Carbon capture

A team of scientists at UC Berkley have come with a solid chemical compound that can be used in capturing Carbon. They describe it as a cross between a filter and a sponge and a mere 8 ounces can be as effective as a tree, and like a tree, the substance can be reused.

https://archive.is/JPmvj#selection-2823.130-2823.161

Its safe and non-toxic...and well, I look forward to hearing more about it as the y ramp up production and testing.

Another budding young scientist

A young man by the name of Sirish Subash questioned whether washing fruits and vegetables actually did any good removing pesticides.  And to answer that question, he engineered a solution!

What he created was a hand-held AI system that can detect residual pesticides, based on light reflected, which is invisible to the naked eye. (And by the way, washing does NOT remove all pesticides)

And for his effort, he was recognized as "America's Top Young Scientist" and given a $25,000 prize.  

https://news.3m.com/14-year-old-named-Americas-Top-Young-Scientist-for-inventing-an-AI-based-handheld-pesticide-detector

To be fair, the other nominees were no slouches either, and you can read about their entries in the link above.

Two high schoolers and the Pythagorean proof

Back in May, there was a story about a couple of high schoolers who - mostly for fun - put their heads together to mathematically prove the Pythagorean Theorem - something that mathematicians had to that point, had been unable to do.  

Their solution involved trigonometry, and at the time they wanted to see what else they could come up.  Well, what they came up with were 9 MORE solutions to the problem!

https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/mathematics/high-school-students-who-came-up-with-impossible-proof-of-pythagorean-theorem-discover-9-more-solutions-to-the-problem

They used their innate curiosity and ... Critical thinking for the win! 

NY is well on its way to reducing its carbon footprint

In 2019, NY state announced an ambitious plan to move toward solar power.  And recently, the state of NY announced they reached a milestone; they are producing 6 Gigawatts of power.

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Newsroom/2024-Announcements/2024-10-17-Governor-Hochul-Announces-New-York-State-Has-Achieved-Major-Solar-Milestone 

That amount of power can serve 1,000 homes for a year.

And the plan is to expand from there.  What a great start, and a terrific accomplishment.

Stephen Miller can suck it.

Are these the kids you grew up with? Are these the neighbors you were raised with?

He says as he points to photos of some immigrants of Hispanic origin. 

https://newrepublic.com/post/187108/lauren-boebert-stephen-miller-donald-trump-rally-racist

Why yes. Yes they are. So fuck you. 

How times have changed…

This may or may not be true, but it does feel about right. 

Flying cheese!

This is both amusing and almost was a disaster. But it should serve as a lesson in aerodynamics. 

Even a humble slice of delicious Gruyère cheese can throw off the balance on a rocket. 

https://futurism.com/the-byte/rocket-launch-sliced-cheese-leg

But the students took it in stride and learned something. Near failure is an option!