#ScienceLooksGood: The Superhero Shuffle

This is one of my favorite books of all time! The Physics of Superheroes is a fun read that uses known comic examples to explain properties of physics.  For example, Kakalios talks about how force, mass, and acceleration would come into play if Superman is actually able to jump over tall buildings in a single bound!

The author, Jim Kakalios, served as a science consultant for the new Spiderman movie. In the YouTube video below, he talks about the gig and exactly how he created the "decay algorithm" used in the film. Check it out!

As you can see, Jim is also a strong proponent of making science for everyone and avoiding complicated jargon and other mess that makes science hard to understand. I respect the man and I hope that my blog has a similar effect.

SkyLab: Bad Management Hurts Good Tech

The History Channel has a great article on the 33 year anniversary of the demise of the first space station, SkyLab. It's a prime example of how technology can quickly become disastrous if not managed correctly by its owners.

I'm sure we've all been a part of projects were some phase - whether the beginning, middle, or end - was not properly planned out. It happens. But when that project is above all of our heads and rains chunks of metal over Australia during its reentry, it's a big deal.

NASA spent so much energy in the 60s and 70s designing, building, and launching SkyLab that they forgot to think about it's inevitable decline and descent back to Earth. Oops.

If you want to get really geeky, check out the full project history at the official NASA Skylab site. Beach reading!

YouTube Cartoons Solve The Universe?

Remember all the talk about the Higgs Boson, or the "god particle", during the 4th of July? Still confused? I still had some questions until I viewed the video series by MinutePhysics. They do an AMAZING job - check it out!

There are some other science geek things in the video like quarks, hadrons, charm, strange etc. Trust me, you can safely ignore those and still get the point of the video! Don't be scared!

The only thing to be scared of is this comments. This is still YouTube so ... stay away from the comments!

NASA Unveils the Orion Spacecraft

NASA has plans for the space exploration, despite the fact that the Shuttle program is over.  NASA's new spacecraft, the Orion, has just been unveiled during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Kennedy Space Center. Orion, in conjunction with the private industry SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, will ensure that NASA has its hands in space exploration for years to come.

The Orion photo above shows the different parts of the spacecraft. On top, a launch abort system is in place if the spacecraft needs to quickly separate from the rocket in case of emergency. The crew module is where the crew hangs out, and the service module has support equipment. It bears a striking resemblance to the old Apollo spacecraft that we used to get to the moon. This reflects NASA's new mission of single purpose, focused spacecraft, as opposed to the one-use-for-everything Space Shuttle.

According to SpaceFlightNow the plans are for a test flights in 2014 in 2017, followed by a flight with a crew of up to four astronauts in 2021. 

My Chalkboard Erases Your Computer

I've read a lot about school districts using tablets to help with classroom education. In theory, it's great for subjects such as science and mathematics - students are allowed to view examples of graphs and concepts in an interactive way.  Hell, my high school now allows students to beam their work up to the board, effectively removing the requirement for kids to go up to the board and solve problems. We were still checking DOS-only email and browsing the web with Netscape while I was there.

However, this must be balanced with keeping it old school and getting your hands chalky at the chalkboard. It teaches kids how to present their work in front of others and show their thought process. Most importantly, it forces kids how to deal with an awkward situation.  Many people have a hard time going up in front of a crowd.  As much practice as possible is needed, and school is the perfect place for learning how to deal with the anxiety of butterflies.

I visited the NJ SEEDS program at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA, and sat in on a math class. I'm a proud 1994 alum of this program, and I observed an amazing thing in the classroom. The students pointed out an error in one of the teacher's calculations, and the teacher took advantage. She called students to work out why she was wrong on the board - using long division! Some kids struggled more than others, but everyone got it. Math victory!

I know it's strange to say on a science and technology blog, but sometimes classroom and instruction are better when the tech is not the dominant factor. Kids should take handwritten notes, write on the board when necessary, and learn how to deal with the awkwardness of being up in front of a group.  It will pay off in the future!