began the 1970s computer revolution. It had no video output and was programed via switches or terminal, later using Micro-soft's first product, Altair BASIC #histtech
December 19, 2024 at 6:44 PM
#OTD Dec 18, 1958 First communication satellite launched. SCORE Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment was built in an Atlas B rocket & it's body served as the antenna. It was the 1st successful use of an Atlas as space launch vehicle & 1st broadcast of a human voice from space. #histtech
December 18, 2024 at 6:18 PM
#OTD Dec 13, 1962 Experimental communications satellite Relay 1 launched on a Delta B rocket. It provided communications between North & South America & Europe. It was the first satellite to transmit television across the Pacific. Developed by RCA, it worked till 1965 and remains in orbit #histtech
December 13, 2024 at 7:24 PM
#OTD Dec 12, 1901 The first transatlantic radio signal was received by Marconi at Signal Hill in Newfoundland, Canada using a wire antenna flown by a kite. Morse code letter "S" was transmitted from 3,500 km away at Poldhu, Cornwall England by a ~12 kW spark gap transmitter on ~500 kHz. #histtech
December 12, 2024 at 9:32 PM
#OTD December 12, 1961 The first amateur radio satellite OSCAR 1 launched on a Thor-Agena from Vandenberg AFB. It transmitted "HI' in morse code at 140mW on 144.983MHz. First of 164 amateur satellites so far, there are currently 18 operational used to communicate worldwide. #HamRadio #histtech
December 12, 2024 at 5:21 AM
#OTD Dec 11, 1911 Marie Curie became the first person to receive a 2nd Nobel prize. This prize was for her individual achievements in Chemistry, whereas her first prize in Physics, (shared with Pierre Curie & Henri Becquerel) was for contributions in the discovery of radium & polonium. #histsci
December 11, 2024 at 3:41 PM
#OTD Dec 10, 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Niels Bohr for contributions to understanding atomic structure, radiation & quantum theory. He theorized energy levels of electrons are discrete & revolve in stable orbits around the nucleus, but can jump from one energy level to another. #histsci
December 10, 2024 at 5:06 AM
#OTD Dec 7, 1972 The Blue Marble photo of Earth was taken by the crew of Apollo 17. The image released during a surge in environmental activism in the 1970s, became a symbol of the environmental movement. A depiction of Earth's fragility, vulnerability, and isolation amid the vast expanse of space.
December 7, 2024 at 7:57 PM
#OTD Dec 7, 1972 The Blue Marble photo of Earth was taken by the crew of Apollo 17. The image released during a surge in environmental activism in the 1970s, became a symbol of the environmental movement. A depiction of Earth's fragility, vulnerability, and isolation amid the vast expanse of space.
#OTD December 7, 1934 Wiley Post discovered the jet stream while flying in the stratosphere in an unpressurized plywood plane. He helped B.F. Goodrich develop a pressurized flying suit, forerunner of the space suit, made of rubberized fabric with an aluminum helmet pressurized to 0.5 bar.
December 7, 2024 at 7:38 PM
#OTD December 7, 1934 Wiley Post discovered the jet stream while flying in the stratosphere in an unpressurized plywood plane. He helped B.F. Goodrich develop a pressurized flying suit, forerunner of the space suit, made of rubberized fabric with an aluminum helmet pressurized to 0.5 bar.
#OTD Dec 6, 1882 The transit of Venus across the sun was photographed on a series of glass plates by David Peck Todd using a solar telescope on the summit of Mount Hamilton. Venus transits were predicted by Johannes Kepler in 1627 and occur in eight-year pairs with gaps of 100+ years between pairs.
December 6, 2024 at 11:45 PM
#OTD Dec 6, 1882 The transit of Venus across the sun was photographed on a series of glass plates by David Peck Todd using a solar telescope on the summit of Mount Hamilton. Venus transits were predicted by Johannes Kepler in 1627 and occur in eight-year pairs with gaps of 100+ years between pairs.
#OTD Dec 5, 1969 The initial four-node ARPANET network was established. The precursor of the Internet, the network connected four universities: the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, U.C. Santa Barbara and University of Utah, using 50-kilobit-per-second phone lines.
December 5, 2024 at 4:06 PM
#OTD Dec 5, 1969 The initial four-node ARPANET network was established. The precursor of the Internet, the network connected four universities: the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, U.C. Santa Barbara and University of Utah, using 50-kilobit-per-second phone lines.
#OTD Dec 2, 1942 Enrico Fermi and his team demonstrated the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction. They built a lattice of 57 layers of uranium and uranium oxide embedded in graphite blocks underneath the football stands at the University of Chicago. It ran for 4.5 minutes at about 0.5 watts.
December 2, 2024 at 9:25 PM
#OTD Dec 2, 1942 Enrico Fermi and his team demonstrated the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction. They built a lattice of 57 layers of uranium and uranium oxide embedded in graphite blocks underneath the football stands at the University of Chicago. It ran for 4.5 minutes at about 0.5 watts.
#OTD Nov 30, 1609 Galileo pointed his telescope at the moon and made drawings of the irregularities of the surface. It was the first time the moon had been realistically depicted. He made watercolor sketches from the drawings which were engraved for his revolutionary book "Starry Messenger"
November 30, 2024 at 7:21 PM
#OTD Nov 30, 1609 Galileo pointed his telescope at the moon and made drawings of the irregularities of the surface. It was the first time the moon had been realistically depicted. He made watercolor sketches from the drawings which were engraved for his revolutionary book "Starry Messenger"
#OTD Nov 29, 1924 100 years ago, the first wireless photograph, a “Radiophoto” was transmitted from New York to London on 1.3 Mhz. A photograph was placed on a rotating drum and a photoelectric cell converted the shades of light and dark into electric signals that could be transmitted via radio.
November 29, 2024 at 5:45 PM
#OTD Nov 29, 1924 100 years ago, the first wireless photograph, a “Radiophoto” was transmitted from New York to London on 1.3 Mhz. A photograph was placed on a rotating drum and a photoelectric cell converted the shades of light and dark into electric signals that could be transmitted via radio.
#OTD November 28, 1929 Commander Richard Byrd began the first flight to reach the South Pole. A four person crew flew a Ford Trimotor aircraft from “Little America” base on the Ross Ice Shelf for an 18hr round trip. They navigated by the sun as magnetic compasses don't work near a Pole.
November 28, 2024 at 10:07 PM
#OTD November 28, 1929 Commander Richard Byrd began the first flight to reach the South Pole. A four person crew flew a Ford Trimotor aircraft from “Little America” base on the Ross Ice Shelf for an 18hr round trip. They navigated by the sun as magnetic compasses don't work near a Pole.
#OTD Nov 28, 1967 The first pulsating radio source (pulsar) was detected by graduate student Jocelyn Bell, at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, England. The radio telescope consisted of a rectangular array of 2,048 full-wave dipoles arranged in 16 rows of 128 elements on 4.4 acres.
November 28, 2024 at 4:12 PM
#OTD Nov 28, 1967 The first pulsating radio source (pulsar) was detected by graduate student Jocelyn Bell, at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, England. The radio telescope consisted of a rectangular array of 2,048 full-wave dipoles arranged in 16 rows of 128 elements on 4.4 acres.