Djuro

@djuro

90 Following

16 Followers

Djuro pfp

Fusion is the process that fuels stars, like the Sun.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

As with any industrial process, there are always risks involved, but a failure of a fusion reactor will, by its very nature, stop the energy generation immediately.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

The products of fusion reactions are generally safe. The main product is inert helium, although some minor and short-lived radioactivity is also generated. The problem with fusion energy lies in creating the necessary conditions to start the reaction.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

The problem with fission energy is that the waste products are usually much more radioactive than the fuel and remain so for a very long time. Also, being able to control the rate of the fission reaction is crucial to its safety.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Fusion energy ‘disaster’ is unlikely to be more dangerous than a typical industrial accident, and certainly doesn’t have the potential for the kinds of environmental and ecological catastrophes we’ve seen possible with fission energy meltdowns.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

On the Schmidt Pain Scale for Stinging Insects ranks highset is the South American bullet ant.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

The Schmidt Pain Scale for Stinging Insects ranks the pain of insect stings on a scale of one to four.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Could hidden dehydration be the cause of your daytime fatigue?

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Can algae combat global warming? Seeding the iron-poor Southern Ocean with iron dust encourages algae blooms that absorb carbon dioxide and sequester it to the ocean floor. Whether the technique is effective is not yet clear; more research is needed.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

The burps and flatulence of livestock constitute 15 per cent of the greenhouse gases that mankind emits each year. Australian researchers recently discovered that a little Asparagopsis seaweed added to animal feed stops gut bacteria from producing gas. Emissions are reduced by 50 to 85 percent.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Red algae living on the Greenland ice sheet account for 5 to 10 per cent of the ice sheet’s shrinkage. The algae turn the snow pink when the slightest melt occurs. This “watermelon snow” absorbs light, which heats the snow, and creates a feedback loop that hastens the disappearance of snow.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Harmful algae blooms are getting bigger and lasting longer in our era of climate change and fertiliser run-off. The blooms already cause hundreds of millions of dollars of annual losses to fishermen and tourist economies around the world.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Algae can substitute for oil and natural gas in plastics. A Mississippi company called Algix is making the soles of running shoes and other products with EVA made from algae. In 2019, they will use more than 5 million kilos of pond scum. Ten billion pairs of running shoes are made annually; the potential for algae plastics is big.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

The US Navy has run ships and planes on non-polluting fuel made from the oils in algae. The price of algae oil has dropped radically and new technology will drive it down further. If the price of fossil fuels reflected the cost of their environmental damage, we would be flying jets on algae fuel.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Oxybenzone and similar sunscreens that wash off our bodies are deadly for corals and other marine life. Hawaii and other states are banning these sunscreens. Algae have evolved protection from UV rays, and algae-based sunscreens hold promise.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Algae are in your kitchen and bathroom. Listed as carrageenan or alginate, you’ll find them in ice cream where they prevent ice crystals from forming, in chocolate milk to keep cocoa suspended, and in salad dressing to keep the components mixed. Algae gel your toothpaste, thicken your body lotion, and coat tablets to hold the ingredients together. And that’s just the start!

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Agar, the medium that coats the bottom of petri dishes and is an irreplaceable part of medicine and science, is also an algae-derived hydrocolloid. Shortages of the seaweed Gelidium threaten laboratories worldwide. There is no substitute.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Our brains are dependent on the iodine and omega-3 oils that algae contain. When we don’t eat algae (or sea creatures that dined on algae) we run the risk of thyroid deficiency and lower IQs. Some scientists attribute the expansion of the hominid brain to access to seaweed and algae-eating fish.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Warming oceans cause corals to eject their zoox, which produce lethal superoxides in higher temperatures. Ninety-three percent of all coral reefs are damaged by the loss of zoox. Sixty percent of the Caribbean’s reefs have already disappeared. Many experts believe coral reefs will be extinct by mid-century, at the latest.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

Djuro pfp

Certain algae called zooxanthellae (“zoox”) live inside corals, which are animals. The algae produce sugars that they pass to the corals, providing 90 per cent of their energy needs, while the corals provide nitrogen and shelter to the algae. Without this symbiosis, we would not have corals reefs, which are highly valuable to mankind. Seventeen percent of the world’s protein comes from reefs. One billion people depend on reefs for food, protection from storms, or employment.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction