All posts by QuarX

Engineering A Star – Nuclear Fusion, Tokamaks and Stellarators

An artist's impression of an atom trapped in a containment field made up of Greek-style columns.  Artwork: NaturPhilosophie
A Stellar Reactor

Greifswald, Northeastern Germany, 2016.  Physicists at the Max Planck Institute have been racing to find a way of producing sustainable, clean energy with a stable nuclear fusion reactor. The challenge? Re-creating the Sun’s powerhouse on a much, much smaller scale.

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Our Burning Planet – Beyond Net Zero, Will We Adapt Or Die?

An illustration showing a large part of the Atlantic side of the Northern hemisphere almost entirely engulfed by orange flames, created for the post: Our Burning Planet - Beyon Net Zero Will We Adapt or Die? Artwork: NaturPhilosophie

As World leaders meet for COP26 in Glasgow, the Earth has already reached 1.2 °C warming above pre-1880s industrial levels.

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Within The Blood

Human blood is quite remarkable.  It transports oxygen, hormones and nutrients.  It tracks down and kills pathogens, carries away waste products, helps regulate body temperature, and it irrigates all our internal organs.  And the blood is packed with information.

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10,000 Years Later…

A clock is ticking inside a mountain in Western Texas.  It is a monumental clock.  Hundreds of feet tall, its mechanism is designed to tick for 10,000 years.  It’s a real clock.  The first of several millennial clocks being built around the World, to endure for centuries.  Tick…  

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Looking Into The Abyss – The JOIDES Resolution Progress Update

Looking into the Abyss... The Moon pool onboard the JOIDES Resolution scientific vessel. Artwork: NaturPhilosophie, after IODP original photograph.

A 42-year-old converted oil exploration ship, JOIDES Resolution is one of the few drilling vessels available to earth scientists for the geological study of the seabed at ocean depths below 8,000 metres.  Its ultimate aim is to become better acquainted with what goes on beneath the Earth’s crust.

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Rock of Ages – Why Banded Iron Formations Are Far From Boring…

Two-and-a-half tonne banded iron formation at Hintze Hall, Natural History Museum, London. Artwork: NaturPhilosophie

This 2.5-tonne lump of rock is a banded iron formation.  It marks a turning point in the history of life on our beautiful planet.  A crucial chemical transition.  When oxygen started becoming abundant.  And life took its next step towards complexity…

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Saving Hope… – Cetacean Strandings and Satellites

A composite drawing image of Hope the Blue Whale's skeleton swimming between two waters.  Artwork: NaturPhilosophie

It’s unclear why so many great whales beach en masse around the World.  And it’s really difficult to estimate their number, especially when the cetacean strandings occur along remote shores.  But there is hope.  Scientists are now developing techniques to monitor marine populations from space.

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Nine – The Elusive Planet in Our Solar System

A hypothetical Ninth planet has been lurking on the outskirts of our Solar System.  But Planet Nine may not be a planet at all… 

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Digital Forensics and The Case of the Dead Dodo

A humoristic montage illustration for the post "Digital Forensics and The Case of the Dead Dodo" showing The Simpsons' character Moe Szyslak with his hunting rifle on the look-out for the bird. Unbeknownst to him, the Dodo is behind his back thinking "D'Oh!!!" Artwork: NaturPhilosophie

The very latest technology in scanning and 3D printing is now providing vital clues and evidence in murder.  And as it happened, scientists can now ascertain that World famous flightless extinct bird… the Dodo… died… AFTER BEING SHOT… in the back of the head…

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Trudeau’s Canada: From Climate Champion to Environmental Pariah?

A composite illustration for the post "Trudeau's Canada: From Climate Champion to Environmental Pariah?" Artwork: NaturPhilosophie

Canada.  A land of unspoiled wilderness and natural beauty, led by the poster boy of progressive politics Justin Trudeau who has cast himself as an environmental champion.  Canada as the World sees it…

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