Notebook
- Physics
Light Projects
This colorful, interactive Web site provides a lively introduction to the nature of light and spectra. A product of Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments) at Boston University, the site offers a variety of applets, activities, and materials on topics ranging from color mixing and afterimage effects to moire patterns and geometrical optics. A fascinating […]
- Humans
From the June 2, 1934, issue
The first chimpanzee twins born in captivity, increased speed and safety for aircraft, and a new pH indicator.
- Astronomy
Transit of Venus
On June 8, Venus will pass across the face of the sun (as viewed from Earth). Such a transit occurs rarely; the last one was in 1882. A variety of Web sites feature information about these transits and offer advice for observing and timing the 2004 event. Go to: http://www.venustransit.ie/ and http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunearthday/2004/index_vthome.htm
- Humans
From the May 26, 1934, issue
Extracting bromine from the sea, a new treatment for cancer, and a novel altimeter.
- Humans
Famous Engineers
Did you know that Scott Adams, cartoonist and creator of Dilbert, has an engineering background? Others who have been engineers or have an engineering background include astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, as well as film director Alfred Hitchcock, former Dallas football coach Tom Landry, and television talk show host Montel […]
- Humans
From the May 19, 1934, issue
Preparing for a stratospheric ascent, the great dust storm of 1934, and the invention of the electron microscope.
- Chemistry
Home Experiments
Collapsing a soft drink can, fireproofing a balloon, creating cool light, and bending water are among the activities offered by Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His Web pages provide instructions for performing these and other experiments at home. Go to: http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/HOMEEXPTS.HTML.
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From the May 12, 1934, issue
William M. Welch and public health, a thymus-gland extract for speeding up growth, and mass-three hydrogen.
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Chem Demos
They may not be as dramatic as the real thing, but online video and descriptions of lecture demonstrations involving combustion and other chemical and physical effects still fascinate. The Chemistry Learning Center at the University of Illinois offers tantalizing glimpses of methanol combustion, electrolysis of water, hydrogen ignition, the effect of liquid nitrogen on a […]
- Humans
From the May 5, 1934, issue
Steel pipes of the Boulder Canyon project, diphtheria and the blood-brain barrier, and weather effects of volcanic eruptions.
- Humans
A National Science Museum
If you can’t make it to Washington, D.C., to visit the recently opened Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, check out the museum’s online exhibits. Explore how DNA analysis can catch criminals and stop epidemics, witness the potential effects of global warming, and glimpse the frontiers of scientific research. Go to: […]
- Humans
From the April 28, 1934, issue
An ancient crocodile, how loudness affects pitch, and observing the sun's corona.
