A few weeks ago I wrote about the ancient, scorched papyri buried at Herculaneum by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., that, although rediscovered in 1752, have just now become legible thanks to new technology. That same technology is now uncovering astonishing treasures in another collection of papyri–not, this time, from a great …
“Imagine the planet wired for a nearly continuous readout on its vital signs, shared by all.” Sounds like a good idea to me. Of course, since it’s an idea originating with the U.S. government, I’m probably playing into the nefarious hands of the all-powerful Darth Rove by giving it a positive mention. But if so, …
Whether or not a second library turns up at Herculaneum, we can already look forward to an explosion of previously unknown classical works, thanks to highy-tech methods being used to unlock the secrets of papyrus scraps recoered from an ancient rubbish dump in central Egypt.
A seven-story rogue wave smashed into a cruise ship over the weekend, slightly injuring four passengers, smashing two windows, flooding 62 cabins and damaging the the hull. Last year I wrote this column about rogue waves.
Here’s a fascinating (and long!) article on the challenges faced and overcomed by mission control and its supporting engineers during the almost-disasterous Apollo 13 mission 35 years ago this month.
My bookish, non-athletic teenagerhood vindicated by science.
The Guardian prints some of the most provocative answers it got to the question it asked 250 scientists: “What is the one thing everyone should learn about science?“
Having gone to the trouble of transcribing the words of Ward Churchill as played on CBC Saskatchewan a while back, the least I can do is point you to this in-depth article on him from The Weekly Standard: “The Ward Churchill Notoriety Tour.”
Would you spend $50,000 to have your own personal easy-to-fly no-license-required helicopter? Is the fact it has a really cute name (AirScooter)going to change your mind?
An MIT engineer and his German colleagues have createdbrainy plastics that can be programmed to change shape when struck by certain wavelengths of light and return to their original shape when exposed to other specified wavelengths. It’s the kind of discovery whose uses will only become clear over time…and then we’ll wonder how we ever …
Scientists have uncovered the scientific key to perfect popcorn popping. It’s research you can sink your teeth into.
Don a pair of reflective gloves and this new computer interface lets you manipulate images on the screen just by moving your hands. New Scientist seems to think this idea was original with Minority Report, but I’m pretty sure it’s been widespread in written science fiction for years, if not decades. I used a hand-waving …
