Science In Real Life

Twenty-five percent of all ordinary matter is helium, which explains why the Universe has such a squeaky voice.

There is a new page up here at SiRL, and it’s all about badges. I know what you’re thinking: We don’t need no stinking badges! But these are extra special science badges, and they come from the very fine folks over at the Order Of The Science Scouts Of Exemplary Repute And Above Average Physique. While I may fall a little short in the latter category, I am a proud member and I support what they stand for – the primary goal being to present science to the public in an understandable way and generally promote scientific literacy. And if that isn’t an umbrella statement for the mission of this very blog then I must be getting very wet indeed.

Anyway, among the various activities of the Science Scouts are virtual badges used to indicate accomplishments or experiences obtained whilst in pursuit of scientific understanding. On the Badges page are the ones I have earned, with a short explanation, note, or cheap joke. As new badges are created, I will keep the page updated.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Pandora … the menace returns. And this time, it’s personal. It’s time for Avatar Science 2: Electric Boogaloo. I mean all of these things literally, sort of. It’s time to zoom in from the planetary, the astrophysical, to the personal, the genetic, the electromagnetic. The centerpiece of the movie, the Avatars themselves, the bodies that the humans somehow pilot using sophisticated technology. We’ll address all of this and more, on Science In Reel Life! *theme music*
Okay, that out of the way

For several reasons I have decided that the schedule of essays I have been maintaining thus far is not the best way to go about running an establishment such as this one. So, here’s how it’s going to play out. You will, from now on, find three types of posts in this blog:

1) Science Facts of the Day. These will continue unchanged.

2) Science In Real Life essays. These will now be posted once a week, on Monday mornings. They might start to get slightly longer, and more playful. In addition, I will be adding a new subcategory that I hope to see take on a life of its own. No details now; all will be explained in due time.

3) Science Bites. These will be one or two paragraph infodumps of whatever science thing I happen to be thinking about. They will not be on a regular schedule, but you can expect two or three of them each week.

As always, you can follow Science In Real Life on facebook and twitter.

Science In Real Life will be trying out a new schedule in the coming weeks. Be patient while things get sorted out. Rest assured the Science Facts of the Day, at least, will remain as they are.

Science In Real Life is on temporary hiatus due to imminent end-of-semester obligations. Normal operations will resume Sunday, December 20.

Science In Real Life made a special appearance at the December 6 Nerdnite event in Cambridge, MA – so first and foremost a welcome to any new readers who learned about SiRL there. For those of you unfamiliar with Nerdnite, it is a marvelous little organization that provides short talks on subjects of interest to nerds in a social setting; you can get the full details at the Nerdnite website. For those of you not in the Boston area, there are also Nerdnite chapters in NYC, DC, Austin TX, and Munich, with sursurrations of an upcoming Chicago branch. As someone who is dedicated to education both scientific and general, it is a breath of fresh air to see so many people interested in learning for its own sake. As someone who is most decidedly a nerd, it is a joy to see fellow nerds not remaining completely isolated from interaction with other people. I highly encourage you to attend if you can.

Meanwhile, back at the SiRL homestead, the presentation topic was Quantum Weirdness: Where it Comes From and Where it Goes. That presentation will be expanded and adapted into the next two SiRL essays, so even those of you who saw it live will have something new to learn about the subject over the coming week. Happy sciencing!

At the quantum level, all matter is also a wave.

The Sun experiences Earth-sized tsunami waves on its surface.

Gravitational force falls away as one over the distance squared, like American Idol ratings.