While lightning can, in fact, strike the same place twice, if it strikes enough sand, it can create glass. That process — turning something into glass — is called vitrification. In this case, the sand heats up and liquefies, then rapidly cools into a glasslike state. Vitrification pops up all over, beyond traditional glass. Fertility experts use extreme cooling to vitrify immature human eggs and embryos, better preserving them. We also vitrify some radioactive waste for safe storage ...read more
Myself and two of my colleagues went up to see what was going on. There were a number of cracks on this granite dome, and there was a crack in the dam; we were all discussing what the repairs might be and that sort of thing. One of the guys said, “Hey, besides these cracks up on top of the dome, we noticed there are some cracks down there on the side.”
The dome is flat on top, and it steepens on the sides that go down to a creek, about 50 feet from the dome’s top. There was a l ...read more
During true polar wander, the location of the Earth’s spin axis, and therefore the north and south poles, shift relative to the rest of the planet. (Credit: Groves/Discover Magazine; Earth, Pixabay; sun, Wikipedia Commons)
Geologists at Rice University have uncovered evidence that suggests Earth’s spin axis was in a different spot millions of years ago, a phenomenon called “true polar wander.” The change, which occurred sometime in the past 12 million years, would have ...read more
The InSight mission team rejoices in Mission Control after the probe successfully landed on Mars. (Credit: NASA)
InSight on Mars
November 26 at 2:54 ET, NASA’s InSight lander touched down successfully on the martian surface. Now, once the dust settles around the landing site in Elysium Planitia, the probe will get to work expanding our understanding of the Red Planet — specifically, what’s inside of it.
After initially landing, InSight, short for Interior Exploration usi ...read more
“Eels in the Stream” is an especially stirring chapter. We learn about the gap of knowledge about glass eels and the urgency for studying their life cycles as their numbers in lotic systems mysteriously dwindle. Citizen scientists volunteer in counting eels caught by mops set across ten Hudson River tributaries. Their work begins to answer big questions. Do water temperatures, tide cycles, and precipitation affect eel migration? Why do eel populations vary over time ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
