G. D. Fahrenheit, Anders Celsius and William Kelvin may sound like prospects for the Roughriders’ defensive backfield, but they probably wouldn’t work out very well. For one thing, they’re all dead. For another, they weren’t football players, but scientists–and two of them, at least, are household names, which is far less common for scientists than …
Want to start an interesting discussion? Go up to someone and say, “I think Barry Manilow represents the pinnacle of music in the rock era.” Assuming you can avoid being locked and/or beaten up, you will have demonstrated the fact that music is a topic of great interest to just about everyone. Topics of great …
Welcome back (those who came back) for the promised look at Einstein’s general theory of relativity. I hope you remembered the billiard balls and rubber sheet… Einstein’s special theory of relativity, which we looked at last week, states that nothing can travel faster than light. Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity, however, assumed that somehow gravitational …
If you were asked, on the spur of the moment, to state a famous scientific equation–any old equation–the odds are you’d say “E=mc2.” Almost everyone has heard of it, and most people have also heard of Einstein and the theory of relativity. Sooner or later, then, a science columnist like myself pretty well has to …
“Have a heart!” “You’re breaking my heart!” “He’s a man after my own heart.” “He showed a lot of heart.” “He wears his heart on his sleeve.” “Hey, wanna play hearts?” We use the word “heart” in a lot of different ways–so many, in fact, that the Oxford English Dictionary (which admittedly is not known …
If there’s one thing you can count on in this world–or out of it–it’s the sun, right? Always there, always shining behind the clouds, perfect, never-changing. Well… It was a cherished belief of people for many centuries that the sun was perfect and constant. But then along came the telescope. Galileo naturally turned his …
The space shuttle towers above you, gleaming white in the early morning sunshine. The familiar calm voice of the NASA announcer counts down the final seconds to launch. Billowing white steam and smoke explode around you, and as the shuttle majestically rises on a brilliant pillar of flame the thunder of the rockets shakes… the …
“Quark” is a word that people automatically associate with science. It’s memorable because it’s unusual–not to mention fun. (Q. What sound does a physicist’s duck make? A. Quark, quark.) But how many people really know what a quark is? Not many, and since I was one who didn’t, I decided to write a column on …
When people think of science, they think of physics or chemistry or astronomy, of particle accelerators, of racks of test tubes or giant telescopes. They don’t think of taxonomy; yet this less-than-glamorous science is at the heart of modern biology. Taxonomy is not, as you might suppose, the scientific study of taxes. Instead it’s …
If you’re like most people, when you’re asked to list the five senses, your order will be something like: sight, hearing, touch, taste and–oh, yeah–smell. Like Rodney Dangerfield, smell “can’t get no respect.” But all that may be changing. And the Japanese, as in so many other areas of technology, are leading the way–by a …
People have been gazing at the stars for as long as there have been people. The Babylonians and other ancient civilizations had sophisticated observatories from which they plotted the movements of the stars and planets. However, just looking at the stars and planets with the naked eye will never tell you much about them–they’re only …
Though the word “biotechnology” sounds very modern, what it describes has been with us for centuries–if you define it, as one science encyclopedia does, as “using biological organisms, systems or processes to make or modify products.” In other words, the first time somebody discovered the wondrous change wrought in grape juice by fermentation, or an …
A chat with New York Times bestselling YA author Kristen Cicarelli about Heartless Hunter, The Crimson Moth Book 1, a “dangerously romantic Scarlet Pimpernel-inspired fantasy.” Websitekristenciccarelli.com Facebook@AuthorKristenCiccarelli Instagram@kristenciccarelli Pinterest@kciccarelli Kristen Ciccarelli’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Heartless HunterAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Enemies-to-lovers doesn’t get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling…
A chat with award-winning fantasy author Sebastien de Castell about Play of Shadows, Book 1 of Court of Shadows, set in the world of his popular Greatcoats series. Websitedecastell.com X@decastell Facebook@decastell Sebastien de Castell’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Play of ShadowsAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first…
A chat with author Lyn McGinnis about Anu Awakes, an epic fantasy series, and the most recent release in that series, Book 2, Amarel Mountain. Websiteanuawakesseries.com Bluesky@anuawakes Goodreads Instagram@anuawakes Lyn McGinnis’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Amarel MountainAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Descendants of the Tolku of the Primary Epoch, the Koru, Yakku and Yelda, now…
A chat with new author Jared N. Michaud about his upcoming YA science fiction novel Brightstar, first book in the Energematric6 space adventure series. Websiteenergematrice6.com Facebook@Energematrice6 X@Energematrice6 Instagram@jarednmichaud Jared N. Michaud’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for BrightstarAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Brightstar is the beginning of an epic space-adventure series that introduces readers to Nate, a…
A chat with the writing team of Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey about their long-running techno-thriller series, Enigma, and Enigma Tracer, first book in their new Enigma Heirs trilogy. Websiteenigmabookseries.com Facebook@TheEnigmaSeries X@EnigmaSeries@1rburkey Instagram@enigmabookseries YouTube Amazon Links for Engima TracerAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book The clock is ticking … can Gracie uncover the truth? Phillip Pliant is…
A chat with author and former television host Steve Truitt about his new science fiction novel series, The Mindset Chronicles. Websitestevetruitt.com Facebook@AuthorSteveTruitt Amazon Links for The DeletionAmazon.comAmazon.ca Steve Truitt’s Amazon Page About the Book In a world where artificial intelligence has become an integral part of daily life, the sudden death of all AI sends…
A chat with noted medievalist Danièle Cybulskie about her new book, Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World. Websitedanielecybulskie.com X/Twitter@5minmedievalist Facebook@5MinMedievalist Instagram@5minmedievalist YouTube@5MinMedievalist Amazon Links for Chivalry and CourtesyAmazon.caAmazon.com Danièle Cybulskie’s Amazon Page About the Book Medieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners—licking their knives or throwing chicken…
A chat with Hugo-nominated author Marie Brennan about her Legend of the Five Rings trilogy, which just wrapped up with The Market of 100 Fortunes. Websiteswantower.com Bluesky Patreon Amazon Links for The Market of 100 FortunesAmazon.caAmazon.com Marie Brennan’s Amazon Page About the Book Enthralling fantasy mystery from the world of Legend of the Five Rings as two…
A chat with Canadian author Douglas Smith about his young adult fantasy trilogy The Dream Rider Saga, which has just culminated in Book 3, The Lost Expedition. Websitesmithwriter.com Facebook@WritingtheFantastic X/Twitter@smithwritr Instagram@douglassmithwriter Amazon Links for The Lost ExpeditionAmazon.caAmazon.com Douglas Smith’s Amazon Page About the Book The Thrilling Conclusion to the Multi-Award-Winning Trilogy Will is the Dream…
A chat with award-winning author Matthew Hughes about his newest fantasy novel, A God in Hiding, and his recent young adult outdoor adventure tale, The Emir’s Falcon (Shadowpaw Press). Websitearchonate.com Facebook@hapthorn Amazon Links A God in HidingAmazon.caAmazon.com The Emir’s FalconAmazon.caAmazon.com Publisher’s Book Page for The Emir’s Falcon About the Books A God in Hiding In…
