energy

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Years Before Physics Theory Emerged, Van Gogh Painted It
Modern-Day Physicists Marvel
at Van Gogh's Eye
new study
Sep 23, 2024 10:15 AM CDT

Modern-Day Physicists Marvel at Van Gogh's Eye

The Starry Night accurately depicts the flow of energy

(Newser) - In the 1940s, a Russian mathematician named Andrey Kolmogorov laid out an important law of fluid dynamics that explains how energy moves through air and water, per Smithsonian Magazine . But if "Kolmogorov's theory of turbulence" sounds a little dense, you could instead cast a glance at Vincent Van...

Data Centers Are Wasting Energy on Our Old Memes

An estimated 68% of data is never used again, but it's still sucking up energy

(Newser) - Memes, reply-all emails, and the thousands of photos on our phones typically have our attention momentarily, and are then quickly forgotten. But energy-wise, they very much go on. That's what Ian Hodgkinson, a professor of strategy at Loughborough University, argues to the Guardian . His recent studies on junk data...

Google's Emissions Goal Now at Risk, Thanks to AI

Company's carbon emissions rose 48% in 5 years, as data centers keep up with artificial intelligence

(Newser) - Google's annual environmental report is out, and it's got some energy-guzzling stats. The Tuesday release showed that the technology giant's greenhouse gas emissions have spiked 48% since 2019, seeing a 13% rise in 2023 over the previous year alone, reports the Guardian . The company says this increase...

Russia Unleashes 'Massive' Attack on Ukraine's Power Grid

Russia sent barrage of missiles and explosive drones overnight

(Newser) - Russian forces unleashed a nighttime barrage of 55 missiles and 21 explosive Shahed drones at Ukraine's power grid on Wednesday, in what President Zelensky called a "massive" attack. The Ukrainian air force said it managed to down 39 of the missiles and 20 of the drones, but the...

Ukraine: Russia's Overnight Strike Targeted Energy Sites

Ukraine's air force says it shot down 21 of 34 missiles fired

(Newser) - Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over Russia's southern Krasnodar region. Ukraine's air force said Saturday that Russia had launched...

NASA Needs Your Help Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries

Agency calls for citizen scientists to catalog pulses of gamma rays as discoveries continue

(Newser) - NASA needs your help to identify massive explosions in space. The space agency is calling on citizen scientists to become "burst chasers" by joining a project to interpret gamma-ray bursts across the universe and "decode what the universe is saying," according to a release . Huge amounts of...

California to Adjust Electric Bills Based on Income
California Plans Novel
Shift in Electric Bills
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 10, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

California Plans Novel Shift in Electric Bills

Wealthy residents will pay more under new state law, and they're not happy about it

(Newser) - It could be a revolutionary twist for the energy sector: California will soon issue income-based electricity bills, reports the Washington Post . The state with some of the nation's highest electricity costs—1.5 to 2 times the national average—is shaking things up a bit. By 2025, the cost...

Scientists May Have Achieved 'Holy Grail' of Clean Power
US Scientists Confirm
a Fusion Milestone
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 17, 2022 5:30 AM CST

US Scientists Confirm a Fusion Milestone

Livermore team achieves a net energy gain for the time ever

(Newser) - They did it: Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have made history in the quest to harness fusion, reports the AP . Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced Tuesday that researchers achieved a net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time in history. It's a huge...

In 'Era of Extremes,' Calif. Asks Residents to Turn Off Lights

Rare emergency alert called for switching off of nonessential power to prevent rolling outages

(Newser) - Grappling with brutal heat this week, Californians were faced with a big ask, and it was a rare one, per KTLA . The state's Office of Emergency Services pushed out an alert Tuesday evening requesting that residents switch off any nonessential power, in an attempt to conserve energy and prevent...

As Russia Cuts Gas Flow, One Nation Says It's in 'Crisis'

Germany says storage targets for winter are at risk as Russia reduces energy deliveries to EU nations

(Newser) - Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies Thursday, warning that Europe's biggest economy faces a "crisis" and that storage targets for the winter are at risk. The government said the decision follows cuts Russia made to natural gas flows starting last...

One of America's Oldest Companies Is Splitting Up

GE to become 3 public companies focused on aviation, health care, energy

(Newser) - General Electric will divide itself into three public companies focused on aviation, healthcare and energy, reports the AP . The storied American company, founded in 1892, has refashioned itself from the sprawling conglomerate created by Jack Welch in the 1980s to a much smaller and more focused entity after it was...

Hush-Hush Tesla Project Plugs Texas Into 'Mega-Battery'

Elon Musk's company reportedly has secret power supply set up after electric grid failed last month

(Newser) - Elon Musk has inserted himself into electric cars , space travel , artificial intelligence , and cryptocurrency , so why not take a dive into the US utilities arena? That's apparently what's happening in Texas, where Musk's Tesla is said to have secretly set up a "mega-battery" outside Houston after...

Biden to Unveil Another Big Reversal of Trump

President will order a halt to new oil and gas leasing on federal territory

(Newser) - President Biden is set to announce a wide-ranging moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on US lands, as his administration moves to reverse Trump administration policies on energy and the environment, per the AP . The moratorium, expected to be announced on Wednesday, follows a 60-day suspension of new drilling...

This Is the Temp the Feds Say Your Home Should Be

The internet doesn't think it's literally or metaphorically cool enough

(Newser) - If you've been heeding the advice of sleep hygienists and dozing off in a cool bedroom each night—a standard suggestion is somewhere between 65 degrees and 72 degrees Fahrenheit —the feds have just upended that routine, and people are getting heated about it. Energy Star, jointly run...

Paper: Advanced Civilizations May Be Stealing Starlight

Chicago professor Dan Hooper says it makes perfect sense

(Newser) - Watch out for stars moving across galaxies or losing power—it could be aliens gathering energy before the lights go out. Dan Hooper, an astronomy and astrophysics professor at the University of Chicago, posted a paper in the preprint journal arXiv.org arguing that aliens in far-off galaxies may be...

At UN Climate Conference, US Touts Coal

Audience members in Bonn, Germany, weren't pleased

(Newser) - A Trump administration panel touted coal and nuclear energy in its only official appearance at an 11-day United Nations climate conference in Germany on Monday—when it could get its message out over jeering protesters and audience members. "Without question, fossil fuels will continue to be used," though...

Firm With 2 Full-Time Workers Lands $300M Puerto Rico Deal

Tiny Whitefish Energy happens to be financed by a big supporter of President Trump

(Newser) - A tiny for-profit company out of Montana has landed a $300 million contract to help get the power back on in Puerto Rico, reports the Spokesman-Review . How tiny? Whitefish Energy had just two full-time employees on the day Hurricane Maria slammed into the island. However, the company suggests that figure...

Elon Musk on Newest Project: Done in 100 Days or It's Free

Tesla to build world's largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia

(Newser) - Elon Musk has an ambitious new project on his plate: building the world's largest lithium-ion battery. The 100 megawatt battery, which will be put together by Tesla and French energy company Neoen, will store renewable energy for the state of South Australia, the Guardian reports. The battery will be...

Flamingo's One-Legged Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved
Flamingo's One-Legged
Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved
NEW STUDY
May 24, 2017 11:30 AM CDT

Flamingo's One-Legged Mystery, (Somewhat) Solved

Scientists say the birds expend less energy on a single leg than on 2

(Newser) - Ever wonder why flamingos stand on one leg? So did two Georgia scientists, and their research has found the birds appear to expend less energy when they do so, the BBC reports. A study published in the Biology Letters journal examined both live and dead flamingos and explains how living...

Naked Mole Rats Can Do What No Other Vertebrate Can

Oxygen deprivation? Bring it

(Newser) - Scientists already know enough about naked mole rats to put them in the "strange" category. The hairless ground-dwelling wonders are notable for being cold-blooded mammals that are practically immune to cancer and far outlive other rodents, reports Science Daily . Now scientists say they've observed the creatures surviving without...

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