Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
It sounds like a simple question, and you might assume that the answer is either “Yes” of “No”, but the truth is that neither answer is correct. I very much like the way that Tom Chivers has described it in the Telegraph … Imagine you have a big fairground Wheel of Fortune thing, with the … Read more
Now this is truly cute, while we do know that many different varieties of animal will attempt to mimic human speech, for the first time a whale has been observed doing so. In this specific instance, it is a Beluga whale named Noc. Apparently when Noc started doing this it fooled a diver in the pool at … Read more
Stories are circulating about a UK company that has worked out a way to manufacture petrol from air. The BBC reports … Its sounds exciting, they are converting carbon dioxide into fuel, so what is the problem here. Well, it took them several months to get a couple of litres, but that is not the real issue, because what they … Read more
Today we have the announcement of the Chemistry Nobel Prize, and yes I’m more of a physics fan so perhaps yesterday was my own personal highlight. Now, before we get to the details, first a quick side tour. Grrlscientist’s Guardian Column has a nice little article on Nobel Prize Quackpottery within which she highlights some of the … Read more
Yea, its physics day for Nobel Prizes. Humm, do I portray a slight bias there, one that advocates that the only real science is Physics and that the rest is simply stamp collecting? Hat tip to Ernest Rutherford for that observation, and also a tad ironic because he won the Nobel prize in 1908 for Chemistry, … Read more
It is the Nobel Prize season … starting today we get to hear the winners. Each day they announce just one and today it is the prize for Physiology. Then on successive days the announcement agenda runs as follows: Tues 9th : Physics Wed 10th : Chemistry Fri 12th : Peace Mon 15th : Economics If … Read more