“ An explorer of the universe is sexier than a musician.
Prof. Brian Cox (source)
May 15th, 2012 at 4:27 pm 12 notes #Brian Cox #scienceReblogged from unknownskywalker May 10th, 2012 at 12:55 pm 73 notes #space #science #videos #symphony of science“We Are Star Dust” - Symphony of Science
We are star dust, reaching out to the universe. The 15th Symphony of Science video featuring Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman and Lawrence Krauss.
from reddit [1] [2] [3 4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
April 17th, 2012 at 2:58 pm 6 notes #space shuttle #discovery #science #NASA #final flight
Reblogged from kateoplis April 15th, 2012 at 4:11 pm 215 notes #science #physics #gravitational wavesThese cosmic emanations are thought to be hurled across space when stars start throwing their weight around – for example when they collapse into black holes or when pairs of super-dense neutron stars start to spin closer and closer to each other. These processes put massive strains on the fabric of space-time, pushing and stretching it so that ripples of gravitational energy radiate across the universe.
At least, that is the theory. To date, no one has actually detected a gravitational wave. The Ruthe laboratory, a joint UK-German project known as Geo600, has been built to overcome this failure and to show these disruptions in space-time do exist, thus proving that Albert Einstein was absolutely right – and utterly wrong – about gravity.
It is a startling paradox. Harald Lück, a scientist at Geo600, explained: “In his general theory of relativity, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, which he said would be set off by highly energetic events objects like supernovae or neutron star collisions. However, he also predicted we would never be able to observe these waves because they would be too weak to be detected by the time they reached Earth. We intend to prove him right in the first instance and wrong in the second.”
“Many adults are put off when youngsters pose scientific questions. Children ask why the sun is yellow, or what a dream is, or how deep you can dig a hole, or when is the world’s birthday, or why we have toes. Too many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move on to something else. Why adults should pretend to omniscience before a five-year-old, I can’t for the life of me understand. What’s wrong with admitting that you don’t know? Children soon recognize that somehow this kind of question annoys many adults. A few more experiences like this, and another child has been lost to science.
There are many better responses. If we have an idea of the answer, we could try to explain. If we don’t, we could go to the encyclopedia or the library. Or we might say to the child: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe no one knows. Maybe when you grow up, you’ll be the first to find out.”
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as the Candle in The Dark (via blua)
(via melecwi)
Reblogged from skaterboytae April 4th, 2012 at 5:26 pm 14,210 notes #carl sagan #children #science #questions #curiosityFamous Physicists as Children
From left to right:
Stephen Hawking (b. 1942) - Most well known for Hawking radiation and theorems involving gravitational singularities. He suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease - and is one of the most well scientists of our time.
Neil deGrasse Tyson (b. 1958) - Currently the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, Tyson is one of the leading science advocates in the world - and was one of the men who supported the demotion of Pluto.
Carl Sagan (1934-1996) - One of the most successful science popularizers of all time, Sagan was also the bestselling author of Cosmos, one of the most popular science books of all time. He was the first to propose that Jupiter’s moons Titan and Europa may hold liquid components of water on them.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - The most well known genius in history, Albert Einstein was a boss. During his career, he revolutionized almost every area of Physics, including quantum mechanics and he effectively founded the study of Cosmology. His theory of general relativity has been wildly successful, despite ‘attacks’ by neutrinos.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) - His most important contributions came via his path integral formulation of quantum mechanics and development of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Plus, he was a total badass.
(via zwischenfischen)
Reblogged from quantumaniac March 26th, 2012 at 4:14 pm 5,832 notes #science #physicists #children
Gorgeous photo of Jupiter and its moon Io. That red dot on Io is a volcano, and the blue clouds are from the volcano. Here’s a closeup:
