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Monthly Archives: September 2011
Bird, Dinosaur Feathers Caught in Amber
This important study provides a clear look into the evolution of plumage, including, for the first time, “protoplumage” that adorned non-avian dinosaurs. To get a clear look at the feathers, scientists sanded away amber that was close to the feathers until just a few millimeters remained between the feathers and the surface of the amber. Continue reading
Posted in Evolution, Paleontology
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The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada isn’t your standard scientific think tank hidden behind stuffy ivory towers.
Instead it is a cutting edge facility for gathering the brightest minds in theoretical physics from around the world into a single centre where they can interact and cross influence each others work into understanding some of the most important ideas and issues in physics today. Continue reading
Posted in Education, General Interest, Physics
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Improving the Presentation and Reliability of OMI Ozone Retrievals
Since 1990 I have been comparing my ground-based measurements of total ozone, total water vapor and aerosol optical depth (AOD) with a series of both NASA and NOAA space-based instruments. Continue reading
Posted in Amateur Science, climate, Environment, Meteorology
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More Thoughts on Chemicals
Sheldon makes some good points about using Material Safety Data Sheets. One thing though is that they can be a bit scary. You may read the ones on some chemicals that you plan to use and then decide, maybe I should not mess with that chemical. It is a good idea to get calibrated to the language of the data sheets. Continue reading
Posted in Best Practices, Chemistry, Tips
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Citizen Science Musings: What is Autumn?
The transition from summer to winter for me is one of the richest times of the year. The sharpness that come into the air, the gradual dip of the sun that lights the world from a slant, the feeling of change. Harvest time, Halloween, the onset of the winter holidays. Continue reading
Getting to Know a New Observing Site
If you don’t see something remarkable right away, it’s easy to get bored and stop coming. Like I said, getting to know a natural site takes time. How much time? Based on my experience, at least one year. Continue reading
Posted in Amateur Science, Best Practices, General Interest, Projects
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Know Your Chemicals
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are compilations of information about chemical substances and industrial products that tell you what you need to know to handle the material safely. Continue reading
Posted in Amateur Science, Chemistry, Tools
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Canadian Ozone Monitoring Faces Possible Cuts
This raises the question of whether amateur scientists could at least partly step into the void should these programs go away. As our own Forrest Mims has extensively demonstrated, monitoring ozone regularly can be done. The technology to do at least some of this is widely and easily available. it is possible for citizens to competently measure ozone levels with a modicum of training. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Plan 28 to Build Babbage’s Analytical Engine
The Babbage Difference Engine represents a milestone in the design of calculating machines. For various reasons, the device was never built during Babbage’s lifetime. However, he continued to design other machines, one of which was his “Analytical Engine” that was designed as a more general computing device. Continue reading
Posted in Computer Science
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And the Winner Is…
The votes came from a variety of sources; we ran a poll on the CSL Facebook page, and an email survey. There were not nearly as many votes as I hoped for, but the verdict was unmistakable. Continue reading
Posted in CSL News, General Interest
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