It sounds weird, but the most abundant mineral on Earth finally got a name last week, thanks to a century-old meteorite. What? How? Why did it take so long? There were a whole confluence of reasons it took bridgmanite so long to get its name. Read more…
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Why Earth’s Most Abundant Mineral Only Just Got Its Name
Every ounce counts when you’re hoisting several hundred tons of steel into the air and flying it across an ocean. So does every second flight attendants spend waiting on the people inside. Those ounces and seconds add up—and that’s why Virgin Atlantic spent $168 million on a transformative redesign of its meal trays. Read more…
It looks like Apple’s doing everything it can to get its in-house Maps software back in our good graces. Thanks a hidden asset buried deep in iOS 8, new icons seem to reveal a Maps feature that would remember exactly where users last parked their cars. Read more…
Coaster enthusiasts are always on the hunt for their next big thrill, and come 2016 they may be drawn back to Orlando. That’s when the Skyplex complex is set to open, featuring the world’s tallest roller coaster wrapped around its 570-foot tall tower. Read more…
It’s been just a few months since the Heartbleed OpenSSL security flaw was discovered, and we’re again learning about gaping hole in the widely used security protocol. The good news is that there’s a fix. The bad news is that the vulnerability has existed for a decade, and we’ll never know how much it was exploited. Read more…
There’s no denying that graphene is a wonderful material —strong, flexible, and highly conductive—but it’s taking a long time to become a commercial reality. Now, scientists working with a material called cadmium arsenide believe it offers many of the same benefits—but could actually be far easier to use in the real world. Read more…
In case you haven’t heard, California is screwed. The drought has turned our perennially water-challenged state into a desiccated husk. In these dire times, we look toward desalination, an idea long-promised but never quite delivered in the U.S. But a spate of new technologies —graphene, solar mirrors, and more—could finally make desalination viable for our freshwater needs. Read more…
Group chats are the worst , but Apple is making them a little less bad in iOS 8 , by giving you the ability to leave them. Thank god! Read more…