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The Azolla Event: when is a fern not a fern?

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Betelgeuse, Gamow, and a Big Red Horse

There has been a lot of talk recently of Betelgeuse possibly going supernova this century or not...

Climate Change, the Walrus and the Carpenter

I have recently watched two videos on climate change by Sabine Hossenfelder.  The first one...

A Very Large Hadron Collider?

Frontpage image: Illustration of spherical explosion (kilonova) of two neutron stars (AT2017gfo/GW170817)...

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Robert H OlleyRSS Feed of this column.

Until recently, I worked in the Polymer Physics Group of the Physics Department at the University of Reading.

I would describe myself as a Polymer Morphologist. I am not an astronaut,

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Perfluorinated Polar Bears?

Perfluorinated Polar Bears?

Feb 07 2012 | comment(s)


Perfluorinated Polar Bears!

 
No, this is not an exasperated exclamation by Captain Haddock, but might well be a shout of surprise at learning that Canadians have been searching for compounds of that nature in these snowy animals.  But why should Scott Mabury and his group at the University of Toronto be looking for them?
 
The simple answer is that they are terribly persistent in the environment.  Bit odd, one might link, considering that Fluorine is the most reactive of all the elements in the periodic table.  So reactive[1], in fact, that
 
Use by date?

Use by date?

Feb 04 2012 | comment(s)


In the USA, it is, I understand, a great insult to call a member of the fair sex a “Tub of Lard”.  So folks from across the Pond may do a slight double-take when they read 
 
   
 

Tub of lard found fit to eat after 64 years



 
Gladstone and Macaulay

Gladstone and Macaulay

Jan 16 2012 | comment(s)

William Macaulay, in a review (1839) about the recently-published book by William Gladstone, The State in its Relations with the Church, wrote:



    Mr Gladstone conceives that the duties of government are paternal; a doctrine which we shall not believe till he can show us some government which loves its subjects as a father loves his children, and which is as superior to its subjects in intelligence as a father to his child.
Exploding toads and other matters

Exploding toads and other matters

Jan 05 2012 | comment(s)

For the last two days we have had our BBC television naturalist Chris Packham presenting us with “Nature’s Weirdest Events”. Here are my three favourites from this session.

Chesterton and Evolution

Chesterton and Evolution

Jan 01 2012 | comment(s)

As some of you are aware, I am a fan of the writings of G.K.Chesterton.

In 1903, in an essay The Return of the Angels, he came out with this surprising statement:
What does one mean by equality?

What does one mean by equality?

Dec 31 2011 | comment(s)

One nice features of Science 2.0 is the way it links to Science Codex and Real Clear Science.  The latter of these sometimes directs me to a journal called The Atlantic, in which I read

What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success

The Scandinavian country is an education superpower because it values equality more than excellence.