LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
NO PUN intended, but we need to go a little deeper with the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, their fire and smoke emergencies having been attributed to the aircraft’s use … Continue reading
MIND THE GAP
HURRAH FOR the London Underground, 150 years old today! It was on January 10, 1863, a Saturday, that thousands of Londoners queued up to ride the Metropolitan Railway underground from … Continue reading
EUCLID’S ELEMENTS
ONE OF the best examples of the elegance of mathematics, The Elements of Euclid, was composed more than 2300 years ago. The Greek mathematician Euclid lived in Alexandria around 300 … Continue reading
2012 HIGHS—AND LOWS
A JOYOUS New Year to you! I turn to Science magazine, published weekly by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to celebrate the top scientific achievements of the … Continue reading
JEFFERSON’S TOY BOX
WE’VE ALL heard that Thomas Jefferson was something of a renaissance man, a Leonardo da Vinci of his time. This is corroborated in the fine book, Passions, The Wines and … Continue reading
FUEL CELLS, PEM & SOLID OXIDE
TWO DISTINCT types of fuel cells have been in the news lately. In a sense, both types are known for performing electrolysis in reverse: They take in hydrogen and oxygen … Continue reading
IEA OIL GUSH
RECENT HEADLINES (“U.S. Oil Output to Overtake Saudi’s”) have interesting subtexts cited in Science, 30 November 2012, Vol. 338 and in The New York Times Magazine, December 16, 2012. The … Continue reading
BIOCHAR AND MR. FORD
AN ARTICLE in Science, 23 November 2012, Vol. 338, discussed “biochar,” a technical term that I felt compelled to investigate. The article described biochar as “Carbon Storage with Benefits.” Specifically, … Continue reading
COMMON INTERESTS, UNCOMMON FIBER
A CARBON-FIBER link is being forged (er… woven) between BMW and Boeing. According to Reuters, the two companies will cooperate in research and development of this lightweight material. Carbon fiber … Continue reading
HIGH ON SPEED
I HASTEN to say that this item has nothing to do with drugs. Rather, it’s on the perception of movement and its feeling of exhilaration. It’s also about bees and … Continue reading
