Ecology

When the days get shorter are we sadder? What science says

When the days get shorter are we sadder? What science says

With the transition tosolar timewhich occurred between Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 October, the hands of the clocks have moved back an hourreducing the hours of evening light in our days, which will progressively shorten until winter solstice. This change may affect the our mood, making us feel more tired and down in the dumps, while at high latitudes the ...

Because when we wake up from a nightmare we continue to be restless

Because when we wake up from a nightmare we continue to be restless

Nightmares are dream activities particularly vivid and distressing which occur mainly in the REM phase of sleep. These are not just “bad dreams”, but a significantly negative experience for those who live it and who affects not only that on the quality of sleep but also on moodupon awakening. In fact, the feeling of malaise lasts for a good part ...

Why nuclear fusion is so difficult to achieve: the technical explanation

Why nuclear fusion is so difficult to achieve: the technical explanation

Nuclear fusion, a reaction in which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier one, is the process that powers the Sun and the stars, capable of releasing enormous quantities of energy. But then, if it works so well in nature, why can’t we reproduce it on Earth too? Nuclear fusion is clean, safe, practically inexhaustible. To get it ...

Who was Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring: a description of the work

Who was Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring: a description of the work

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer; via Wikimedia Commons We all know her face, even without having studied it: slightly turned to the left, her gaze turned towards the observer, the colorful turban on her head and a fleshy pearl hanging from her ear and her mouth open, something not common in Dutch paintings. This is an element that ...

Because the CDs lasted just 74 minutes

Because the CDs lasted just 74 minutes

Image generated with AI. If you are passionate about music, and musical media in particular, you may have heard the story that the CDs were 74 minutes long to contain Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. For decades it was believed that the Compact discor CD, would last for 74 minutes Why Norio Ohgapresident of Sony and classical music enthusiast, wanted the Ninth ...

Inside the MotoGP helmet: an engineering sandwich that protects the head at 300 km/h

Inside the MotoGP helmet: an engineering sandwich that protects the head at 300 km/h

MotoGP helmets must guarantee maximum protection and stability. Credit: Box Repsol, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons When a driver takes to the track, every gesture is calculated down to the millimetre. But there is one element that must always work, with no margin for error: the helmet. Beneath the graphics and sponsorships, a true engineering masterpiece is hidden. Today ...