Science reporting relevant to current events with an emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area
Dear reader,Welcome aboard for a flight on this week’s SciSchmooze. {Snacks optional.} CLIMATE ¿Why is the climate conference taking place called “COP28”? Because it’s easier than calling it the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference Of the Parties #28. ¿And why is it being held in Dubai, a country where fossil fuels account … Read more
Dear science fans, Storm Ciarán bashed England and left many thousands without power across Western Europe last week. The Panama Canal is restricting shipping since a drought left the region without enough fresh water to operate the locks for normal ship traffic. Some container ships had to off-load enough containers to meet weight restrictions. The containers … Read more
Dear science fan, The above Quantum Squeeze Apparatus made me laugh. It looks like a far more complex version of one of my goofy grammar school inventions that i assembled from bottles, cans, defunct car parts, light bulbs, wires, and batteries. My inventions didn’t ever do anything – but i always hoped they would lead to some … Read more
Dear SciSchmoozers, A 6.1 earthquake topped off my birthday this month in Oaxaca, Mexico (and abruptly terminated a huge outdoor rock concert). Since the quake was located 108 kilometers below the terrain, there was almost no damage – except to nerves. The Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 was a 6.9 magnitude event. The San Francisco … Read more
Dear reader,I’ve assembled some ideas and information you might enjoy. SPACE On Tuesday, go outside at 1938 hrs (that’s nerd-notation for 7:38 PM) to watch the ISS make a 6-minute pass over the Bay Area. (NW horizon to directly overhead (86°) to SE horizon) Astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin returned … Read more
Dear Reader,Below are a few items of interest: discoveries, ideas, and issues. Pick and choose as you wish and click on links for deeper stories. CLIMATE Many thousands of Emperor Penguin chicks died because some ice shelves where they hatch broke up before chicks fledged out to their waterproof plumage. Those ice shelves normally break up … Read more
Unused shared bikes in Xiamen, China Credit: Reuters from The Atlantic Bike sharing rentals seemed like a great idea and many millions of these bicycles were manufactured in China, clogging sidewalks and streets. Excess bikes numbering in the millions were rounded up and scrapped. This created tons of non-recyclable waste. This was a tiny trickle of … Read more
Hello again dear SciSchmooze reader, In the U.S. 69% of adults believe that angels are real, and 41% believe that extraterrestrial UFOs are regularly seen. Most children in this country are taught to believe in angels as part of their religious upbringing. I was. So that 69% figure seems explainable. It may be more remarkable that nearly … Read more
Hello again, you who like me enjoys learning, enjoys fireworks, and enjoys sharing the 4th of July with friends and family. SPACE In 2003, Burt Rutan announced that Scaled Composites was building a sub-orbital spacecraft, SpaceShipOne. Pilots twice flew the craft to an altitude over 100 kilometers (the Karmen Line) in 2004 (i was there!) … Read more
Hello again, dear reader, SPACE While we were Earth-bound last week, 17 out of Earth’s 8 billion people were in orbit – a new (if soon-to-be-exceeded) record. ¿How high an orbit? Consider the standard (in the U.S.) 12-inch globe. They were orbiting 4 tenths of an inch above its surface. The thickness of a piece of standard … Read more