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Comment "And yet it moves" (Score 1) 848

I don't think we know if Galileo really said this or not, but it seems appropriate here. Billionaires can fund whatever they want, and it still does not change reality. In 20-30 years climate change will be so obvious that everyone will look back and say, "What were they thinking?" At that point the billionaires will say, "Well we didn't know then what we know now." Science is funny, it really does not respect opinions. It just is. We don't have to like, we only have to understand it. I guess waiting 20-30 years for the old billionaires and politicians who are wed to climate denial to die off is just the way it is. All we have to do is wait.
Australia

Fine-Structure Constant Maybe Not So Constant 105

Kilrah_il writes "The fine-structure constant, a coupling constant characterizing the strength of the electromagnetic interaction, has been measured lately by scientists from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and has been found to change slightly in light sent from quasars in galaxies as far back as 12 billion years ago. Although the results look promising, caution is advised: 'This would be sensational if it were real, but I'm still not completely convinced that it's not simply systematic errors' in the data, comments cosmologist Max Tegmark of MIT. Craig Hogan of the University of Chicago and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., acknowledges that 'it's a competent team and a thorough analysis.' But because the work has such profound implications for physics and requires such a high level of precision measurements, 'it needs more proof before we'll believe it.'"

Comment Refurb Tek (Score 1) 337

You can buy a refurb Tek 2465B with 4 channels and 400 MHz bandwidth for about $1300. They are easy to use, and trigger well. Of course they are analog, so it depends on how you are going to use it. For normal lab work they are great.
Education

Gulf Oil Spill Disaster — Spawn of the Living Dead 228

grrlscientist writes "A recently published study, intended to provide data to commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico so they maximize their catch of Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares, whilst avoiding bycatch of critically endangered Atlantic (Northern) Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, suggests that the Deepwater Horizon oil leak may devastate the endangered Atlantic bluefin population, causing it to completely collapse or possibly go extinct."
Idle

Directed Energy Weapon Downs Mosquitos 428

wisebabo writes "Nathan Myhrvol demonstrated at TED a laser, built from parts scrounged from eBay, capable of shooting down not one but 50 to 100 mosquitos a second. The system is 'so precise that it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted.' Currently, for the sake of efficiency, it leaves the males alone because only females are bloodsuckers. Best of all the system could cost as little as $50. Maybe that's too expensive for use in preventing malaria in Africa but I'd buy one in a second!" We ran a story about this last year. It looks like the company has added a bit more polish, and burning mosquito footage to their marketing.
Image

Prolonged Gaming Blamed For Rickets Rise 254

superapecommando writes "Too many hours spent playing videogames indoors is contributing to a rise in rickets, according to a new study by doctors. Professor Simon Pearce and Dr Tim Cheetham of Newcastle University have written a paper in the British Medical Journal which warns of the rickets uptake – a disease which sufferers get when deficient in Vitamin D. The study boils down to the fact that as more people play videogames indoors they don't get enough sunlight and this has meant the hospitals are now having to combat a disease that was last in the papers around the time Queen Victoria was on the throne." At least the kids are eating enough snacks with iodized salt that we don't have to worry about goiters.

Comment Graphing calculator--Keep it simple (Score 2, Insightful) 724

Any of calculators are good, and most will do more than you will ever need. When in doubt keep it simple. I teach physics in college, and I can't tell you the number of times I see someone mess up a simple problem because they either use the calculator without thinking, or worse yet don't even know how to use it correctly.

Whatever you do, don't let the calculator become a crutch. I actually had a student tell me they could not tell me the integral of a sin because they did not have their calculator with them. Think before reaching for the calculator. I usually race all my students to the numerical answer in problems doing it in my head with scientific notation. Usually I beat the entire class, and most of the time at least half the class gets the wrong answer since they don't know how their calculator works.

When in doubt keep it simple.

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