New Study Links Texas Quakes to Fracking Wells

New Study Links Texas Quakes to Fracking Wells - Ike Bloyer 9/26/16

1. Two phrases from the article that show that water might be causing the earthquakes are: "...wastewater injection from shallow wells resulted in detectable ground uplift at distances up to 5 miles," and "By creating an impasse in the rock, the injection well forced the pore pressure downwards until it hit an ancient fault line."

2. The quote from the article that supports the fact that the water might be causing the earthquake is: "The deeper wells affected pore pressure, which refers to 'the pressure exerted by a column of water from the formation's depth to sea level.'"

3. Two details from the article that support the author's conclusion are: "the researchers began to track the changes in the Earth," and "By creating an impasse in the rock, the injection well forced the pore pressure downwards until it hit an ancient fault line."

4. They main way scientists have found to get rid of this water was by pushing it thousands of feet underground, where it will stay and push good water up.

5. Based on the article, the author probably isn't with fracking as it has lead to an earthquake and a few deaths. The author's tone makes it seem like he thinks another one will happen, making him against fracking.

TASK - Smart Factory Technologies Step Up at IMTS

Isaiah Bloyer - 9/20/16

Smart Factory Technologies Step Up at IMTS

1. Two phrases that support the fact that connecting automated computers to the equipment will help are: "manufacturers have to fully connect their machine tools to the Web and enterprise systems, collecting Big Data off the factory floor for crunching in analytics software systems," and "Fusion lifecycle aimed offering a complete design-through-manufacturing platform for manufacturers."

2. From the article, a phase that shows that more factories will become connected is: "At Siemens’ IMTS booth, the company also demonstrated how its new NX 11 CAD/CAM software’s new Convergent Modeling, which enables working with geometry including combination s of facets, surfaces and solids, that greatly accelerates and improves part designs before they’re built, including use with new additive manufacturing techniques." This basically shows that more companies will adopt this new software over older versions, making the companies more up-to-date with new technologies.

3. Two facts from the article that help support the author's conclusion that are that with the new cloud based platform that helps to connect designing and manufacturing, more companies will adapt to it because of the new features and low cost. Also, since companies will be able to connect their designs with the manufactures more easily, making it easier for them to test their product and tweak it to make it better.

4. The biggest benefit of the new analytic software is that it is more efficient. Companies will be able to see productivity more easily, making it better for them to rule out unhelpful procedures. Also, the new analytic system will help to make products more easily.

5. Based on the author's writing in the article, I can tell the author is in favor of these smart factories. He seems to refer to them is innovative, which wouldn't be said by someone not in favor of the factories.

The Army’s Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highway to Prepare for Battle

1. Two words or phrases from the article that support the fact that automatically driving vehicles will support the military are :  surveillance and fast response.

2. A quote from the article that support the fact are : "fully autonomous truck convoys will be ready to serve in conflict zones."

3. As the author stated in the article, the reason these will be able to server fully automatically within 10 years are because of the technology put into the trucks. They are always in a convoy, enabling them to relay data to one another about where things are in their surroundings. Also, the scanners on the trucks are meant to detect obstacles from a far distance, making them more safe because the on-board computers have more time to calculate what the best move is for the truck.

4. The biggest benefit of using these self-driving trucks are that several people's lives won't be put on the line. With this, less people will die. A quote that supports this conclusion is : "We do want to get soldiers out of the convoy vehicles, in case they could be on roads with IEDs,"

5. Based on the writing of the article, I feel like the author is a strong supporter of the trucks. She seems to feel like the ethical issue of if the trucks are safe minor in comparison to the amount of solider lives that will be saved.

Task: Here’s What It Feels Like to Spend a Year on ‘Mars’

Isaiah Bloyer - 9/7/2016
Here’s What It Feels Like to Spend a Year on ‘Mars’

1. Two phrases from the article that show that life on Mars is difficult are: "You have to suspend disbelief a little bit to really get the full experience." and "I took one of the biggest house models that was available, put it up there, and just started going crazy."

2. The quote from the article that supports the idea that living with a small group is difficult is: "What we’ve found is that there’s no magic bullet to prevent conflict, it’s how you deal with it and how you respond to it. Not just as individuals, but as a group.”.

3. Two ways that this project can help scientists learn more about how people work in groups are that researching the groups ahead of time with help them avoid any potential problems before they arise, and also it helps to find people who can work together in a cohesive group.

4. The people in the experiments feel disconnected from the reality of what is outside of the dome and feel connected with what is going on in the dome. As Andrzej Stewart stated, you have to suspend all disbelief to fully help with the research in the experiment.

5. Based on how the author regards the astronauts, she probably is a big advocate for sending people to Mars. She seems to often regard the experiment as something that is important research for the future trips.