Category: Links Dump

At NIF, a Quest for Fusion Energy (or Maybe Folly) – NYTimes.com "The $3.5 billion site is known as the National Ignition Facility, or NIF. For more than half a century, physicists have dreamed of creating tiny stars that would inaugurate an era of bold science and cheap energy, and NIF is meant to kindle… Continue reading links for 2009-05-26

The Physics of The (Football) Wave : Built on Facts Why people at a football game are like atoms in a gas. (tags: science physics blogs built-on-facts) The Speed of Short People : The Frontal Cortex Modern neuroscience explains why I have so much trouble keeping up with short little guards. (tags: science neuroscience biology… Continue reading links for 2009-05-25

Solar charging an electric motorcycle – how long? | Dot Physics "Questions to be answered: How much energy would the bike need to go 50 miles? How much power (average) could you expect to get from the solar panels? And…how long would it take to charge this sucker. I am sure you can store enough… Continue reading links for 2009-05-19

Tor.com / Science fiction and fantasy / Blog posts / Magic, family, uncertainty: Lisa Goldstein’s <em>Tourists</em> A brilliant book that ought to be much better known than it is. (tags: culture SF books review fantasy tor) The Big Lebowski | Film | A.V. Club "Inspired by Raymond Chandler detective novels—and the hazy L.A. vibe of… Continue reading links for 2009-05-17

The Trouble with Double X | The American Prospect "In the site’s introductory video, one of the editors, Hanna Rosin, says, "If you take something like Slate and you have it edited by three women, instead of the people it’s edited by, well that’s the kind of magazine that we want to turn out." She… Continue reading links for 2009-05-16

News: Students as Lemmings – Inside Higher Ed "The researchers find "clear evidence that peer driven students on average perform worse than the ability driven in terms of both average and final grade," though they acknowledge that the "effect is small in magnitude" — about two-tenths of a grade point on a 30 point grade… Continue reading links for 2009-05-15

Angels & Demons – The science behind the story CERN explains what antimatter is really about. (tags: science physics education movies particles) Figgleton v. Ditchens « Easily Distracted "As with many similarly well-worn discussions, I’d just as soon review the available lines of argument about why secular or atheistic thinkers perhaps should have an interest… Continue reading links for 2009-05-14

Spirit Stuck – The Planetary Society Blog | The Planetary Society "The Spirit rover on Mars is currently stuck in a patch of loose material. After a few attempts to get free, the team has wisely decided to do further experiments on Earth instead of on Mars. They will now recreate the conditions in our… Continue reading links for 2009-05-13

18 and Under – The Marks of Childhood or the Marks of Abuse? – NYTimes.com "This year, the study of child abuse is coming of age as a medical specialty. In November, the first medical board exam will be offered in a new official specialty, child abuse pediatrics. Knowledge and research that have accumulated over… Continue reading links for 2009-05-12

Disco Hayes: It’s all Greek to me "And then the joke hits me. It’s witty, it’s relevant … ah, it’s perfect. It happens so fast, before I know it my lips are making a coy, dry grin to indicate I’m about to be a smart alec. I figure the Doctor has a hundred physicals to… Continue reading links for 2009-05-11