Science Buddies Blog (Page 111)

Putting Things in Perspective: Honest Science

February 17, 2010 10:23 AM

In recent months, the news has been riddled with stories about professional scientists behaving poorly. In November 2009, a hacker pirated and circulated hundreds of email messages that spawned what has become known as "Climategate,", a scandal which allegedly involves the systematic and deliberate misrepresentation of statistical data regarding global warming. On the heels of Climategate, the British medical journal Lancet this month retracted a scientific paper because of fraudulent data… Read more

You Know, the Whatchamacallit.

February 11, 2010 10:03 AM

Over time, the words we use to describe principles, tendencies, and objects specific to one field of study or another become commonplace and universal. But those names and labels originated somewhere, often with a single scientist faced with a finding or discovery or problem and the question: What do I call it? Do you know why a quark is a quark? This post on the etymology of terms in Physics is a good read and full of interesting trivia. (Plus, you really have to love the great photo of… Read more

Familial Fingerprints

February 9, 2010 12:35 PM

There are two birthdays coming up in my house, two boys who thought it would be funny to wrap their births (quite symmetrically) right around Valentine's Day so that the middle of February will always be a conglomeration of treats and presents for them. Despite the fact that they are siblings, they probably don't think too much (yet) about the ways in which that shows up in their appearance, likes, dislikes, and personalities. That several years separate them is maybe more… Read more

Wringing Ringtones

February 4, 2010 5:04 PM

Like most of us, I would be lost without my cell phone. It's not that I talk on the phone all the time. It's not even that I spend endless time sending texts. Cell phones have just become a seemingly indispensible part of our culture. At 3PM, I know that a certain cell phone will start ringing on the schoolyard where we hang out after school. I've got three wake-up alarms set for my mornings, every half hour, each with a different ringtone. I see cell phones on the teachers' desks. Like many of… Read more

Going for the Gold: The Science of Winter Sports

February 1, 2010 5:08 PM

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver February 12-28. With a list of sporting events that includes Alpine Skiing, Bobsleigh, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboard, and Speed Skating, you know the snow and ice will be flying as athletes dazzle audiences and challenge the laws of physics with various rotations, jumps, loops, spins, twists, and turns. Even from the couch, I can't pinpoint a perfect triple lutz a crisp Alley Oop or… Read more

Scientist's Pick: Smart Slime

January 29, 2010 3:31 PM

Note: This month's "Scientist's Pick" is from Science Buddies' staff scientist, David Whyte. David presented this project to the Science Buddies' team last fall. It's very cool! ~ Science Buddies' Editorial Staff Project: Smarter Than Your Average Slime: Maze-solving by an Amoeboid Organism Scientist: David Whyte Science Buddies' Difficulty Level: 7-9 I was doing some background research on simple organisms that might be used in science projects when I came across an article… Read more

A Better Cup of Tea

January 27, 2010 9:05 AM

While I do cook my pasta the amount of time noted on the box (which may or may not be necessary), I'm one of the laziest sorts of tea drinkers. I drink dozens of cups of tea a day, and each time I follow the same highly unscientific, though orderly, process: I grab my cup. I grab a tea bag (from the "tea drawer"). I grab my sweetener (there are science fair project ideas on that, too!). I rip open the tea bag and drop it in my cup. I rip open my sweetener and dump it in.… Read more

Pasta Efficiency

January 19, 2010 8:44 AM

Is pasta on the menu? If you are considering spaghetti and sauce, you may find yourself staring at the pot...waiting for the water to boil. It's best to bring the water to a boil first, right? And it's best to use the amount of water noted on the box, right? What happens if you cook with less water? What happens if you put the pasta in with the water at the start? What happens if you use hot water rather than cold water? What happens if you use a different kind of… Read more

The Golden State Star Party - III

January 18, 2010 8:52 AM

The Golden State Star Party - III Photo: Kenneth Hess, 2009. Specs: Stack of 17 images, 85 minutes total exposure time on a Nikon D3. The telescope was an Astro-Physics 155mm f7 StarFire EDF Triplet Apochromatic Refractor. [View full-size image.] I wrote earlier about my trek to the northeastern corner of California to attend the Golden State Star Party, as well as the process of taking deep-space images. In this final installment in the Golden State Star Party series, I… Read more

Tracking the Sun

January 15, 2010 12:32 PM

A new science fair project idea on the Science Buddies website caught my eye today because the apparatus shown in the photograph looks like a most amazing piece of sculptural scrap art. In fact, the "Helio Tracker" shown in the Build Your Own Helio Tracker--a Self-powered Mechanical Sunflower that Turns with the Sun abbreviated project idea demonstrates an ingenious and forward-thinking approach to the challenges of going green. The principles of phototropism tell… Read more

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