I feel that, as a physicist, I should be making some reasonable and informed comment on the Copenhagen summit. After all, climate is immensely physicsy. We have fluid flow, conduction, convection and radiation of heat, interaction of electromagnetic radiation with electrons in molecules, scattering of light by small particles, solar activity (on second thoughts, scrub […]
Continue reading(Amended to correct major factual blunder – whoops – and more details added from original post of earlier today). I was fascinated to read in the Herald this morning about the anti-teenager sounds that are being used to deter graffiti artists. High-pitched sounds that only the young can hear are being used to deter people […]
Continue readingEco-systems are of course very complex things – the success of one species is linked to the success of another, which is linked to another, and all of which are linked to outside factors such as climate etc etc. Now there is direct evidence of another degree of complexity in the ocean eco-system, namely that […]
Continue readingWe’ve had our dishwasher for a couple of years, acquiring it after the one we inherited with the house went out with a bang (and shot sparks the entire length of the kitchen.) It’s a nice dishwasher – that is, it washes dishes nicely, but it’s got an annoying habit that I have just experienced […]
Continue readingSo last Friday, after a hard week at the office, I went over to the Opus Bar on campus to enjoy some evening music. And, because I wished to consume neither alcohol (I had to drive home) nor caffeine (I didn’t want to stay up till midnight), I bought a hot chocolate.
Continue reading…and readeth the meter and giveth unto us a very large bill. (Well, the bill got sent by email, but that’s beside the point). Now, I knew it was going to be costly, what with using electricity to heat a house during a cold winter, but I wasn’t quite expecting the figure at the bottom […]
Continue readingI’ve noticed that when I get a cup of coffee out of our machine, and walk with it back to my office, the small amount of froth on it can start forming patterns. A stripy one is quite common – I get alternate stripes of froth and no froth – maybe about six stripes in […]
Continue readingHere’s a nice experiment to carry out on a freezing cold morning. Before driving to work / school / shopping centre / Auntie Betty’s, look under the bonnet of your car and make a note of the level of coolant in the expansion tank. Chances are its fairly low. After you get to work or wherever, […]
Continue readingI might have had a bit of a sarcastic tone in my last entry about kicking football penalties, but we shouldn’t jump to the idea that sport science isn’t proper science. After all, it’s what has given Australia three zillion more gold medals than is warranted by its population. Have a look at the Australian Institute […]
Continue readingFirst – sorry blogging has slowed down a bit in recent days – busy time at the university having to teach courses and prepare for next semesters courses and get ready for a major conference all at once. So I’ll keep this one short. The wild weather over the last couple of days has brought […]
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