World

AGU: Combination Of El Niño And 2016 Ecuador Earthquake Likely Worsened Zika Outbreak

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AGU News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Zika virus outbreak in coastal Ecuador in 2016 was likely worsened by a strong El Niño and a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region in April, according to a new study.
 
A new research commentary suggests the earthquake left more people exposed to disease-carrying mosquitos, and climate variability associated with the 2014-2016 El Niño event created more favorable mosquito breeding grounds. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, combined with destruction of the region’s infrastructure and a population influx into
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Indigenous Leader Appeals To Japanese Prime Minister: Stop Rainforest Destruction For Tokyo 2020 Olympics

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TO News:
 
SARAWAK / MALAYSIA ― On the anniversary of the first Tokyo Olympics, Matu Tugang, headman of the Indigenous Penan community of Long Jaik from Sarawak, Malaysia, delivered an urgent plea to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to stop Japan’s use of wood from a company that is destroying their forests and their livelihoods.
 
Japan has been using tropical timber from Sarawak to construct the New National Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Evidence gathered at the Stadium construction site
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Great Firewall Of China Closes Loopholes

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RWB News:
 
In the months prior to the Communist Party of China’s 19th Congress, which begins Oct. 18, President Xi Jinping has been deploying a major arsenal of repressive measures against online social networks with the aim of perfecting the “Great Firewall” that censors the Internet in China.
 
Just weeks ahead of the Congress, which is expected to renew Xi’s mandate for another five years, the US encrypted messaging app WhatsApp suddenly began malfunctioning in China, in a sign that a new turning-point had been reached in the Party’s censorship. Use of WhatsApp
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World Futures: Money, Trade, Value And Time (Part 1)

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World Futures: What Do We Need?

By ANDY ANDREWS
Los Alamos World Futures Institute
    
This series of articles examines money as a means of facilitating trade, the impact of value perception, and the compacting of perceived time. To do this, it is best to examine the historical perspective and understand the needs of the evolving system of humanity together with the impact of technology on how we do business.

In 3,000 B.C., the estimated population of the world was 14 million people. Around that time, the “city” of Uruk in Mesopotamia, with a population of 50 to 80 thousand people, Read More

Los Alamos Daily Post Hits 8,000 FB Friends!

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DAILY POST News:

The Los Alamos Daily Post has surpassed 8,000 friends today on Facebook!

The local newspaper began operations Feb. 7, 2012 and became the Official Newspaper of Record in January of this year under a contract with Los Alamos County, which runs through 2023.

The Daily Post is published online seven days a week and its print edition is mailed each Thursday to every home and business in Los Alamos and White Rock. The Post also has readers throughout New Mexico, across the United States and in 129 countries around the world.

The Los Alamos Daily Post is owned and operated by Carol A. Clark. Read More

Los Alamos Japan Project Exhibition Opens At Mesa Public Library Today

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Cranes in the exhibit at Mesa Public Library. Photo by Katy Korkos

Panel from Los Alamos Japan project display. Courtesy/Los Alamos History Museum

LIBRARY News:

The Los Alamos/Japan Project exhibition in the Upstairs Art Gallery at Mesa Public Library, which will be on display through Nov. 21, will celebrate its opening with a reception 4-6 p.m. today.

This exhibit at the Mesa Public Library tells the ongoing story of the Los Alamos/Japan Project—an expansive, long-term project to develop dialogue with international museum colleagues and pursue understanding between Los Alamos, Hiroshima, Read More

Happy Columbus Day

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Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus’s Discovery of the Americas in 1492. Courtesy/wikipedia

COLUMBUS DAY News:

Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries in the Americas and elsewhere, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas Oct. 12, 1492.

The landing is celebrated as “Columbus Day” in the United States, as “Día de la Raza” (“Day of the Race”) in many countries in Latin America, as “Día de la Hispanidad” and “Fiesta Nacional” in Spain, Read More

JILA’s 3-D Quantum Gas Atomic Clock Offers New Dimensions In Measurement

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JILA’s three-dimensional (3-D) quantum gas atomic clock consists of a grid of light formed by three pairs of laser beams. A stack of two tables is used to configure optical components around a vacuum chamber. Shown here is the upper table, where lenses and other optics are mounted. A blue laser beam excites a cube-shaped cloud of strontium atoms located behind the round window in the middle of the table. Strontium atoms fluorescence strongly when excited with blue light. Courtesy/G.E. Marti/JILA
 
NIST News:
 
JILA physicists have created an entirely new design for an atomic clock,
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World Futures: Accuracy And Precision (Part Four)

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World Futures: What Do We Need?

By ANDY ANDREWS
Los Alamos World Futures Institute
    
In this series we have looked at accuracy and precision with a continuing question of how much do we need. We started with some definitions and explored randomness and the value of Pi, the ratio of a circle to its diameter.

Then we looked at standardiztion of how we measure physical things, primarily in the scientific-engineering domains but also relating to commerce, and again explored randomness. This was expanded in the last column, introducing the value of money and differences in perception Read More

Bradbury Science Museum Question Of The Month: Why Not Harness Lightning For Renewable Energy Source?

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Lightning striking behind LANL’s main technical area. Courtesy/BSM

BRADBURY SCIENCE MUSEUM News:

Given that lightning generates so much electricity, why don’t we harness it as a renewable energy source?

While it’s true that a single lightning bolt could power the entire city of Santa Fe for about a minute, there are some issues with capturing lightning as an energy source.

First, while there are some areas of the planet (like the Sangre de Cristo mountains near Santa Fe and the Florida coast) that get a higher than average number of lightning strikes, getting lightning to exactly strike

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