C is for Carbon, parts 1 and 2, over at Cocktail Party Physics
An interview with Eric Roston, author of The Carbon Age: How Life’s Core Element Has Become Civilization’s Greatest Threats
C is for cookie. That’s good enough for me.
Daily Archives: May 29, 2008
New Exhibit at the Physics Museum
The gallery of failed atomic models, 1903-1913 from Skulls in the Stars.
[H]ow many atomic models were there?
A lot. Most people in physics are taught Thomson’s ‘plum pudding’ model of the atom, but a little investigating turned up no less than eight distinct pictures of atomic structure.
The late 1800s and early 1900s was the breakthrough period of atomic research. A number of tantalizing pieces of experimental evidence suggested a nontrivial internal structure to the atom.
We are taught (and teach) the Bohr model because it has some use, even though it is wrong/incomplete. But it’s useful to remember that in the presence of fragmentary information there are going to be failed attempts at explaining the underlying phenomenon. As more data is uncovered the false theories can be weeded out, because they will not have predicted the event or will have predicted a phenomenon that was never observed, despite a reasonable expectation of doing so.
Toys in the Office: Gettin' Medieval
Bought this trebuchet as a kit several years ago, and put it together over the Memorial day weekend back then. I had seen a NOVA special about some men who built two using in-period tools, and then knocked down a wall with them. When I ran across the kits on the intertubes, I couldn’t get my wallet out fast enough. It came with what looked to be ~50 caliber musket shot, which is not exactly conducive to indoor testing, so I substituted balled-up aluminum foil. It’s a favorite of some visitors, including the safety inspector(!).
Here’s a Trebuchet Challenge for testing your mad siege engine skillz.