A Yosemite sugar pine, victim of bark beetles You remember that scene in The Day After Tomorrow — the goofy 2004 global warming thriller — where Jake Gyllenhaal tries to outrun a wave of insta-freeze that’s chasing him down hallways and around corners? (You’re forgiven, or even commended, if the answer is no.) Well, a […]
science
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Sailing
The physics of sailing is outlined in the first diagram, showing the equilibrium between forces. The vector-sum of forces on sail and keel is balanced by the resistance of moving the boat through water. The speed of a typical 10-meter yacht in winds of 10 and 20 knots, as a function of its angle to […]
Posted inNews
Bigfoot’s Boring
You remember Tom Biscardi, the guy who scrapped, most unfortunately, with Coast to Coast AM’s George Noory in the fall of 2005 after claiming he had a Bigfoot in captivity in Stagecoach, Nev.? (You can read the synopsis of all that fun nonsense here .) Well, the man’s temporarily gone off Bigfoot — such a […]
Posted inNews
Remembering Three Mile Island and the New Nuclear Renaissance
Apropos of last week’s cover story in the Journal , “The Not-So-Peaceful Atom,” today’s Morning Edition on NPR features two stories on the nuclear industry: One is about Three Mile Island’s efforts to extend their license, which looks like it’s going to happen, and the other is about the nuclear renaissance underway in the United […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
In Formation
The V-formations of honking Aleutian Cackling Geese that decorate our skies pose the question as to whether they fly in formation for social cohesion or to conserve energy. The reason military jets fly in V-formation is not to conserve energy, but to permit trailing pilots to remain in visual contact with the leading pilot. Fortunately, […]
Posted inNews
Believers and knowers unite!
Well, we don’t really know, do we? Bigfoot? No Bigfoot? Bigfatliars? Bigmisunderstoods? And in the spirit of open, collegial debate — indeed, in the interest of unfettered investigation by believers, if not scientists — U.C. Berkeley’s Hearst Museum of Anthropology has put on display the plaster casts of tracks that some say were made by […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Ins and Outs of Tides
The Moon’s gravity decreases with distance, so it pulls unequally at the Earth and its oceans (arrows in the diagram). This tends to produce two tidal bulges: The Moon pulls harder on the closer ocean than it pulls on the solid Earth. And it pulls harder on the solid Earth than it pulls on the […]
Posted inNews
Life, live!
Cafeteria roenbergensis photo by Tamara Clark, CreativeCommons Have you been to the Encyclopedia of Life site yet? Yes, of course you have — you and hordes of others, causing the new “ecosystem of websites,” as they’re calling it, to crash. But it seems to be back up, so in case you haven’t been there, check […]
Posted inMusic
Incredible Flight
In September of 2007 a one-pound Bar-tailed Godwit, designated E7, completed the longest non-stop flight ever recorded for a bird. This is her story. E7 hatched in the tundra of western Alaska. She dined on insects and then, after fledging, on marine life near the mouth of the Yukon River, storing an immense amount of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
More Power to You
PG&E is planning an upgrade of its aging Humboldt Bay power station. It currently produces 135 megawatts from two steam turbine generators working at 35 percent efficiency (backed by two emergency 15-megawatt diesel-fired gas turbines). The new system would employ 10 reciprocating internal combustion engines running on natural gas, capable of producing 163 megawatts with […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Use Your Local Radar
A National Doppler Radar installation is conveniently located on Bunker Hill south of Ferndale. To see its value in forecasting rain or snow you should visit www.weather.gov/eureka. The following is an introduction to this amazing technology. Weather radar operates at two wavelengths, 5 cm & 10 cm, with ranges of 124 and 248 nautical miles. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Can You Predict Rain?
Yes, by simply learning how to interpret available data. The best window into tomorrow’s weather is a movie which compresses several hours of satellite-observations into a few seconds: Google "Eureka Weather" and click Current Conditions — East Pacific — Infrared — Loop. After some experience you will be able to reasonably forecast our weather by […]