NASA’s black-hole-hunter spacecraft, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has “bagged” its first 10 supermassive black holes. The mission, which has a mast the length of a school bus, is the first telescope capable of focusing the highest-energy X-ray light into detailed pictures. (more…)
Periodically, Yale chemistry professor Robert Crabtree strolls through his laboratory, sometimes whistling, and pauses to ask the students who work with him: “Everybody happy?”
According to Ulrich Hintermair, who conducted research in his lab as a postdoctoral fellow for the past two-and-a-half years, Crabtree’s concern with his research team’s wellbeing is just one of many qualities that distinguish him as a mentor at Yale. (more…)
Die japanische Regierung hat am Dienstag erklärt, 47 Mrd. Yen (ca. 359 Millionen Euro) Steuergelder zu investieren – als Anwort auf die andauernden Krisenmeldungen aus der Atomanlage Fukushima.
Geplant ist, das Eindringen von Grundwasser in die hochkontaminierte Anlage durch eine Wand aus gefrorenem Untergrund abzuwenden. Ein höchst fragliches Unternehmen – auf dessen Erfolg nicht allzu viel zu setzten ist. “1,4 Kilometer lang und bis zu 30 Meter tief soll die Dichtwand werden”, erklärt Heinz Smital, Atomexperte bei Greenpeace. “Hier ist parallel die Entwicklung von anderen Plänen, wie der Wasserzutritt verringert werden kann, notwendig, weil mit einem Scheitern der Dichtwand gerechnet werden muss.” (more…)
ANN ARBOR — Moonless nights outside the Cerro Tololo astronomical observatory in Chile are so dark that when you look down, you can’t see your feet. (more…)
“Viscous heating” can reheat volcanic ash enough to convert it to lava
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they release into the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the ash produced by supervolcanoes can be so hot that it has the ability to turn back into lava once it hits the ground tens of miles away from the original eruption. (more…)
Armonk N.Y. – 05 Sep 2013: IBM today launched its comprehensive Digital Loan Processing platform which integrates the core lending business process with mobile applications and analytics, allowing lenders to transform the online experience for customers. Through this new solution, borrowers can now engage in real-time during every aspect of the loan application process: applying online, uploading documents, acting on inquiries and monitoring loan approval status – all from their smartphone or tablet device. (more…)
Declassified spy photography has uncovered a lost Roman Eastern frontier, dating from the second century AD. (more…)
Im Jahr 2012 führte die wachsende Nutzung von Wind, Sonne und Biomasse zu einem Rekordwert in der bundesweiten Wertschöpfung von 17 Milliarden Euro. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt das Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) in einer aktuellen Studie für Greenpeace.
Zwei Drittel der Wertschöpfung kommt dabei Städten und Gemeinden zu Gute. “Die Erneuerbaren Energien treiben die Wirtschaft in strukturschwachen ländlichen Regionen an”, sagt Andree Böhling, Energie-Experte von Greenpeace. Diesen Motor dürfe die Bundesregierung mit ihrer Reform des Erneuerbaren Energien-Gesetzes nicht fahrlässig abwürgen. (more…)
