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Showing posts from March, 2023

The Best car GPS devices to buy in 2023

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Many drivers still consider the trusted GPS to be their best friend while out on the road. Like vinyl records, GPS devices have not yet been rendered obsolete by our phones, although it may be some time before they are sold in artisanal coffee shops. If you are in the market for a new GPS or are still unsure of their usefulness in 2023, we have provided some key points below, along with our top picks for GPS devices currently available on the market. Why use a GPS instead of your phone? Of course, it’s ultimately down to personal preference as to why someone would prefer a separate GPS device to their phone, but there are a number of potential reasons why: Data usage : A portable GPS device won’t eat into your phone’s data plan as the maps are stored in the device. Running out of data mid-journey can be frustrating, and having to buy more data can be costly. More accurate and reliable : GPS devices are designed specifically for navigation and location tracking and are often more

Best smart diffusers to invest in for 2023

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Diffusers are becoming increasingly popular in recent years, with many loving the relaxing atmosphere they bring to a room. They can provide a fresh scent, diffusing a natural oil of your choice. They come in many different sizes and shapes, often able to double as a pleasant interior decoration. They’re also often customisable, with remote controlled LEDs or lamps to emit a soft, warm light. Looking to jump on the diffuser craze? Below, we run through our picks for the best options available right now, with something for every taste and budget. Alexa WiFi Essential Oil Diffuser Humidifier Buy now from Amazon (£29.99) This diffuser is compatible with Alexa Echo and Google Home, allowing users to control it using just their voices. It can also be connected to two apps, which can turn the diffuser on and off, as well as adjust the colour and mist modes. The maximum capacity is stated to be around 400ml, which can facilitate around six to twelve hours of use, depending on wheth

How bright would the night sky be if Earth was in a globular star cluster?

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The view of the night sky from within a globular cluster would depend on your position within the cluster. This is because stars are packed together more tightly in the core of the cluster compared to the periphery. In the core of a typical cluster, the average distance between stars is about one light-year, compared to about five light-years in the solar neighbourhood. Since the brightness of stars is inversely proportional to the square of distance, this means the brightness of stars in the night sky would be about 25 times what is seen from Earth. Now, on Earth, on a clear night, starlight has a brightness of about 0.001 lux (a unit of ‘illuminance’). So, on a planet in the core of a globular cluster, the starlight would be about 0.025 lux. By comparison, moonlight at a full Moon is about 0.2 lux, about eight times brighter. So, although the night sky on our imaginary planet will be bright, and undoubtedly crowded with stars, it will be much fainter than Earth’s night sky during

How trace fossils revealed T. Rex’s surprisingly sluggish top speed

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Tyrannosaurus rex  lived 66 million years ago and no human has ever seen one alive. How do we know how it – or any other long-extinct dinosaur – moved? This is part of a larger question in palaeontology: how do we understand the behaviours of extinct species? In general, we rely on information from fossils , tests using computer modelling, and comparisons to modern-day animals, especially birds (the descendants of dinosaurs) and crocodiles (the closest living cousins to dinosaurs). Fossils can tell us certain things about dinosaur movement. Simply by looking at a skeleton, we can grasp the basics of whether the dinosaur walked on all fours, or only on its hind legs. Skeletons can also give us an indication of whether a dinosaur was likely to be slow or plodding, based on how robust the bones are and how the limbs are held. Even more accurate information comes from a different type of fossil: trace fossils. These are the records dinosaurs left behind, like footprints and handprints.