Science

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Seasonal Lag

Seasonal Lag In the previous article, we learned multiple ways exist to demarcate seasons on Earth. The traditional method of observing the change from one season to the next depends on the interplay between our planet’s axial tilt and the sun. One of the interesting aspects of this method presents at the solstices. The longest day […]

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Like a Moth to a Flame

Like a Moth to a Flame Thus hath the candle singed the moth.  –Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Many of the oldest similes and metaphors feature an elemental timelessness. The notion of “a moth to a flame” connects us to our ancestors around fire rings before the advent of artificial light. Watching an insect inexorably drawn to

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Hair Ice/Frost Beard

Hair Ice/Frost Beard Documentarian Ken Burns called the National Parks “America’s Best Idea.” The splendor conserved within the boundaries of the park system features some of the planet’s greatest scenery. The humans who serve within the National Park Service also deserve plaudits. They oversee the pragmatics of the units and contain a wealth of knowledge to share

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The Whitest White

The Whitest White We learned the Blackest Black has some incredible applications, beyond turning objects into mind-melting black holes. A substance that can absorb nearly all the light that hits it can work marvels on telescopes or solar cells. The secret to carbon nanotubes – the structures that make the serious blacks possible – is to bounce

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Eigengrau

Eigengrau   Close your eyes. What color do you see? Disregard any of the artifacts that linger from light sources that impacted your eyes before you closed them. Those kaleidoscopic blobs are fascinating, but they’re not what we’re after here. They should fade relatively quickly. Some people experience these light shows all the time, thanks

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The World’s First Forest

The World’s First Forest If you had to guess, where would you place the planet’s oldest forest? The world’s oldest known tree – a bristlecone pine called Methuselah – is nearly 5,000 years old. Technical definitions of “forest” are nebulous, but they largely revolve around biomes that contain numerous trees. Forests see trees come and go, some

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Taters, the Space Laser Cat

Taters, the Space Laser Cat     “Everyone loves Taters.”  –Ryan Rogalin, Jet Propulsion Laboratory   In our current understanding of the cosmos, nothing travels faster than light. All the incarnations of the electromagnetic spectrum move at 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum, which is approximately 186,000 miles per second or 671 million miles per hour. That’s some serious

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Frisson

Frisson You’re at a concert and hear a thrilling or moving musical snippet, perhaps a particularly soulful bit of vocals or a combination of instruments that seem to mimic a truth of the universe. You’re in a dark theater and watch a heartwarming bit of acting on the screen or stage that deftly displays complex

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