I used to be a rock hunter as a kid, and I learned how to identify minerals using the Mohs hardness test, which was invented by a mineralogist. You scrape an unknown specimen with a known specimen, such as quartz. If the mystery specimen scratches the quartz, you know it’s softer than quartz. Calcite or…
We have more questions than answers about ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected near Earth. The visitor was initially detected as it left the solar system, and the meagre data collected by astronomical observatories have proven difficult to explain. What we do know is that ‘Oumuamua was neither a comet nor an asteroid, and no…
I stood in front of the Career Services building near the conclusion of my senior year at Dartmouth, watching my classmates line up. Everyone seemed to be dressed the same as they waited for their corporate job interviews, the men in navy jackets and the women in dark skirts. I remembered my first day on…
What if your smartphone or laptop began charging the moment you entered the room? Researchers have created a specifically designed room that can send electricity to a range of electronic devices within it, allowing them to charge phones and operate home appliances without the use of plugs or batteries. According to Takuya Sasatani, a project…
The rapid evolution of Hurricane Ida from category 1 status in the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 classification at landfall was a frightening element of the storm, which devastated Louisiana on Sunday. The storm’s sustained winds accelerated from 85 miles per hour on Saturday to 150 miles per hour the next day as it…
The Shasta Valley, nestled between two mountain ranges in Northern California’s Siskiyou County, is as intricate as it is beautiful. Nearly four years after initially visiting the area, hydrogeologist Brad Gooch is still awestruck by the scenery. It’s not because of Mount Shasta, a 14,000-foot volcano that towers over forest and farming. Gooch, on the…
You turn on your computer by pressing the power button… There is no action. Even in the worst-case scenario, there is a variety of debugging alternatives available, so don’t worry just yet. When your computer or laptop won’t turn on, it’s because either the hardware or the software is malfunctioning. Although determining the root cause…
Because so many of us spend so much time in front of a computer these days, any time you can save will have a huge influence on your productivity. Chrome Actions are functional shortcuts that can be launched right from the Google Chrome address bar at the top of the screen. They allow you rapid…
Children are more connected to the digital world than ever before, from gaming and social media to online schools. This provides them with access to information, entertainment, and opportunities that their parents could never have imagined when they were their age. Access, however, carries the risk of inappropriate content, phishing schemes, bullying, and grooming, so…
Will international space science and exploration in the twenty-first century be defined by collaboration or competition? The answer may depend on how two space giants, the United States, and China, choose to interact in the next years. By most measures, the United States remains the world leader in space, but China is steadily pursuing its…