Pope Benedict searching for E.T?

I read an article about the Vatican's recent conference on possibilities for extra-terrestrial life with interest. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, presented results of an astrobiology conference.
Astrobiology is a newer field studying the origin of life and its existence elsewhere in the universe.

Certainly a discovery of extra-terrestrials, would impact our view of ourselves enormously. Now whether they be friend as in E.T. or foe and in "V" (I can't believe V is back!), that's another story!

But apparently a discovery alien life would not be a problem for the Catholic Church. Funes maintained that if intelligent beings were discovered, they would also be considered "part of creation."

May sports

If horses could talk....what was Alydar saying to Affirmed? For me, May through June is one of the most irritating times of the year in terms of sports. It is the time of the seemingly endless NBA playoffs. Now there's a possible area of study in time dilation. Time dilation is the idea in special relativity that moving clocks run slow. In other words, time does NOT fly during the NBA playoffs! But the one bright spots at this time in the sports calendar is the Triple Crown. Saturday's Kentucky Derby was quite exciting as a 50 to 1 longshot Mine That Bird took the purse.

Here's a website discussing some physics of horse racing. Secretariat's speed was estimated to be 16.764 m/s or 37.5 mi/hr. Secretariat is a bit earlier than my memory can recall, but what an athlete! Yes I called him an athlete. If golfers are athletes, then certainly the greatest thoroughbred in history is too.

End of semester approaches

I am sure my students do not like it, but something about the end of semester makes me want to fly through chapter sections at warp speed. While it takes almost 2 weeks to get through chapter 1, I am planning to go through chapter 6 in 1 - 1.5 classes. I hope they are awake tomorrow.

Summer Physics Camp for Girls!

If you are a young lady interested in physics you might consider applying to the University of Maryland's "Summer Girls" program. The Physics Department at UMCP has a program for rising 9th graders and rising 11th graders. Deadlines are in April and May. It is a day camp, so most participants have been from the Maryland/DC/Virginia area. Sounds cool though! Where was this kind of stuff when I was in high school?

Pulsar looks like cosmic hand

X-ray image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/P. Slane et al

I'm always amazed by the objects in our universe. The x-ray nebula imaged by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory looks like a big hand reaching out towards a ring of knots above it. The color is of course fake - the lowest energy x-rays are red, while the highest energy x-rays are blue.

The bright blue spot at the center is a spinning neutron star, or a pulsar, PSR B1509-58. Neutrons are collapsed massive stars, in their dying phases as they have run out of fuel. They have huge magnetic fields and rapidly rotate causing them to generate fantabulous electromagnetic storms, driving away particles like electrons and ions.

Mt. Redoubt erupts!

Last night the Alaska volcano erupted 5 times! Amazingly, the height of the ash cloud has been estimated at 50,000 ft. If you are flying to Anchorage today, odds are your flight is cancelled.

There are no new pictures from the AVO as their web cam near the volcano is no longer functioning.

Mt. Redoubt alert level raised to WATCH

Alaska's Mt. Redoubt has been rumbling even more. The Alaska Volcano Observatory reports earthquakes numbering 40-50 per hour today. It's alert status has been raised to watch, which according to the AVO means

volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain.

Let's stay tuned volcano watchers!

This is why we monitor volcanoes Gov. Jindal!

Alaska's Mt. Redoubt in April 1990,
photograph by R. Clucas, USGS

I posted a few weeks ago discussing my annoyance with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and his concern about the price of "volcano monitoring". Wouldn't you know it, Alaska's Mt. Redoubt has rumbled recently and geologists have upped the alert level to "orange". It spewed out some ash and steam on Sunday.

Alaska's Mt. Redoubt on March, 15, 2009,
photograph by Bill Burton, courtesy Alaska Volcano Observatory/USGS

Mt. Redoubt is located about 100 miles from Anchorage. Residents of Anchorage could have problems with their car and plane engines if the ash got in them. Engine problems is of course minor compared to respiratory problems that volcanic ash might cause. Unless you happen to be flying commercial in the vicinity of an eruption, that is. Alaska volcanoes can shoot ash plumes tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere.

Redoubt caused some damage (requiring four new engines) to a KLM aircraft in 1989, as well as some real fright in the passengers:

As the crew of KLM Flight 867 struggled to restart the plane's engines, "smoke" and a strong odor of sulfur filled the cockpit and cabin. For five long minutes the powerless 747 jetliner, bound for Anchorage, Alaska, with 231 terrified passengers aboard, fell in silence toward the rugged, snow-covered Talkeetna Mountains (7,000 to 11,000 feet high). All four engines had flamed out when the aircraft inadvertently entered a cloud of ash blown from erupting Redoubt Volcano, 150 miles away. The volcano had begun erupting 10 hours earlier on that morning of December 15, 1989. Only after the crippled jet had dropped from an altitude of 27,900 feet to 13,300 feet (a fall of more than 2 miles) was the crew able to restart all engines and land the plane safely at Anchorage.

Did I mention all the great information the USGS provides on its website?! Sorry Louisiana readers but your governor is even more annoying than mine!

Harry Potter's invisibility cloak?

The physics behind invisibility cloaks and Romulan cloaking devices is out there and getting more interesting every day. Cloaking means making an object invisible to electromagnetic radiation. Scientists Che Ting Chan, Yun Lai, Huanyang Chen and Zhao-Qing Zhang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently published a paper in Physical Review Letters where they talk about cloaking an object by putting the device near the object, and not enveloping it.

Of course the device has not yet been built, but in theory it can be done. Neat stuff!

Extra cash? Buy Einstein's doctorate

If you have excess cash and want something to connect yourself to Albert Einstein, then head to Lucerne, Switzerland in June. Auctioneers Fischer Galerie will auction the doctorate certificate that Albert Einstein obtained from the University of Zurich in 1906. They will also auction an honorary doctorate received by Einstein from the University of Geneva.

Volcano monitoring?

Mount St. Helens eruption photo by Austin Post

Last week, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal gave the Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress. In his speech, he included the following comments:

Democratic leaders in Congress -- they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history, with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a "magnetic levitation" line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called "volcano monitoring." Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.

Lately I have been thoroughly perplexed by tendencies of Republican party members to summarily dismiss science and technology because of the price tag. First, Senator McCain blasted Obama's request for the Adler Planetarium's - a $3 million "overhead projector". Now volcano monitoring is wasteful spending! I wonder if residents of Oregon and Washington state might disagree since they live right under those volcanoes.

I'm old enough to remember the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, certainly Governor Jindal is as well. Needless to say, the mission of the USGS does matter, and I hope that Americans still realize that science and technology is important. And with over 150 active volcanoes in the U.S. right now, "volcano monitoring" can save lives!

Heading to the Joint Meeting of NSBP/NSHP

I will soon be heading to the Joint Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists in Nashville, TN. This year I will have some students attending as well. It should be a well attended meeting and I hope to make some contacts at Oak Ridge National Labs as I am interested in getting into some research on alternative energies.

The economy trickles down to our university

It's been a long week. I have not posted much since our president announced the probability of workforce reductions coming to our university. No details yet, but I'm feeling a little discouraged. Physics departments are often vulnerable because they are small...

Phyiscs in Football

It's Super Bowl weekend, and we can all look forward to the big game even if our team isn't playing (mine certainly is NOT). The New York Times published an article about the physics of "the hit". A good hit in football not only displays momentum in action. When a safety like the Steelers' Troy Polamalu cannot be stopped (mass times velocity), but only tripped or wrapped up. A good hit can also change the momentum (not mass time velocity) of a game, giving it to the other team. The NYT article quotes Ryan Clark, Steelers' safety:

“A good hit can change the momentum of the game,” he said. “If we come out there and hit them, be physical with them, and get a good hit early, I think they might go back to the quarterback and say, ‘How ’bout you not throw the ball in there?’ ”

FYI: I do enjoy watching great safeties in the NFL, but none could hit better than Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins!

In memoriam of STS - 51 - L

Today is the 23 anniversary of the Challenger tragedy. It was a day that strongly affected me as a young person and scientist in the making. Most people remember Christa McAuliffe, scheduled to be the first Teacher in Space. I would like to especially acknowledge Ronald E. McNair, a physicist, graduate of North Carolina A & T University, and an inspiration to me.

Thank you Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair--the crew of STS-51-L--for inspiring future scientists and engineers, then and now.

Science in the Obama Administration

A recent post at Physics Today discussed science related activity in the new Administration. The new EPA head, Lisa Jackson promised to set a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions. Steven Chu was confirmed as the new Secretary of Energy.

Women in Physics - Besides the Standard Three

People seem to know the famous women of physics, Marie Curie, Maria Goeppert Mayer, and Rosalind Franklin (who did not share in the Nobel prize for the discovery of DNA). When it comes to women physicists, most people are not aware of the many women who are out there continuing their research today.

Here's a list of five women physicists of whom I have been fortunate enough to be aware. I also took a class from one of these scientists, and I must say just seeing her on the faculty was encouraging to me as a young physicist in the making.

1) Mildred Dresselhaus
2) Lisa Randall
3) Mercedes Richards
4) Vera Rubin
5) Barbara A. Williams

Happy Inauguration Day

As I sit here watching Inauguration Day coverage, I am excited to see all the people in Washington enjoying themselves and feeling celebratory. I wish all the best to President-Elect Obama and his administration. I also have to say I am looking forward to a White House filled with the cuteness and adorable-ness of Malia and Sasha Obama!

What a wonderful day to be an American!!!!

Back home from ScienceOnline 09

I am happy to say we (the sweet potato and myself) are back home. The dear child did not sleep much and was very grouchy, especially once my music player's battery died. Songs from the "Sound of Music" keep a baby calm on long car trips!

Needless to say I am exhausted, but inspired to keep this blog active. My goal is to post at least twice during M-F, thanks to a blogger I met at the conference.
See Urban Science Adventures

Any weekend posts will be a plus. I also plan to add more photos and video clips and such. I wanted to photograph a famous landmark found along I-85, the Gaffney Peach. Unfortunately driving and using the camera on my cell phone do not work well for me. The peach ended up behind the highway mileage sign.



Maybe when I have some energy, I will find a free image of the Peach and add it to this post!

ScienceOnline '09

Currently, I am attending ScienceOnline '09 in North Carolina's Research Triangle. This conference is an annual science communication conference, with extensive sessions on blogging, science education. Generally speaking, it's about sharing the wonders of science with the community.

It has also motivated me to keep this 2nd attempt at blogging going - so far so good. Finally, it's my first conference since my little sweet potato was born, and although I'm getting rest I'm missing the little bugger. But I'm sure Grandma and Granddad are enjoying all the face time with their grandbaby!

Hitchhiking into space?

The US has three remaining space shuttles (Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis) and nine scheduled flights for the next two years. Our next generation spacecraft will not be ready to launch until 2015. Congress and President-elect Obama's administration will decide to either extend the shuttle program or try to divert more resources into getting the Orion vehicle up and flying.

It seems the motivation to keep the shuttle running is political in nature. Certainly the engineering advantages of flying a 30 year spacecraft are slim. Considering that there have been two catastrophic failures (Challenger and Columbia), it would make sense to push forward with the 21st century vehicle. However, the US would have to rely on Russian rockets to get our astronauts into space beginning in 2010 until Orion is ready.

Stay tuned to Congress in 2009 for the future of the space shuttle. Otherwise, American astronauts may have to hitchhike their way to the International Space Station.