Innovation — science and engineering — is the key to a sustainable economy.
Lately, there has been way too much talk about minting dollars and too little about minting our next Thomas Edison, Bob Noyce, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Vint Cerf, Jerry Yang, Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Bill Joy and Larry Page. Adding to that list is the only stimulus that matters. Otherwise, we’re just Russia with a printing press.
If at first you don’t succeed … Fry, fry again
The Oatman sidewalk egg fry. Cook your eggs, using the sun.
The egg fry began at high noon, with temperatures coming in at 105 degrees at the start of the event, slightly cooler than organizers and contestants would have liked. The spectators, though, were appreciative.
Perhaps the most innovative – and certainly most effective – method of frying eggs on Saturday was that of Eric Schmidt and Xinaxiao Chou from Cibola, Ariz. Using a Frensel lens to intensify the heat, Schmidt was able to cook a perfect – and edible – sunny-side up egg in about 60 seconds.
(Some strange physics commentary, though, about sequestering Carbon.)
(note to self: bring Fresnel lens on vacation …)
Skulls in the Stars: Some musings on negative refraction
[I]s a negative refractive index necessary to have negative refraction? In fact, the answer is a resounding “no”, as apparently many researchers were aware even when Pendry’s first paper came out.
But I was ‘go’ for launch. A couple of antacid tablets in a pill bottle with a snap-cap. A shelf glued to the inside lets the tablets stay dry until you tip it over. Launch happens after ~15-30 seconds. Not really an indoor toy, but …
Unlike the outcome in Revenge of the Nerds, my fireball did not result in the destruction of my residence.
(The source is a spray bottle containing rubbing alcohol, rather than me spitting grain alcohol)
Basics of space flight: orbital mechanics
Orbital mechanics, also called flight mechanics, is the study of the motions of artificial satellites and space vehicles moving under the influence of forces such as gravity, atmospheric drag, thrust, etc. Orbital mechanics is a modern offshoot of celestial mechanics which is the study of the motions of natural celestial bodies such as the moon and planets. The root of orbital mechanics can be traced back to the 17th century when mathematician Isaac Newton (1642-1727) put forward his laws of motion and formulated his law of universal gravitation. The engineering applications of orbital mechanics include ascent trajectories, reentry and landing, rendezvous computations, and lunar and interplanetary trajectories.
Gigapan collection of electron-microscope images of an ant
Gigapan: Ant – Eutetramorium mocquerysi
This Gigapan is part of the NanoGigaPan project. Which is working to take high resolution images of very small things.
More at the Nano Gigapan blog
Also ant-related Mr. Ellis, Ant mega-colony takes over world
[I]t now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony.
I, for one, welcome our new ant overlords, and want to disavow any connection with the Nano Gigapan pictures. I’m just the messenger.
Movie Trivia: Raiders of the Lost Ark
The movie was filmed in Tunisia because it was a lot cheaper to shoot there than Egypt, and since the script never called for shots of the Sphinx or the pyramids, so they were able to get away with it. In fact, one of the scenes was shot in the exact same canyon where R2-D2 was stolen by Jawas in Star Wars.