Tag: science

This mysterious iron pillar in India has been exposed to the elements for over 1,600 years. So why hasn’t it ever rusted?

Can an iron structure stand tall for 1,600 years without rusting, despite being exposed to the elements? By Poonam Binayak, CNN It seems implausible, considering the supposed lack of technology at the time of its construction. Yet, inside New Delhi’s UNESCO-listed Qutb Minar complex – a collection of historic monuments and buildings built in the early 13th century… Read More This mysterious iron pillar in India has been exposed to the elements for over 1,600 years. So why hasn’t it ever rusted?

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Clean energy’s dirty secret: the trail of waste left by India’s solar power boom

As vast solar plants multiply, so does the scrap, set to reach 19m tonnes by 2050. But disposing of the waste often falls to informal traders who risk injury when dismantling broken panels Under the scorching sun, a sea of solar panels gleams in the semi-arid landscape. Pavagada, 100 miles north of Bengaluru in southern… Read More Clean energy’s dirty secret: the trail of waste left by India’s solar power boom

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The Atheist Scientist who discovered the ‘God Particle’

Shobhit Mahajan Hindustan Times, 14th April, 2024. In the Particle zoo of elementary particles which make up our universe, there is only one particle named after a person. Peter Higgs, after whom the eponymous Higgs boson is named, passed away recently at age 94 in Edinburgh. Almost exactly 60 years ago, Higgs proposed a mechanism… Read More The Atheist Scientist who discovered the ‘God Particle’

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‘Simply mind-boggling’: record temperature jump in Antarctic raises fears of catastrophe

An unprecedented leap of 38.5C in the coldest place on Earth is a harbinger of a disaster for humans and the local ecosystem On 18 March, 2022, scientists at the Concordia research station on the east Antarctic plateau documented a remarkable event. They recorded the largest jump in temperature ever measured at a meteorological centre on Earth.… Read More ‘Simply mind-boggling’: record temperature jump in Antarctic raises fears of catastrophe

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Our tools shape our selves

For Bernard Stiegler, a visionary philosopher of our digital age, technics is the defining feature of human experience Bryan Norton It has become almost impossible to separate the effects of digital technologies from our everyday experiences. Reality is parsed through glowing screens, unending data feeds, biometric feedback loops, digital protheses and expanding networks that link… Read More Our tools shape our selves

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The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge

In the early 1930s, the Indian-born physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-95), who was then studying at the University of Cambridge in the UK, proposed that not all stars become white dwarves at the end of their lifecycle. Instead, the brilliant young scientist argued, when stars were of a certain mass, they would form something denser than… Read More The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge

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Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study

Neurological conditions ranging from migraine to stroke, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, are now the leading cause of ill-health worldwide, causing 11.1 million deaths in 2021, research has revealed. The number of people living with or dying from disorders of the nervous system has risen dramatically over the past three decades, with 43% of the world’s… Read More Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study

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When It Comes to Critical Thinking, AI Flunks the Test

Real intelligence requires critical thinking and causal reasoning. LLMs cannot acquire these skills by finding statistical patterns in words they don’t understand. By Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk It has been almost 70 years since the term “artificial intelligence” was coined at a 1956 Dartmouth College summer workshop. The conference was convened by the mathematician… Read More When It Comes to Critical Thinking, AI Flunks the Test

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Scientists discover 100 potential new deep-sea species, including mystery creature

Marine researchers on a mission to record life hidden in the world’s oceans have reported they found about 100 potential new species — including one mystery starlike creature. The expedition team focused its investigation on the 500-mile (800-kilometer) long Bounty Trough, a little-explored part of the ocean off the coast of New Zealand, east of… Read More Scientists discover 100 potential new deep-sea species, including mystery creature

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Proposal on Anthropocene as new chapter in Earth’s history will go no further

Scientists have voted against a proposal to declare a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene to reflect how profoundly human activity has altered the planet. By Katie Hunt, CNN The proposal was rejected by members of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, which is part of the International Union of Geological Sciences, according to three voting members of the… Read More Proposal on Anthropocene as new chapter in Earth’s history will go no further

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