In an effort to better predict tsunamis, researchers at the University of Athens are working on underwater radiation-detecting drones as part of a project called RAMONES (RadioActivity Monitoring in Ocean EcoSystems). Understanding that seismic activity on land releases “small quantities of radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, into soil in the days before earthquakes happen,” scientists are developing a way to do the same on the …
Using the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and its impact upon Pompeii as an example, Wired writer Cody Cassidy (author of Who Ate The First Oyster?) delves into the factual ways people survived the perils of magma, raining ash and explosive gas. With the help of Pier Paolo Petrone (forensic anthropologist at the University of Naples) and James Moore (volcanologist and scientist emeritus at the US Geological Survey), …
Commissioned by the Central Japan Railway Company to offer support during the now-postponed 2020 Olympics, the new N700S (Supreme) bullet train runs the roughly 250-mile stretch between Tokyo and Osaka. Though it can reach 224mph, it’s being capped at 177 for safety reasons—and it incorporates better brakes and running controls for slowing and stopping. Its makers also claim that the train is earthquake-proof thanks to …
