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Football physics
This Sunday in Vancouver, thousands of people will gather to watch an impressive demonstration of momentum, mass, drag and other basic physics provided by highly trained specialists from Hamilton and Calgary. This scientific exposition is called "the Grey Cup." One interesting demonstration will be the forward pass. A football moving through the air has inertia--the universal tendency of objects in motion to remain in motion (and objects at rest to remain at rest). If not for gravity and air resistance, it would simply sail away in a straight line and never come down. Gravity, however, pulls the ball down from the moment it leaves the quarterback's hand. The quarterback's goal is to balance the ...Skateboarding
Skateboarders have become as much a part of the urban landscape as pigeons, scooting down the roads and sidewalks, jumping over curbs, turning any ramp, railing or set of steps into an excuse for acrobatics--seemingly defying the laws of physics. Skateboarding may seem like the ultimate in turn-of-the-millennium hipness, but it's been around a long time. Back in the '30s and '40s, kids used to attach roller skates to two-by-fours. In 1958, a California surf shop went a step further, creating a "surfboard" that could be used even when the waves weren't up by mounting skate wheels on square wooden boards. Skateboarding promptly caught on big-time in California, where they ...Bouncing balls
Summer is high sports season, and most of the games being played involve balls: baseballs, tennis balls, volleyballs, soccer balls. At first glance, every ball appears much the same as every other ball: round and bouncy. The only thing that's different is the size. But in fact, each ball is designed specifically for the sport in which is it used, and trying to use, say, a tennis ball in a baseball game will produce strange results. The ball will take off from the bat like crazy, but will lose speed in a hurry and, if it isn't fielded correctly, will bounce right over the fielders' head. To understand why different balls work in different ways, ...Scuba diving
Now that winter has descended upon us in earnest, many Canadians are planning a trip south to Florida or the Caribbean, where they'll bask in the warm sun, eat exotic foods--and maybe even try a little scuba diving. "Scuba" is a word in its own right now, but originally it was an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus." Attempts to develop such apparatus began in the early 20th century, but it wasn't until 1943 that what we think of as the typical scuba, called the Aqualung, was invented by Jacques Coustau and Emil Gagnan. It was the aqualung that opened up recreational diving to the likes of vacationing Snowbirds. Scuba divers wear tanks that carry a ...Home runs
It's World Series time again, and it's shaping up to be an exciting one--but for me, nothing can equal the excitement of the 1909 Series. I remember it like it was yesterday. The smell of the grass, the roar of the crowd, as I made my way to the mound to start for the Detroit Tigers... What's that? I'm too young to have pitched in the 1909 World Series? Well, I dare you to look it up. 1909. Detroit Tigers. Ed Willett. See? I'm older than I look. The game has changed a lot since then, but it's still a duel between pitcher and ...The world land speed record attempt
Right now, on a dry lake bed in Black Rock, Nevada, two teams are locked in a fierce competition. Using exotic, jet-propelled vehicles, they're striving to break the sound barrier--on land. In the process, they're pushing technology to its limits. What makes the competition even more interesting is the contrast between the two teams. On the one side is the Thrust SSC (SSC stands for SuperSonic Car), whose design was carefully modelled using computers and wind tunnels before it was ever built. On the other side is the Spirit of America, whose genesis was a little more, well, informal. "Yeah, we modeled the car," says crew chief Dezso Molnar. "We modeled it for about 42 seconds on ...Golf technology
If I had to name two sports that are heavily technology-driven, I'd probably name auto racing--and golf. Auto racing is an obvious choice. But golf? Golf looks so simple. A player, a club, a ball, a hole. Player swings club, hits ball, puts it into hole. Where's the technology in that? If you have to ask that question, you haven't been shopping for golf clubs or golf balls recently. There are more choices than ever before, and all of them are being touted as the latest, greatest technological advance. When golf started out, and for centuries after, golf clubs were all made of wood. At a fairly ...Sports injuries
Ah, warmer weather at last! Time to get out there and throw that--ouch!--ball, and swing that--ooh!--golf club, and jog around the--oof!--lake...and then, more than likely, turn on that--aah!--heating pad, fill that--mmm--ice pack, and slip into--whew!--bed. Yes, 'tis the season for athletic injuries, as those who haven't done anything except shovel snow for half a year sudden remember that once upon a time they had other forms of recreation--something their bodies have forgotten. Sports injuries are one of the most common kinds of injuries we inflict on ourselves. It's not too surprising, either, when you consider the strain sports put on our bodies. A runner's foot pounds against a hard surface hundreds of times per kilometer, a tennis player's shoulder swings ...Olympic technology 1996
At a speed-skating meet in Norway in the 1960s, Canadian Paul Enoch smashed a world record by three seconds. He did it wearing a pair of his wife's skintight nylon stockings--in an age when most skaters still wore flapping woolen garments. A year later, the first skin-tight nylon racing suit was released on the market. That just goes to show the effect new technology can have on a sport--and these days, that technology is a lot more sophisticated than nylon stockings. At the Olympic Games now underway in Atlanta, technological advances are helping both athletes and organizers. Take the cyclists, for instance. As they race around a 400-metre track at 55 kilometers per hour, they'll be ...Footballs in flight
In case you haven't heard, there's a little football game being played over at Taylor Field next Sunday between a team from Calgary and a team from Baltimore. Canadian football is known as a pass-happy game, so I thought I'd delve into the aerodynamics of a flying football. Football aerodynamics, however, isn't something you just look up in an encyclopedia. Instead, I got on the World Wide Web, did a search for "football" and "aerodynamics," and immediately came up with Dr. Peter Lissaman, Adjunct Professor of Aerodynamics at the University of Southern California and one of the world's leading experts in the aerodynamics of spinning objects. (In fact, he just recently gave a ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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