Showing posts with label MIT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MIT. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

“Oreology” — or the “study of the flow and fracture of sandwich cookies”

"But because researchers concluded that additional “questions remain to be explored if we are to fully understand cookie flow phenomena,” the device was conceived with the idea of “enabling widespread use.” The authors also published instructions for those curious about how to build their own.

“I hope people can use this information to improve their cookie eating when they twist open an Oreo, or when they dunk it in milk,” Owens told CNN. “I hope people can also take inspiration to investigate other puzzles in the kitchen in scientific ways.

“The best scientific research, even at MIT, is driven by curiosity to understand the world around us,” Owens said. “When someone sees something weird or unknown and takes the time to think, ‘I wonder why that happens like that?’”

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MIT instructions on how to build your own tester

A variety of Oreo cookies.TONY CENICOLA/NYT
A variety of Oreo cookies.TONY CENICOLA/NYT

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Deep drilling for geothermal: "It’s a high-risk, high-reward situation"

"Miles below ground, where pressures are intense and temperatures far exceed the boiling point of water, dense layers of super-hot rocks offer the promise of a natural, inexhaustible supply of clean energy. 
Environmentalists have long dreamed of a way to reach those depths to tap the potential geothermal energy in those rocks, but the technological and financial barriers have been too great. 
Now, officials at an MIT spinoff say they believe they’ve figured out how to drill as deep as 12 miles into the Earth’s crust, using a special laser that they say is powerful enough to blast through granite and basalt. "


“By drilling deeper, hotter, and faster than ever before possible, Quaise aspires to provide abundant and reliable clean energy for all humanity
“By drilling deeper, hotter, and faster than ever before possible, Quaise aspires to provide abundant and reliable clean energy for all humanity"

Saturday, March 12, 2022

MIT: The mysterious origins of COVID-19 (audio)


MIT Technology Review
MIT: The mysterious origins of COVID-19

A new investigative series on the origins of covid-19

Dive into the mysterious origins of covid-19 with our thrilling new podcast series Curious Coincidence, hosted by MIT Technology Review investigative science reporter Antonio Regalado. Learn why it's so hard to find its origin and why it matters. Episodes 1-3 are out now wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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Saturday, December 11, 2021

What it will take to unleash the potential of geothermal power?

"Untapped potential: There's enough heat inside the earth to meet total global energy demand twice over. But harnessing it requires drilling deep underground and transforming that heat into a usable form of energy. That's difficult and expensive, which is why geothermal power only makes up only about 0.3% of electricity generation worldwide, despite the fact it's more consistent than virtually every other form of renewable energy. However, it's now getting a boost, thanks to a $84 million Department of Energy project to build four demonstration plants. They'll test enhanced geothermal systems, an experimental form of the technology.

Exhausted supplies: The most accessible geothermal resources in the US have been tapped, and it's hard to figure out how many more potential sites may be out there, and where they might be. Some researchers and startups are trying to expand into new places by pumping fluid into impermeable rock to force cracks open. This creates space where water is free to move around and heat up, producing the steam needed for power.

Barriers: Despite geothermal's vast potential, reaching these resources won't be easy. The process has been shown to trigger earthquakes, and despite the injection of government cash, financing geothermal projects can also be a challenge. "

Read the full story from The MIT Technology Review  =>   https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/12/08/1041511/potential-geothermal-power-infrastructure-bill/

What it will take to unleash the potential of geothermal power
What it will take to unleash the potential of geothermal power