Earth’s magnetic poles are just experiencing a “soft spot” that will probably disappear in a few hundred years.

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In new research, scientists walk back the popular idea that Earth’s magnetic poles will flip at some point soon—an event that would occur for the first time in tens of thousands of years. And while it wouldn’t be the end of the world by any means, it would complicate a lot of things for us. All of that means it’s good news that we likely won’t see a flip for at least a few hundred more years.

In the new paper, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Lund University in Sweden and Oregon State University identify some of Earth’s current magnetic anomalies and position them in the larger context of the last 9,000 years. Amazingly, we have pretty complete magnetic field data over that entire period. But to understand what’s going on, first we should take a crash course in Earth’s magnetic field.

Within 10 years people may be able to have a intelligent online version of themselves.

AMD might have to wait in line behind Intel and Apple for 3nm allocation at TSMC. It’s not clear if the Taiwanese foundry can meet demand.

Admins in charge of securing Windows devices protected by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can now “contain” a compromised unmanaged device to prevent lateral movement of data and slow down hackers.

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The Silurian Hypothesis contemplates how long the ruins of a civilization would be detectable, on Earth or even other worlds, and if we could ever know if a world had once been inhabited by a technological civilization.

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Credits:
The Silurian Hypothesis: What Traces of Humanity will be Left 50 Million Years from Now?
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur.
Episode 346a, June 12, 2022
Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur.

Editors:
David McFarlane.

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USC scientists have found evidence that the Earth’s inner core oscillates, contradicting previously accepted models that suggested it consistently rotates at a faster rate than the planet’s surface.

Their study, published today in Science Advances, shows that the inner core changed direction in the six-year period from 1969–74, according to the analysis of seismic data. The scientists say their model of inner core movement also explains the variation in the length of day, which has been shown to oscillate persistently for the past several decades.

“From our findings, we can see the Earth’s surface shifts compared to its inner core, as people have asserted for 20 years,” said John E. Vidale, co-author of the study and Dean’s Professor of Earth Sciences at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “However, our latest observations show that the inner core spun slightly slower from 1969–71 and then moved the other direction from 1971–74. We also note that the length of day grew and shrank as would be predicted.

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Vortex rings, similar to smoke rings, have been observed in pulsing light before. Now, scientists have figured out how to make them on purpose with lasers, mirrors and special lenses.

The artist used the Viper’s massive 10-cylinder mill, which has been given a deep scrub so that it looks practically brand new, as the pit’s base. He then attached pistons and connecting rods to the engine block for use as legs and support. In images of the table Cobb posted to Facebook you’ll notice that there’s no surface, but that’s likely just to show off its fire pit capabilities. We imagine a simple glass top could be used to turn it into a fully functional coffee table.

While the table-pit’s design is likely to stop you in your tracks, even more jaw-dropping are its fire-breathing capabilities. Cobb equipped each cylinder of the engine with its owner burner and igniter, so that a flame spits out of each. He also rigged up a pretty cool ignition system to turn the fire pit on. You simply turn a key installed in the engine block to turn on the igniters and feed each of them gas from an attached tank by stepping on the pedal from an actual Viper. It’s really not much different from getting the actual supercar’s engine roaring. Of course, it should go without saying that you’ll only want to use the fire pit function outside. If you’re eyeing this as a coffee table, though, its suitable for indoor use.