New research makes a serious effort to quantify the mass of a rainbow. See the preprint here:
Tag Archives: writing
Cooking chicken with a powerful slap
A question has been going around social networks: If kinetic energy is converted to thermal energy upon impact, how hard do you need to slap a chicken to cook it? One response suggested raising the chicken’s temperature to 400 °F, which is far too hot, and it used an “average slap energy” that was notContinue reading “Cooking chicken with a powerful slap”
Schrödinger’s Cat, a sonnet
Should quantum physics e’er be standardized, when taken in a thought experiment, its terms of meaning judged and analyzed, absurdity prevails, not merriment. A cat both dead and living cannot be. That was the point old Erwin tried to make. To measure is to interfere, you see, some photon must be thrown to cause aContinue reading “Schrödinger’s Cat, a sonnet”
Externsteine: a reflection
It is midsummer, and dozens of people have come to this place, known as Externsteine, to celebrate the longest day of the year. Situated in the northern forests of Germany, Externsteine is a remarkable landmark which draws many visitors year-round. It is a unique location with unusual features—qualities which make Externsteine a beautiful and spiritualContinue reading “Externsteine: a reflection”
Ten Habits of Critical Thinking
By making habits of the following suggestions, you may become more effective as a critical thinker.
A Charm of Magpies
Literacy in the Information Age
An essay about research and critical thinking in the context of the Internet published in the June, 2015 issue of the Portland Spectrum.
Nobel Prize Laureate Eric Betzig
“I would never call myself a chemist,” said Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 recipient Eric Betzig. Betzig was the 2015 speaker at the annual Mark Gurevitch Memorial Lecture Series, hosted by the Physics Department at Portland State University. During his lecture at Hoffman Hall on May 14, Betzig spoke about his career and his prize-winningContinue reading “Nobel Prize Laureate Eric Betzig”
SWEETLab brings water to Rwanda
In January 2015, Sustainable Water, Energy and Environmental Technologies Laboratory (SWEETLab) finished setting up nearly half a million filters and stoves in Rwanda, many of which contain new sensors that communicate their status over the Internet, according to SWEETLab Director and Portland State Mechanical & Materials Engineering Assistant Professor Evan Thomas. Learn more from Dr.Continue reading “SWEETLab brings water to Rwanda”
Landslide science
Check out my latest story on landslides in the Pacific Northwest and the geologists that are working to make landslides more predictable. Here’s a video supplement to the story:
Joseph Thiebes 