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Citizen science and the data avalanche
Science, Maths & Technology

Citizen science and the data avalanche

...energy particles from space that create pretty rings in the VERITAS telescope. This project was a runaway success, achieving well over a million classifications in the first five days. Our SuperWASP Variable Stars project asked volunteers to spot different types of binary stars orbiting each other, in a hunt for exotic stellar neighbourhoods. The CREDO experiment took a...
How to build a real lightsaber
Science, Maths & Technology

How to build a real lightsaber

...energy to defeat the Dark Side and also act as an effective shield against laser blasts is tricky. Here's a start: ...[Yoda figurine jumping with a lightsaber] As even casual Star Wars fans will know, lightsabers are probably the coolest weapon ever to make an appearance on the big screen. Lightsaber fights are so elegant that they are almost hypnotic and, even though not...
Dropping the population bomb - 50 years of BBC environmental broadcasting, part two
Society, Politics & Law

Dropping the population bomb - 50 years of BBC environmental broadcasting, part two

...energy use is connected with quite abstract physical impacts that are distant in time and space, using a mix of footage of glaciers and windfarms. But the journalist is talking at a kitchen table and she reaches to turn off a light switch. It’s all very down to earth and practical. The thing I note here is how the Newsround team have taken enormous care over the...
Systems thinking: a select glossary
Money & Business

Systems thinking: a select glossary

...energy. In practice such systems rarely exist, but many systems are treated as if they were closed. Communication (i) First-order communication is based on simple feedback (as in a thermostat) but should not be confused with human communication, which has a biological basis. (ii) Second-order communication is understood from a theory of cognition which encompasses...
What can you do with leftover coffee grounds?
Science, Maths & Technology

What can you do with leftover coffee grounds?

...energy than traditional wood pellets. However unlike Nestlé, Bio-bean first removes oil from the coffee, which brings us to our second point. Turn coffee into liquid fuel Like most plant seeds, the coffee bean contains a significant amount of oil which can either be squeezed out or chemically extracted. It can then be converted into biodiesel, a liquid with similar...
Warming winters: How will the Winter Olympics adapt?
Health, Sports & Psychology

Warming winters: How will the Winter Olympics adapt?

...energy. For the Milano-Cortina games approximately 1.6m cubic metres of artificial snow will be made. This has required two new water reservoirs to be built, one in the Livigno Snow Park and the other next to the village of Bormio 2300m high-up in the mountains. In addition, 75 extra snow guns, that distribute the snow over the mountain courses, have also been installed....
Exercising at 50
Health, Sports & Psychology

Exercising at 50

...energy levels, mood and overall quality of life. ...In 1969, when the Open University first opened its doors, the average life expectancy in the United Kingdom was 71.8 years (World Bank, 2018). Half a century later in 2019 when the ‘University of the Air’ is celebrating its 50th birthday, the average number of years that a person is expected to live for has increased...
Dallas Campbell meets Frank Drake
Science, Maths & Technology

Dallas Campbell meets Frank Drake

...energy as though little piece was a nuclear bomb. It destroys your mission. So all it takes is something a few millimetres in diameter to actually destroy your mission. So probably a tenth of speed of light is the highest that you can go without really, really being in great danger. Anyway that’s an aside so to speak. But let’s imagine you could go that fast. And say...