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Nuclear Energy: Our Faustian Bargain?

Governor Meldrin Thomson flew in in his helicopter. He’d originally teamed up with the Public Service Company of New Hampshire to push the twin 1150 megawatt set of nuclear power plants, among the biggest ever built, on New Hampshire’s coast, all 18 miles of it. Seabrook got selected without knowing it.

Bringing Black Holes To Light

Hawking takes on Einstein directly: “It therefore seems that Einstein was doubly wrong when he said ‘God does not play dice.’ Consideration of particle emission from black holes would seem to suggest that God not only plays dice but sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.” Where they can’t be seen is black holes, where singularities dwell.

Tomatoes: Who Stole The Taste?

The “fresh” tomatoes we buy in the supermarkets are picked while they are still green and firm — and then taken to be gassed. (The industry prefers to call this “de-greening.”)

Sporadic E, Or How To Spend More Time Watching Television

No, Sporadic E is not Elvin Hayes in the playoffs (that’s a basketball joke, nonsports fans). It’s something strange that happens high in the sky, like depleting ozone.

The Total FM Guide

Would you use a $15,000 Porsche just to haul groceries? Then why would you use your FM tuner or stereo receiver just to get a few local stations? If your answer is “because that’s all I can get,” you’re wrong. You can get more. Lots more. Would you believe well over 100 different stations? It’s true.

How To Cook Chevrolets

“But man must live in his environment. So our solution is simple. We alter the digestive system, replace it with a treatment plant. Then anybody can eat cars, cement, you name it.”

An Interview With David Stewart

I was hoping she might tell us, “Wilmington’s OK, nothing’s going to happen.” But, instead, she made that startling prediction. It was on the 5th of January, 1975, and she said within a year there’s going to be a major earthquake in the Wilmington region.

The Good Heavens

The sky is perfect tonight. The flawless close to a false Spring day in mid-February — an odd day with chirping birds, open windows, shirtless basketball and soft outdoor conversation before supper.

Energy

Saving Money

Hopefully we all agree by now that there is an immediate need for energy conservation. Convincing arguments can be made on economic, political, and environmental grounds for conservation. This article considers the economic basis since that’s what motivates most people.

The Medium Is The Mind

“Communication” is a big deal. It is one of the main buzzwords of our time, and has been ever since our intellectuals stumbled over such compelling cultural data as the number of years a child spends in front of a television and the billions of trees that yearly become pages of one sort or another.