Environment
Category archives for Environment
Belated March Meeting Wrap-Up
Posted by Chad Orzel on March 25, 2010 I did one sketchy update from Portland last Tuesday, but never wrote up my impressions of the rest of the March Meeting– when I got back, I was buried in grading, and then trying to put together Monday’s presentation. And, for reasons that will become apparent, I was unable to write anything up before I…
The Faulty Fluid Dynamics of Hotel Environmentalism
Posted by Chad Orzel on February 16, 2010 Boskone this past weekend was held at the Westin Waterfront in Boston, which has these funky double showerheads that they charmingly call the “Heavenly(R) Shower” (hype aside, they are very nice showers). The picture at right is courtesy of lannalee on Twitter, as I didn’t bring a camera. Why am I telling you this? Because…
Climate, Weather, and Public Opinion
Posted by Chad Orzel on January 10, 2010 There’s a Kenneth Chang article in the New York Times this morning on the ever popular topic of “If the globe is warming, why is it so darn cold?” It’s a good explanation of the weather phenomenon that’s making the morning dog walk at Chateau Steelypips so unpleasant. This reminded me of something I’ve wondered…
Why Every Dog Should Love Quantum Physics 2: Solar Panels
Posted by Chad Orzel on December 17, 2009 Yesterday’s reason to love quantum was the CCD sensor, which relies on the photoelectric effect to take digital pictures. Sticking with the photoelectric theme, today’s first quantum-enabled technology is the photovoltaic cell, the basis for solar panels. Photovoltaic cells convert light into electricity, essentially via the same photoelectric effect used in CCD’s. A photon of…
Snowy Poll
Posted by Chad Orzel on December 9, 2009 I just finished shoveling six-plus inches of snow off our cars and driveway (the forecast called for something like 3-5″, but we’ve got more than that, with no slowing in the fall). In honor of the first significant snowfall of the year, a poll: It’s snowing:(survey) This one has ticky-boxes, which will play hell with…
On Scandalous Emails
Posted by Chad Orzel on December 2, 2009 The big topic-of-the-moment is the hacked stash of emails from a major climate research group. The whole climate change discussion is one of those “no upside” topics that I try to stay out of, but I have some thoughts and comments about issues surrounding the email incident. These are largely based on reactions to yesterday’s…
A Question About Frost
Posted by Chad Orzel on November 4, 2009 It’s November now, which means we’re edging into winter, and my morning ritual has been expanded to include scraping the frost off the cars when I get back from walking the dog. I’ve had to do this half a dozen times already, and I’ve noticed a puzzling pattern. Our driveway is aligned almost exactly east-west,…
Wanted: Nuclear Energy Speakers
Posted by Chad Orzel on November 3, 2009 We’re going to host the New York Section meeting of the American Physical Society next spring (joint with the New England Section, which will tax our resources), with the theme of the meeting being applications of nuclear physics. We’ve divided up the job of finding speakers for the meeting, and I’m supposed to be inviting…
Don’t Be Such a Scientist by Randy Olson
Posted by Chad Orzel on September 28, 2009 This book is, in some ways, a complement to Unscientific America. Subtitled “Talking Substance in an Age of Style,” this is a book talking about what scientists need to do to improve the communication of science to the general public. This is not likely to make as big a splash in blogdom as Unscientific America,…
New Grants Program for Solar Energy
Posted by Chad Orzel on June 17, 2009 Whether because I’m a blogger, or because I’m a previous recipient of their money (I suspect the latter), I recently got email from the Research Corporation announcing their new Scialog 2009: Solar Energy Conversion program: Scialog will focus on funding early career scientists and building research teams to undertake groundbreaking studies in solar energy conversion.…
