Our Earth is constantly bombarded with high energy particles and cosmic rays. These charged particles interact with the atoms in atmospheric gases, producing a cascade of secondary particles. And you can use those for dating rocks! Continue reading Dating Rocks – Methods of Historical Surface Exposure Analysis
Category Archives: Time
Zero Point Energy and The Vacuum of Space
According to whom you ask, Zero Point Energy can do everything… or nothing at all. But what is it? Something that pervades all of space, albeit on a microscale? The kinetic energy a molecule does retain, even when cooled down to absolute zero? And could it offer us a source of unlimited energy? Continue reading Zero Point Energy and The Vacuum of Space
Eliminating the Impossible – The Complex Electro-Chemistry Behind the Hessdalen Lights
A Norwegian valley. Strange lights observed by many witnesses. It has been called “Norway’s Roswell”. But what makes the remote valley of Hessdalen so different from other locations?
Identifying the Unidentified – The Hessdalen Light Phenomenon, Norway
The Hessdalen Valley of Norway. Just 15 kilometres across. Low population density. But why is there a blue box perched high up on the hillside, with cameras covering the valley? What’s going on in this secluded valley?! Continue reading Identifying the Unidentified – The Hessdalen Light Phenomenon, Norway
The Brief Flight of the Russian Woodpecker Over The Horizon – And More About Phased Array Radars…
North east of Ukraine, close to the Russian border, is the site of the Duga radar, also known during the 70s and 80s as the Woodpecker – one of the most extraordinary engineering structures ever built.
Volcanic Unrest and How To Survive It
Over the next century, large magnitude volcano eruptions are many times more likely to happen than all risk of large asteroid or comet impacts combined. The World is not prepared.
10,000 Years Later…
A clock is ticking inside a mountain in Western Texas. It is a monumental clock. Hundreds of feet tall, its mechanism is designed to tick for 10,000 years. It’s a real clock. The first of several millennial clocks being built around the World, to endure for centuries. Tick…
Rock of Ages – Why Banded Iron Formations Are Far From Boring…
This 2.5-tonne lump of rock is a banded iron formation. It marks a turning point in the history of life on our beautiful planet. A crucial chemical transition. When oxygen started becoming abundant. And life took its next step towards complexity… Continue reading Rock of Ages – Why Banded Iron Formations Are Far From Boring…
Saving Hope… – Cetacean Strandings and Satellites
It’s unclear why so many great whales beach en masse around the World. And it’s really difficult to estimate their number, especially when the cetacean strandings occur along remote shores. But there is hope. Scientists are now developing techniques to monitor marine populations from space. Continue reading Saving Hope… – Cetacean Strandings and Satellites
Nine – The Elusive Planet in Our Solar System
A hypothetical Ninth planet has been lurking on the outskirts of our Solar System. But Planet Nine may not be a planet at all… Continue reading Nine – The Elusive Planet in Our Solar System
The Universe Expands Far Faster Than Anticipated…
The Universe is accelerating
For a while now, astrophysicists have known that our Universe is expanding, and accelerating. And much like the surface of a rubber balloon getting inflated, space is getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger… Continue reading The Universe Expands Far Faster Than Anticipated…
The Strange Operetta of the Singing Mouse
When Mice Serenade the Forest…
Until now, you might have been forgiven for thinking that singing mice were merely the product of Disney’s prolific imagination. Not anymore! Although it wasn’t classically trained by a modern P.T. Barnum, the singing mouse is a reality. Continue reading The Strange Operetta of the Singing Mouse
Artful Manipulations and Corporate Deceptions – When The Cracks Begin To Show…
Games of Thrones
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that the systematic and artful manipulation of the organised mores and moods of the average population is essential to maintaining democracy. With well-rehearsed strategies, that is how the decision-making elite maintains its hold on power over the majority of us. For you see, it’s like this…
Continue reading Artful Manipulations and Corporate Deceptions – When The Cracks Begin To Show…
Crimson Moon – A Total Lunar Eclipse
The Motion of Celestial Spheres
The Universe never sleeps. Every now and then, the night sky presents us mere mortals with some heavenly spectacle. A Bonnie Tyler moment. This Friday, the Moon will enter the catwalk dressed in red to accomplish its otherwise normal nightly travel around the Earth. For one night only. A strange and rare celestial sight at dusk – a total lunar eclipse. Continue reading Crimson Moon – A Total Lunar Eclipse
Time Travel or Quantum Leap – Where Does Bitcoin Meet Relativity?
Blockchain Oddity
On 19 June 2018, a peculiar number emerged from the blockchain space. The series of numbers and letters sent the cryptosphere into overdrive, sparking rampant talk of quantum computing breakthroughs, time travel, Satoshi’s return, and the esoteric meaning of Bitcoin. Continue reading Time Travel or Quantum Leap – Where Does Bitcoin Meet Relativity?
A Day Trip to the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland
The Cocktail Party Physicist at the Seaside
The Scottish coast is renowned for the wealth of its rocky features. And if you can’t abide Geology, you can while away the hours with the local marine biology. It’s dead quiet and if you’re lucky on a clear day, you might even see Arran magically emerge from the mist across the waters of the Clyde estuary.
Continue reading A Day Trip to the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland
Radioactivity and the Background of Dancing Particles
Natural Radiation
Our environment is permeated by radiation, present around us at all time. We are constantly exposed to radioactivity from natural sources for the most part naturally occurring radioactive nuclei in rocks and cosmic rays – the ‘background’. Without ado, this is my lowdown on radioactivity.
Continue reading Radioactivity and the Background of Dancing Particles
Mercury Rising – Climate Change and the Arctic Permafrost
As Permafrost Melts…
Mercury is rising. And in many more ways than one. As global temperatures go up, the Arctic ice is melting. Sea level rises. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. But below the permafrost, another threat is lurking.
Continue reading Mercury Rising – Climate Change and the Arctic Permafrost
And THIS… is an Atom!
‘Single Atom in an Ion Trap’
Scientists accomplish the impossible. This time, a quantum physicist has only managed to capture the photographic image of an atom with a conventional camera. And THIS is the photograph….. Continue reading And THIS… is an Atom!
Closer to Midnight… – The Countdown to Doomsday Earth
What Time Is It?
No need to be an atomic scientist, when you’re considering the state of the World today, to understand the picture is an alarming one. Allegorically-speaking, the Earth is now only two minutes away from impending catastrophe. Continue reading Closer to Midnight… – The Countdown to Doomsday Earth
Future Floods and Melting Ice Sheets – Predicting with GRACE
Forecasting Sea-Level Rise
On the whole, Earth scientists agree that melting of land ice greatly contributes to sea-level rise. And one thing’s for sure. Future global warming will exacerbate the risks posed to human civilisation. But… What if you could forecast major floods? You can. Continue reading Future Floods and Melting Ice Sheets – Predicting with GRACE
Ten Rivers on Earth – The Great Plastic Tide
A Plastic Tide
10 rivers on Earth may be responsible for around 90% of oceanic plastic pollution in the World. Continue reading Ten Rivers on Earth – The Great Plastic Tide
Can Ayahuasca Feed Your Spirit?
Spirit Molecule
Scientists found early evidence that Ayahuasca, a ceremonial psychedelic brew used by Amazon tribes for centuries, could help treat eating disorders. Continue reading Can Ayahuasca Feed Your Spirit?
On the Rapid Demise of the Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
Pine Island Bay, Antarctica
A large chunk of the Pine Island Glacier has broken free today, the media announced. The giant iceberg is estimated to cover an area of roughly 6,000 km2. About a quarter the size of Wales in the United Kingdom. Continue reading On the Rapid Demise of the Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
The Spark of Being – A Not-So-Brief History of Life and Electricity
Omnipresent Electricity
Within every object on Earth lies concealed a positive or a negative electric charge. From the very structure of the atom to the essential functioning of our brains, the natural power of electricity is all around us, and it is one of the most potent symbols of our Modern World. Making the story of electricity, the story of life itself… Continue reading The Spark of Being – A Not-So-Brief History of Life and Electricity
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