Thelasko shares a report from the BBC: Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests. ‘Mining’ for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions. Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year — and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps. Critics say…
Tag: fall
Germany To Let Citizens Store ID Cards On Smartphone
Germany says its citizens will be able to use smartphones to store their government-issued ID cards and prove their identity online. The Associated Press reports: The Interior Ministry said Wednesday that from this fall, citizens will be able to use the electronic ID stored in their smartphones together with a PIN number to prove they are who they claim to be…
AEgIS on track to test freefall of antimatter
It’s a fundamental law of physics that even the most ardent science-phobe can define: matter falls down under gravity. But what about antimatter, which has the same mass but opposite electrical charge and spin? According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, gravity should treat matter and antimatter identically. Finding even the slightest difference in their free-fall rate would therefore lead to…
Is this the end of the A-68A iceberg?
Satellite images reveal that the once colossal A-68A iceberg has broken into multiple pieces. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/end-of-the-a68a-iceberg-feb2021…
Was GameStop’s Rise Actually Orchestrated By Hedge Funds?
Robert J. Shapiro advised senior members of the Obama administration on economic policy, and served as an Under Secretary of Commerce under Bill Clinton. Now a senior fellow at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown, he’s suspicious of the surge in GameStop’s stock price:
Allegedly, this is the tale of scrappy, small online day traders buying shares of a beleaguered company…
Highly Educated People More Likely to Fall For QAnon’s Conspiracy Theories
The more educated people are, the more likely they are to believe claims made by QAnon, according to a tracking poll by polling firm Morning Consult. From Politico: Twenty-seven percent of people with a postgraduate degree responded that QAnon claims are either very accurate or somewhat accurate. That compared to 20% of those with a bachelor’s degree and 14% of those…
What’s the difference between asteroids and comets?
Asteroids and comets are generally composed of different materials and reside in different locations of the solar system, while some rare objects display characteristics of both. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/whats-the-difference-between-comets-and-asteroids…
When will Betelgeuse explode?
The red supergiant star will explode in a supernova, close enough to shine brightly during the day but far enough away that Earth won’t be in danger. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday…
How to prevent crashes between orbiting satellites
Thousands more satellites will soon orbit Earth. We need better rules to prevent space crashes. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/satellites-prevent-space-crashes…
What’s the weather like on Titan?
Most of the planets in our solar system have some sort of atmosphere and many have dynamic weather systems. But only one moon in the solar system, Saturn’s large moon Titan, can say the same. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/titan-saturns-moon-weather-seasons-methane-rain-storms…