http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —Climate researchers Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen (a NASA scientist and environmental activist) have published a paper in Environmental Science & Technology, in which they claim that using nuclear energy to create electricity instead of burning coal has resulted in preventing approximately 1.84 million deaths. Their numbers come from calculating how many people would have likely died due to air pollution over the years, but didn't, because electricity was created by non-air polluting nuclear power plants instead. http://phys.org/news284197108.html Technology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:38:49 EST news284197108 A research vessel carrying German and Taiwanese scientists set sail for waters off the island's southwestern coast on Sunday in search of methane hydrate, a potentially vast new energy source. http://phys.org/news283939910.html Technology Sun, 31 Mar 2013 09:40:02 EST news283939910 South Africa will introduce a tax on carbon emissions in 2015 amid concerns of global warming, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Wednesday. http://phys.org/news281201877.html Space & Earth Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:38:05 EST news281201877 Low turnout appears to have scuppered a Bulgarian referendum on whether the former Communist nation should build a second nuclear power plant. http://phys.org/news278586537.html Technology Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:09:01 EST news278586537 Excuse me, waiter, but why is my caipirinha glowing? Researchers in Brazil say they've found a faster way to age the liquor used to make the country's signature cocktail—zap it with gamma radiation for a few minutes, rather than let it sit in barrels. http://phys.org/news276250358.html Chemistry Tue, 01 Jan 2013 08:12:42 EST news276250358 Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda promised Tuesday to rid Japan of nuclear energy in coming decades as he set out his party's platform before next month's general election. http://phys.org/news273300830.html Technology Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:53:57 EST news273300830 (AP)—A group of American scientists met in Tokyo on Tuesday to study last year's Fukushima nuclear accident in hopes of finding lessons to improve the safety of U.S. atomic power reactors. http://phys.org/news273226780.html Technology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:50:01 EST news273226780 A reactor at a Swiss nuclear plant that automatically shut down due to a defect was brought back online Thursday evening, the operator said. http://phys.org/news272812521.html Technology Thu, 22 Nov 2012 13:15:31 EST news272812521 A reactor at a Swiss nuclear plant shuts down automatically Wednesday due to a defect, the operator said, stressing that the procedure had been completely safe. http://phys.org/news272741679.html Technology Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:34:47 EST news272741679 Solar power will eclipse nuclear energy in 2016 in Romania if investment in photovoltaic plants continues at the current pace, official figures released on Monday showed. http://phys.org/news272552018.html Technology Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:54:06 EST news272552018 Poland has set it sights on building its first nuclear power station and developing shale gas, but experts believe it may soon have to choose one or the other as investing in both could prove too costly. http://phys.org/news271330880.html Technology Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:41:28 EST news271330880 Japan began imploring people to wrap up for its "warmbiz" winter energy-saving campaign on Thursday, despite Tokyo basking in warm sunshine. http://phys.org/news271000529.html Technology Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:10:02 EST news271000529 (Phys.org)—Researchers at the SCK CEN Belgian Nuclear Research Centre have announced that they are going to build a Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications (MYRRHA) which is an experimental way of producing electricity via a nuclear reactor using a particle accelerator as a neutron source. The benefits of such an approach would mean spent nuclear fuel would have a far shorter half-life than conventional reactor technology methods and increased safety as runaway chain reactions cannot occur. http://phys.org/news267952452.html Technology Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:14:24 EST news267952452 (Phys.org)—The claim is dramatic: An alternative nuclear fuel that could offer a safer and more abundant alternative to the uranium that powers conventional reactors. That is what supporters have to say about thorium, a mildly radioactive element that occurs naturally, with reserves in Australia, the United States, Turkey, India, Brazil and Venezuela. Scientists promoting thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel believe it is a safer, more economical way of generating nuclear power than uranium. A new report out in the UK, however, begs to differ. http://phys.org/news266998141.html Technology Sun, 16 Sep 2012 07:09:19 EST news266998141 Japan on Friday said it planned to phase out nuclear power over three decades in an apparent bow to public pressure after last year's Fukushima disaster, the worst atomic accident in a generation. http://phys.org/news266835426.html Technology Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:20:01 EST news266835426 Scientists today reported progress toward a 40-year-old dream of extracting uranium for nuclear power from seawater, which holds at least 4 billion tons of the precious material. They described some of the most promising technology and an economic analysis showing uranium from the oceans could help solidify nuclear energy potential as a sustainable electricity source for the 21st century. Their reports were part of a symposium at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society being held here through Thursday. http://phys.org/news264767138.html Technology Tue, 21 Aug 2012 11:25:50 EST news264767138 Switzerland's four nuclear power stations are fit to withstand a major earthquake and pose no threat to the population and the environment, inspectors said on Monday. http://phys.org/news261065543.html Technology Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:12:31 EST news261065543 Japan opened several solar energy parks on Sunday as a new law came into force requiring companies to purchase renewable energy at a fixed price in a push for alternatives to nuclear power. http://phys.org/news260368772.html Technology Sun, 01 Jul 2012 13:41:09 EST news260368772 Spaniards came bottom of the class in an 11-nation science test and nearly half of them could not name a single important scientist in history, a survey showed Tuesday. http://phys.org/news255708210.html Other Sciences Tue, 08 May 2012 15:30:02 EST news255708210 Japan is set to go without nuclear energy for the first time since 1970 from Saturday, when the last operating reactor shuts down for maintenance, heightening fears of a looming power crunch this summer. http://phys.org/news255347192.html Technology Fri, 04 May 2012 12:20:01 EST news255347192 (AP) -- The Fukushima crisis is eroding years of Japanese efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, as power plants running on oil and natural gas fill the electricity gap left by now-shuttered nuclear reactors. http://phys.org/news255344594.html Technology Fri, 04 May 2012 10:03:35 EST news255344594 A technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could streamline and strengthen the process for siting power plants while potentially enhancing the nation's energy security. http://phys.org/news249572083.html Technology Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:34:51 EST news249572083 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste. http://phys.org/news246606493.html Chemistry Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:48:20 EST news246606493 About 2,000 demonstrators hit the streets of Yokohama on Saturday calling for an end to nuclear energy in Japan after the March 11 disaster that sparked the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. http://phys.org/news245814800.html Technology Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:02 EST news245814800 Optimistic predictions that Germany's decision to turn its back on nuclear energy will lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the renewable energy sector have met with scepticism. http://phys.org/news245228014.html Technology Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:55:55 EST news245228014 Poland's first nuclear power plant, due to come on line by 2020, is set to be located near the Baltic Sea, Polish energy group PGE said on Friday. http://phys.org/news241435093.html Technology Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:19:02 EST news241435093 Shutting down Switzerland's five nuclear power stations will cost about 20.7 billion Swiss francs (16.8 billion euros, $22.5 billion) and take about 20 years, Swiss authorities said on Thursday. http://phys.org/news241361065.html Technology Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:00:01 EST news241361065 Most of today's power plants--from some of the largest solar arrays to nuclear energy facilities--rely on the boiling and condensing of water to produce energy. http://phys.org/news239881510.html Technology Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:45:22 EST news239881510 As Belgium becomes the latest European nation to agree to switch off nuclear power, operator Electrabel warned Monday of high costs, environmental fallout and increased dependency on foreign suppliers. http://phys.org/news239288914.html Technology Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:08:43 EST news239288914 Designing better ways to recycle spent nuclear fuel could make nuclear energy a safer solution to the global energy problem, but there are a lot of gaps in our chemical knowledge -- and it's difficult to get those answers when the experiments involve radioactive material. http://phys.org/news238318131.html Chemistry Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:00:01 EST news238318131