Important Innovations

  Boats Floating Upside Down on Levitating Liquid Source:  ESPCI Experiment Concept French Experiment with Big Potential Applications Scientists at ESPCI in Paris have performed an amazing experiment that seems to defy the laws of gravity and physics.  They've demonstrated tiny model boats floating upside down underneath a levitating layer of liquid.  It's called reverse buoyancy.  The layer of liquid floated on a suspended cushion of air.  Because of the intense air pressure created by shaking the liquid and the air, the boats were able to float upside down.  These amazing research results came when the scientists were investigating the effects of vertical shaking, which can be used to suspend a layer of liquid in mid-air. Why Is This Important? Reverse buoyancy could have major practical applications.  Potentially, it could separate pollutants from water and also be used to transport materials through fluids.  The gravity defying action is ...

Aggressive Action Against Climate Change Benefits Earth & Economy Source:  Images of Climate Change  New Science A study published in the scientific journal Nature finds that if nations don't adhere to the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and significantly cut CO2 emissions, the global economy will loose at least $150 Trillion to as much as $792 Trillion by the end of the century.  Co-author of the study Biying Yu of the Beijing Institute of Technology says the general consensus in the global academic community is that climate change may lead to a global catastrophe with huge socio-economic loses.  Unfortunately, most of the 190 nations that signed the Paris Accords are falling far short of their commitments. Calculating A Green Future Yu and her team found that if nations optimally cut their CO2 emissions, net global economic benefits would range from $127 trillion and $616 Trillion by 2100.  The dollar figures are derived...