Abstract: I do not share the feeling that consciousness (whatever this means) cannot be understood in the context of the known physical laws. So far we do not understand it well, but neither do we fully understand thunderstorms, for that matter. I offer three small contributions in the direction of a direct naturalistic account of consciousness: (i) a purely physical account of agency and the openness of the future, which traces the source of information to past low entropy; (ii) a purely physical basis for a simple notion of “meaning”; and (iii) a suggestion that current understanding of quantum matter (without need of panpsychism) weakens the apparent hiatus between the mental and the physical.
Category: climatology – Page 61
NASA’s Newest Storm-Watching Satellites Captured the Evolution of Hurricane’s Structure
Observations made by NASA
Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is “To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.” Its core values are “safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion.” NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.
Extracting a Clean Fuel From Water — A Groundbreaking Low-Cost Catalyst
A plentiful supply of clean energy is lurking in plain sight. It’s the hydrogen that can be extracted from water (H2O) using renewable energy. Researchers are on the hunt for cost-effective strategies to generate clean hydrogen from water, with an aim to displace fossil fuels and battle climate change.
Hydrogen is a potent source of power for vehicles, emitting nothing more than water. It also plays a crucial role in several industrial processes, particularly in the production of steel and ammonia. The use of cleaner hydrogen in these industries would be extremely beneficial.
A multi-institutional team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has developed a low-cost catalyst for a process that yields clean hydrogen from water. Other contributors include DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as Giner Inc.
This underwater base could become the ISS of the ocean
2020 underwater base.
Aquanaut Fabien Cousteau — grandson of famed ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau — has announced plans to build the world’s biggest underwater base for scientific research.
He calls the facility “Proteus” and envisions it being the ocean equivalent of the International Space Station — a place where scientists from across the globe can work together to solve the world’s biggest problems, from climate change to world hunger.
“Proteus…is essential to driving meaningful solutions to protect the future of our planet,” Cousteau said in a press release. “The knowledge that will be uncovered underwater will forever change the way generations of humans live up above.”
7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes near Alaska Peninsula, prompting brief tsunami warning
A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the Alaska Peninsula late Saturday.
Preliminary data placed the quake about 55 miles southwest of Sand Point, Alaska, the National Weather Service said. It had initially been measured at a magnitude of 7.4, the United States Geological Survey said on Twitter.
It struck at about 10:48 p.m. local time. In Kodiak, Alaska, sirens sounded late at night, according to a video posted on social media.
UK space firm is building a nuclear fusion rocket engine that will get hotter than the Sun
It will also reduce travel time to Saturn’s moon Titan to just two years.
Pulsar Fusion, a UK-based space firm, is building a nuclear fusion-based rocket engine that could exceed temperatures on the Sun. The construction of the largest-ever fusion rocket engine has begun, and its exhaust speeds could exceed 500,000 miles per hour.
Nuclear fusion has long been proposed to answer our energy and climate change woes as it promises a cleaner power source. Inspired by the Sun, scientists have been working to build nuclear fusion reactors and have succeeded in generating record-high temperatures but not more energy than they have put in.
An accidental discovery could change the world
Every now and then, revolutionary technology seems to spontaneously appear out of thin air and change our world. Dynamite, penicillin, X-ray machines, and even microwaves are all examples of such revolutionary accidental discoveries.
Well, this year we may have had yet another. However, this time it is set not only to revolutionise the way we live, but potentially save our planet from looming climate change by unlocking an elusive technology: lithium-sulfur batteries.
For decades, we have been searching for the best technology to power our modern lifestyle and enable clean technology, like electric cars. Since the early ‘90s, the battery technology of choice has been lithium-ion.
Can Lightning’s electric motorcycle really charge as fast as a gas tank fill-up?
Touring, a type of riding that involves long distance trips, has long been the achilles heel of electric motorcycles. While e-motos have developed to the point where they can beat combustion engine motorcycles in nearly every other metric, quick recharging required for long distance riding has yet to reach parity with a gas station fill-up. At least, that was until Lightning Motorcycle debuted what it says is the fastest charging electric motorcycle yet.
Lightning Motorcycles, the Southern California-based boutique e-motorcycle manufacturer, claims that its new fast-charging electric motorcycle can recharge nearly as fast as a combustion engine motorcycle can refuel its tank.
Previously, the quickest DC fast-charging electric motorcycles like the models from Energica or Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire One boasted a recharge time of around 30 minutes for a nearly topped-up battery.
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Just Captured A Spooky Green Lightning Flash On Jupiter
NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently captured this spooky green flash of lightning in a massive storm swirling near Jupiter’s north pole.
The tremendous burst of lightning glows bright against the dark gray vortex of the storm, even from Juno’s vantage point 19,900 miles above the tops of Jupiter’s clouds. Lightning often flashes between the clouds of stormy Jupiter’s higher latitudes, especially in the north. NASA’s Juno spacecraft is helping shed light on the gas giant’s wild alien weather.
Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the image from Juno’s raw data.