On 20th March 2015, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun and exactly block out most of its light. It will be the first total solar eclipse of the 21st century that is visible from the northernmost regions of Europe…
Continue reading Celestial Rendez-Vous – An Equinoctial Total Eclipse of the Sun
Ever since Francis Crick and James Watson brought Physics and Biology together in 1953 to unveil the molecular structure of DNA, the boundary between the two disciplines has continued to become increasingly blurred. In this genomic new era, ever more principles from Physics are being applied to living systems in an attempt to understand complexity at all levels. Although sometimes the best solution to a Physics problem lies in the macroscopic world of Biology…
What happened at time T = 0? is still anybody’s guess. At least, earlier observations of Planck’s radiation had suggested the first generation of stars were bursting into life by about 420 million years after the Big Bang. However, scientists from Europe’s Planck satellite mission now say the first stars lit up the Universe later than was previously thought…
At the beginning of the 20th century, the discovery of the radiometric “clock” revolutionised our understanding of the Earth’s deep history, confirming what geologists had been claiming for decades. Nevertheless, newer and more accurate dating methods posed further problems in themselves. After all, how do we know our Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and not a mere few thousands of years as suggested by the Bible?
Continue reading Testing Times – Methods of Dating the Geological Past
Our planet has existed for 4.5 billion years, and it has been a busy lifetime. From amazing leaps and bounds forward into evolution to devastating asteroid impacts and other episodic extinctions, here are the biggest milestones in Earth’s history – the eventful journey that shaped our World today.
No other country on Earth has more bushfires than Australia. Bush fires spread quickly destroying everything in their path and they are extremely difficult for fire brigades to control. At the CSIRO in Yarralumla, researchers are using their Pyrotron – a combustion wind tunnel – to provide them with a unique insight into how fire behaves in the Australian bush.
Continue reading Fanning the Flames with the Pyrotron – Act of God?
I don’t do politics – much. I just blog here… I have an honest opinion. Mostly, I tend to disagree with all those who try to suppress opinions, ideas, and attempt to stifle creativity and common sense… whoever they may be. Unfortunately, once in a while, events are so traumatic that I simply forget that I don’t do politics… Voilà!
Continue reading Don’t Shoot, I Just Blog Here! – I Am Charlie.
A friend of mine once casually asked me over a drink: “What is entropy?” Eeek! Interesting concept. But… How do you define entropy in a non-mathematical way? How can you sum up entropy in 30 seconds? In one mental image. In a single concept… In one word. A form of energy? A measure of disorder in the Universe? Randomness? All of the above? Tricky question. And then, I dropped my glass…
Continue reading Thermodynamics and Entropy – Our Irreversible Universe
… is pretty much the bemused reaction you’ll get if you allow yourself to answer casual questions about science over a drink with a non-physicist. AB-SO-LUTE disbelief. Your fault! Shouldn’t have gone there… Pretend you didn’t hear the question… Especially if the answer is ion propulsion!
Continue reading The Ion Propulsion System – What the… #!$@*!!
We all know about diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Well, as much as any of us can learn from watching the news whether on TV or on the Web. On average, the advice is loud and clear. You’re told to: eat healthily, exercise moderately. Additionally, don’t smoke, don’t take drugs and go easy on your alcohol consumption. Overall, it makes good sense. Your heart, your lungs and your liver play a major role in keeping you alive and well. That little, everybody realises. But how much do we really know when it comes to illnesses of the nervous system? And without a healthy nervous system, well… This article deals with Multiple Sclerosis. It is an attempt to fill a gap in my own general ignorance and to inform others about this cruel condition…
Continue reading We Need to Talk about Multiple Sclerosis…
Florida has Cape Canaveral, and now it seems the UK city of Sheffield has a new space port dubbed “Cape Kebaberal”. The name was inspired by the favourite student food of Alex Baker and Chris Rose, who run the Sheffield-based company SentIntoSpace.
Continue reading It’s All Go at “Cape Kebaberal” in Sheffield…
It’s not often you can see lightning above Glasgow, so this 2006 Flickr photograph is a rare and impressive sight. But that’s not the point… A study by researchers in the United Kingdom shows it is not just conditions here on Earth that determine how much thunder and lightning we get. The Sun’s magnetic field also has a major influence, more than doubling the number of lightning bolts on some days…
Continue reading Lightning and the Sun’s Magnetic Field
When Classical Physics and Post-Impressionist artists meet, few results are as hauntingly beautiful or as enchanting as one of Vincent van Gogh’s most famous masterpieces. The Starry Night embodies the inner, subjective expression of van Gogh’s response to Nature. And the churning night sky he depicted tells of the artist’s very unique perception of the World around him…
Continue reading A Starry Starry Night or The Unexpected Maths in a Van Gogh’s Masterpiece
Ever since French physicist Louis de Broglie first described the wave-particle duality in 1926, scientists have struggled to come to terms with this strange particularity of our natural World when observed at the quantum level. Waves can be particles, and particles can be waves. But are entities waves AND particles all at the same time?
Continue reading A Classical Quantum Conundrum – When To Be or Not To Be… a Wave?
Since October 24, 2014, Alan Eustace holds the World Records for vertical speed reached during freefall with a peak velocity of 1,321 kilometres per hour (822 mph) and total freefall distance of 123,414 feet – lasting four minutes and 27 seconds.
Continue reading Four Minutes and 27 Seconds of Freefall Fun – Two Years after Baumgarten, a New Record!
“The West Africans are scared” said Ban Ki-moon at a meeting of the United Nations in Washington U.S., discussing the growing threat of Ebola. And you could feel the sense of urgency as World leaders discussed the Ebola crisis. Not enough money has been put forward to tackle the disease. We are late in our response. And the clock is ticking…
Continue reading Ebola NOW! The Exponential Growth of a Deadly Outbreak
This beautiful image of Scotland was tweeted by a German astronaut from the International Space Station today, as it drifted over Europe.
Continue reading “Looks Like a Great Day, Scotland!”
Forget about the threat of Ebola for a moment and consider something much closer to home… Meet MRSA – a “superbug”, the bacterium of the decade, the Nemesis of hospitals and operating theatres. A single cell organism that can colonise the living tissues and have a devastating or even fatal impact on the human body. Now. Meet CRISPR – also bacteria. A friend that can potentially help you fight and repel an otherwise deadly bacterial invasion…
Continue reading CRISPR, the New Antibiotics Generation – Resistance is Futile!
Eggs Benedict! The perfect breakfast item. Probably. If both you and I love this indulgent breakfast staple, it’s down to that wonderful creamy and tangy garnish that is really the glue that holds the eggs benedict together. The perfect Hollandaise sauce…
Continue reading The Perfect Hollandaise Sauce – More Science in the Kitchen…
It seems quiet at first, and even dull. Not much happening… Dreich, as one might say! Sad. Grim. Bleak. Not much to do… Not much to see here… Just sheep… But wait!! Look closer! Is that Dolly in this field? Now, that’s interesting! Oh, Aye, we’re in Scotland! It changes EVERYTHING…
Continue reading Scotland’s Quiet Revolutions – One Nation with Sovereign Achievements… and a Pure Dead Brilliant Future!
Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly referred to as “fracking” in the media, is the fracturing of rock by a pressurised liquid. Some hydraulic fractures form naturally – certain veins or dikes are examples. However, induced hydraulic fracturing or hydro-fracturing is also a long tried-and-tested mining technique that has been most controversial recently… But let’s not panic!
Over millions of years, weathering and erosion of sandstone have produced unique landforms, such as arches, alcoves, pedestals and pillars. Until now, the natural process remained a mystery. It was difficult to study, because of the huge time-scales involved in the erosion of natural slabs of sandstone. Gravity-induced stresses had been assumed not to play any role in landform preservation. Instead gravity was thought to increase the rates of weathering and natural erosion…
Continue reading Eroded Earth: The Forge of Gravity
Earlier this month, UKube-1, a satellite built by Glasgow-based technology firm Clyde Space, successfully launched on a test flight from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It is the first ever spacecraft to be fully assembled in Scotland.
Continue reading Satellite of Love – It’s Up, Up and Away for Scotland’s UKube-1
On 12 June at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, shortly before 5pm local time, a young paraplegic Brazilian youth will stand up from a wheelchair… walk over to midfield… and take a kick in the opening ceremony of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil!
Continue reading Rise of the Exoskeletons – Get Up… and Kick-Off!
They are found everywhere in Nature. From the leaf arrangement in plants, to the pattern of the petals of a flower, the bracts of a pine cone, or the scales of a pineapple. The Fibonacci numbers are applicable to the growth of every living thing: a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, all of mankind. From sunflowers to sea shells, the same recurrent mathematical pattern can be observed in Nature, again, and again, and again…
Continue reading Fibonacci’s Golden Spiral – The Relationship between Maths and Nature
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