Γιατί η φαντασία μας για την εξωγήινη ζωή είναι τόσο φτωχή SHUTTERSTOCK
Μήπως όταν εικάζουμε πώς είναι οι εξωγήινοι και ο κόσμος τους, ουσιαστικά μιλάμε για τον εαυτό μας και τα τετριμμένα κλισέ του Χόλιγουντ; 03 Ιουλίου 2021 07:31 Το άρθρο του συγγραφέα Philip Ball δημοσιεύτηκε στο Aeon. Τo Αeon, είναι διαδικτυακό περιοδικό, που θέτει μεγάλα ερωτήματα, αναζητώντας φρέσκες απαντήσεις και μια νέα οπτική στην κοινωνική πραγματικότητα, την επιστήμη, τη φιλοσοφία και τον πολιτισμό. Το NEWS 24/7 αναδημοσιεύει κάθε εβδομάδα μια ιστορία για ό
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Both the long run and the short run issues of Climate Change were available in bold stark messages the week of June 21-27. To start in the short run, we saw one immediate effect of climate change in the collapse of the building in South Florida (possibly caused by water undermining the building’s foundation - water seepage caused by sea level rise).
[According to a CNBC report: “Two months before the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium tower collapsed, the condo’s president sent a letter to residents warning them about structural issues. She pointed out “concrete deterioration” in the building’s parking garage and elsewhere was “accelerating” and damage had “gotten significantly worse” since an inspection three years ago. In that 2018 inspection, the engineer found cracked columns, beams, and walls in the parking garage and “major structural damage” under the pool.” (Emily DeCiccio, “Renowned structural engineer says multiple fact
Loving an Elevator
The Space Elevator has been a dream of scientists for centuries. A new design may finally make it a reality at least, by the next century.
NOTE FOR 2021 READERS: This is the 16th in a series of award-winning open letters to the next century, now just one generation away. Babies born this year in the U.S., and nearly 50 other countries, are expected to live to 2100 and beyond. These letters examine what the world could look like then and how we can make the best scenario happen.
Dear 22nd Century,
Are you loving the Elevator?
Not the ones in high-rise buildings, although I m sure plenty more of those exist in your time. Condensed city living makes environmental sense, as do vertical farms; stronger and lighter building materials mean more towers; the international competition for tallest skyscraper is unlikely to end any decade soon.
Science Fiction & Fantasy
by Andrew Liptak
There is no better example of how science fiction’s tendency to try and imagine a plausible future is like throwing a dart at a moving target than Larry Niven’s 1964 short story “The Coldest Place.” Up to that point, astronomers widely believed that the planet Mercury was tidally locked to the Sun: its rotation matched that of its orbit and as a result, only one side ever faced the Sun, meaning that its dark side would have been much cooler. Niven took that bit of knowledge and incorporated it into his story his first and sent it off to Frederik Pohl’s
Dear 22nd Century,
Is there life on Mars?
Human life, I mean. Or does a pioneering percentage of you have your heads in the clouds of a closer planet instead?
It’s not the sort of thing we take surveys about, because we’ve got a lot on our political plate right now. But if you were to ask the average 21st century Joe which planet we are most likely to establish permanent habitation on first, Mars would win in a landslide. It’s just a given. It’s NASA’s official plan has been ever since the first President Bush announced we’d land on the planet by, ahem, 2019 as well as Elon Musk’s highly theoretical plan for 2024. We’ve watched and read