Interweb Science of the Week #11

It's been a long time since I've done an ISW, but this video from MinutePhysics was so great, I had to bring it back.

Open Letter to the Universe, by Minute Physics, from YouTube.

Simple, entertaining videos explaining what can be rather complex ideas about science.  Love it.  This is what the Interwebs were made for.  Just throw a few cats in there, and you're covered.

And while on the subject of Interweb Science, Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. has entered the Twitterverse, "mostly for instructional purposes".  Dr. Holtz already has a fairly large web presence, so I'm a little concerned his being on Twitter might officially break the internet.  But I still recommend following him @TomHoltzPaleo. I'm sure we'll end up seeing some cats there too.  Happy Friday!

Things I Learned This Semester #22 - 27: Energy Edition Part II

Now, where did we leave off last time?  Oh, right, alternative energy sources. I touched briefly on the potential that solar technologies have to offer.  But there are a number of other alternatives to the currently fossil fuel driven system we use.

Things I Learned This Semester #15 - 21: Energy Edition Part I

And now, as promised, it's time for some very "non-avian content".  This semester I took a course on the physics of energy, and the science behind the technologies that power our every day lives.  Natural history may be where my heart lies.  But life isn't all trees, birds, and fossils.  So recently I've been interested in learning more about other aspects of the world we live in, and how our actions as a species impact it.  Energy use is one of the big ones.  Where do we get our energy from?  What impact is that having on the rest of the world?  Is there anything we can do about it?  These are big questions.  And there are no simple answers.  But I learned a few things this semester that, if nothing else, have made me a more informed decision maker when it comes to my energy use, and the politics and science behind it.  I thought I'd share a few of those things with you all.

Things I Learned This Semester #8

Back in March I had the good fortune of seeing a talk by Professor Lawrence M. Krauss, Ph. D., hosted by the University of Maryland Society of Inquiry.  Dr. Krauss is a world renown theoretical physicist, and the talk was excellent.  A little cosmology, a little humor, and a lot of nothing.   Absolutely nothing.  In fact, an entire Universe from nothing.  So what did I learn? Cosmic humility, on a scale I never imagined possible.

If you find yourself with a free hour, and you want to learn what I learned, I highly recommend the video below.  You won't regret it.

Uploaded to YouTube by richarddawkinsdotnet.