Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Maine tests using hemp to pull ‘forever chemicals’ out of the ground
The site Nothing But Hemp reports that tests are continuing at a former Air Force base in northern Maine to plant hemp on soil polluted with PFAS and similar chemicals because the plant removes them from the ground, a.k.a. phytoremediation. If this works out it could...
Fear of those nasty radio waves drives 5G-limiting bill in NH
A proposed law would make it very difficult to put 5G antennas in New Hampshire because of concern about "biological symptoms from wireless radiation exposure." The bill would require new telecommunication antennas to be kept 1,640 feet, one-third of a mile, from...
We’re burning oil for electricity, like a smoggy version of Back to the Future
For most of January, New England has been reliving a piece of our past. Unfortunately, it’s a smoggy, polluting piece. During the recent cold snap, more than a tenth of the electricity generated in New England has been produced by power plants that are burning oil,...
Dartmouth asks: How come a billion years of rocks are missing?
This news item from Dartmouth College introduced me to a geological event I'd never heard of: The Great Unconformity, a "missing billion years" of geological history. New research provides further evidence that rocks representing up to a billion years of geological...
UNH study: Lightning is caused by …
By Rebecca Irelan, UNH EOS: A new study from UNH reveals a key piece of evidence that’s eluded scientists since the days of Ben Franklin’s kite experiment: how lightning actually begins within a storm cloud. Chris Sterpka, a UNH Ph.D. student studying lightning...
Diesel can replace heating oil (but you’ll pay a road tax)
A version of this story ran in 2018. It returns to the Monitor’s online most-read list during every cold snap, so what the heck, here's an updated version. There’s an option for homeowners who run out of heating oil and can’t wait for a refill, or who can’t afford to...
NH patents through Jan. 23
By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23. *** Parallel Wireless Assigned Patent for Parameter Optimization, Event Prediction Based on Cell Heuristics Parallel Wireless, Nashua,...
5G may affect some ‘low-visibility’ flights in winter at Manchester airport
The Union-Leader reports on a message from the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport that certain instrument approaches to the airport may be affected by a 5G transmitter in Massachusetts. “The situation as it stands right now is that our low visibility approaches to...
Science Cafe asks a very meta question: Why should we follow science?
Science Cafe New Hampshire has taken advantage of going virtual to really expand their list of panelists. (No need to limit yourself any more to people who will drive to Concord or Nashua on a snowy night for free) The session tomorrow (Wed., Jan. 19) will ponder why...
Winter ticks kill moose; fungi may control winter ticks
Good story in Northern Woodlands about a promising control of the ticks killing moose. The article is here. Details: Cheryl Sullivan, an entomologist with the Entomology Research Laboratory at University of Vermont, is spearheading a project investigating...
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Science Cafe NHAbout 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 WGIR-AM 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.