There are currently about 730 construction cranes in Australia, 321 of which are in Sydney. In the US, Seattle has the most cranes with 65 active. Clearly, Australia is being overbuilt, Sydney in particular. This has been a cause of concern to many commentators over the past few years as…
Storing large amounts of electricity for very long times is fundamental to increased uptake of intermittent renewable energy such as wind and solar, without resorting to backup such as natural gas. Energy storage has been widely used by power utilities for many years to help regulate the electricity supply. Its use…
Most people believe that hard work and aptitude lead to success, that is wealth and or fame. While these talents are no doubt required, the problem with this thought is that there are many, many hardworking capable people who do not succeed. The difference between the two groups is luck,…
At 3,420oC, tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals. In fact, at that temperature most other metals have already vaporised. Its boiling point at around 5,700oC is the same temperature as the surface of the sun. Pure tungsten is quite workable, but it usually contains minor amounts of…
The alkali metals are the six elements that make up Group 1 of the periodic table, shown below. They are lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), cesium (Cs) and francium (Fr). They are called alkali metals because they all react, often violently, with water to form alkalis or…
In June Professor Peter Ridd was sacked by James Cook University, Queensland. His crime – telling the truth about the state of the Great Barrier Reef (“GBR”). The reason given was that he was guilty of “failing to act in a collegial way and in the academic spirit of the…