Was this a cold winter? Yes. Was this a warm winter? Yes.
As climate folks have been saying for years, not-normal is the new normal.
read moreN.H. lawmakers still support driverless car testing
New Hampshire’s proposed testing proposal is notably stricter and more supervised than in other states, including: Each vehicle must be followed by an escort.
read moreN.H. startup aims to turn waste heat into electricity, using weird shape-changing alloy
There’s something about the term “waste heat” that just cries out for a clever engineering fix. Heat can do work, so if an industrial process or power production creates too much of the stuff, why can’t we make use of it?
read moreCan’t recycle glass any more? Blame China … and craft beer
For some reason, China doesn’t want to take all our junk any more, which means it costs more to get rid of. How unfair!
read moreBlimp-as-cell-tower firm to do R&D in N.H.
Not an airship (rigid interior, like the Hindenburg) – a blimp.
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In warmer climates, a native fungus becomes a threat to white pine
“This disease is of great concern because it consists of native fungi that are behaving in new ways.”
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In the North Country, sugar maples have a very hard time returning after a clear-cut
As if New Hampshire sugar maple forests didn’t have enough to worry about – like voracious new bugs, climate change, invasive plants – long-running research has found another one: North Country soils make it very hard for them to rebound after a clear-cut. “This...
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If you think the metric system is part of a globalist conspiracy, you won’t like this
Let’s see – do I multiply by 2.2 or divide by 2.2 to get my real weight?
read moreN.H. House says electric & hybrid vehicles should pay an extra fee
The New Hampshire House has approved a plan to charge a sliding fee to vehicles based on their efficiency, starting with those that get as little as 21 mpg, to compensate for paying less gasoline tax. The bill passed Thursday, 168-152, on a roll call vote. It would...
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Who still uses a rotary phone? Way more people than you’d think
Dial N for Nostalgia – except a whole bunch of these phones are still in daily use.
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Science Cafe NH
Granite Geek on NH Public RadioAbout Granite Geek
Dave Brooks has written a science/tech column since 1991 - yes, that long - and has written this blog since 2006, keeping an eye on topics of geekish interest in and around New Hampshire, from software to sea level rise, population dynamics to printing (3-D, of course). He moderates monthly Science Cafe NH discussions, beer in hand, and discusses the geek world regularly on New Hampshire Public Radio.
Brooks earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics but got lost on the way to the Ivory Tower and ended up in a newsroom. He has reported for newspapers from Tennessee to New England. Rummage through his bag of awards you'll find oddities like three Best Blog prizes from the New Hampshire Press Association and a Writer of the Year award from the N.H. Farm and Forest Bureau, of all places. He joined the Concord Monitor in 2015.