Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
NH firm makes composting machinery
Much of social media is nasty, as we all know, but there are places where it is charming. One of those is the Reddit subgroup about composting. Yes, composting. Every day people from around the world post pictures on the group showing their pile of rotting food in the...
No N.H. connection to this year’s Ig Nobel prizes (I think)
I don't think any of the winners of 2024 Ig Nobel awards had a New Hampshire connection, although I'm jet-lagged from vacation so may have missed a Dartmouth fellow or something like that. The ceremony, as I noted, returned to MIT from Harvard this year. “Throughout...
Spotter saves NH lake from invasion by zebra mussels
New Hampshire's NH Lakes program puts people (volunteers? maybe they get a small stipend) on boat ramps at various lakes to try and keep people from accidentally hauling invasive species from one waterbody to the next. InDepthNH, an independent online news...
Deep insight into the scientific method thanks to, um, lumpfish
Today’s insight into the scientific method is brought to you via a nondescript ocean dweller with the unlyrical name of lumpfish. The lumpfish, as I learned from a UNH press release, was the subject of recent research by Dr. Elizabeth Fairchild, a professor in the...
Town flags, OK, but what about town seals?
The news that the town of Boscawen has chosen a new town flag - you can read it here - reminded me of a couple things. One is that city and town official flags have no legal backing, as I reported when Boscawen was debating the issue. They're just fun symbols. Unless...
NH patents through Aug. 25
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number or inventor’s name.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through Aug. 25 *** Push-Pull Multi Coax Connector Used for 5G Communication...
New England’s power needs are going to become a lot more variable
Peak demand for electricity in New England will shift from summer to winter by the mid-2030s, largely because rooftop solar power is less in winter, and by 2050 the continuing variability in weather means peak demand could vary by as much a 20 GW between mild and...
Boston, NYC take different approaches as climate change threatens sewer systems
Warmer air holds more moisture, which means that storms can drop more rain than they used to. That's been known since the earliest of worrying about climate change and it is happening already, with "extreme precipitation" becoming the norm. Huge rainstorms can...
Maine: Offshore wind? Nah, I want *floating* offshore wind!
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government issued on Monday the nation’s first floating offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine, comprising about 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) in federal waters. The state requested the lease from the...
Transformer shortage makes a long wait for NH electric school buses
Concord, N.H., celebrated the eventual arrival of electric school buses Wednesday thanks to federal programs designed to replace the diesel buses that have been polluting schoolyards and streets for decades. The key word, however, is “eventual.” The three buses...
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