TOP 100 CAMPING SITES
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| Are Midwestern Earthquake Faults Shutting Down? The center of the U.S. saw earthquakes two centuries ago that were powerful enough to briefly reverse the flow of the Mississippi River. But unlike Californians, who must live with the specter of “the big one,” Midwesterners may have already seen the last of them. New research suggests the crack in the earth behind the Mississippi Valley events may actually be shutting down. If so, geoscientists will need to rethink how earthquakes work.Three of some of the largest earthquakes recorded in U.S. history struck over the course of two months from 1811 to 1812, the last of which destroyed the small town of New Madrid, Mo. Geologic evidence indicates that major earthquakes also shook this region around A.D. 1450, 900 and 490, implying a cycle of about every 500 years. This pattern fit in with the conventional view of faults--they build up stress and eventually relieve it violently, only to start anew. [More] rss.sciam.com |
New York’s Island Haven, Secret No More Lost in time, Governors Island offers a respite in the harbor. travel.nytimes.com |
Building a Better Lithium Ion Battery The powerful lithium-based batteries used in electric vehicle systems, laptops and cell phones are prone to overheating and even blowing up , but adding less than a gram of a new substance could keep both temperatures and costs down, federal researchers say.The molecule, developed by researchers Khalil Amine and Zonghai Chen at Argonne National Laboratory , is being tested as an additive in the electrolyte of lithium batteries to keep cell voltage from going too high. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Calling all solar enthusiasts: Tell me about your system! Editor's Note: Scientific American 's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here . Have you installed a grid-connected solar array on your home? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience! I'm planning to pull together a series of blog posts that surveys the variety of projects out there to see what common themes emerge. Please contact me offline at solarathome@sciam.com and summarize what you've done: the size of the system, its performance, your location, the subsidies (if any) you've taken advantage of, any problems you encountered, whatever. If you're blogging about it, include the URL and I'll link to it. [More] rss.sciam.com |
No Laughing Matter: Unlovable Hyenas Are Threatened in the Wild Dear EarthTalk: What is the status of the hyena in the wild? Though unloved by many, the hyena has always struck me as one of God's survivors. --Jim Reddoch, Portland, Tex. [More] rss.sciam.com |