Underwater Volcanoes and Stratospheric Dinners (Patreon)
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CERN Launches Feasibility Study for Bigger Collider
Particle physicists hope that after the Large Hadron Collider – currently the largest particle collider in the world – they will get a bigger and better one. One of the most popular options is the Future Circular Collider (FCC) at CERN near Geneva. It would have a circumference of about 90 kilometres and pass below Lake Geneva (see image). In a feasibility study that just started, CERN will inspect the suitability of the terrain by visual inspection, seismic studies, and drilling probes. The decision whether to move forward will have to wait until this study is completed in 2028. Press release here.
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Who Knew There Are So Many Underwater Volcanoes?
A team of oceanographers from UC San Diego using radar data have found almost 20,000 previously-undiscovered underwater volcanoes. The maps of the ocean floor will be useful for submarines and will also help produce better models of global water cycles, which affect both biodiversity and the climate. More info here. Paper here.
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Stratospheric Dinners
The French company Zaphalto is offering balloon rides up into the stratosphere starting in 2025. The journey includes a meal and wine tasting. It will last about six hours and reach about 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) altitude, more than twice as high as commercial aeroplanes fly. The price is stratospheric too, starting at about $132,000 per person. More info here.