More info at http://scifri.me/xh6ztx

California has been locked in a four-year drought that has depleted groundwater reserves, hastened the spread of wildfires, and caused severe crop loss. Reporting in Science Advances, researches say that by the end of the century, the Southwest and Central Plains regions are at risk of experiencing a megadrought—a drought that lasts for multiple decades. Climatologist Jason Smerdon discusses how climate change might be pushing us towards a drier future.

Are Decades-Long Megadroughts on the Horizon?

Ryan Rykaczewski describes one of the most massive migrations on the planet, driven by the sun. Image by Tintinnidguy (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 

#ExplainTheSun  - The Largest Migration on The Planet

Once, there was the ordinary incandescent light bulb. It shone brightly, but wasted much of the energy put into it as heat. Then came the compact fluorescent. And as costs have dropped, consumers have increasingly been switching to light-emitting diode (LED) technology for many lighting applications, in an ongoing search for a more efficient bulb. Now, in work published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers report that nanophotonic devices may be able to breathe new life into old incandescent technology. Marin Soljačić and Ognjen Ilic, two authors of the study, explain how they’ve been able to “recycle” some of the incandescent bulb’s wasted heat and re-emit it as visible light, boosting efficiency.

For the Lowly Incandescent Bulb, a Ray of Hope

Science, technology, and other cool stuff from public radio's Science Friday. It's brain fun, for curious people. From WNYC Studios.

Are Decades-Long Megadroughts on the Horizon?

SciFri

Related tracks