darkness
esiegel | August 2, 2012"Ignignokt: Well well, I know that. I said that, but it's his nap time now.
Err: 'Cause he like, sleeps during the day.
Ignignokt: But at night he feeds.
Err: And it's always night on the Moon!
Ignignokt: Don't f*** with me, Err." -Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Moon Master
Ahh, the Moon. The brightest object in our night sky is familiar to all inhabitants of Earth, and during its full phase, easily outshines everything else in the night sky, combined.
Image credit: Furious Photos -- Amazing pictures by a delusional hack.
Capable of casting strong shadows, and easily giving off a light that's…
edyong | February 8, 2010The English language is full of metaphors linking moral purity to both physical cleanliness and brightness. We speak of "clean consciences", "pure thoughts" and "dirty thieves". We're suspicious of "shady behaviour" and we use light and darkness to symbolise good and evil. But there is more to these metaphors than we might imagine. The mere scent of a clean-smelling room can take people down a virtuous road, compelling them to choose generosity over greed and charity over apathy. Meanwhile, the darkness of a dimmed room or a pair of sunglasses can compel people towards selfishness and…
edyong | April 21, 2009Nocturnal animals face an obvious challenge: collecting enough light to see clearly in the dark. We know about many of their tricks. They have bigger eyes and wider pupils. They have a reflective layer behind their retina called the tapetum, which reflects any light that passes through back onto it. Their retinas are loaded with rod cells, which are more light-sensitive than the cone cells that allow for colour vision.
But they also have another, far less obvious adaptation - their rod cells pack their DNA in a special way that turns the nucleus of each cell into a light-collecting lens.…