"Plato is widely recognized as the first person to develop the concept of an atom, the idea that matter is composed of some indivisible component at the smallest scale," says Douglas Jerolmack, a geophysicist in Penn's School of Arts & Sciences' Department of Earth and Environmental Science and the School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Science.
The interesting thing here is that what we find with rock, or earth, is that there is more than a conceptual lineage back to Plato. It turns out that Plato's conception about the element earth being made up of cubes is, literally, the statistical average model for real earth. And that is just mind-blowing."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200720112214.ht
I'm love earth science and tech. My BA is in geography, and I'm hoping to actually get to work in the field and get a Masters. I also like dreams, which is why when you mentioned Plato, this came to mind. Plato often referred to his dreams as a source of inspiration, as did Isaac Newton, Dmitry Mendeleyev (creator of the periodic table) and James Watson.
Excellent Pam! We're big on earth sciences in our home and i, of course love dreams!
I took this on over to our "Dreams" thread as we all get talking about dreams eventually in all of the meanings of the word.
I give a link to lucid dreaming there with a discussion of finding amazing ideas and creativity in n our dreams:
Reposting a lost post, don't have the author's name:
@goldstone It's gonna be very interesting to see how technology evolves. I saw a few predictions about it helping the environment and us having different ways to communicate. It'll be amazing to watch everything play out in the world.-- @laynara
Hey everyone,
First time poster here. This is a very nice topic. In reply to your question laynara, I think technology is already helping us, especially during these trying times of global pandemic.
For example,in Singapore hey deployed four-legged robots patrolling parks and reminding everyone to wear masks, observe social distancing, etc.
These robots are impressive. They are made by a specialized US company called Boston Dynamics which has probably one of the most advanced robotics technology around.
Another way robots are being used is in some hotels, to deliver items straight to your hotel room, thus minimizing contact with other people.
Artificial Intelligence is another way technology is evolving. For example, when we speak into our mobile phone or home pods, asking either Siri, or Google or Alexa for the weather or anything else, that is all driven by A.I.
These are just a couple of examples - but there are many other things where technology is going to help humanity.
Astonishingly old Antarctic space rock could explain mystery of life's weird asymmetry | Space
"A time capsule of the earliest days of the solar system may be the first clue in explaining a long-standing puzzle for those who study life: It appears to be stubbornly asymmetrical.
The story begins in 2012, when scientists discovered a golf-ball-sized hunk of rock now known as Asuka 12236 on the icy expanses of Antarctica.
Asuka 12236 wasn't just any rock, it was a space rock — and not just any space rock either. Researchers think it's a particularly old meteorite, perhaps containing material even older than our solar system, and that makes it the stuff of scientists' dreams.
https://www.space.com/pristine-antarctic-meteorite-amino-acid-chirality.html
"Life, it turns out, is asymmetrical at a very tiny level. Amino acids — the building blocks of proteins, the large molecules that run our bodies and everyone else's — each come in two mirror-image forms, which scientists have dubbed left- and right-handed. But all the life that scientists have studied uses exclusively left-handed amino acids right-handed versions of these molecules exist but don't make it into proteins. No one knows why.
Asuka 12236, the scientists realized, was particularly rich in amino acids, and just like life, the amino acids in the meteorite favored left-handedness.
And now Part 2! "Twisty' Molecule" Essential to Life Spotted in Deep Space For 1st Time ! What interesting times, discoveries and other co-ordinating examples are being found now in our lifetimes!
"Molecules with "right-handed" and "left-handed" versions are essential to all life on Earth, and have been found in meteors and comets. Now, for the first time, one has been spotted in interstellar space."
https://www.space.com/33167-twisty-chiral-molecule-first-found-interstellar-space.html
- I hope this leads to a major development of clean energy, but let's wait and see:
can't add the url. But if you Google "clean energy and The Independent" you will find the article link. It is on the independent newspaper website. It talks about a new device that can produce carbon-neutral fuel through an "artificial photosynthesis".
Now this is interesting! More other worldly than earth worldly but may be coming to us soon uh, eventually.
Beautiful graphic representation! Check it out and think about it symbolically. I'm thinking we're finally beginning teeny tiny steps to raise our galaxy and our earth's consciousness hence may eventually earn our enhanced perhaps even double halo!? ? ?
Hubble maps giant halo around Andromeda Galaxy -- ScienceDaily
"In a landmark study, scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the immense envelope of gas, called a halo, surrounding the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor.
Scientists were surprised to find that this tenuous, nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy -- about halfway to our Milky Way -- and as far as 2 million light-years in some directions.
This means that Andromeda's halo is already bumping into the halo of our own galaxy."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200827141345.htm
The key to lowering CO2 emissions is made of metal:
"Artificial photosynthesis is a chemical process that mimics the natural process of photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into useful things like carbohydrates and oxygen.
The problem is that current technologies can only produce molecules with 1 carbon atom. These molecules are too weak to be used for the production of more complex materials. Standard experimental conditions have not been stable enough to allow for molecules with bonds of more than one carbon atom to form.
New research at Osaka City University has found that simply adding metal ions like aluminum and iron was enough to allow the production of malic acid, which contains 4 carbon atoms.
The study appeared recently online in the New Journal of Chemistry published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
"I was surprised that the solution was found in such a common thing as aluminum ions" said lead author Takeyuki Katagiri.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200929123616.htm
This is amazing. Using ancient technology and modern technology to cool us and not make the earth hotter in the process. Radiative cooling in a modern world. I think we will see a lot more of this in the future.
Scientists are tapping into a law of physics to create cooling systems that work without special fuel or electricity
@lovendures. these efforts give hope. They claimed that they saved a grocery chain $3000 in refrigerator bills during one summer where they normally spend $100,000. Hard to follow it, but are they saying they could built the technology so large that they'd cool the air outside, not just refrigerator cases?
I really have an inssue with chemical companies. Here is the latest example of why! You really need to take stock and rethink carry-out boxes and food packaging. Damn!
Chemical giants DuPont and Daikin knew the dangers of a PFAS compound widely used in food packaging since 2010, but hid them from the public and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), company studies obtained by the Guardian reveal.
The chemicals, called 6:2 FTOH, are now linked to a range of serious health issues, and Americans are still being exposed to them in greaseproof pizza boxes, carryout containers, fast-food wrappers, and paperboard packaging.
The companies initially told the FDA that the compounds were safer and less likely to accumulate in humans than older types of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” and submitted internal studies to support that claim.
But Daikin withheld a 2009 study that indicated toxicity to lab rats’ livers and kidneys, while DuPont in 2012 did not alert the FDA or public to new internal data that indicated that the chemical stays in animals’ bodies for much longer than initially thought.
Science from industry, the FDA and independent researchers now links 6:2 FTOH to kidney disease, liver damage, cancer, neurological damage, developmental problems and autoimmune disorders, while researchers also found higher mortality rates among young animals and mothers exposed to the chemicals.
Had the FDA seen the data, it is unlikely that it would have approved 6:2 FTOH, said Maricel Maffini, an independent researcher who studies PFAS in food packaging. And though Daikin may have broken the law, it and DuPont, which has previously been caught hiding studies that suggest toxicity in PFAS, are not facing any repercussions.
More can be found at the link below: