170115996
submission
tomhath writes:
“Even a very modest ‘dose’ of sleep deprivation — here, just the loss of one single hour of sleep opportunity linked to daylight saving time — has a very measurable and very real impact on people’s generosity and, therefore, how we function as a connected society,” Walker said. “When people lose one hour of sleep, there’s a clear hit on our innate human kindness and our motivation to help other people in need.”
164944096
submission
tomhath writes:
The certification was given to NuScale for its SMRs: 76-foot tall, 15-foot wide (23m x 4.6m) pressurized-water reactors that can operate in groups of four, six or 12, and use passive processes to heat water and move it through the reactor's stages.
Each NuScale SMR produces 50 MW of power, and they're able to be assembled at a NuScale facility before being shipped to their final destination. Once on site, the reactors are installed below ground level in a pool that serves as their primary heat sink.
162161458
submission
tomhath writes:
The United States said on Monday that it would supply Romania with a training simulator in preparation for building a new type of nuclear power generating plant in the country.
The one in Romania would be built by NuScale Power, a start-up company based in Portland, Ore. The government announced that the plant would be built in Doicesti, at the site of a shuttered coal-fired power plant about 55 miles northwest of Bucharest.
NuScale’s approach to nuclear energy involves constructing relatively small reactors in factories and then assembling groups of them at the actual site for generating power. The aim is to reduce costs as well as the time required for construction.
The plan involves building a power station composed of six of the modular units. The plant would generate 462 megawatts of electricity, making it the size of a medium-size conventional power station.
158937361
submission
tomhath writes:
In a joint effort by EPFL's Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) research company DeepMind, scientists used a deep reinforcement learning (RL) system to study the nuances of plasma behavior and control inside a fusion tokamak – a donut-shaped device that uses a series of magnetic coils placed around the reactor to control and manipulate the plasma inside it.
According to the researchers, the magnetic mastery of these plasma formations represents "one of the most challenging real-world systems to which reinforcement learning has been applied", and could establish a radical new direction in how real-world tokamaks are designed.
158503123
submission
tomhath writes:
The UK-based JET laboratory has smashed its own world record for the amount of energy it can extract by squeezing together two forms of hydrogen...The experiments produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds (11 megawatts of power)...This is more than double what was achieved in similar tests back in 1997.
It's not a massive energy output — only enough to boil about 60 kettles' worth of water. But the significance is that it validates design choices that have been made for an even bigger fusion reactor now being constructed in France.
"The JET experiments put us a step closer to fusion power," said Dr Joe Milnes, the head of operations at the reactor lab. "We've demonstrated that we can create a mini star inside of our machine and hold it there for five seconds and get high performance, which really takes us into a new realm."
147906630
submission
tomhath writes:
On January 14, 2020 the World Health Organization tweeted that there was "no clear evidence" that the virus could spread between humans. The US National Institutes of Health have since learned that the COVID-19 outbreak was already sweeping through the US by that date.
147851542
submission
tomhath writes:
Economists are predicting a massive wave of resignations in the coming months. Up to 40% of employees at some companies are considering career changes after working from home or living on unemployment supplement for a year. The reasons are varied — burnout, unwillingness to return to the office, opportunity to change while on unemployment all factor into it.
146511168
submission
tomhath writes:
Tesla has over 10,000 (maybe over 20,000) cars that came out of it's Fremont Factory on a “containment hold” and can’t deliver them to customers. The most likely culprit is the global chip shortage that has effected all car manufacturers, although Tesla isn't saying.
Apparently the part can be installed at service centers so the cars are being shipped, causing what is expected to be a logistical nightmare for Tesla’s service and delivery teams when the part becomes available.
135856864
submission
tomhath writes:
Current Uber drivers will get employee pricing on the Bolt and 20% off on Bolt charging accessories. GM is taking the step to promote EV adoption as it moves toward an all-electric future.
In July, GM announced a partnership with EVgo, the largest public fast-charging network for electric vehicles, to triple the size of the U.S.’ public fast-charging network.
On Tuesday, Sept. 8th, the battery- and hydrogen-electric vehicles maker Nikola Corp. disclosed a large equity investment by General Motors Co., as well as a “potential game changing” partnership to build the Nikola Badger pickup truck.
135624008
submission
tomhath writes:
On Friday, the first small modular reactor received a design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meaning that it meets safety requirements and could be chosen by future projects seeking licensing and approval. It’s a 76-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide steel cylinder (23 meters by 5 meters) capable of producing 50 megawatts of electricity.
The control rods are actively held in place above the fuel rods. In the event of a power outage or kill switch, they drop down on the fuel rods due to gravity.
114660580
submission
tomhath writes:
When the federal investigation was made public in July 2017, it focused on a jointly operated training center between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler. But it quickly expanded to probes into similar operations with GM and Ford Motor, which previously confirmed it was cooperating with the investigation. The Detroit training centers are jointly overseen by the companies and union but funded by the automakers as part of their collective bargaining agreements.
112841532
submission
tomhath writes:
Google Camp is hosting the likes of former President Barack Obama, Prince Harry, Leonardo DiCaprio and Katy Perry in Sicily, Italy, to discuss climate change.
Italian press reports allege that the Google Campers would show up in 114 private jets, and 40 had arrived by Sunday.
Furstenberg and Diller reportedly arrived via their $200 million yacht Eos; Dreamworks founder David Geffen is said to have given Perry and Bloom a lift to the event on his $400 million yacht, Rising Sun.
110908410
submission
tomhath writes:
Lactic acid is produced by the muscles during strenuous exercise. The Veillonella bacteria are able to use this exercise by-product as their main food source.
Veillonella metabolizes lactic acid produced by exercise and converts it into propionate, a short chain fatty acid. The human body then utilizes that propionate to improve exercise capacity.
"It creates this positive feedback loop. The host is producing something that this particular microbe favors. Then in return, the microbe is creating something that benefits the host," Aleksandar D. Kostic Ph.D. says. "This is a really important example of how the microbiome has evolved ways to become this symbiotic presence in the human host."
109453812
submission
tomhath writes:
Global dividends reached a first-quarter record of $263.3 billion, rising 7.8% despite concerns about the world economy. U.S. dividends totaled a record $122.5 billion during the period, up 8.3%.
A dividend is the portion of a company’s earnings that is distributed to shareholders.
A record $1.43 trillion in dividend payments is expected this year, up 4.2% in headline terms, led by North America, where growth is the fastest worldwide on an underlying basis.
Europe has seen relatively few dividends paid out in the first quarter, with headline growth of 9.2% boosted by special dividends while underlying growth of 5.3% was in line with the 2018 performance. The U.K. lagged the global average with 4.4% underlying growth.
The Asia-Pacific region has demonstrated the strongest dividend growth since 2009, and the year-on-year headline growth of 14.7% broke the record for first-quarter payouts.
Only about one-quarter of U.S. corporate stock is held in taxable accounts; the other three-quarters of shares now are held in tax-exempt accounts such as IRAs or defined benefit/contribution plans, or by foreigners, nonprofits or others. Retirement savings accounts are the single largest component totaling about 37% of all stock holdings.
108084284
submission
tomhath writes:
A massive fire broke out at the famed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday afternoon, officials said. The cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, was made famous for featuring in Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”
Black smoke could be seen from a distance billowing out from the top of the medieval cathedral, while flames leaped out from two of its bell towers.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Notre Dame was undergoing a $6.8 million renovation project, with some sections under scaffolding
