AS THE world struggles to fend off climate meltdown, the race to build a car that can travel faster than sound (see “The 1000 mph car”) might seem crass. The British contender, Bloodhound SSC, slurps around 50 litres of fuel – enough to fill up a family car – for every 2500 metres it travels. Yet there is reason to celebrate these monsters – as an inspiration for tomorrow’s scientists and engineers, without whom we will have no chance of creating a low-carbon economy. Set against the potential gains, the carbon emitted by a few polluting runs is a small price to pay.…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Humans
Dating over 50 is probably on the rise – but we know little about it
News
What to read this week: the excellent Beyond Belief by Helen Pearson
Culture
Life
David Attenborough is one of a kind, for better or worse
Leader
Comment
Less nostalgia, more pain: scientists study 1763 Eurovision songs
Regulars
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think
2
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
3
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
4
We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past
5
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
6
Hantavirus: Where has the deadly cruise ship outbreak come from?
7
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
8
The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over
9
Huge landslide in Alaska caused 481m-high tsunami
10
The problem of cosmic inflation and how to solve it
