Recent Comments
Tag Archives: science
Why Leave Earth? (An Earth Day Reflection on Going Beyond It)
This Earth Day, while we celebrate the only home we’ve ever known, it might seem strange to talk about leaving it, but after my recent post on the Artemis II mission, a reader asked a question that stopped me in … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Technology
Tagged Artemis II, Earth, Earth Day, exploration, International Space Station, Mars, Moon, NASA, science, space
Leave a comment
Riding the Invisible Currents of Gravity
After exploring why gravity doesn’t “turn off” and why astronauts in low Earth orbit are really just falling forever, we can finally follow that idea to its natural conclusion: what happens when you keep falling all the way to the … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Technology
Tagged Artemis II, Christina Koch, Earth, equi-gravis, falling, free-return trajectory, gravity, Jeremy Hansen, Lagrange points, Mars, Moon, orbital mechanics, physics, Reid Wiseman, rocketry, science, space travel, three-body problem, translunar trajectory, Victor Glover, weightlessness
Leave a comment
Falling Forever: Why 200 Miles Up Feels Like Zero Gravity
After I wrote about losing gravity, I was asked a great follow-up question: if the Earth is a massive object warping the fabric of spacetime and pulling everything toward it, why do astronauts appear like they’re floating in a giant … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged acceleration, artificial gravity, centrifugal force, Earth, freefall, general relativity, generational spacecraft, geodesic, Gravitron, gravity, International Space Station, Low Earth Orbit, mass, NASA, orbit, orbital mechanics, physics, relativity, science, spacetime, Sun, Vomit Comet, weight, weightlessness
Leave a comment
Friday the 13th: The Double Feature
Last month, we survived the first Friday the 13th of the year. We checked our blind spots, avoided ladders and perhaps felt a smug sense of relief when the clock struck midnight as the calendar rolled over to the 14th. … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Holidays, Society
Tagged 28, calendar, déjà vu, Friday the 13th, Gregorian Calendar, horror, Rule of 3, science, sequel, superstition, trilogy
Leave a comment
The Road Not Taken — A Reflection on the Quantum Self
I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about the road not taken, in the spirit of Robert Frost’s famous poem. We talked about the turns that change a life, not the trivial ones, not “Store A versus Store … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy
Tagged academia, alternate history, multiverse, philosophy, physics, Schrödinger’s Cat, science, tenure, what if?
Leave a comment
Superstition, Statistics and Our Unshakable Love of Spooky Math
It’s not quite Halloween. There are no ghosts, no monsters, no spooky hauntings, no plastic skeletons on the lawn, no “fun-size” candy bars clogging the pantry and no neighbors dressed as inflatable dinosaurs, at least not in the costume aisle … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Holidays, Society
Tagged black cats, Friday the 13th, Halloween, luck, psychology, science, superstition, triskaidekaphobia
Leave a comment
The Great Rodent Referendum: A Proud Tradition of Meteorology by Rodent
I can’t let the cultural wonder known as “Groundhog Day” pass by without a comment. The idea behind the celebration is an odd Old World carryover rooted in European weather lore, specifically from the German custom of Candlemas. Originally, if … Continue reading
Gravity Doesn’t Have an “Off” Switch (and, sadly, neither do conspiracy theorists)
I don’t spend a ton of time on social media. I have actual work to do and, quite frankly, my tolerance for the digital equivalent of “prospecting for gold in a septic tank” is at an all-time low. Most of … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Albert Einstein, August 12, conspiracy theory, general relativity, gravity, physics, relativity, science, spacetime
Leave a comment