For motorists in the Netherlands, a new era begins in 2020. From then on, a lower, from the German point of view, incredibly low, the human dignity infringing speed limit applies to the highways. Instead of 130 km / h as before, the Dutch are only allowed to travel at 100 kilometers per hour during the day.
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Issue 47/2019
In the service of the truth
From Watergate to Trump - power and tragedy of whistleblowersDigital Edition | Printed Edition | Apps | SUBSCRIPTION
In one fell swoop, our neighbor country turns into a test track. Researchers expect the following consequences: At the beginning, there could be more accidents, because bored motorists increasingly occupy themselves with their cell phones. But after the initial phase, in which the police have to enforce the speed limit, true miracles could happen.
Hollandse Hoogte / imago images
There will be fewer clashes and fewer deaths and injuries. The drivers will save money because their cars burn less fuel. The exhausts release less harmful nitrogen dioxide and less of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The range of electric cars is increasing. The noise pollution for local residents is sinking. The stress level on the street decreases. Nevertheless, many drivers will be home earlier because the traffic flow will improve noticeably. Slower cars need less safety distance, just more of them fit on the busy streets. The more consistent pace also means fewer overtaking and braking maneuvers are needed - and that in turn reduces the number of annoying phantom jams.
Everyone drives slower. Everyone benefits. But of course not all are satisfied. In the Netherlands, too, some drivers on the road want to live their freedom first and foremost. These people have now duped the government in The Hague in a way that is unimaginable in Germany. But the speedsters should not be too angry: you still have the German Autobahn.
warmly
Your Marco Evers
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Abstract
My reading recommendations this week
- Your little one does not like green stuff, prefer chocolate? Maybe you should not force him, writes my colleague Julia Köppe - he could be a "super-taster". US researchers have found that some people are genetically programmed to avoid bittering that is common in vegetables such as broccoli or Brussels sprouts.
- An unusual earthquake swarm is currently plaguing the Swiss canton of Valais with its Alpine resorts and wineries. Since the beginning of November, the earth quaked there more than 200 times. The seismologist Tobias Diehl explains why that could be.
- What is the deadliest weapon of the 20th century? The atomic bomb? Not at all. More than a hundred million copies of the once Soviet, now Russian assault rifle AK 47 were built since 1947, they have killed millions of people. The birthday of Mikhail Kalashnikov is now the 100th anniversary. It was not until the end of his life that he regretted his invention.
- How intelligent are modern apes compared to the premenary "Lucy" who lived three million years ago? Australian researchers say: Today's gorillas and chimpanzees have much more on their pack than Lucy, the Australopithecus.
- When will the next El Niño come? Researchers from Germany and Israel have developed a novel predictive model for the climate phenomenon that can look further into the future than the previous ones. With a probability of 80 percent, El Niño returns in late 2020 - bad news for people in many parts of the world, with increased droughts, floods, landslides and forest fires, depending on the region.
- You hope that the many potted plants in your living room will give you better breathing air? Forget it and air rather times. The plants are beautiful, but they do not help you.
Quiz*
What is the "Critical Mass"? A protest movement? A term from atomic physics? A brand for unhealthy overweight?
What great mathematical achievement is attributed to Thales by Milet? The calculation of the contents of right triangles? The exponential calculation? The calculation of the height of a pyramid?
What is the term "negative fall"? A sports accident? The type of suspension of a vehicle? The impression of a cake pan?
* The answers can be found at the bottom of the newsletter
Picture of the week
Daniel López / TeideLab HANDOUT / EPA-EFE / REX
A field of tension of remarkable endurance erupted in the stormy night of late October over the Canary Islands. More than 2000 flashes lit up the sky, but not all at the same moment, as this photo might suggest. It is a montage of 200 single images taken near the volcano Teide in Tenerife - a spectacular play of light.
footnote
2 million people in Germany suffer from diabetes and do not know about it, estimates the German Diabetes Association. Initially, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes are not obvious, often only later, the increased blood sugar levels noticeable. The professional society therefore recommends that patients over the age of 50 are routinely examined for a metabolic disorder during hospitalization.
The SPIEGEL + - Recommendations from science
- Computer: A computer scientist from Bad Schwalbach-Hettenhain collects old analog computers - and came up with an idea that could change the world
- Diet: The US reporter Tommy Tomlinson is obese, all diets fail, he fights a fight against his body - who wins
- Environment: The blessing of decay - scientists are exploring the importance of carrion for ecosystems
* Quiz answers: The "critical mass" describes in atomic physics the minimum mass of fissile material from which a chain reaction of nuclear fission starts. / Thales calculated the height of the pyramids of Giza as a young man by comparing their shadow length with that of an object of known height. / "Negative fall" is used in vehicle construction when a wheel is not vertical but is mounted diagonally to the direction of travel with the underside facing outwards.
