HILL-AND-DALE VERSUS SIDE-TO-SIDE
A RESURGING INTEREST IN VINYL brings up the fascinating origins of recorded sound—and its two rivals Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner. My principal source for these tidbits is Lenny Lipton’s … Continue reading
CHATBOTS—A PANDORA’S BOX OF CONVERSATIONS
INTERACTING WITH A.I. HAS SOCIETAL BENEFITS as well as a dark side. In London Review of Books, October 10, 2024, James Vincent writes about chatbots in a scarily titled “Horny … Continue reading
NEW 3D-PRINTED TECHNOLOGY
ADAM ZEWE WRITES IN MIT NEWS, October 10, 2024, “New 3D Printing Technique Creates Unique Objects Quickly and With Less Waste.” Ups and Downs. I’ve been following evolution of 3D printing … Continue reading
AVOIDING “LOCK-IN’ SUBSIDIES PART 2
YESTERDAY, A SCIENCE POLICY FORUM RAISED the matter of how governments encourage beneficial activity through subsidies or taxation. No easy answers here, but in Parts 1 and 2 there’s plenty … Continue reading
AVOIDING “LOCK-IN” SUBSIDIES PART 1
AAAS SCIENCE OFFERS A POLICY FORUM IN ECONOMICS, its title “A Cautious Approach to Subsidies for Environmental Sustainability,” October 3, 2024. This extensive discussion was assembled by Kathleen Segerson et … Continue reading
HUMMINGBIRDS—LIVING ON THE EDGE
HUMMINGBIRDS OCCASIONALLY SAMPLE MY FRONT-YARD PLANTINGS, much to my amazement of their aerial capabilities. Indeed, this ain’t the half of it as I learned from Bob Holmes in “Hummingbirds Thrive … Continue reading
EXTRACTING LITHIUM MORE EFFICIENTLY PART 2
Yesterday, we learned about challenges of lithium sourcing and recent research in its technology. Today in Part 2, there’s an unanswered question and a novel electrochemical approach. An Unanswered Question. … Continue reading
EXTRACTING LITHIUM MORE EFFICIENTLY PART 1
SETH B. DARLING WRITES IN “The Brine of the Times,” AAAS Science, September 26, 2024, that “Tremendous attention focuses on lithium, which is primarily sourced from either hard rock called … Continue reading
POURING A CAT
ANY CAT LOVER KNOWS A FELINE’S AFFINITY for fitting itself into enclosures of any shape—and seemingly any size. AAAS Science addresses this in a scholarly manner in “How a Cat … Continue reading
NANO-SHOCKING NEWS!
ANDREW PAUL WRITES IN POPULAR SCIENCE, September 18, 2024, “After 2600 Years, We Finally Know How Static Electricity Really Works.” Well isn’t it about time? No, it’s about nano particles. … Continue reading
