Although it doesn't quite have the wow factor of Cornell's invisibility project, the thermal research may prove to be more practical because it also can be used to manage heat and improve cooling in components such as computer chips.

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Eventually it gets too loud, so gamers replace fans with a water-cooling system--essentially a car radiator for their computer--which also enhances overall performance.

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The Earth appears to have cooling properties that exceed the previously thought ones, and computer models are inadequate to try to foretell a chaotic object like the climate, where actual observations are the only way to go.

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At an operations control center in the English city of Derby, a handful of railway engineers spend their days focusing intently on four large wall-mounted computer screens displaying data about the conditions of the engines, the heating and cooling systems and whether a door might be jammed on any of 33 Scottish trains.

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