Category: Science
CO2 emissions data mapped on Google Earth
A team of scientists at Purdue University have mapped carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels across the USA. The mega-high-res map will show you CO2 emissions in metric tons per state, county or capita.
The project, which took three years to complete, also breaks down emissions by their source – offering the option of viewing only emissions from electricity production, travel, or residential homes, for example.
To check out the map you’ll need the Google Earth browser plugin, and a bit of patience because it takes a while to load.
Meanwhile, an erstwhile group of Google Earth explorers that thought that they’d found Atlantis have been disappointed. Metro is claiming that the vast city that observers had spotted on the floor of the Atlantic to the west of the Canary Islands is actually just an artifact of the sonar scanning process on the ocean floor. Pity.
(via AFP and Metro)
Turning on the Large Hadron Collider (again) in June will be… Tom Hanks
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen – Forrest Gump will be pressing the big red button when the Large Hadron Collider comes back on in June, potentially dooming us all into getting sucked into a vast black hole. If I do end up ending my life in that way, I’ll be a little happier knowing that it was all Tom Hanks’ fault.
In a scene right out of Blackpool’s Christmas Lights, a Hollywood actor will be taking precedence over the world’s biggest and brightest minds to switch back on the massive, costly, science experiment that was switched off shortly after it was turned on, following a massive plasma leak.
Seriously, though – why Tom Hanks? It’s not like they need the publicity that a Hollywood star will bring to the proceedings. In fact, his presence only detracts from the event, and makes whoever booked him look very foolish indeed. I don’t have anything against Hanks, in fact I enjoy his work, but seriously – in big gold, shining letters – WHY?
(via Crunchgear)
Computertan, the web-based home tanning system powered by LCD rays
Oh dear. Today is a sad day. We have been amused and entertained by a marketing campaign 🙁
The marketing campaign in question is that of ComputerTan, a supposed online tanning system that uses the deadly rays output by your PC monitor to bring a healthy orange glow to your face while you work.
It is, of course, a joke – perpetrated by UK skin cancer charity Skcin and designed to raise awareness of how bad it is to pursue the tanned look. The Times says some…
Oxford Junior Dictionary ditches "beaver" and "budgerigar" for "blog" and "biodegradable"
The Oxford Junior Dictionary has been slowly removing loads of boring old nature and science words from its recent editions, replacing the likes of “guinea pig” and “monastery” with modern things kids need to know about like “MP3 player” and “broadband”.
This deeply shameful activity by the newly edgy and urban word-explainer has mainly seen numerous nature terms and animal names dumped, but plenty of Christian and other religious words have been removed too – to make way for the likes of “database” and “chatroom”. Ideal if you’re currently hot-housing your kid for a future career in IT…
Super-efficient LED lighting now a real possibility within five years
The quest for cheaper, more environmentally-friendly lighting has taken another leap forward with scientists’ new-found ability to produce much cheaper LEDs.
The New Scientist article goes into quite significant detail about how the process was achieved in order to avoid the LEDs cracking during the manufacturing process (due to the high heat required to grow them) so I won’t attempt to look clever here by regurgitating it.
Suffice it to say, the “new” LEDs can be produced for around a tenner per 150,000 units…
Study shows that virtual worlds can influence real-world decisions
A group of scientists at Cambridge University has conducted a study that shows that associations in videogames transfer directly to the real world. A group of volunteers played a (rather basic, from the look of it) cycling game, where they would be given a slurp of fruit juice if a cyclist from their team passed them, but a slurp of salty tea if a rival cyclist passed them.
A few days later, the participants were invited back and given the choice of two chairs in the waiting room, one with the logo of their team, and one with the logo of the rival team. Three quarters of participants picked the chair with their team’s logo, despite most people claiming not to notice the design.
World's oceans will soon be ruled by IMMORTAL SELF-CLONING JELLYFISH
This is more “science” than “gadgets” to be honest, but we can’t turn down the chance to report on the discovery of an immortal jellyfish.
The jellyfish, known as Turritopsis Nutricula among jellyfish enthusiasts and on jellyfish forums, manages to cleverly revert back to a juvenile state after mating – effectively becoming a baby again and living forever. Scientists say…
Hang on lads, I've got a solution – man solves the Italian Job cliffhanger, Tech Digest points out why it won't work
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a wonderful thing. I’m not sure how they decided it was within their remit to run a competition to solve the cliffhanger at the end of the Italian Job but I like to think it’s the sort of thing they ponder during their lunch breaks only.
Around 2,000 people put forward their solutions but it was a gentleman by the name of John Godwin, of Godalming, Surrey, who was named the winner and right after I’ve told his idea, I’ll explain why it just won’t work…
Sci-fi world devastated – Patrick McGoohan and Ricardo Montalban pass away
Patrick McGoohan, made famous by his role in bewildering 60s sci-fi escapology show The Prisoner, died on Tuesday, aged 80.
He was great in Danger Man, made his name in The Prisoner, then continued to deliver entertainment beyond the call of duty by directing and starring in numerous episodes of Columbo between the 1970s and his last directorial appearance in 2000…
Glacier Media Systems promising "3D porn" to revolt you in more ways than previously imaginable
Now, personally speaking, I’m quite a fan and active user of a wide and varied range of pornography – but I’m not so sure there’s a need to watch it in 3D.
I don’t like the idea of a man’s belly and scrotum protruding into my lounge as he services the needs of a dishevelled-looking East European lady. That crosses a boundary. I want to feel emotionally detached. I don’t want a starring role. I’d never be able to perform under that sort of pressure.
But that’s precisely the sort of in-your-face and in-your-living-room approach to movie-watching being taken by Glacier Media Systems, with its Glacier Iceberg 3D entertainment system promising to bring your existing movie collection into 3D somehow, should you have…
