energy
Tag archives for energy
Where does an earthquake’s energy come from?
Posted by Ethan on May 10, 2013 
“As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In fact, a full frequency of vibrations occurs.” -Charles Francis Richter You’ve all been around long enough to be familiar with the severe damage that earthquakes can cause, rattling and cracking the…
Inflation, Dark Energy, and the Physics of Spacetime
Posted by Ethan on April 12, 2013 
“Orbiting Earth in spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase beauty, not destroy it!” -Yuri Gagarin Fifty-two years ago today, the first human being left Earth, and we began our journey into outer space. But back in 1961, we didn’t really know how far outer space stretched, or…
How many colors are really in a rainbow?
Posted by Ethan on August 14, 2012 
“The colors of a rainbow so pretty in the sky. Are also on the faces of people going by.” -Louis Armstrong It’s no secret that white light is the light that we see when all the colors shine together and are seen at once. This has been known for over 400 years, when Isaac Newton…
The Physics of an Inclined Treadmill
Posted by Ethan on March 10, 2010 A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul. -Jillian Michaels One of the most popular exercises at the gym is the treadmill. And why wouldn’t it be? Whether you’re running or walking, it’s a great way to get your heart rate up, get your body moving, and for many people,…
Will the LHC Create Dark Matter?
Posted by Ethan on May 5, 2008 Hector writes in and asks about someone from Sheffield in the UK who says that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will create Dark Matter: The massive ATLAS detector will measure the debris from collisions occurring in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) which recreates the conditions found in the early universe during the Big Bang when…
Someone Hates Inflation!
Posted by Ethan on April 24, 2008 Warning: Crazy talk ahead. Some of you may remember that I wrote about inflation and why its alternatives fail awhile back. Apparently, Louise Riofrio didn’t get the memo. When there’s misinformation about cosmology out there, it’s up to me to set the record straight. (And I am not alone.) Let me first remind you about…
Dark Matter: Anything Practical About It?
Posted by Ethan on April 15, 2008 Yesterday, my good friend (and SWAB reader) Brian wrote a great comment about the practical reasons to explore space, where he talked about the overall economic impact that Space Exploration has had on the economy, as well as the impact it has had on our knowledge and understanding of the Earth, its environment, and how…
Energy Conservation and an Expanding Universe
Posted by Ethan on April 11, 2008 So, what’s the deal with this one? startswithabang.com reader Scott Stuart asks the following question: I was reading “The First Three Minutes” last night and came across an interesting section about blackbody radiation and energy density. The author states that as the universe expands, the number of photons running around (in the CMB, for example)…
Is Dark Energy the same as Acceleration?
Posted by Ethan on April 10, 2008 In a comment on my last post, What is Dark Energy, Kendall asks the following, which is such a good one I think it deserves its own post: I thought the expansion was accelerating? Aren’t you saying that it is on its way down to 85% of its current rate? Sounds like expansion is slowing,…
What is Dark Energy?
Posted by Ethan on April 9, 2008 You’ve all heard these words before. Dark Energy. But what is it, and why are we stuck with it? Let me start by telling you a story. Imagine, for a minute, that you have a candle. You know everything about this candle, including how bright it is and how far away it is from you.…
