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Archive for the ‘habitats’ category: Page 103

May 18, 2018

Florida man tests world’s first fully mind-controlled artificial arm

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, education, habitats

He now officially owns them! #CyborgsRule


— Johnny Metheny sits at an electric piano in his Port Richey home self-teaching himself the song Amazing Grace. Johnny’s never played before, but he’s determined to master the song. He plays through fairly well with his right hand.

“That side I got down pretty good,” said Metheny.

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May 15, 2018

Is bigger really better?

Posted by in category: habitats

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RMZKrtt8i1M

The United States is facing a housing crisis: Affordable housing is inadequate, while luxury homes abound. Homelessness remains a persistent problem in many areas of the country.

Despite this, popular culture has often focused on as an opportunity for upward mobility: the American Dream wrapped within four walls and a roof. The housing industry has contributed to this belief as it has promoted ideals of “living better.” Happiness is marketed as living with both more space and more amenities.

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May 14, 2018

It’s Not Just Hawaii: The U.S. Has 169 Volcanoes That Could Erupt

Posted by in category: habitats

There are potentially active volcanoes all over the West and Alaska as well as Hawaii, and about 50 are considered high priorities for monitoring. Here is where to find them.

A plume of volcanic ash rose above the island of Hawaii on May 4. The long-running eruption of the Kilauea volcano, one of the most active in the United States, has destroyed houses and forced evacuations. Credit U.S. Geological Survey, via Associated Press.

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May 9, 2018

California to become first U.S. state mandating solar on new homes

Posted by in categories: habitats, solar power, sustainability

California is about to become the only state in the nation mandating that virtually every new home have solar panels by 2020.

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May 8, 2018

Sun protection without blinds

Posted by in categories: habitats, physics, solar power, sustainability

Summer. Blue sky. Sunshine. But you don’t notice much of it in the office or in your home, because the blinds block the view so that the heat stays outside. This scenario could soon be a thing of the past: EPFL researchers are working with Empa on a window glass that keeps out the heat in summer and at the same time allows a clear view of the outside world.

Depending on the season, windows must have a different function in order to provide sufficient comfort in offices and apartments. In summer they should keep heat away and prevent glare from the sun. In winter they should distribute the little light optimally in the room. A team led by Andreas Schüler from the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Building Physics at EPFL has recently developed a that meets all these criteria. In cooperation with Empa researchers led by Patrik Hoffmann from the Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing in Thun, work is currently underway on their manufacture—which could soon make sun blinds redundant. Seasonal window glass reduces summer overheating and glare in buildings and ensures high and daylight input in winter. All this without impairing the view outwards through dimming or blinds.

Jing Gong, a Ph.D. student at EPFL, used Empa’s highly complex laser system in Thun to produce a so-called master form with a microstructured surface with the precision laser. Micro mirrors are then evaporated into these micro-grooves and encapsulated in a polymer film. This film can then be easily inserted into a conventional double-glazed window. The arrangement of so-called “Compound Parabolic Concentrator” (CPC) lenses is used to optimally reflect sunlight with low restrictions in visibility. While the first prototypes have been developed in the laboratory, the researchers are already working on up-scaling. In a pilot project in cooperation with BASF Switzerland, the team is working on a manufacturing process that should make it possible to produce the window glass coating consisting of millions of micro mirrors with high precision, quickly and cost-effectively. This poses a major challenge due to the very high optical quality requirements.

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May 7, 2018

California to require solar panels on most new homes

Posted by in categories: habitats, solar power, sustainability

There’s no question that solar power is entering the mainstream, but California is about to give it a giant boost. The state’s Energy Commission is expected to approve new energy standards that would require solar panels on the roofs of nearly all new homes, condos and apartment buildings from 2020 onward. There will be exemptions for homes that either can’t fit solar panels or would be blocked by taller buildings or trees, but you’ll otherwise have to go green if your property is brand new.

The plan doesn’t require that a home reach net-zero status (where the solar power completely offsets the energy consumed in a year). However, it does provide “compliance credits” for homebuilders who install storage batteries like Tesla’s Powerwall, letting them build smaller panel arrays knowing that excess energy will be available to use off-hours.

The new standards are poised to hike construction costs by $25,000 to $30,000 (about half of which is directly due to solar), but the self-produced energy is estimated to save owners $50,000 to $60,000 in operating costs over the solar technology’s expected 25-year lifespan.

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May 6, 2018

Swarm of quakes hits El Salvador, damaging dozens of homes

Posted by in category: habitats

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – A swarm of earthquakes has shaken southern El Salvador, and authorities say dozens of homes have been damaged. There are no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths.

The U.S. Geological Survey says at least eight quakes of magnitude 4.3 or greater struck the region beginning Sunday morning. They include three of magnitude 5.2 to 5.6.

The Central American nation’s civil defense agency posted photos online of damaged roofs and rock slides.

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May 4, 2018

Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Erupts, Flooding Streets With Lava, Destroying 2 Homes

Posted by in categories: entertainment, habitats

The scene in a normally quiet neighborhood on Hawaii’s Big Island is like something out of an overwrought disaster movie: volcanic fissures have opened up, spraying smoke and hot lava in the air where just last week there was a road and people’s backyards.

On Friday morning, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim told reporters that two homes have been destroyed by the lava.

Eruptions began in the rift zone to the east of the Kilauea volcano Thursday, prompting evacuations of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions in Puna on the island’s southeastern corner.

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May 3, 2018

After 250 earthquakes in 24 hours, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano might erupt

Posted by in category: habitats

Out of the five volcanoes comprising Hawaii’s Big Island, Kilauea is the most active — and it could erupt following 250 earthquakes in 24 hours. A crater floor has collapsed. With homes nearby, residents have been warned to remain alert. Find out how to stay updated on the volcanic activity.

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May 3, 2018

NASA successfully tested KRUSTY, a nuclear reactor that works in space and could power missions to the Moon or Mars

Posted by in categories: habitats, nuclear energy, space travel

If space is an ocean, the International Space Station is a raft tethered to the shore. The moon is a nearby island that we’ve visited briefly. To go any further or stay any longer, humanity needs more power.

Now, NASA may have the source: A tiny nuclear reactor called KRUSTY, for Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology. (If you’re wondering if this is may be a reference to a popular animated series, its predecessor was known as DUFF).

The reactor uses nuclear fission—the energy released by splitting uranium-235 in a reactor core about the size of a paper towel— to produce 10 kilowatts of power for about ten years, which NASA says is enough energy to power several houses. Four of the reactors could power an outpost on the lunar surface.

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