Cool Science Stuff

This is a great sign on a door in the science lab...So naturally I went in to check it out (ok, I had an authorized person with). One of the projects going on right now uses a large laser that shoots a green beam of light straight out of a small hole in the roof. I can see it on clear nights. The laser beam shoots 30Km into the atmosphere and an instrument records data (on the reflected light) on high altitude air crystals. These high altitude air crystals act as sites that allow for the chemical breakdown of the ozone layer to occur. These high altitude air crystals also form Nacreous clouds. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/nacr1.htm (a very rare cloud that I might get to see if the weather wasn't overcast most of the time).

This is the "Big Scary Laser", and the cool Italian guy that runs it. Actually the large silver tube is the telescope that collects the reflected light. The laser is on the other side. The "eye piece" of the telescope is a series of 6 sensors that feed into the computer system. I think the total cost is about $60,000 euro. This data is collaborated with data from frequent balloon launches, and allow us to better understand the vertical profile, and several other variables of the Ozone layer.