Arizona: Science and Inventions 1912-2012 Quiz

Answer: Pluto

Originally classified as a planet, Pluto was the only planet to have been discovered by an astronomer working in the U.S. It was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 when the International Astronomical Union formally established the definition of a planet, and Pluto didn't make the cut. Percival Lowell, for whom Lowell Observatory was named, had started a search for a planet beyond Neptune, and following his death, his brother A. Lawrence Lowell, financed the purchase of the telescope that would be used by Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997) to make the discovery. Tombaugh was an amateur astronomer who had been hired because he impressed the staff of the observatory with his drawings of Jupiter and Mars; he didn't earn his degrees in astronomy until after he had discovered Pluto.

Answer: Dendrochronology

Leonardo da Vinci has been credited with first mentioning the link between the size of tree rings and the conditions in which they were formed, and over the centuries, numerous scientists expanded on his observations, using tree rings to identify climate patterns and periods of insect infestation. A.E. Douglass (1867-1962) was an astronomer and was interested in using tree rings to study climate patterns in correlation with sunspot activity.

He began his work in the late 1800s at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona and moved to Tucson in 1906 when he accepted a position as a professor at the University of Arizona.

Although his interest in tree rings was in regards to astronomy, his major achievements with the technology were in the field of archeology; he collaborated with the American Museum of Natural History and National Geographic Society to use tree rings in wood beams to date the age of Native American ruins in the southwest. Douglass was able to use a beam designated as HH-39 to date not only the ruins in which it was found but also to use overlapping ring patterns to date other sites and establish a chronology of the archaeological sites in the American southwest.

In his writings, he stated that the HH-39 beam "in American archaeology is destined to hold a place comparable to Egypt's Rosetta Stone". Following his success with tree ring dating, he established the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona and became the first person to teach classes in dendrochronology. The techniques he developed have been used not only to date and reconstruct historical events but also to predict future trends.

Answer: Dilophosaurus

Arizona is a great place for fossils. No, I'm not talking about the many retirement communities! We have the Petrified Forest with all its petrified wood, dinosaur tracks in Tuba City on the Navajo Nation, and we've even had jellyfish fossils found in the Grand Canyon.

In 1985, the bones of a new dinosaur which came to be called Chindesaurus were found in the Petrified Forest National Park and were determined to be at least 225 million years old. At the time, these were the oldest dinosaur bones ever discovered.

As for the Dilophosaurus, it was a Tyrannosaurus Rex-like dinosaur with a pair of thin, rounded crests on its skull. The book and film "Jurassic Park" featured the Dilophosaurus (remember that cute little thing that attacked Wayne Knight?), albeit with quite a bit of artistic license; Dilophosaurus didn't have neck frills and most likely didn't spit poison.

It was also considerably larger at over 20 feet long and 1,000 lbs.

Answer: Rubberized asphalt

Rubberized asphalt is created by mixing asphalt concrete with crumb rubber generated from recycled tires. Charles McDonald originally liked using the mixture because of its durability, but it was later found to noticeably decrease road noise. A study by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation found that road noise could be reduced by up to twelve decibels when roads were coated with the rubberized asphalt. Rubberized asphalt is also touted for creating longer lasting road surfaces that require less maintenance and for providing for reduced braking distances.

The mixture is so popular that, in 1985, the Rubber Pavement Association was founded in Arizona to promote the use of rubberized asphalt worldwide. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "asphalt rubber is the largest single market for ground rubber, consuming an estimated 220 million pounds, or approximately 12 million tires" annually. So not only does rubberized asphalt improve our commute, it provides a method to recycle those pesky tires.

Answer: To coat concrete decks around swimming pools

It's probably not surprising that Kool Deck was invented in toasty Arizona, where a swimming pool is often considered more of a necessity than a luxury. Max Deason was the creator of "Keystone Kool Deck"; he realized that the heat made concrete decks unbearable during the Arizona summer and set out to develop a coating to protect feet.

The mottled beige concrete coating both kept the pool deck cool (twenty degrees cooler than concrete alone) and made the surface slip-resistant. The product mixture was a secret; Ted Deason, the creator's son, said that it wasn't patented "because then I would have to tell someone what was in it". Pretty much every pool in Arizona had Kool Deck until the 1990s when flagstone and other surfaces became the trend. By Arizona's centennial in 2012, only fifteen percent of new pools used Kool Deck.

There's a lot of burnt feet out there.

Answer: Apollo moon landing program

Eugene Shoemaker (of Comet Shoemaker-Levy fame) established the Astrogeology Research Program in Menlo Park, California, in 1960, and in 1963, the program was moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, because the terrain in the lava fields north of the city could be used to simulate the lunar terrain that the Apollo astronauts would encounter. Additionally, the facility was only thirty miles away from Meteor Crater, which NASA had determined was "the most lunar-like surface on earth".

The Apollo astronauts not only trained at the bottom of Meteor Crater, they also trained in the Sunset Crater lava fields which had been freshly-blasted to enhance the lunar-simulation experience.

The Astrogeology Science Center is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and continues to support space missions, providing recommendations for landing sites, as well as providing maps and images for planets, moons and other objects in our solar system.

The facility also studies the origin and geology of planetary bodies, and astronaut Jack Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission actually worked at the facility as a geologist prior to applying for the Apollo program.

Answer: Taser

Jack Cover began working on the device, which he called the Taser Public Defender, in the late 1960s. Cover was a fan of the Tom Swift novels, and the name "Taser" is actually an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle". The original Taser used gunpowder for a propellant, which meant that it was classified as a firearm by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

In the 1990s, Rick Smith lost two friends who were shot in a road rage incident, and it motivated him to try to find a non-lethal method of defense that could be available to citizens and law enforcement.

He and his brother Thomas worked with Cover, who was then living in Tucson, Arizona, and developed an improved version of the Taser that used compressed air instead of gunpowder.

The Air Taser was released in 1994 and although popular with law enforcement, the device has been controversial. Amnesty International claimed in 2012 that at least 500 people had died since the release of the Air Taser from being shocked by the device.

Answer: Biosphere 2

The massive glass and steel structure known as the Biosphere 2 (the earth is Biosphere 1) was built in the desert north of Tucson, Arizona, from 1987 to 1991. Containing five different biomes, the structure was home to over 3,000 species of plants and animals and was intended to be a research center for studying self-contained environments that could be used in space or on earth (if it ever became necessary to live in three-acre glass and steel biomes).

A crew of eight Biospherians entered the facility in 1991 for the two year experiment, and things didn't go as planned. Carbon dioxide levels in the facility fluctuated, and with oxygen levels dropping, oxygen had to be pumped into the facility.

The CO2 level variance affected the flora and fauna, causing extensive die-off including all of the pollinating insects. Pest insects did well however, particularly a local ant species that had accidentally been locked in.

It overtook the ant species that had been intentionally included on the project. And living up to their legendary status, cockroaches flourished.

The researchers split into factions, and when the experiment was up in 1993, some friendships had permanently dissolved. Things went even worse on the second experiment which started in 1994. The external management team that was running the project onsite was evicted by the management company in California. Two of the researchers from the original experiment became concerned that the researchers inside the facility weren't being informed of what was happening outside, so they broke into the facility to inform them. They opened doors and broke some of the glass, allowing outside air to compromise the Biosphere 2 air. The second experiment ended after six months. After that, the Biosphere 2 facility was owned by Columbia University for a decade before being acquired by the University of Arizona. It continues as a research center and is also a tourist attraction, providing tours of the facility.

Answer: International Dark Sky Community

The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) was created in 1988 to fight light pollution, which they define as "the inappropriate use of artificial light at night". They began awarding the "International Dark Sky Community" status in 2001, and besides Flagstaff, Arizona also has recognized dark sky communities in Sedona and on the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation.

Besides limiting the ability to stargaze, light pollution also impacts human health and the environment. Artificial lighting disrupts the circadian rhythm in humans, which affects melatonin production, and melatonin has antioxidant properties which are beneficial to the immune system. According to the organization, artificial lighting at night "has been linked to increased incidence of hypertension, attention deficit disorder, obesity, diabetes and some forms of cancer". Artificial lighting also affects the environment, particularly with regards to nocturnal creatures. Lighting at night has been suggested as one of the reasons for the decline in frog and toad populations, and it is a direct cause in declining sea turtle populations. Sea turtles are hatched on beaches and are drawn to the ocean by the light horizon over the water; artificial lighting distracts them and instead of going to the ocean, they head for the lights, leading to their death.

The IDA promotes modifications to artificial lighting to limit the amount of light pollution we generate. Suggestions include using light fixtures that shine light downward, using motion-detecting fixtures when possible, using lower wattage bulbs, and closing blinds/curtains at night to prevent internal light from escaping.

Answer: Phoenix

The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona participated in nearly all of the U.S. space missions since its founding in 1960 by astronomer Gerard Kuiper (of the Kuiper Belt fame). The Phoenix mission was headed by the LPL under direction of NASA, with the participation of universities in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland, as well as aerospace companies and government entities in Canada and Finland.

The LPL was selected in 2003 to lead the mission following a two-year competition with other institutions, and it was the first time NASA allowed a public university to lead a mission to Mars.

The Phoenix was launched on August 4, 2007 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and landed on May 25, 2008, the sixth successful landing by NASA on Mars.

Its landing was photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Phoenix used its robotic arm to gather soil samples from Mars that were tested with the results sent back to earth. Ice samples that were collected were determined to be water ice and not dry ice based on the extent of time that it took them to vaporize, thus confirming the existence of polar water ice on Mars.

Although you might think the Phoenix was named after Arizona's capital city, the lander was actually named for the mythological bird (as was the city) because it was built from parts from previous missions.