A 180-Year Assumption About Light Was Just Proven Wrong : ScienceAlert

I always enjoy reading about how scientific notions, assumptions, and theorems can be challenged and sometimes disproved or updated. 

Here's a case where the Faraday effect on light was shown to be affected by magnetic fields. It's a bit to digest, but the basic idea is that light that is polarized can be nudged by a magnet, in addition to electric fields (which was known). 

And they sum it up thusly. 

 

Finally, this work is tantalizing because it reminds us of one of the cornerstones of science – namely, that researchers may discover other as-yet unknown properties of light or other electromagnetic phenomena at any time, even in well-established models.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-180-year-assumption-about-light-was-just-proven-wrong

A fun podcast

I recently listened to a podcast from Radio Lab called "the creation story" ... it was an interesting half hour or thereabouts.

Latif (the host) interviewed Ella al-Shamahi, who is described as a real-life Indiana Jones.  She is quite interesting and explores anthropology and history through her work, and several shows she hosts.  

But this podcast was about her story, and how she got here.  She was born Muslim (in England) and followed all the traditions and beliefs growing up.  When she went to school, she decided that she was going to prove Charles Darwin wrong because evolution couldn't be a thing.

And as you might guess, she couldn't.  Because evolution is demonstrably true and try as she might to poke holes, the evidence didn't support her point of view.

So....she changed directions and now tries to elucidate and educate others, but not in a confrontational way.  I found that most interesting, and wanted to share.

A few things are worth noting: it's okay to question the world around you, but you should keep an open mind.  Trust science and look at the body of evidence that's presented to you (rather than something "your crazy uncle" posted).  And realize that some people need time to get to a sort of enlightened thinking (and some may never get there), but you can take an approach where you share ideas and try and explain what you know while listening to why they believe in something that may not be reality.

https://radiolab.org/podcast/creation-story

How Blue Origin Plans to Beat SpaceX to the Moon

Blue origin - until very recently - was known for providing space tourism.  People with a bit of money to burn were taken aboard a flight that let them experience weightlessness. 

But the purpose of these missions was to slowly grow the company's ability to get into space.  To test out their rockets, and their reusability. 

And so they started launching satellites, and in early November had a rather remarkable moment where the booster returned and "missed" the drone ship it was to land on by a few yards or so.  The rockets fired and it hung in the air while the drone ship moved underneath it, then it landed successfully.

Next stop is a moon venture.  They are planning missions in 2026, because they feel they are ready.

The rockets they'll use are purpose built, and not as heavy as starship, and won't require the complexity of refueling. 

Okay, game on.  Let's see what Jeff Bezos can do. 

https://www.wsj.com/business/blue-origin-moon-mission-plan-spacex-9c6b9595?mod=RSSMSN

The cryptobros bought themselves a president (plus, we’re in The Guardian)

I received this earlier today. Thought it's worth sharing, if you want to understand one of the bigger things that's happening right now. 

---------- Forwarded message ---------

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David, The cryptocurrency industry spent $260 million in the 2024 election. Now they're cashing in. After helping elect Trump, the cryptobros got everything they paid for: Trump appointed a "crypto czar." The SEC dropped fraud cases against major exchanges. The DOJ disbanded its cryptocurrency crime enforcement unit.  And Trump pardoned the CEO of Binance — a platform that processed transactions for Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, and drug cartels — after he pleaded guilty to money laundering. They're building infrastructure for authoritarianism. Read our new deep dive on Substack… Cryptocurrency facilitates at least $40 billion in illicit transactions annually. North Korea has stolen $6 billion in crypto since 2017 — that's a lot of nukes!  Russia uses Tether (the stablecoin tied to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick) to evade sanctions when selling oil to China and India. Iran generates $1 billion annually from Bitcoin mining. The cryptobros designed this system to circumvent Western financial controls. And now they've captured the U.S. government to protect it. HELP US EXPOSE CRYPTOCORRUPTION Trump's family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, epitomizes corruption.  Trump owns 60% and receives 75% of revenues. His business partner, Justin Sun, hosts 58% of all illicit crypto activity on his TRON blockchain. World Liberty sold tokens to entities with ties to sanctioned countries — including wallets that transacted with North Korean hackers. When the president's family profits from the same infrastructure that helps North Korea and Russia evade sanctions, America has a problem. The cryptobros make this deliberately complicated so people won't ask questions.  We're asking them anyway. And people are paying attention. The Guardian just published our research identifying overlooked sanctions targets that could cripple Russia's war machine — chemicals for military lubricants and tires that Russia can't produce domestically.  YOU help make our work possible — donate any amount now to keep us going! They also consulted us for their major investigation into how the Trumps are turning the presidency into billions in personal wealth — exposing the pay-to-play scheme that's made foreign influence on our government an open market for authoritarians. While Washington claims it's "run out of sanctions options," we're proving them wrong with detailed investigative work. This is what your donations make possible: rigorous research that gets recognized by major outlets and puts actionable intelligence in front of policymakers. HELP US FOLLOW THE MONEY We're also one of the few organizations systematically documenting Trump's crypto corruption — connecting the cryptobros' campaign spending to the regulatory rollbacks that now let authoritarians move money freely. Investigative journalism isn't free.  Every report we publish, every vulnerability we identify, every corruption scheme we expose — it only happens because grassroots donors believe this work matters. The cryptobros are making billions. We're running on your $25, $50, and $100 donations. Can you chip in right now? Any amount keeps us independent and free to follow the money. When The Guardian writes about our work, when policymakers use our research, when we expose corruption that no one else is tracking — that's your investment paying off. Thank you for making it all possible. Kristofer Harrison President, Dekleptocracy Alliance DONATE TODAY           Dekleptocracy Alliance is a Texas based 501(c)(4) following the authoritarians' money. We're on a mission to protect democracy and the rule of law by providing critical research, analysis, and solutions to governments, businesses, civil society, and the public. Support our work and keep us independent: DONATE >> Paid for by The Dekleptocracy Alliance, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Copyright (C) 2025, Dekleptocracy Alliance. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Dekleptocracy Alliance PO Box 6580 2850 South Quincy Arlington VA, 22206-9998

Goodbye to solar energy ― Sweden starts mining "moon" energy over the seas with this underwater kite

As we know, the moon is what affects the seas, and causes the tides to shift. 

Here's a company in Sweden that is trying to harness that natural power by placing a sort of kit under the ocean, and capturing the power generated when the tides shifts. 

Neat idea! 

https://www.eldiario24.com/en/sweden-harness-underwater-moon-energy/25693/

Solar device converts salt water into drinking water at record speed - Earth.com

Hmmm. Convenient and cost effective way to get drinkable water from the seas?

Yeah this device can remove the salt. And it does it with solar power, so there's no net cost to run it. 

https://www.earth.com/news/solar-device-converts-salt-water-into-drinking-water-at-record-speed/

Europe goes green at desperate speed — France is creating WindTrees growing 36 artificial leaves

Now here's a clever and innovative idea for power production. Instead of a solar array or a wind turbine, a European group has invented a wind tree. It's a system that uses 36 mini turbines in branches of what look like a tree. 

That is a nice leap forward for economical and environmentally friendly means of creating energy that can be used on a local scale. 

https://www.ecoportal.net/en/europe-goes-green-windtree-home/14419/