Swans on Tea

The KISS principle was something I was introduced to when I was training to be an instructor for the navy. Someone asks a question, and you shouldn’t get bogged down in unnecessary detail in answering it, or in explaining a concept.
A couple of Chad’s recent posts touch on the theme of explaining [...]

The Kaye Effect
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Present in shear-thinning fluids — when pouring it into a reservoir, a jet of fluid will occasionally emerge.
There’s an especially neat part at the end where the fluid is used as a light guide.

‘Superman’ vision penetrates opaque glass
It’s not quite X-ray vision, but a way has been found to transmit simple images through opaque objects using ordinary light – and physicists have used the method to project an image through glass covered in thick paint.
…
By reverse engineering the scattering process, the team were able to reconstruct an image [...]

The Oatmeal: How to Suck at Facebook
I joined facebook about a year ago. After the initial rush was over, I find I visit ~monthly.
The last panel is one reason why I fear twitter. I imagine feeds like
need more fiber in my diet
scratching my butt. feelin’ good.
Some things just don’t need to [...]

Initial NIF experiments meet requirements for fusion ignition
The experiments, described in an article in today’s edition of Science Express, the online version of the journal Science, resulted in highly symmetrical compression of simulated fuel capsules – a requirement for NIF to achieve its goal of fusion ignition and energy gain when ignition experiments begin later [...]

More virtual vacation visits. 360º Panoramic view from Mt. Everest
The Great Wall
Rio
Machu Picchu – Peru

How I found glaring errors in Einstein’s calculations
Or rather, I have not, but I know lots of people who have. For some time now, I have been an avid reader and collector of webpages created by crackpot physicists, those marginal self-styled scientists whose foundational, generally revolutionary work is sadly ignored by most established scientists. These [...]

Optical Trapping and the Momentum of Light
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The explanation talks about the wave-particle duality, but I think that’s a distraction. This is a dipole force phenomenon; the beam’s intensity is greatest at the center, and where the focal point occurs, as shown in the [...]

Mundane examples of energy at the Hamiltonian Function.
The energy of walking up a hill.

My new sofa with recliner capability. It was delivered last week, in time for the playoff games this past weekend.

I did love my old sofa, but after 20 years of putting up with me the springs and frame were shot.

Almost missed that this is my two-year blogoversary.

NASA’s Prophet Will Give You Nightmares
Professor Hansen has been driven into a strange situation, and produced a strange book. For one-third of a century now, this cantankerous scientist has been more accurate in his predictions about global warming than anyone else alive. He saw these disastrous changes coming long before others did, and the U.S. [...]