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Category Archives: Sci-Tech

DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS THEORY, ANOSOV FLOWS, AND ARNOLD’S CAT PART 2

A FINE ARTICLE IN QUANTA MAGAZINE, Jordana Cepelewicz’s “Flow Proof Helps Mathematicians Find Stability in Chaos,” introduces the concept of Anasov flows in dynamical systems. And, following up with some … Continue reading

July 2, 2023 · Leave a comment

DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS, ANOSOV FLOWS AND ARNOLD’S CAT PART 1

READERS OF THIS WEBSITE have been exposed occasionally to the mathematical concept of dynamical systems theory, what I have called “differential equations, sorta, without the dirty bits.” My own 15 … Continue reading

July 1, 2023 · Leave a comment

PEANUTS FOR YOUR BEER?

IN ARGENTINA, A GLASS OF BEER is served with a small handful of roasted shelled peanuts. A ploy to raise thirst for another beer? A counter to the hops flavor? … Continue reading

June 18, 2023 · 3 Comments

ANDERS CELSIUS’S CLEVER IDEA

THE INTERESTING FACTS WEBSITE has the added fun of encouraging further investigation. For instance, a recent topic was “The Celsius Scale was Originally Backward.” Interesting Facts notes, “Instead of 0 … Continue reading

June 16, 2023 · 4 Comments

HARVESTING ELECTRICITY FROM THE AIR—BEN FRANKLIN, NICOLA TESLA, THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST PART 2

YESTERDAY IN “HARVESTING ETC. ETC, PART 1”, Franklin fooled with a kite, Telsa fooled with giant arcs. Both preceded recent research about deriving renewable electric power from the air itself. … Continue reading

June 12, 2023 · 4 Comments

HARVESTING ELECTRICITY FROM THE AIR—BEN FRANKLIN, NICOLA TESLA, THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST PART 1

RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY of Massachusetts, Amherst, and, independently, at the European Commission’s CATCHER project have been transforming atmospheric humidity into renewable power. This is in line with Benjamin Franklin’s … Continue reading

June 11, 2023 · Leave a comment

SCIENTIFIC METAPHORS

ADVANCEMENTS IN SCIENCE PROFIT from explanatory metaphors. For instance, hydrogen’s promiscuity explains why its universal abundance doesn’t promote its being the slam-dunk of energy production. There’s lots of hydrogen, but … Continue reading

June 10, 2023 · Leave a comment

APPRECIATING MATERIALS

LEARNING THAT NOTRE DAME RESTORATION was featuring medieval craftsmanship prompted pal and regular reader Bob Storck to share a similar tale from a classic barn raising: “I learned,” he wrote, … Continue reading

June 7, 2023 · Leave a comment

A.I. GIGO

IT’S A TIME-HONORED TRADITION of computer programming: Garbage In/Garbage Out. And, all its hallucinations included, modern Artificial Intelligence is nothing more than high-falutin computer programming. Here are tidbits on recent … Continue reading

June 6, 2023 · 2 Comments

ROCKING WALLS MAY SURVIVE THE BIG ONE

AS REPORTED IN The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 9, 2023, Gary Robbins writes, “10-story Tower Survives Fake Earthquake in Possible Boon for Tall Wood Structures.” UCSD’s Large-scale Shaker Table. The … Continue reading

June 5, 2023 · 5 Comments