Category Archives: Technology

The scientific tourist #270 — the B61 nuclear bomb

Posted on 22 April, 2013 by Sam Wise

This week you get the first in a series of images from the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This photo is of a B61 nuclear bomb, one of the main thermonuclear weapons still in service with the U.S. after the end of the Cold War. Continue reading →

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The scientific tourist #268 — Roman plumbing

Posted on 8 April, 2013 by Sam Wise

Another excellent find from the “A Day in Pompeii” exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science — a water bypass box with valves… Continue reading →

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The scientific tourist #267 — the F-100 “Super Sabre”

Posted on 26 March, 2013 by Sam Wise

On display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, it’s the F-100 “Super Sabre”… Continue reading →

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Casual Friday — making a tintype

Posted on 22 March, 2013 by Sam Wise

In case you don’t fully appreciate the ease that digital cameras bring to photography, here’s a demonstration of a 150-year-old photographic technology — tintype… Continue reading →

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Casual Friday — how does an LCD monitor work?

Posted on 8 February, 2013 by Sam Wise

Unless you’re perusing this blog using some very old technology, you’re almost certainly reading these words on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor. Ever wonder what’s behind the glass (or for a laptop, plastic) outer face of the thing? Bill (“Engineer Guy”) Hammack explains all… Continue reading →

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Casual Friday — photographic proof that the moon landings couldn’t have been faked

Posted on 1 February, 2013 by Sam Wise

This video has been getting lots of press in the past week — but in case you haven’t seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to watch… Continue reading →

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Casual Friday — How a quartz watch works

Posted on 11 January, 2013 by Sam Wise

To a certain degree, wrist watches have fallen out of fashion (if you always carry a cell phone, who needs a watch?). Still, they’re impressive little packages of technology… Continue reading →

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The scientific tourist #256 — playing Lacrosse

Posted on 7 January, 2013 by Sam Wise

Another interesting piece of early Cold War technology — a Lacrosse missile… Continue reading →

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The scientific tourist #255 — under the skin

Posted on 31 December, 2012 by Sam Wise

An Apollo lunar module prototype on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere… Continue reading →

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Casual Friday — how smoke detectors work

Posted on 28 December, 2012 by Sam Wise

Let’s say at one of your holiday parties or dinners, somebody lost track of what’s going on in the oven and wound up setting off the smoke detector. Did you ever wonder how these loud little safety aides work? Bill (“Engineer Guy”) Hammack tells all… Continue reading →

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