Triumphs of Science.

Sandy Hook, ten years later.

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1. Eurointelligence:

It is unsurprising that the most optimistic news of our times is not from politics or economics, but science. The western world is scraping the barrel with policies designed to improve the lives of people. In most western countries, politics is reduced to an exercise of redistribution of income. The biggest social changes we have experienced in the last century are from scientific and technical innovation. The biggest was, arguably, that of the transistor in 1947, followed by the integrated circuit in 1960.

Nuclear fusion is possibly of even a bigger scale. It constitutes a cheap supply of unlimited energy. Its development would constitute the single biggest step forward in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. There is no space for the likes of Vladimir Putin in a world powered by nuclear fusion. It may take a long time until this technology is ready for deployment, but the scientific breakthrough will have many immediate effects.

We think of it in terms of one important function of finance: to intermediate between the future and the present. The realistic prospect of nuclear fusion will focus our currently confused approach to climate change on the stuff that is needed, like scientific research and development. It will give rise to new areas of research in neighboring disciplines. For example, this technology requires a lot precision engineering, the part where Europe may come in. And it is telling us that it is perfectly fine to use technologies that offer temporary solutions, like nuclear power. We need to get through the transition period. But we don’t need to solve the problem with existing, inferior technologies. (Source: eurointelligence.com, no paywall for this story)

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2. Hydrogen has long been viewed as a miracle fuel of the future. It does not appear on its own in nature but is partnered with other elements in compounds such as water and methane. The flammable element, which produces water when burnt, is touted as a potential clean energy source for heating, industrial and agricultural use, and long-distance transport where electrification is difficult. One way of harvesting it is via electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Now researchers in China claim to have produced hydrogen by splitting seawater without the need to desalinate or purify it first, according to a report in Chemistry World. (Source: ft.com)

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