Go read this. There’s important stuff in there. You’ll be happy you did. :)
Fish farts are too a thing
So I’m sitting here enjoying the zen of Rick’s fish tank when I see bubbles coming from one of their rear sections. Did that fish just fart I ask. He says: “What?” I say “I think it did.” Google it he tells me since he knows in will want to know. And guess what. It is a thing.
According to http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-03/27/fish-farts:
“This is not the first time that biologists have studied fish farts. A 2003 study from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, linked a mysterious underwater farting sound to bubbles coming out of herrings’ bottoms. The high-pitched raspberry sound was thought to be used by the fish to communicate in some way. Unlike human flatulence, the sounds are unlikely to be caused by digestive gases because the number of sounds did not change when fish were fed.”
Watch out … a comet is coming … maybe
David Levy has perhaps the best science quote I’ve seen lately in the article about the comet of 2013. He remarks that: ”Comets are like cats…[t]hey have tails, and they do precisely what they want.”
We only had time to do the second floor of the National Museum of Natural History, but so much amazing stuff. And if you have any interest in nature photography I would suggest you click through to see the winners of the 2011 Windland Smith Rice International Award winners. Some truly beautiful photographs.
Posting this for all you nature lovers and photo bugs out there. And especially those with kids. Here’s another cool way to learn about nature, and participate in collecting data about wildlife. You can use a mobile app or your web browser to share your wildlife encounters.
Project Noah is a tool that nature lovers can use to explore and document wildlife and a technology platform research groups can use to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere. The purpose of the project is to mobilize and inspire a new generation of nature lovers. It began as an experiment to see if we could build an app for people to share their nature sightings and has evolved into a powerful global movement for both amateurs and experts. The name “Noah” is an acronym that stands for networked organisms and habitats.
International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.
“How many people would have heard of fractal geometry or the double helix or solar flares if they had been described solely in words? In a world where science literacy is dismayingly rare, illustrations provide the most immediate and influential connection between scientists and other citizens, and the best hope for nurturing popular interest. Indeed, they are now a necessity for public understanding of research developments.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science created the International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge to celebrate that grand tradition—and to encourage its continued growth. The spirit of the competition is to communicate science, engineering and technology for education and journalistic purposes. ”
For those of you in or around NYC, you can see a scale model of Curiosity at the American Museum of Natural History as part of their current special exhibit Beyond Planet Earth. I hope to post a few pics from my trip there last weekend soon.
So the trip to St John the Divine included art and history and religion and even science. The cathedral was built in two different styles. The older, rear part has curved Romanesque arches and the newer, front part has the pointed arches, as depicted in my previous posts.
Now the cool thing is that you can use your hands to demonstrate the difference between the round tops and pointed tops and the stresses they produce. If you press your fingers together in a rounded arch and keep your elbows pointing down you’ll find the stress is felt around the wrists. This is why the walls have to thick to support rounded arches.
But, if you press your fingers together in a more pointed fashion, the stress point drops to closer to your elbows. This allows for thinner walls and those elegant ribs of the Gothic style. Arches. Science. Cool. And pretty.
