Category Archives: Physics

Casual Friday — tasty star, yum!

A star has been spotted being torn to bits and devoured by a super-massive black hole — see the carnage!

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Casual Friday — Here Comes Solar Maximum

Wondering what’s going on with the recent spate of solar flares? Courtesy of NASA Television, here’s an excellent explanation of the solar cycle, and where we are in it…

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Casual Friday — how much does the internet weigh?

It all comes down to electrons (direct link): For an earlier estimate of this weight, you might want to compare this. H/T: Andrew Sullivan

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Casual Friday — fun and games with superconductors

A fun bit of video demonstrating the Meissner effect — the ability of a superconductor to float over (or if you prefer, under) a magnet…

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Casual Friday — Vibrations

Ever found yourself transfixed, watching some everyday object moving in an unintuitive way? It’s OK to admit it, we all do it. In this quick bit of video from the Fluke Corporation, you get to see all sorts of objects vibrating — it’s a fun, oddly relaxing thing to watch…

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Casual Friday — Solar Activity

So after a multi-year lull in its cycle (one of historic length), the Sun is finally getting more active again. Want to know what all the fuss is about?

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Casual Friday — Water drop at 2000 frames per second

So you think you know how water behaves? Think again — if you watch the behavior of a water drop recorded at 2,000 frames per second, you’ll learn a thing or two about it…

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Casual Friday — life in slow motion

It’s just plain fun and interesting to watch what life looks like in super slow motion. Courtesy of Philip Heron, here’s a short film on the subject — Tempus II…

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Casual Friday — like a bolt from the blue

A 9,000 frames-per-second view of some lightning in Rapid City, South Dakota…

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Casual Friday — SDO vs. the sundog

Short story: SDO wins, in spectacular fashion!

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