Electrical Network Frequency analysis, ENF analysis, matches background hum against power grid logs. I talked to one of the researchers who works on it, and also set them a challenge. Thanks to @answerinprogress, @hannahwitton and @SteveMould! 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you can find contact details and social links there […]
The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, at the University of Reading, has an important job: stop pests and viruses from hitching a ride, as researchers try to breed better and hardier varieties of cocoa. Here’s how they do it. ■ https://research.reading.ac.uk/cocoa/international-cocoa-quarantine-centre-reading/ Articles mentioned: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/21/cocoa-crisis-world-chocolate-stash-melting-away https://people.com/food/world-chocolate-shortage-mars/ More reading and sources: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/preventing-a-future-without-chocolate https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23631571-800-cocoa-quarantine-one-tropical-tent-near-london/ […]
Hutton’s Unconformity, at Siccar Point, is about an hour east of Edinburgh, in Scotland, and I’ve wanted to set my own two feet on it for years. And from it, I’ve got a bigger question: is there anything we’ve missed? The story of the Hutton Unconformity: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/GeositesSiccarPoint https://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/edinburghs-geology/huttons-unconformity/ https://www.pesgb.org.uk/news/huttons-unconformity-siccar-point/ 🟥 […]
In the 1960s, America was running “Operation Plowshare”: the idea that perhaps nuclear bombs could be used for peace, not war. At least some British scientists had similar ambitions, and it involved setting off a nuclear bomb under Wheeldale, in the North York Moors National Park. Based on catalogue reference […]
I can’t make science fiction any more. So, to get the ideas I have out of my head, I went to a Standard BBC Quarry, and put all of them one video. Pull down the description for a list of the books that inspired these! FICTION RECOMMENDATIONS, all FREELY AVAILABLE […]
The “accelerated pavement testing facility” in Nantes can simulate decades of road traffic in a few months. Here’s how. ■ More information: https://lames.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr/en/equipments/the-pavement-fatigue-carrousel Editor: Dave Stevenson http://davestevenson.co.uk Camera: Guillaume Juin https://www.guillaumejuin.fr Producer: Axel Zeiliger at Block8 https://block8production.com Thanks to Jérémie Chabot for the suggestion 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you […]
The Aéroplume, in France, is a helium blimp sized for one person. €60 gets you half an hour’s flight. I had to try it. ■ More about Aéroplume: https://aeroplume.fr ■ This isn’t sponsored: I paid for my flight at the normal price, I was the one to contact them asking […]
There’s a lot of articles written about how tap water in Warsaw is constantly tested by a small team of clams. It felt like a hoax to me: so I went to find out. ▪ Thanks to MPWiK Warsaw: https://www.mpwik.com.pl/ Producer: Marcin Krasnowolski https://polishfixer.com Camera: Michał Opala Editor: Michelle Martin […]
Surely water simulation can be done with computers now? Well, not quite. At the University of Sherbrooke, there’s an artificial research river, and I asked them to start it up. ▪ The University’s civil engineering department: https://www.usherbrooke.ca/gcivil/ Edited by Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux With thanks to Sherbrooke team members Basem (who […]
The Bay of Fundy has cheap, clean power: if you can harness it. ■ AD: 👨💻 NordVPN’s best deal is here: https://nordvpn.com/tomscott – with a 30-day money-back guarantee. 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you can find contact details and social links there too) 📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from […]
