This Week In Science: Rainbow Clouds and Why We Love Pumpkin Spice

It’s time for “Nerd News,” covering the most important news for your brain.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week in science . . .

1.  The Artemis 1 moon mission launch got postponed Monday.  They said a faulty sensor may have been to blame.  They’re planning to try again tomorrow.

2.  Footage of a crazy rainbow cloud in China went viral.  If you haven’t seen it, it almost looks fake, but it’s not.

Here’s the science behind it . . .

It’s called a pileus cloud or “scarf cloud.”  Basically, a wispy cloud forms above a cumulus cloud.  Then light gets diffracted by tiny ice crystals inside it, and that’s what causes the rainbow effect.  In this case, the sun was setting right behind it.

3.  A psychologist explained the science behind our collective obsession with pumpkin spice.

All the marketing over the past two decades has linked the concepts of “fall” and “pumpkin spice” within the temporal lobes of our brain.  So now there’s a huge nostalgic effect for a lot of people.

4.  No matter what you say, most people can’t get past charging worries for electric vehicles.  Well, researchers say they’ve discovered a way to charge EV batteries up to 90% in just 10 minutes . . . but the tech might be five years away.