like a physicist

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:07:54 -0300

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

- Albert Einstein (via thescienceofreality)

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Tue, 21 May 2013 10:31:02 -0300

the-science-llama: If Earth Had Rings First off, they would be...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:19:39 -0300

Guatamala

Washington, DC

Quito, Ecuador

Polynesia The Earth's Shadow appears on the Rings at night

Arctic Circle The Rings are barely visible

the-science-llama:

If Earth Had Rings

First off, they would be really pretty to look at. They would also dominate the sky in both night and day at exactly the same place as they would never rise nor set. And at night you would see the Earth’s shadow swing across the rings, like in the 4th photo here.

However, life would be very different on Earth if this were the case. Nocturnal animals would have a hard time being nocturnal, as the light reflecting from the rings would illuminate the night.

Because we are closer to the Sun than Saturn is, the rings would be more rocky than ice, making them less bright but still pretty bright. In fact, you would see far less stars at night (living anywhere other than the equator or the arctic circle) because of the light pollution and not to mention ruin most meteor showers because of that.

During the day the rings would block sunlight in certain regions of the planet creating wild weather cycles and effecting plant life as well. So basically, they would be definitely pretty to look at but they would also make a whole lot of things screwy.

Illustrations by Ron Miller // io9
— Click the photos for captions

Einstein’s Voice? Well, listen as Albert Einstein reads you a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:51:18 -0300

Einstein’s Voice?

Well, listen as Albert Einstein reads you a scientific essay. It’s his voice, in your ears, from 1941, reading his essay ‘The Common Language of Science’.

Click Here : http://is.gd/O4s3F5
More Recordings At: http://is.gd/CMzE1S

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Mon, 20 May 2013 00:13:42 -0300

A Night at Cap Méchant, Reunion Island — Luc Perrot

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:12:28 -0300

A Night at Cap Méchant, Reunion Island — Luc Perrot

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Sun, 19 May 2013 22:04:59 -0300

bobbycaputo: The Only Known Photograph of Einstein Deriving his...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:25:02 -0300

bobbycaputo:

The Only Known Photograph of Einstein Deriving his Famous E=mc² Equation

At a public lecture in Pittsburgh in 1934, four hundred lucky students were privy to a lecture by Albert Einstein, in which the great man mathematically derived his famous mass-energy equivalence equation: E=mc². What you see above is a photo from that lecture, and what is thought to be the only surviving photo that shows Einstein working on that derivation.

The photo was pulled from a halftone newspaper clipping by David Topper and Dwight Vincent of the University of Winnipeg, who discovered it in 2007. Sadly, everything is a bit fuzzy so you can’t really make out the famed equation itself. And even though the original article had a crisp picture of Einstein posing next to one of his blackboards, he’s next to the wrong one.

Here’s a closer look at the man and the math. If you look closely, you’ll see the mass-energy equivalence in the lower left hand corner of the blackboard on the right:

Fortunately, Topper and Vincent managed to take the blurry photo and reproduce both blackboards in their original paper. Here’s the math behind the magic, the derivation of mass-energy equivalence as presented by Albert Einstein.

In case you’re wondering why the famous equation says Δ

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Sun, 19 May 2013 21:16:29 -0300

Is that you in your avatar? I only ask because until very recently I thought it was Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter (that's a compliment by the way). Science is better than any magic of course!

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:20:22 -0300

Yes, that’s me! :) And I couldn’t agree more with you! Science is better than any magic!

Never done this before. Probably never will after this. Very short comment on how impossible and strange was to see a boy waiting to take a cab and think to myself that it looks like you, even when I've never seen you before. I'm not crazy or anything, I'm just curious... maybe he looked like the idea of you I have in mind or I don't know. I just needed to get that out my chest. And I think it was weird and well, that's it.

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:15:56 -0300

~~I’m the impossible boy.~~ Well anon, I agree with you that’s weird but at the same time it’s interesting to know I have clones.

astronemma: Snow Falling on Telescopes This image shows a...

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:21 -0300

astronemma:

Snow Falling on Telescopes

This image shows a wintry La Silla Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert sitting beneath the Milky Way. Despite the telescopes’ location in one of the best areas for astronomical observation, at an altitude of 7800 feet (2400 meters), the desert cannot completely escape winter weather, including snow blanketing the mountain peak and telescope domes. The high altitude sites operated by European Southern Observatory can experience both hot and cold temperatures through the year, including sometimes harsh conditions.

Credit: ESO/José Francisco Salgado

thescienceofreality: This Week in Science - May 13 - 19,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:34 -0300

thescienceofreality:

This Week in Science - May 13 - 19, 2013:

Magnetar at black hole here.

Cloned human stem cells here.

Cell calculators here.

Music matched to color here.

Scientists agreeing on climate change here.

Remote-piloted plane here.

Earth’s core here.

Bright lunar explosion here.

American asteroid sampling here.

Hofstadter butterfly effect here.

Electric shocks aid math skills here.

Printable solar panels here.

spaceplasma: Electric discharge showing the lightning-like...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:53:31 -0300

spaceplasma:

Electric discharge showing the lightning-like plasma filaments from a Tesla coil.

GIF from photos courtesy of Dan McCauley

spaceplasma: Kirlian photography Kirlian photography is a...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:43:10 -0300

spaceplasma:

Kirlian photography

Kirlian photography is a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who, in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a high-voltage source, an image is produced on the photographic plate.

Kirlian photography is a technique for creating contact print photographs using high voltage. The process entails placing sheet photographic film on top of a metal discharge plate. The object to be photographed is then placed directly on top of the film. High voltage is momentarily applied to the metal plate, thus creating an exposure. The corona discharge between the object and the high voltage plate is captured by the film. The developed film results in a Kirlian photograph of the object.

Color photographic film is calibrated to faithfully produce colors when exposed to normal light. Corona discharges can interact with minute variations in the different layers of dye used in the film, resulting in a wide variety of colors depending on the local intensity of the discharge. Film and digital imaging techniques also record light produced by photons emitted during corona discharge (see Mechanism of corona discharge).

Photographs of inanimate objects such as a coins, keys and leaves can be made more effectively by grounding the object to the earth, a cold water pipe or to the opposite (polarity) side of the high voltage source. Grounding the object creates a stronger corona discharge.

Kirlian photography does not require the use of a camera or a lens because it is a contact print process. It is possible to use a transparent electrode in place of the high voltage discharge plate, allowing one to capture the resulting corona discharge with a standard camera or a video camera.

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Sat, 18 May 2013 22:07:59 -0300

distant-traveller: The glow of the Lagoon nebula Gas and dust...

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:29:32 -0300

distant-traveller:

The glow of the Lagoon nebula

Gas and dust condense, beginning the process of creating new stars in this image of Messier 8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula. Located four to five thousand light-years away, in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer), the nebula is a giant interstellar cloud, one hundred light-years across. It boasts many large, hot stars, whose ultraviolet radiation sculpts the gas and dust into unusual shapes. Two of these giant stars illuminate the brightest part of the nebula, known as the Hourglass Nebula, a spiralling, funnel-like shape near its centre. Messier 8 is one of the few star-forming nebulae visible to the unaided eye, and was discovered as long ago as 1747, although the full range of colours wasn’t visible until the advent of more powerful telescopes. The Lagoon Nebula derives its name from the wide lagoon-shaped dark lane located in the middle of the nebula that divides it into two glowing sections.

Image credit: ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/ R. Gendler, U.G. Jørgensen, K. Harpsøe

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Sat, 18 May 2013 19:41:07 -0300

Milky Way over the Italian Alps — Leonardo Orazi

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:19:15 -0300

Milky Way over the Italian Alps — Leonardo Orazi

kqedscience: Safety first! (via Buzzfeed on G+)

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:51:49 -0300

kqedscience:

Safety first!

(via Buzzfeed on G+)