Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Science fiction and pandemics & other online discussions
I am old enough to remember when "The Andromeda Strain" came out in 1969; it caused quite the sensation although "Jurassic Park" has overshadowed it since then among casual Michael Crichton fans. So I'm happy to be part of a panel discussion about the book, sponsored...
N.H. patents through Nov. 1
By Targeted News Service The following patents were assigned in New Hampshire from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1. *** Hypertherm Assigned Patent for Operating Plasma arc Processing Systems Hypertherm, Hanover, New Hampshire, has been assigned a patent (No. 10,820,401, initially...
COVID hospitalizations are starting to rise in New Hampshire
With 300 new cases of COVID-19 reported in New Hampshire in the past three days the average number of daily new cases has exceeded the peak in May and, just as worrisome, the state is seeing the first hints of an increase in hospitalizations. 10 people had been...
UNH is part of the test-your-sewage-for-COVID team
Testing wastewater for genetic markets indicating COVID-19 is an increasingly popular idea because it can spot outbreaks before they would otherwise be seen. I wrote in August about Keene starting it up - UNH has a similar program. Here's their press release: The...
Measuring mercury via dragonflies
Dragonflies might be the coolest type of insect around - beautiful engineering and deadly hunting skills all in one. They can also, it turns out, be used to measure heavy metals in the environment, as a video from Dartmouth (here it is) demonstrates. A citizen science...
Restoring oysters is part culinary economics and part science project
Cliches are annoying because they’re obvious and overused, but usually, they’re overused because they’re accurate. So I’m going to ignore my inner writing snob and tell you that today’s column concerns a win-win – in fact, a win-win-win! – for the environment, for...
Sorry, COBOL programmers, the state’s new tax-collection system is going fine
New Hampshire has entered the second of three phases in changing the way people can pay state taxes, and this time it affects a lot more people. The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration is rolling out an online user portal and revenue management system...
This year’s drought will slow tree growth next year
From UNH News Service: Red oak and white pine trees could experience slower growth next year as a result of the severe drought in New Hampshire and most of New England that began in mid-August, according to a researcher with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment...
Tired of reading my nonsense? Then listen to it!
Last week I was the comic relief for the annual meeting of the N.H. Joint Engineering Society, giving an hour-ish talk via Zoom about a few topics that have cropped up in Granite Geek over the years which I thought might interest a few folks: Benford's Law ("first...
Quantum time dilation. Need I say more?
Combining quantum mechanics and relativity remains the big unsolved problem in physics - it flummoxed Einstein, so I don't feel too bad about my confusion. Anything that combines the two is intriguing. New research led by Alexander Smith, who is part of not one...
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