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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
OL’ BLUE-EYES, JACK BENNY, ME, AND THOSE SIMILARLY ENDOWED
GEE, I NEVER REALIZED how rare blue eyes are. We make up only eight percent of the world’s population, according to AucklandEye. Here are other tidbits gleaned from this source, … Continue reading
