Science Etcetera, Moonday 20080630

Posted on 30th June 2008 by ideonexus in Science Etcetera - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • Happy Meteor Day!!! It is the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event, when a meteor exploded over Russia with a force 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, leveling 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometers. GrrlScientist has a great write-up of the incident and what we know about it.

    • Fallen Trees from the Tunguska Event

    Fallen Trees from the Tunguska Event
    Credit: Leonid Kulik expedition in 1927
  • Louisiana has enacted legislation allowing teachers to question evolution and other scientific theories in the interest of promoting “critical thinking skills.”
  • A middle school creationist science teacher, who teaches his students that “science is wrong” for disagreeing with the bible, has burned a cross into a student’s arm (HT Carolyn).
  • The status quo is the biggest hindrance to technological innovation.
  • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has come up with a plug-in hybrid that gets 100 MPG.
  • Gas is more dense at cooler temperatures and measured by volume at the pump, so purchasing at night is most economic and 20 other facts about Oil.
  • Check out NASA’s Climate Time Machine to learn about sea levels, CO2 emissions, and global average temperatures. Then go tell an AGW Skeptic to suck it.

    • NASA's Climate Time Machine

    NASA’s Climate Time Machine
  • The Supreme Court ruled last week that Exxon can put a price tag on a clean environment, and that price tag equals 24 hours’ worth of their profits.
  • Eating almonds promotes good bacteria in the gut.
  • Blind children cover their eyes when they hear something disturbing, and what your body language betrays about you.
  • Is Senator Inhofe laying low on his Climate Change skepticism so as not to hurt John McCain’s election chances? Inquiring minds want to know.
  • Visible Magnetic Fields:



    • Comments (2)

    2 Comments »

    1. While it is theoretically true that gas expands with temperature, the whole thing about it being more economical to pump your gas at night is mainly a myth.

      #1: The amount of contraction or expansion is minimal(about 1% per 15 degrees F), so the savings over a year would be extremely limited.

      #2: More importantly, the gas is stored in underground reservoirs, and the ground is a pretty good insulator. So while the air temperature may fluctuate quite a bit between day and night, the temperature of the gas in the storage tank doesn’t.

      Comment by chriggy — June 30, 2008 @ 10:37 am

    2. Excellent point! Good debunking!

      Comment by ideonexus — June 30, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

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