Ah…Antarctica. The seventh continent? Or is it? When you get down to it, pinning down the exact number of continents is like trying to touch a mirage: you can see it, but is it really there? Unlike the latter-day effort in astronomy to define what … Continue readingThe Seventh Continent…Or Is It?
It’s recently come to my attention that a “ring of fire” will be over the United States next month, on Saturday October 14. “What?”, you might ask; “Is the world coming to an end?”. No, not that kind of fire: it’s going to be an … Continue readingAn Annular Eclipse is Coming Soon!
When you’ve got a Pottery Barn basket girlfriend in your SoCal beach house, and you’re lying together under a colossal throw blanket watching the sun go down on the maritime horizon, what landmass are you looking toward? The answer might surprise you. Counterintuitive Latitudes One’s … Continue readingSpherical Geometry, Beach Style
Ah, the periodic table of the elements: that ubiquitous chart in the realm of chemistry. In the heady days of the 19th century new elements were being discovered, filling in the table left and right, culminating with the last discovery of a naturally-occurring stable element, … Continue readingThe Final Frontiers of the Periodic Table