Short Takes – 10-24-24

Tech companies want small nuclear reactors. Here’s how they’d work. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “With smaller reactors, Huff says, it’s easier to build components offsite in a factory and ship them where they need to go, rather than custom building them from raw materials on site. “The more you can build these reactors like airplanes rather than airports, the cheaper it’s generally going to be.””

A Route Toward the Island of Stability. Physics.APS.org article. Okay, just a tad bit geeky review article. Pull quote: “As well as enabling the discovery of new elements, reactions with nonmagic projectiles offer the chance to discover many new isotopes of known elements with atomic numbers ranging from 104 to 118. About 110 different superheavy isotopes are known to date. About 50 further isotopes are expected to exist but are not reachable by conventional fusion reactions using 208Pb targets or 48Ca beams. Reactions with nonmagic systems would allow this gap to be filled. It is worth noting that the FLNR has also announced results on the production of element 116 through collisions involving a non-doubly-magic nucleus heavier than 48Ca [10]. Using fusion reactions of 54Cr and 238U, the FLNR claims the discovery of a new isotope of element 116 (288Lv), but the result has yet to appear in a peer-reviewed publication.” The real deal article.

Chinese company to sell tickets for space tourism flights in 2027. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Deep Blue Aerospace is a leader in China's burgeoning commercial space sector, which Beijing is hoping will catch up to rivals such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.”

Bird flu hit a dead end in Missouri, but it’s running rampant in California. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “With the spread of bird flu in dairies and the fall bird migration underway, the virus will continue to have opportunities to jump to mammals and gain access to people. Officials have also expressed anxiety as seasonal flu ramps up, given influenza's penchant for swapping genetic fragments to generate new viral combinations. The reassortment and exposure to humans increases the risk of the virus adapting to spread from human to human and spark an outbreak.”

How Your Brain Processes Zero (It’s Not Exactly ‘Nothing’). ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “The notion that zero is somehow distinct comes from studies of brain injury as well. About 14 percent of people who have had a stroke may be unable to read or process numbers that include a zero digit, points out Barnett. In August he and Stephen Fleming, a fellow cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, published findings that showed the brain situates zero along a mental number line, regardless of whether a person is considering zero as a numeral or empty set. Nieder and Mormann’s team demonstrated the same—albeit with different methods and an emphasis on different brain areas.”

S&T Continues Counter-Unmanned Aerial System Technologies Testing. DHS.gov/Science-and-Technology/ article. Pull quote: “Over the course of the week, participants were given a common set of conditions and scenarios in which to test their technologies against drones that are representative of what is available on the market to purchase or build. This enabled the S&T team to not only gauge the effectiveness of each of these technologies in intercepting drones but also the collateral effects of downing them. Testing wrapped up before dusk to enable the team to inspect and map out the drone debris field.”