Notebook
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About Time
To find out the official time, visit the joint Web site of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory. Two ultraprecise clocks contribute to a pool used to define “coordinated universal time.” These two clocks are not supposed to differ by more than one ten-millionth of a second. The site […]
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From the June 3, 1932, issue
GENERATOR LOAD DIVIDED FOR BETTER OPERATION Without the pretty girl, this massive stationary winding of a turbine electric generator might appear to be the size of a spool of thread. But contrast emphasizes the machines 83,300 kilovolt-ampere capacity. The black arms are heavily insulated butt-ends of copper bars in which electricity is to be generated. […]
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Bio Light
Devoted to organisms that chemically generate light, the bioluminescence Web pages from the University of California, Santa Barbara provide vivid images of this phenomenon in all its splendor. The site also furnishes basic information about the chemistry and biology of bioluminescence and provides links to recent research on the topic. Go to: http://lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/
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From the May 28, 1932, issue
FLYING ARCHAEOLOGIST MAKES UNIQUE PICTURE RECORD Flying over the far-flung ruins of civilizations, which his own scientific institution is busily exploring from the ground, Charles Breasted of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has obtained 12,000 feet of unique motion picture film, showing the work of “the largest archaeological research organization in the […]
- Health & Medicine
Sleep Time
The International Sleep Medicine Association has created a Web site that brings together a wide variety of information sources concerning sleep health and sleep disorders. It includes access to online video lectures on various aspects of sleep, chat rooms and message boards, and links to news stories. Go to: http://www.1sleep.com/
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From the May 21, 1932, issue
GENES, ONCE HYPOTHETICAL, NOW SEEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED Genes, the ultimate units in heredity, have been seen and photographed. So declares Dr. John Belling, biologist on the staff of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Genes have hitherto been dealt with as hypothetical entities by biologists, because no one has ever actually seen them. They were like […]
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Science Fair Snapshots
Experience the 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held recently in Louisville, Ky., via reports and photos produced by students from Kentucky school districts. Sorry! This web site is no longer available. For more current information on the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, got to http://www.sciserv.org/isef/.
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From the May 14, 1932, issue
DOVE ORCHID MAKES FITTING FLOWER FOR WHITSUNDAY Sunday, May 15, is the Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday, when many of the churches commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit. In the lands of tropical America, where delicate orchids can be had by anybody, many an imaginative Latin will mingle poetry with his piety as he […]
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Spying Natural Hazards
NASA’s Earth Observatory Web site offers spectacular satellite images of natural hazards around the world–just about as they happen. Continually updated, the site focuses on wildfires, severe storms, floods, volcanic eruptions, and major air-pollution events, such as dust storms, smog, and smoke. Go to: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/
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From the May 7, 1932, issue
MONKEYS GET BALD LIKE MEN It is no longer fair to blame your barber or beautician for that bald spot; nor can you lay your gray hairs onto worry over your childrens naughtiness or your brokers shortsightedness. Getting bald or going gray are just primate traits, like walking on two legs instead of four, according […]
- Tech
Cold Lighting
Solid-state light sources, such as light-emitting diodes, promise greater energy efficiency than do incandescent lamps. The Sandia National Laboratories has launched a Web site that offers articles, references, and other information on semiconductor-based lighting and its use for illuminating homes, offices, and public spaces. Go to: http://lighting.sandia.gov/
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From the April 30, 1932, issue
SPIRAL NEBULA IN ANDROMEDA BORDERED WITH STAR CLUSTERS Tiny flecks of hazy light around the borders of one of the most famous of the spiral nebulae, the one in the constellation Andromeda, are now believed to be great globular clusters of stars–literally swarms of suns crowded like clouds of gnats that hang over the marshes […]
