cervesaebraciator - Slashdot User

Submission + - Volcanoes, Climate Change, and the Little Ice Age (csmonitor.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Tuesday January 31, 2012 @01:12AM

cervesaebraciator writes: For those interested in climate change the so-called Little Ice Age provides an interest point of reference. Lasting from the 13th through as late as the 17th centuries AD, the Little Ice Age as an example of climate change is often most easily contrasted with the present by means of paintings from the era. Globally, the effects of the period were as little as an average drop in temperature of 0.6 C. But the regional variations could to be much more dramatic. Climate scientists at the University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Researchoffer an interesting explanation concerning the source of this form of climate change. They offer reason to believe that increases in stratospheric SO2, caused by a string of volcanic eruptions, may have been enough to increase the reflectivity of the atmosphere. This has the potential to explain the cause of the Little Ice Age and thus shed light on climate change as a phenomenon.

Submission + - Senator Rand Paul detained by the TSA (politico.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Monday January 23, 2012 @12:31PM

cervesaebraciator writes: It seems the folks at the TSA are as unfamiliar with Article I, Section 6 of the US Constitution as they are with the Fourth Amendment. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has been detained by the TSA in Tennessee for refusing a pat-down. Apparently an anomaly appeared when he received the full body scan. While he offered to undergo the body scan once more, he was informed that only a pat-down would be sufficient to clear him. He has since been detained and the story is developing.

Submission + - Navy may use mine detecting dolphins in the Straig (theatlanticwire.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Saturday January 14, 2012 @07:17PM

cervesaebraciator writes: The Atlantic Wire reports that the Navy has a tested solution to the possible mining of the Straight of Hormuz. The Navy has 80 dolphins in San Diego Bay trained to use their own sonar to detect mines. When they find the mines, the dolphins drop an acoustic transponder nearby that human divers might return to defuse it. Retired Adm. Tim Keating cannot say, however, whether the dolphins will be used in the straight.

Submission + - Fermilab Scientists Discover New Particle (conceivablytech.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Thursday July 21, 2011 @03:45PM

cervesaebraciator writes: From the article:
Fermilab today announced that scientists working at the CDF (Collision Detector at Fermilab) experiment confirmed the observation of a new particle, the Xi-sub-b. The Xi-sub-b is categorized as are baryon, which are formed of three quarks. Commonly known baryons include the proton ( two up quarks and one down quark) as well as the neutron (two down quarks and one up quark). The existence of the Xi-sub-b has been predicted for some time, but it has been observed for the very first time just recently. It is described as a heavy relative of the neutron and is six times heavier than the proton or neutron. Conclusively, it is a member of the bottom baryons.

The original, and slightly more detailed, press release may be found here.

Submission + - Coalition forms to fight Internet piracy (latimes.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Thursday July 07, 2011 @07:49PM

cervesaebraciator writes: Excerpted from TFA:

A coalition composed of movie and television studios, cable and phone companies and record labels are launching a wide-ranging initiative aimed at cracking down on Internet piracy. [...] The effort brings together Internet service providers [...] and content creators in the fight against the theft of intellectual property. It will be overseen by the newly created Center for Copyright Information, whose backers include the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which represents all the major Hollywood studios; the Independent Film & Television Alliance; the Recording Industry Assn. of America; and ISPs Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. [...] The initiative will target households whose Internet usage indicates that pirated content is either being uploaded or downloaded.

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