davereeck

davereeck t1_j0aotm5 wrote

The new method applies electricity instead of heat. This does 2 things:

  1. Controls the rate of hydrochloric acid production, making the process safer.
  2. Uses process by-products in the recycling of other plastics.

(I think, I might have missed other benefits). Basically, electro-processing PVC makes it safer and cheaper to recycle it and other plastics.

Still sounds like it makes a nasty soup of toxins though.

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davereeck t1_iyxm6am wrote

Laser light (or light from some LEDs) is emitted at a specific wavelength. The sun emits light at all (well, many different) wavelengths. For this effect to work:

  1. the light must be inside a 'window' of wavelengths that our heads are more transparent to.
  2. it has to be at a certain level of power - too little, no effect. Too much, no (or bad) effects.

Lasers and LEDs are a way of getting to those two goals. Other light emitters may work as well but are harder to control (e.g. the sun).

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davereeck t1_iwcick2 wrote

This is a really interesting area of investigation. Here is an article on Interoception - the sensation you have of your body's state:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/aug/15/the-hidden-sense-shaping-your-wellbeing-interoception

Tl;Dr - your ability to sense things like your heart beat (and presumably how your gut feels) may influence emotions. So in answer to your question: Yes, for at least some scientists.

The book How Emotions are Made is one of my least favorite books ever (the author is incredibly pedantic) but the concept is fascinating. Her name is Lisa Feldmen Barret, and isn't cited in this article (but I won't be surprised to find her lab did a lot of the work).

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