March 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

Nasa’s super-slippery anti-insect coating could slash cost of flying –
Nasa has invented a super-slippery material which could allow planes to glide through the air with less resistance and cut could the price of travel. The new coating would reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency, it is predicted. Up to now even the tiniest pieces of debris in the air, such as insects, trigger swirling air turbulence which perturbs the airstream, making it harder for a plane to push through. The new substance is designed on the microscopic pits and ridges of the lotus leaf which naturally repels water. It will allow insects to simply slip off the side rather than stick, causing more resistance. Nasa forecasts that debugging aircraft combined with new designs to take advantage of the smoother airflow, could improve fuel efficiency by more than one percent. Although it does not seem like much, it could see costs for an airline like British Airways fall by £35 million a year. [Daily Telegraph]

Fukushima nuclear plant ‘will leak radioactive water for four more years’ –
Operators of Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant Fukushima have warned that it will take a further four years to fix the problem of contaminated water leaks. The admission was made as a sombre nation prepared to mark the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which triggering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in decades. The problem of dealing with contaminated water leaks – which now exceed 760,000 tonnes – has emerged as major challenge to the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which operates Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, confirmed it will take four years to collect and treat all contaminated water pooled around the reactors. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Can You Actually Eat A Bus?

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Other News Stories –

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  • Two days of heavy rain in the American state of Louisiana has caused at least three deaths and caused more than a thousand people to evacuate their homes. (Fox News)
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