Physicists first suspected more than a century ago that the fusing of hydrogen into helium powers the sun. It took researchers many years to unravel the secrets by which lighter elements are smashed together into heavier ones inside stars, releasing energy in the process. And scientists and engineers have continued to study the sun’s fusion process in hopes of one day using nuclear fusion to generate heat or electricity. But the prospect of meeting our energy needs this way remains elusive. The extraction of energy from nuclear fission, by contrast, happened relatively quickly. Fission in uranium was discovered in 1938, in Germany, and it was only four years until the first nuclear “pile” was constructed in Chicago, in 1942. There are currently about 440 fission reactors… Source link

According to a recent report by the N.O.A.A, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for short, sea level has risen approximately one foot over the past century. The results of this rise can be seen every time a nor’easter rolls up the coast and floods shore towns from north to south Jersey. The ocean trying to swallow the shore is the bad news, and there isn’t any good news. The N.O.A.A. also predicts that, based on our current emissions, we could experience an additional foot of sea level rise in just the next three decades, which as you can probably imagine is sub optimal. Lower Manhattan would look like Venice and The Meadowlands would go from being a swamp to oceanfront property. The Jets will still stink. By now you must be asking yourself some questions like: Is… Source link

If you were anywhere near being an adult in 1989, you probably remember the media sensation surrounding “cold fusion.” That was the year two respected scientists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, reported an experiment to fuse deuterium (heavy hydrogen) ions had produced excess heat and nuclear reaction byproducts at room temperature. All the excitement, of course, was about the possibility of a virtually limitless supply of cheap and environmentally-friendly energy. The promise of fusion, in which two lighter atoms combine into a heavier one releasing vast amounts of energy, is compelling. It is what drives the power of the sun. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. If hydrogen atoms could be fused at room temperature as the experiment seemed to… Source link

Victoria Espinel President and CEO at BSA | The Software Alliance I’d love to hear President Biden say: “My administration understands that ‘tech policy’ issues aren’t just for tech companies anymore. Digital transformation is essential to our economy, to companies large and small, and to every industry sector, including our world-leading companies in manufacturing, agriculture and health care. Investment in digital transformation is estimated to reach $7 trillion by 2023 and is critical to keeping our businesses competitive and creating jobs. As we work toward greater global economic cooperation, we commit to concluding a landmark agreement — an enhanced U.S.-EU Privacy Shield… Source link

October 1983 From “The Trouble with Fusion”: The goal of the fusion program is to produce a reactor fueled by deuterium and tritium, isotopes of hydrogen containing one and two extra neutrons. This choice of fuel eases the problem of achieving an energy-producing reaction, but also has features that make it more difficult to turn that energy source into a useful power plant. The most serious difficulty concerns the high energy neutrons released in the deuterium-tritium reaction. These particles damage the reactor structure and make it radioactive. A chain of undesirable effects ensures that any reactor employing D-T fusion will be a large, expensive, and unreliable source of power. When these drawbacks become more widely realized, disillusionment with the fusion program… Source link

It wasn’t that long ago that Steam showcased the top upcoming adventure games, but for those who missed out last time or are coming back for more, the Next Fest is underway! This time the genre has to share the floor with others (boo!), but there are still plenty of great new adventures on display. Along with a variety of developer interviews, livestream broadcasts, and community events, there are loads of demos up for grabs, but act fast! Many if not all of these playable samplers will be available only until Monday, February 28th, so the clock is ticking. New games may be added to the list as more demos come online, so be sure to check back later to find out the latest!   Aethernaut Aethernaut is a first-person puzzle game set in a claustrophobic steampunk world. You must solve… Source link

I made mascarpone. I’ve been making simple cheeses: The pandemic has made me want, more than ever, to know how to do the stuff I typically outsource to the rest of the world, and I have been a vigorous habitual lifelong outsourcer of the making of cheese, which is a way of saying that I eat a lot of cheese. Mascarpone is a simple cheese, just about as simple as it gets, but velvety and delicious and indispensable. What if I couldn’t count on the world to make mascarpone, or ricotta, or paneer or mozzarella for me anymore? I would be up Shit Creek, buddy. Therefore it is necessary that I learn to make at least some cheese, at least the basic cheeses, while such knowledge can be acquired without having to fight off any clans of cannibal raiders who have laid claim to the ruins of the… Source link

Tesla signed a 5-year lithium supply deal with Liontown Resources, which is expected to commence in 2024. Liontown will supply Tesla with Lithium Spodumene Concentrate from the battery metal company’s new AU$473 million ($338M) Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia.  “Australian-based battery materials company Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a legally binding sales and purchase term sheet with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla for the supply of spodumene concentrate,” announced the Australian company.  Tesla will purchase 100,000 dry metric tonnes (DMT) of lithium in the first year of the deal and increase the order by… Source link

Marvel Comics has had a vast amount of movies released over the years. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had 27 movies as of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel movies were coming out long before that in both the cinema and on television. The Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Blade, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and more characters have been adapted for the big screen. RELATED: 10 MCU Easter Eggs Even Hardcore Fans Missed Letterboxd is a social media app focused on discussing and rating movies. Users get to rate these movies, and Letterboxd aggregates the reviews of all users so that people can see what movies are rated the highest amongst all users. This practice includes, of course, all movies that adapt Marvel properties. 10 The Much-Beloved Black… Source link

Brooklyn Beckham has been mocked around the world this week for embarking on a career as a celebrity chef without being able to cook. Each eight-minute episode of Cookin’ With Brooklyn was reported by the New York Post to have cost $100,000 and required a production team of 62 people, to help the heir to the Beckham millions create such items as cheesy pasta and a fish and chip sandwich. Although, to be fair, they do not say how many of the 62 were focused exclusively on coming up with the show’s title. I’m guessing at least 40. The problem with involving 62 people in the making of a sandwich, though, is that even with all the buttering and folding and putting on a plate, Source link