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Mind over Matter: Influence RNG

The Mind over Matter experiment is the first experiment that uses a real random number generator (RNG) connected to the Internet. The RNG produces random bits '1' or '0' based upon electronic noise. These bits are used in the experiment to determine…
frost fall in alaska

Does frost fall from the sky?

"In Chicago . . . my car windshield is often covered with frost first thing in the morning . . . but no frost accumulates if I leave the car under a carport or in the garage. So it seems that it must fall from the sky yet there's nothing perceptible…
Helium Conservation 1

Early living humans in Europe - Neandertals and Cro Magnons

Scientists believe there were once two types of early living humans in Europe, Neandertals and Cro Magnons. They believe we're descended from Cro Magnons, while, about 30,000 years ago, Neandertals disappeared. Still, scientists wonder did…
Helium Conservation 2

22° halo - St. Petersburg display of June 18, 1790

Lowitz's drawing was made June 18, 1790. The especially unusual features are the two arcs here colored red that extend from the parhelic circle to join the faint 22° halo. These "Lowitz arcs" can be simulated by plate crystals that take a range…
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Where dust was coming from? Marith Reheis

Marith Reheis is a research geologist with the US Geological Survey who studies dust. Marith Reheis: When I started doing this, I did everything... I would spend at least four weeks a year, driving around in the Mojave Desert from dust trap…
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Nanowires - protein fibers with gold and silver atoms

In 2001, they coated yeast protein fibers with gold and silver atoms, which let the fibers conduct electricity. The fibers are just a few nanometers -- a few billionths of a meter -- wide. These so-called "nanowires" are useful in very small…
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Chlorine element and the liquid chlorine bleach

When you add chlorine bleach to a colored shirt, the chlorine molecules attack the dyes by breaking up the compounds. Hydrogen peroxide bleaches blondes, and sunlight can fade the color from a beach towel. But when you think bleach -- and…
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How satellites can help assess the damage from tornadoes

The havoc wrought by a tornado in instants often requires days to assess. It's necessary to examine damage across wide regions where roads, bridges and infrastructure are often wiped out. Eventually disaster and relief officials use aerial photos. Tom…
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Methane Hydrate

A chunk of methane hydrate looks like a piece of ice. But it's really highly concentrated molecules of methane -- the chief constituent of natural gas -- trapped in a cage-like lattice of ice. As it melts, huge amounts of methane bubble out.…
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What is antimatter, and how can we detect it?

All matter is made of atoms, and atoms are made in part of electrically charged particles called protons and electrons. In normal matter, electrons always have a negative electrical charge, and protons always have a positive charge. But physicists…
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Minimum mass to hold an astronaut in orbit?

"How little mass could an object in space have and still hold an astronaut in orbit around itself?" We put your question to scientists who plan space missions to the asteroids, our solar system's least massive worlds. They said that any two…
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Helium Conservation

The element helium makes up one quarter of the mass of the visible universe . . . . . . but only about one millionth of one percent of Earth's atmosphere and crust. That's because helium is so light that -- once released into the atmosphere…