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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)...

Robert H Olley

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,

Elizabeth Taylor Polythene?

Mar 23 2010 | comment(s)

I have an issue with the ladies of Hollywood. As a scientist, I find diamond a most useful material, and the way these glitterate use these stones for personal adornment does, I think, only serve to grossly inflate their price.

Diamond is famous for two properties, firstly its wonderful transparency and secondly its hardness, which are put to good use in the diamond anvil cell.

Squirt Alert!

Mar 22 2010 | comment(s)

How would you be feeling, if you had parked your boat in the marina at Caergybi (Holyhead) just off Ynys Môn (Anglesey, see map below)

and found its anchor chains covered with this?

Albrecht Von Haller – Views And Outcomes

Mar 18 2010 | comment(s)

Now here’s an interesting chap.

The Göttingen Academy of Sciences [1] was founded in 1751 with Albrecht von Haller (1708 – 1777) [2] as the main driving force in the setting it up. He had very definite views on what an academy should be. The historian Morris Kline writes:–

Does Spiderman Get Wet?

Mar 05 2010 | comment(s)

Does Spiderman get wet? The hunt has been on for some time now for what are called superhydrophobic surfaces. These would be ideal for see-though surfaces such as windscreens and coating for solar cells, where any dirty water that splashes on will simply roll off it like the proverbial duck’s back.

Plastic From Glucose

Mar 02 2010 | comment(s)

Can one make plastic from glucose?

Class and Science Education

Mar 01 2010 | comment(s)

There has been much discussion lately about the ignorance of matters scientific among the public. With this is mind, here are some thoughts from Blighty.

I have just been speaking to my friend O, who is quite a senior figure in science education. He has been fighting a battle for years against the prevailing mindset. I will put forth a few of his complayntes:

The exam boards see it as their job, rather than the teachers’, to stretch children’s knowledge.

Science teaching is becoming increasingly mathematized.

It is aimed at producing academic scientists, rather than teaching folk at large who want to use their science in their jobs, e.g. plumbers and beauticians.