Free Republic

I see that a new type of hydrogen bond has been discovered.  Series HHNo, not a Wall Street instrument, some kind of new-fangled chemistry discovery: An entirely new class of hydrogen bond that forms between a boron–hydrogen group and the aromatic, π-electron system of a benzene ring has been discovered. – Chemistry World I can’t even pretend to know what that means. Maybe Janice the Elder can help us out.So what’s up in the world of science anyway? First we had to deal with the detection of gravitational waves a few weeks ago and now…new hydrogen bonds! I’m confused by all these...

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu testified today before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power on the department's FY2013 Budget Request. Chu was asked if he drove a Chevy Volt, a car he praised during the hearing, but claimed he didn't own a car 'at the moment'

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu this morning announced his department is offering a conditional commitment for a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to support the first two phases of a gigantic solar energy project in Southern California. This first half of the Blythe Solar Power Project, sponsored by Solar Trust of America LLC, is a two-unit concentrating solar thermal power plant that will produce 484 megawatts of power; Solar Trust Chairman and CEO Uwe Schmidt told reporters today that site preparation in Riverside County started last fall, and full-scale construction is likely to start late this spring or in early summer....

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration's most vocal advocate for nuclear power says the nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan will eventually help the United States strengthen safety at its 104 reactors. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House panel Tuesday that Americans should have full confidence that U.S. nuclear power plants are operating safely and responsibly. But Chu also said that the administration is committed to learning from the Japanese incident. Chu said the Energy Department has assembled a team of 34 people and sent 7,200 pounds of equipment to Japan to help monitor and assess the situation at a...

LICAPA, Peru (AFP) – In a remote corner of the Peruvian Andes, men in paint-daubed boilersuits diligently coat a mountain summit with whitewash in an experimental bid to recuperate the country's melting glaciers. It's a bizarre sight at 4,756 metres (15,600 feet) above sea level. The man behind the idea is not a glaciologist but an inventor, Eduardo Gold. His non-governmental organisation Glaciares de Peru was one of 26 winners of the World Bank's "100 Ideas to Save the Planet" competition in November 2009. Gold has already begun work while he waits for the 200,000-dollar prize money to fund his...