This video is on RIT’s Escharian Stairwell. The Escharian Stairwell is a stairwell that loops back upon itself. So if you walk up a flight of stairs you find yourself back where you started. It’s inspired by M. C. Escher’s Ascending and Descending. At this point you probably recognize that the stairwell is nonsense. The video was created as the project of an RIT graduate student. It is well done, but clearly not real. Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) many people think it is.
Legacy
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a pioneer in the study of radioactivity. She in fact coined the term. She developed a method for isolating radioisotopes, and discovered two elements (radium and polonium). She worked on radiation therapy of tumors, and developed established military radiological centers during World War I. She is the only person ever to have won a nobel prize in two scientific fields (Physics in 1903, and Chemistry in 1911). She also happened to be the mother of two daughters.
Take Me Out to the Nano Lab
What most people don’t picture when they think of scientists is a sports team, yet the similarities are striking. Most scientists don’t work alone, but rather in research groups. Just like a sports team these groups have their superstars, their solid supporting members, and their rookies. Just as a baseball team competes for prestige and ticket sales, research groups compete for status and research grants.
Science Fiction, Science Fact
While fantastical stories have been with us as long as we’ve been human, in the early 1800s a new type of story appeared. Often Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is named as the first example of this genre. Also known as The Modern Prometheus, it gives us the tale of a mad scientist who creates a creature from alchemy and science. By …
NASA Outreach
You may have heard about NASA’s budget woes and how that impacts most of their outreach programs. It means we not only lose programs such as the annual NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory open house and CosmoQuest, but also programs such as the one I worked with this past weekend. It is a project called NASA Science and Technology on the Family Calendar.
Our Universe
If you are fortunate, you have come across a book or two that has deeply impacted your life. One such book for me is by Roy A. Gallant: The National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe.
Dying of the Light
Part 6 in the equations series. Boltzmann opens our eyes to a world where the warmth of our morning coffee forces us to confront our own mortality.
Memory Hole
Part 5 of the equations series. Got something to hide? Toss your secrets into a black hole, and no one will ever know. Or will they?
Unity
Part 4 of the equations series. Flying kites in a thunderstorm leads us to a single elegant theory describing lightning, magnets and light. Don’t try this at home.