Science Links for 06/30/2008

Science Etcetera, Moonday 20080630

June 30th, 2008

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
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

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:

2 comments to “Science Etcetera, Moonday 20080630”

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.
by chriggy June 30th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Excellent point! Good debunking!
by ideonexus June 30th, 2008 at 9:43 pm