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Monthly Archives: July 2010
Rods from God
The problem with bombs is getting them to their target. Dropping them from the air has always been the standard approach (Austrians used air-dropped bombs during the siege of Vienna in 1849), but this is beset by problems. Even stealth … Continue reading
Tagged satellite, space, weapon
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Uranium-233 and the thorium future
When people think of nuclear fuel they tend to think of uranium and plutnonium, or more specifically their fissile isotopes: uranium-235, plutonium-239 and plutonium-241. But there is another fissile isotope that doesn’t get the attention it deserves: uranium-233. A fissile … Continue reading
Tagged nuclear, thorium
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Advert of the year?
My money is on this for a Black Pencil or a Lion: In my opinion it’s an outstanding piece of advertising. First I’ll explain how they did it, and then I’ll explain why I like it so much. In order to … Continue reading
Tagged advertising, buoyancy, dyson, fan
2 Comments
How maths is different from science
“It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” — Richard Feynman In science we first observe a phenomena (e.g. the Moon orbiting Earth) — and then come up … Continue reading
Tagged mathematics, proof
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Pylon of the Month
This month’s Pylon of the Month is a beauty, even if it is only an artist’s impression. Designed by Hugh Dutton Associates for a competition run by the Italian electricity transmission company Terna, the new pylons would cost three times … Continue reading
Tagged electricity, pylon
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Deepwater Horizon to scale
I didn’t realise until recently just how deep the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico was drilling. They drilled 10683m downwards, 1835 metres further than the height of Mount Everest. I made this image to show the … Continue reading
Tagged drill, oil
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Visualising the Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Watching news reports of “millions of gallons” and “thousands of barrels” of oil doesn’t make it easy to visualise the true size of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the destruction of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon … Continue reading
Tagged oil, visualisation
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