Spiders and the electric light (1887)

Posted on July 14, 2011 by skullsinthestars

(Digging through my archive of historical papers for short topics to blog about while I’m away on business.)

In the modern era, we are very conscious of the impact of humanity on nature — even though we are often very reluctant to do anything about it.  Whether it be the problem of human encroachment on the territory of endangered species, the threat of global warming on the ecology of a region, or the effect that new technology (such as wind power) can have on native flora and fauna, we can have an impact on nature in sometimes surprising ways.

We have had a significant influence on the natural world since even before recorded history, but it is only very recently that we became aware of this.  Looking back through old scientific journals, one can find examples where new technological developments have brought about an unexpected response from nature.  One such example is a short letter published in Science in 1887, which I reproduce in its entirety below.

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Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science | 1 Comment

Weird science facts, July 6 — July 12

Posted on July 13, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Currently out of town at a meeting in Toronto, as the following picture should hopefully demonstrate:

Nevertheless, the Twitter #weirdscifacts must go on!  Here are the previous week’s posted facts:

480. July 06: In 1875, William Lowthian Green, eventual Hawaiian Finance Minister, proposed shape of continents came from tetrahedral geometry.  Before the advent of continental drift and modern plate tectonics, this geometrical explanation for the arrangement of continents and oceans was seriously considered.  (h/t @nialldeacon)

481. July 07: The bizarre mathematical conundrum of Ulam’s Spiral.  Prime numbers, which superficially seem relatively random in their appearance in the integers, show surprising patterns with the proper arrangement. (h/t @jenlucpiquant)

482. July 08: First evidence of a fish using a tool??!! O_o (via @carlzimmer)

483. July 09: How WW2 bombers inadvertently changed English weather.  So many bombers were traveling over Europe during the war that their contrails (vapor trails) may have changed the surface temperature.  The effect is small, and not certain, but interesting to contemplate.  (via @edyong209)

484. July 10: Scientists create touchable holograms? A number of people immediately (and sarcastically) noted what a boon this could be for the porn industry!

485. July 11: Canadian inventor Sandford Fleming developed standard time in 1876 after missing a train in Ireland.  My “welcome to Canada!” weird science fact!  Fleming missed a train due to a confusion between a.m. and p.m. on a train schedule.

486. July 12: Bad pine nuts leave behind bitter taste for weeks! (via @sciencegeist and @geernst ) This was also discussed in a great scicurious post!

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A short travel note…

Posted on July 11, 2011 by skullsinthestars

I was hoping to queue up a few blog posts for the next week, but didn’t manage to find the time to do so.  I’m traveling to Toronto for a meeting for the next few days, so the blog will probably be rather quiet this week.  When I get back, however, I’ve got lots of stuff to talk about- and hopefully will have some nice Toronto pics to share!

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8 days until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #37!

Posted on July 7, 2011 by skullsinthestars

This is the regular monthly reminder that there’s only 8 days left until the deadline for the 37th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, the history of science blog carnival!  If you’ve got a history of science post you’ve been thinking about writing, now’s a good time to get started; entries can be submitted directly to the host blog or through BlogCarnival.com.

The edition will appear at Romeo Vitelli’s psychology blog Providentia on July 16th!

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Weird science facts, June 29 — July 05

Posted on July 6, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Been a crazy week and a holiday week, but the Twitter #weirdscifacts just keep on coming!

473. June 29: In 1897, J.J. Thomson introduced the electron as a particle; in the 1920s, his son G.P. helped prove the electron is a wave!  Both men received the Nobel Prize for their respective achievements.

474. June 30: Water boatman insect sings at 99db by rubbing its penis against its abdomen!  If you’re wondering how loud that is, it is a sound level comparable to a passing subway train.  (h/t @nialldeacon)

475. July 01: Global warming leading to unusual bear love? Grizzly-polar bear hybrid! (h/t @drugmonkeyblog)  I fully expect to see a Syfy channel original movie “Polgrizz”, about a killer Grizzly-polar bear hybrid terrorizing a resort community.

476. July 02: The golden eagle hunts goats larger than itself, and other animals, by dropping them off a cliff! 

477. July 03: Saccharin, discovered in 1879 when a chemist ate lunch but forgot to wash his hands before. Bad lab procedure, but a huge discovery!

478. July 04: Cosmic rays, first discovered on the top of the Eiffel Tower!  (My recent Scientific American post!)

479. July 05: Papuan weevil has screw-in legs!  That’s not an exaggeration — the weevil has a screw-and-nut style joint socket!  (via @physorg_com)

Posted in Weirdscifacts | 2 Comments

Paris: City of Light and Cosmic Rays on Scientific American guest blog!

Posted on July 4, 2011 by skullsinthestars

If you’ve been waiting for another in-depth blog post from me on physics and the history of science, wait no longer — just don’t look for it here!

I’ve written a post for the Scientific American Guest Blog that went up this morning, titled “Paris: City of Light and Cosmic Rays”.  It describes a little-known set of experiments that were performed at the top of the Eiffel Tower on radioactivity in 1910, experiments that provided the first evidence for radiation coming from outer space — cosmic rays!  Weaved into the narrative is a little bit of the history of the Eiffel Tower itself, and an explanation of why experiments such as this one were important for the tower’s survival.

As a bonus, if you’re curious to read the original paper describing the experiments, I attach my English translation of the original German paper here.  The translation was done using Google translate and Babelfish, with revisions by myself to fix the clunky English.

Let me know what you think of the SciAm article, either here or there! Thanks again to Bora Zivkovic for letting me write for the guest blog!

Posted in History of science, Physics | Leave a comment

My day as a shark biologist!

Posted on July 3, 2011 by skullsinthestars

(Alternate title: The old physicist and the sea)

One of the wonderful things about being active in science communication is that you get to meet very interesting people who are involved in a variety of fascinating research activities.  If you get very lucky, you might even get a wonderful opportunity to participate in some of those activities!

One great opportunity recently presented itself, thanks to David Shiffman aka “WhySharksMatter” on Twitter who blogs at Southern Fried Science.  David does research on shark biology, ecology and conservation, and also works on the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources coastal shark survey.  The latter role involves going out on the water in the coastal areas around Charleston, SC to catch and survey the sharks that hang out there.   They’ve been taking volunteers out on their day-long trips to help out with the work, and last week I got a chance to go out and survey some sharks!

I thought I’d share some pictures and thoughts on the experience, with the caveat that I’m not a marine biologist and might screw up some details.  My wife came along and we turned the trip into an extended weekend in Charleston; in another post, I may share some of the pictures from our other adventures!

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“Visions of invisibility in fiction” in Optics & Photonics News!

Posted on July 1, 2011 by skullsinthestars

I’m very excited — this morning my first popular science article written for a magazine appeared online!  “Visions of invisibility in fiction” appears in the July/August issue of Optics & Photonics News, the news magazine of the Optical Society of America.  The two-page article talks about how fiction writers “scientifically” explained invisibility and how well their explanations compare with modern concepts.

This is also noteworthy in that it was an opportunity that came about entirely because of my blog writing!  If anyone tells you that blogging doesn’t lead to any tangible benefits, I now have evidence that they’re wrong.

I’m not sure if the article is open-access for all to read; I can send you a copy if you can’t access it.

Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Personal | 8 Comments

Weird science facts, June 22 — June 28

Posted on June 29, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Things have been quiet on the blog this past week — I’ve been traveling and planning a couple of big, tricky posts!  In the meantime, here are the Twitter #weirdscifacts for the past week.

466. June 22: A fungus named after SpongeBob? New species can end up with relatively unusual, even unfortunate names; in a previous post, we noted the beetle named after Hitler! (Interview & article by @ejwillingham)

467. June 23: The thorny devil lizard gets water that condenses on its body to its mouth by grooves on its skin. http://bit.ly/jZxdcC

468. June 24: Tiger sharks gather in June at French Frigate Shoals to eat… birds! 

469. June 25: Smokey the cat, who can purr as loud as a lawnmower & is Guinness record-holder! 

470. June 26: Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: illness due to chronic pot use & alleviated w/ a shower? 

471. June 27: 2005: A lost Roman emperor is rediscovered w/ unearthing of a single coin.  It is rather surprising that an entire emperor can be lost!  The unearthing of the first coin led researchers to take a look at a second matching coin that previously had been considered a fake. (h/t to @anthinpractice!)

472. June 28: 82 percent of those killed by lightning between ’95 and ’08 were men.  (h/t @stevesilberman)

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Weird science facts, June 15 — June 21

Posted on June 22, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Here, as always, are the Twitter #weirdscifacts for the past week!

459. June 15: The horrific 1983 Byford Dolphin decompression accident. Warning: the text description alone is grisly and awful.  When a pressurized chamber is opened suddenly, terrible things happen.

460. June 16: Vladimir Demikhov‘s ghastly 1950s experiments that resulted, among other things, in a 2-headed dog. 

461. June 17: One of the oddest theories of dinosaur extinction — caterpillars starved them!  Unusual, even crazy, theories are not necessarily false, but this one almost certainly is.  A striking example of the imagination of scientists.  (classic by @laelaps)

462. June 18: From the other day: scientist attempts to tame belugas while swimming naked in Arctic waters.  Somehow, this reminds me of a classic bit of dialogue from Ghostbusters: “What’s that got to do with anything?” “Back off, man, I’m a scientist.”

463. June 19: Star Found Shooting Water “Bullets”! 

464. June 20: Horseshoe crab blood — an important ingredient to detect bacterial toxins in sterile medical devices. 

465. June 21: In 1689, Robert Hooke presented to the Royal Society on the medicinal effects of cannabis: ‘very wholesome’. h/t @lucyinglis

Posted in Weirdscifacts | 2 Comments