Your Fear of Radiation Is Irrational
Radioactivity stirs primal fears in many people—but an undue sense of its risks can cause real harm. Bad Gastein in the Austrian Alps. It’s 10am on a Wednesday in early March, cold and snowy – but not in the entrance to the main gallery of what was once a gold mine. Togged out in swimming…
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Makes More Sense for Mars than California
Ever wanted to ride to work in a screaming roller-coaster gun? If your answer was yes: good news! Elon Musk – of SpaceX and Tesla Motors fame – recently proposed the “Hyperloop,” a high-speed floating train that’s accelerated by magnets and coasts between destinations. Hailed as the train of the future, the concept is indeed…
The Supermassive Black Hole That’s Growing Impossibly Fast
“Here be dragons” was a phrase once used on ancient maps, often accompanied by mythical sketches, to highlight an unexplored or potentially dangerous area. Astronomers might want to borrow this warning to label the centre of galaxies, which contain supermassive black holes. There’s a lot we don’t know about these monsters – and scientists have…