Universal Laws at the Olympics and Predictions for 2012
There’s been a lot of work into mathematically understanding record-setting performances. Understanding the limits of human performance involves sampling from the very tail of a distribution, in this case, the most athletic human beings on the planet. How do we deal with this tail, when we are so used to dealing with averages and normal distributions?
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Giant Prehistoric Sperm. ‘Nuff Said.
07.27.12 | Earlier this month, inspired by Daily Mail and HuffPo nonsense, I went on a tear about dinosaur sex. Because if you’re going to rant, why not go big? The post kicked up a good deal of attention, and I was honored to be bestowed with the highly-vaunted title of “the closest thing the Internet has [...] Read moreSMARAGD Launch By Copenhagen Suborbitals – First short video
07.27.12 | Ad Astra Kristian von Bengtson Read moreBatman Returns: How Culture Shapes Muddle Into Madness
07.27.12 | What does it mean to say a culture shapes the expression of mental dysfunction? I bungled that question a few days ago in “Batman Movies Don’t Kill, But They’re Friendly to the Concept,” my post about Batman movies and James Holmes. Even friends who got what I was getting at told me I hadn’t really made [...] Read moreSMARAGD-1 Launched Friday 27
07.27.12 | Much more info, photos and images coming soon. I have just arrived back at Space Port Nexoe, very tired. What a fantastic day! Thanks for all the support, viewers and donators.. Press Pack available here Ad Astra Kristian von Bengtson Read moreMathematics Confirms “Mean Girls”
07.27.12 | High school is a cesspool of hierarchies. And we now have the network science to prove it. In a paper posted to the arXiv, researchers from the University of Michigan show how results from a social network survey in a high school can be used to examine unreciprocated ties. Read more
Featured Blog: Dot Physics
Calibration Points in Tracker Video
07.27.12 | A long time ago, I made a tutorial on using the calibration points in Tracker Video. Of course many of my older posts are either lost or no longer correct. So, here is my new tutorial on calibration points. What is a calibration point? First, think about a video. Or use this same one that [...] Read moreForces: Authority vs. Evidence
07.26.12 | Blogger Rhett Allain explains the best way for students to learn physics. Should they rely on authorities handing down information that has been accumulated through time or can they learn by building models of the world based on evidence they gather themselves? Read moreIs It Possible to Run Up a Wall? Sort of
07.24.12 | A video shows a kid running up a wall in three steps -- but how, and is there a limit to the trick? Dot Physics blogger Rhett Allain crunches the numbers. Read moreDIY Spectrometer
07.21.12 | A spectrometer takes light from some source and splits it into its different wavelengths, creating a rainbow effect you see with a prism. Dot Physics blogger Rhett Allain explains how to make your own advanced spectrometer for about a buck. Read moreShould You Go to a Theme Park or a State Park?
07.19.12 | So there we were – in Orlando, Florida. Our family had arrived with one free day before our girls had to compete in a gymnastics meet. The question was: what to do? It’s Orlando so the first natural discussion was about which theme park to visit. The problem is that these parks aren’t exactly cheap, [...] Read moreBreaking Bad Magnets: How Do They Work?
07.17.12 | In the season premiere of Breaking Bad, Walter and Jessie attempt to erase evidence on a hard drive that is inside a police evidence room by parking a U-Haul truck containing a powerful electromagnet in it outside the building. Could this really work? Physicist Rhett Allain does the analysis. Read moreLaptops in Lecture?
07.16.12 | There is a nice post by Stephanie Chasteen over at The Active Class about students being distracted by laptops (and other technology) while in the classroom. Stehpanie suggests a solution of a social contract for the class. In this contract, the students can define appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. I think this post brings up some [...] Read moreVeritasium Video Homework
07.13.12 | Surely you know about Derek Muller’s (@veritasium) awesome science videos at Veritasium, right? Well, here is a quick homework assignment based on some of his videos. Why? It turns out that I was in need of somethings for my physical science class to do “online”. Why not have them watch a few of Derek’s videos [...] Read moreAnalysis of a Red Bull Stratos Practice Jump
07.11.12 | Analysis of a 71,000-foot practice jump by Felix Baumgartner, who with is attempting to become the first person to freefall from space. Read moreCould the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Fly?
07.09.12 | In the movie The Avengers, an aircraft carrier turns into an airship. Dot Physics blogger Rhett Allain explores just how big the aircraft's rotors would have to be. Read more
Featured Blog: Extremo Files
Thoughts on the Future of Manned Spaceflight (From Someone Who’s Been There)
07.26.12 | Astronaut Don Thomas explains why we need manned spaceflight. Read moreInside the Inaugural Microbial Olympics
07.20.12 | With global attention focusing on London for the Games of the 30th Olympiad, a parallel competition of superlative ability has gone largely unnoticed. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow rounds up the microscopic competition. Read more3,006 Species Can’t Be Wrong
07.19.12 | What do a hummingbird and an elephant have in common? According to a new study, the answer may be one of biology’s most fundamental traits. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow explains. Read moreWhy Curiosity Needs to Dig Deep for Organic Molecules on Mars
07.13.12 | Once NASA's new Mars rover survives a terrifying descent, scientists will begin weeks, months and possibly years of searching for organic molecules in the dirt. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow explores how deep Curiosity may have to dig for paydirt. Read moreDr. Livingstone, I Presume? Do You Have an Outlet I Might Use?
07.09.12 | The African wild seems like an impossible place to get around with an electric vehicle, but one team triumphed. Astrobiologist, exploration fan and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow describes what the 3,000-mile journey took to complete. Read moreOcean Explorers Delay Expedition, Enter Political Waters Off Turkish Coast
07.05.12 | An ocean explorer and his 48-man crew were anchored in Istanbul when the Turkish government asked to borrow their vessel. Astrobiologist, Extremo Files blogger and exploration fan Jeffrey Marlow explains how the crew recovered the bodies of two downed Turkish pilots. Read moreWhich Presidential Candidate Would You Trust During An Alien Invasion?
06.28.12 | Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are busy guys these days, each making his case for leading the free world. In speeches and interviews, they make their case for how they would handle some key challenges, from health care to the economy to foreign policy challenges in the Middle East. But a new survey definitively shows [...] Read moreThe Most Important Milestone from China’s Impressive Week of Exploration
06.26.12 | An unusual phone call took place over the weekend. Both callers were Chinese and in cramped metal tins, but the views from their dinner plate-sized windows could not have been more different. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow reports on the exciting progress of China's exploratory ambitions on Earth and in space. Read moreThe Power (and Limits) of Oceanography’s Sea Glider Revolution
06.22.12 | Autonomous sea gliders cost a relative pittance of the $50,000 daily fee for a full-scale ocean expedition. Yet astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow explains how these ocean drones have their drawbacks in addition to their advantages. Read moreWhy Exploration Isn’t Telegenic (and that’s a good thing)
06.20.12 | An expedition filmed by HBO recently featured a staged accident. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow explains what separates the real explorers from the fakers. Read more
