chemistry in the clouds: snowdonia

i lucked out with the weather for one day of the weekend and managed to hike to some of the highest peaks in wales, without sitting inside clouds at the top!


while i thoroughly enjoyed the "scramble" to the top, i must admit i'm so sore today that it was slightly painful to drink my coffee this morning ;)

coincidentally, brady happened to be on the same mountain range this weekend shooting some footage, not for sixty symbols, but for the periodic table of videos! they chose to climb on saturday, in the rain, but still managed to make cisplatinum on top of mt. snowdon! watch this 4-minute video that captures their journey to perform probably the highest chemistry experiment ever done in wales, as they make this popular anti-cancer drug:



find out more about their anti-cancer research group and donate to the cause: here!

snowdonia

i'm heading to the hills for the weekend.... be back sunday evening!

in the stars

an understated and perfectly to the point comic by calamities of nature.

the proton is 4% smaller than we thought!

but how did we make this new measurement? sixty symbols discusses the implications:

dirty space news: solar mass ejections

solar scientists are reporting that the sun has recently experienced FOUR solar mass ejections and soon the earth's atmosphere will glow in the aftermath.

an aurora occurs because energetic particles coming from the sun react with a planet's magnetic field. magnetic fields naturally have directional field lines which act as "traffic lanes" that guide the electrically charged solar particles to the north and south magnetic poles.

for updates on aurora sightings, go to space weather.

happy

i love this graphic... mostly because it looks like the guy in the middle is jumping right into the water!


via sopitas

whitby's dracula inspiration

the north yorkshire town of whitby, which sits in northeastern england, is known for its gothic style, jet black stones, fish and chips, and for being a place that inspired bram stoker's most famous novel, dracula. i visited whitby this weekend and walked along a bit of the dracula trail. here are a few scenes:




steep.




i'm not sure how old the dish of fish 'n chips actually is, but they were likely eaten in the late 1800s when dracula was written. here's the plaice version:


it just wouldn't be right if they didn't squeeze at least one curry on the menu...

on the beach at night

On the Beach at Night
by Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)

On the beach at night,
Stands a child with her father,
Watching the east, the autumn sky.

Up through the darkness,
While ravening clouds, the burial clouds, in black masses spreading,
Lower sullen and fast athwart and down the sky,
Amid a transparent clear belt of ether yet left in the east,
Ascends large and calm the lord-star Jupiter,
And nigh at hand, only a very little above,
Swim the delicate sisters the Pleiades.

From the beach the child holding the hand of her father,
Those burial-clouds that lower victorious soon to devour all,
Watching, silently weeps.

Weep not, child,
Weep not, my darling,
With these kisses let me remove your tears,
The ravening clouds shall not long be victorious,
They shall not long possess the sky, they devour the stars
only in apparition,
Jupiter shall emerge, be patient, watch again another night,
the Pleiades shall emerge,
They are immortal, all those stars both silvery and golden
shall shine out again,
The great stars and the little ones shall shine out again, they endure,
The vast immortal suns and the long-enduring pensive moons
shall shine again shine.

Then dearest child mournest thou only for jupiter?
Considerest thou alone the burial of the stars?

Something there is,
(With my lips soothing thee, adding I whisper,
I give thee the first suggestion, the problem and indirection,)
Something there is more immortal even than the stars,
(Many the burials, many the days and nights, passing away,)
Something that shall endure longer even than lustrous Jupiter
Longer than sun or any revolving satellite,
Or the radiant sisters the Pleiades.

dirty space news goes global

about a month ago i got an email titled "space porn" which i have to admit, isnt so unusual these days as people like to point me towards pictures of things that resemble sexual organs. if this makes no sense, please read the related post: dirty space news.

what was notable about this particular space porn email was that it was from phil plait, the bad astronomer, asking if he could use the idea and some of the images for his upcoming w00tstock talk. well, of course i said yes and now we are all able to see his talk from last week.



UPDATE: i changed the video to a better quality version. thanks phil!

einstein: scientist and musician

the astronomist reminded me of a very interesting intersection between music and science: albert einstein was an avid violinist!

soon after i arrived in nottingham, i noticed a lecture advertised called "einstein's universe" that was to take place not at the university, but at the albert hall in town:


the presenters, oxford physicist brian foster and musician jack liebeck, would highlight "Einstein's science and his love of the violin." i was instantly intrigued and not disappointed one bit by the lecture and the performances! liebeck played beautifully at different points throughout the lecture and then they played a couple duets, with foster performing the parts that einstein often played with his musician friends.

here's a small video with interviews from both performers to give you an idea behind the lecture's inspiration.

the dark side of tetris

yikes!


from unrealitymag.

jesus struggles in modern times

via joshua harris

moon landing hoax sketch

here's a funny moon landing hoax sketch by david mitchell and robert webb.



spotted by @astronomyblog

four finches - species are not immutable

i've seen many tattoo variations of darwin's four finches at the science tattoo emporium, but this one is definitely my favorite. it's subtle and artistic, beautiful and full of meaning!


while probably not the biggest influence, the finches that charles darwin found on the galapagos islands played an important role in helping him recognize the reality of the evolutionary process... that “species are not immutable.” the finches he found on different islands shared similar size, coloration, and habits, but the sizes and shapes of their beaks were so different that he originally thought they were all completely different types of birds. turns out the beaks are highly adapted to the different food sources eaten by birds in different locations.

the term Darwin's Finches was popularized in 1947 by David Lack in his book called Darwin's Finches and was first applied by Percy Lowe in 1936.

back to tattoos though, while i whole-heartedly agree with what david mitchell says in his column this week in the guardian, i still like my tattoo ;)

jane austen's fight club

well played, ladies!



found by enchiladaplate (mmmm... enchiladas)

camels at sunset

incredible photograph by symoto at flickr.

crisis of capitalism

i found this animated video of a lecture by sociologist David Harvey to be quite interesting.

the universe according to now

i'm showing you this solar eclipse photo by abhaykohok on flickr because i think its cool, and now that you know it has been done, you wont try it at home!! (potentially dangerous).


this photo one of the entries in this month's collection of photos called "the universe according to now" for the Royal Observatory's Astronomy Photographer of the Year project.

drinking coffee in space

interesting method, but that looks like possibly the weakest coffee ever.

Super Scientist

i'm pleased to announce that after the unexpected shock of being flung into the job market a few months ago, i have accepted a "super science fellowship" to work with the folks at the australian astronomical observatory near sydney, australia! woo hoo! (i'd say "yeehaw" but i dont think thats the proper phrase to use!)

primarily, i will be using data from the extensive multi-wavelength GAMA survey to look at the star formation history of the universe and to see how star formation in galaxies behaves as a function of stellar mass, morphology, and environment, as well as continuing some ongoing projects that i find interesting.

i'll be moving down under around november this year and fully welcome any tips about moving to australia or suggestions about cool neighborhoods to live in around sydney. i'm not really looking forward to another round of moving across the world and dealing with visa issues, etc... but i am certainly looking forward to exploring a new continent and mashing up my english accent even more than it already is!

someone suggested that australia is a mix of english and texan culture, which is an intriguing statement. i hope it combines the outdoorsy adventurousness and tasty beverage aspects, and not the conservative, judgmental, moaning-about-the-weather parts.

i feel like with the fantastic title of super scientist, i should be entitled to wear some sort of super hero outfit, but apparently capes are not advised ;(

elusive lightning

it takes patience, or a lot of repeated images as in when taking a timelapse, to capture great photos of elusive lightning. here are some beautiful examples i've seen recently:


by carolune: lightning over leiden.


by nilomr: southwest US

peanuts

any suggestions?


interestingly, i saw this on a blog called this isn't happiness.

how to open wine without a corkscrew

what do you do with a nice bottle of wine when no corkscrew is around? apparently, you open in it with a shoe!



i havent attempted this trick yet, because i'm a bit scared, but i've been assured that it works! maybe i'll try it with a white wine....

i will survive

during a trip to europe, a family visits several concentration camps and memorials and dances to gloria gaynor's "i will survive" at each of them. the participating family members are a holocaust survivor, his daughter, and his grandchildren. three generations of one family acknowledging the reality of the past in their own personal and goofy way.

big bang big boom

i've shared work by blu blu before because i think its great! i like the way this new ~10 minute installment uses props and sound effects and works with the theme of evolution.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.