15 June 2010
The Biological Singularity
If you’re a sci-fi reader, you are probably familiar with the idea of the “technological singularity“. For the uninitiated, the Singularity is the idea that computational power is increasing so rapidly that soon there will be genuine artificial intelligence that will far surpass humans. Essentially, once you have smarter-than-human computers, they will drive their own advancement and we will no longer be able to comprehend the technology. We can debate …
14 June 2010
Speaking to the Past with Book Covers
A friend of mine just shared this on Google reader. Douglas Coupland has come up with a clever idea: create Penguin book covers to explain the world as it is in 2010 to readers in 1935 when Penguin first started. Some of the coverse are really amusing, and several of them are space-related. Here are the spacey ones, but I recommend checking out the whole set.
12 June 2010
Review: Denialism
Do vaccines cause autism? Are genetically modified crops safe to eat? Is organic farming better than conventional? Is race a scientifically valid concept? What is the future of biotechnology now that a synthetic cell has been created? If you’ve ever asked those questions, then you should check out Denialism, by Michael Specter. If you think you know the answer to any of those questions, then you need to read Denialism. …
3QD Finalist!
It looks like my MSL: Mars Action Hero post is a finalist in the 3 Quarks Daily science blogging contest. The winners will be chosen by none other than Richard Dawkins. I am incredibly honored to be among the finalists, and it’s a real thrill to know that sometime in the next week or so, Richard Dawkins will read something that I wrote! I have said before that if I …
Ares 1-X vs Falcon 9: A Comparison
Well, I’ve been a bad space blogger, and didn’t write anything about the spectacular successful launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 4th. Considering the ongoing wailing and gnashing of teeth over the cancellation of Constellation in favor of using commercial rockets to send astronauts to the ISS, I thought it would be worth taking a look at how Falcon 9 compares with the Ares 1-X, which launched back …
9 June 2010
Ice Caves on Mars!
Hey, guess what? There might be caves with ice in them on Mars! You should go check out my post about this cool new possibility over at Universe Today!
7 June 2010
Full Triple-J Laser Interview
Hey, remember when I was randomly interviewed by the Australian radio station triple j a few weeks ago as part of their feature on the 50th anniversary of the laser? Well, in their final broadcast they only used a couple of minutes but the original interview was fifteen minutes long. So, I contacted them and asked if I could have the full audio file, and after some digging, they found …
6 June 2010
Solar System Tour: Earth
This is Earth, the third planet from the sun. I’m hoping, of all the planets, you’re most familiar with this one. Hopefully, though, you’re about to learn a little more about home. When seen from space, one of the most striking features of the Earth is all the water. Our planet’s surface is about 70% water. Earth is the only planet known with liquid water currently on the surface. Mars …
4 June 2010
Spirit Rover Discovers Carbonates
Big news from Mars today, Spirit has found evidence for significant amounts of carbonates in the rocks of Gusev crater! Carbonates are really important for two reasons: first of all, Mars has a very thin CO2 atmosphere right now. Too thin for water to remain as a liquid on the surface: it would just boil away and freeze at the same time! But there is lots of evidence that water …
Solar System Tour: Venus
Venus is the second planet out from the sun, and is just slightly smaller than Earth. It is 12,102 km across, which is about 95% the size of earth. You can see Venus in the sky in the morning or evening as a very bright “star”. In fact, for a long time it was called the “morning star” or “evenstar”. It is always pretty close to the sun in the …
