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2013-05-17 19:08:39 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 13 +1s)

Science is awesome!

This is extremely dangerous if not done properly but somehow I am still sooo tempted :)

#science   #physics  

2013-05-04 13:07:02 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 16 +1s)

My Dream Chocolate Bar! 

2013-04-29 09:47:49 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

What does our future hold?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/print-this/110-predictions-for-the-next-110-years?page=all/

2013-04-11 20:16:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

"The beginning of the universe, for beginners" is the premiere of a series of five collaborations between CERN and TED Ed that feature content on the origins of the universe, dark matter, antimatter, big data and the Higgs boson. These animations were specially developed by CERN scientists and animated by talented animators who work with TED-Ed. The other four animations will premiere at TEDxCERN on 3 May from 2pm - 8pm CEST, and the animated lessons will be available on ed.ted.com starting on 3 May. The webcast will be available to the public here http://tedxcern.web.cern.ch/.

One of the speakers at this event is Google Science Fair 2012 Grand Prize Winner Brittany Wenger!

2013-04-11 19:06:49 (9 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)

Information Shrinkage
On the LEFT a 1GB storage device from 1981, weighing in at over 37kg and costing a mere £80,000. On the RIGHT a current 64GB SD Card retailing for around £60.00

2013-02-20 18:57:50 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Spilt Tea: To cry or not to cry?
Maybe not for milk... but tea? ... and what about to mock up a representative Mr Tea tragedy?  

#tea   #1stworldproblems

2013-02-20 15:49:30 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

How's physics getting on with explaining the Universe?

The BBC has made a nice little update :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21472540

#scienceeveryday   #science   #physics   #bbc  

2013-02-12 17:33:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Hi, 

My name is Peta Foster and I am a Laser-plasma Physicist in the UK. I am studying for my PhD while working full time running the target area of a high power laser system. I am fascinated by so many things and love to learn so learning how to learn better seemed to me like a great idea. :)

Peta

2013-02-07 16:38:39 (9 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

The Plasma's Alive with the Sound of Music!!
(Plasma Speaker Project Update!)

Awesome: The music is coming from the plasma!!!

So it's alive folks... after some fiddly tuning of the length of wire up to the loop, carefully done by Graeme, the music is finally here! The cd player needed to be fairly robust and not subject to being knocked out by the emitted RF as hindered the first attempt. 

For those new to the world of plasma speaker. The sound you hear is produced by a modulated high voltage on the loop you see. The high voltage is produced using the transformer (red wire). The voltage is sufficiently high as to brake down the air to create the plasma. As the voltage is modulated the force of the voltage on the plasma is modulated and hence since the plasma is a hot ionised gas we have a quivering hot ionised gas transferring it's quiveringto... more »

2013-02-10 11:51:26 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 7 +1s)

VIDEO: The Plasma's Alive with the Sound of Music!!
(Plasma Speaker Project Update!)

Awesome: The music is coming from the plasma!!!

So it's alive folks... after some fiddly tuning of the length of wire up to the loop, carefully done by Graeme, the music is finally here! The cd player needed to be fairly robust and not subject to being knocked out by the emitted RF as hindered the first attempt. 

For those new to the world of plasma speaker. The sound you hear is produced by a modulated high voltage on the loop you see. The high voltage is produced using the transformer (red wire). The voltage is sufficiently high as to brake down the air to create the plasma. As the voltage is modulated the force of the voltage on the plasma is modulated and hence since the plasma is a hot ionised gas we have a quivering hot ionised gas transferring it'squ... more »

2013-01-29 20:16:05 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

Synchronisation of Metronomes!

.. with what look like coke cans... I love this video :)

the coke cans allow the motion of the metronomes to be coupled. Each metronome's motions imparts momentum into the base which in turn can give a kick to the others. If you want to read more here is a paper on it :)

http://salt.uaa.alaska.edu/dept/metro.pdf

Synchronisation

#science   #scienceeveryday  

2013-01-29 19:37:01 (19 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

"How is your research useful?"

Why is this response so common? Is it that we get so caught up in the detail of the physics that we forget why we are doing it? I believe that my best work is produced when I have an awareness of why I am doing it. Science is demanding, but it's also wonderfully inspiring when time is taken to pause and appreciate why we do the things we do. :) 

Courtesy of: http://researchinprogress.tumblr.com/post/32886698944/how-is-your-research-useful
#science   #scienceeveryday  

2013-01-28 19:19:41 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 14 +1s)

Writing a paper with a 1st year PhD student

I may be a final year PhD student but it still feel like this when I am showing my stuff to my bosses.

I'm sure kitty could make a great meal in her own way :P

Courtesy of : http://researchinprogress.tumblr.com/post/33630340594/writing-a-paper-with-a-1st-year-phd-student

#Mondays #scienceeveryday   #PhD  

2013-01-28 19:20:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I just did a video interview about Academia.edu on TechCrunch http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/24/in-the-studio-academia-edus-richard-price-is-a-founder-on-a-mission/

2013-01-28 11:29:21 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Interesting... if only there was an app that would help you aim your publication at the right market that would appreciate it the way you do :)

2013-01-27 09:53:56 (10 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

3-day fasting experiment- Hour 36: Feeling very very knackered but am going to try and make myself go out for a run. Not sure this is a good idea but at least I have company. 

Here is a Horizon program on why I am doing this. http://vimeo.com/50912488

#sciencesunday   #science  

2013-01-24 16:40:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Eat Paleo

Here's the science theory behind this way of eating. Evolution takes a long time. This means our bodies take a long time to adapt, and by long time I am talking hundreds of thousands of years. We used to dwell in caves and go out and hunt and gather our food which meant we ate, Fish, Meat, fruit, nuts and seeds. So over the time we have been on the planet this is what we have evolved to eat.

Then agriculture and animal husbandry came along about 10,000 years ago and we started changing the foods we ate and now if you look at what is sold in supermarkets it is a world away from what our bodies have evolved to deal with. Our bodies maybe coping but why should we expect them to be excelling on this new diet. 

The Paleo diet is basically a way of eating that is designed to be suited to our bodies evolved design. It's a really very interesting way ofeati... more »

2013-01-24 15:53:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Fasting Experiment

I recently caught a documentary on Horizon about intermittent fasting to reduce your levels of IGF-1 growth hormone. The idea is that your body can be in two modes... "growth mode" or "repair mode" and in evolutionary terms it would be likely that you would have periods where you don't eat and periods where you do so the body would select the mode based on what was available coming in, in terms of nutrients. Now since we have abundant nutrients these days our bodies are somewhat stuck in "growth mode". This is the idea anyway. 

This intrigues me because I do not find i experience hunger in the same way as other people. I don't have to eat at specific times and i have actually forgotten to eat at all some days, especially when busy. I also wonder if this is the damage done to me by the duration of time i was eating gluten unaware... more »

2013-01-24 15:49:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Gluten free Millie's Cookies...Nom!

I tried these yesterday using gluten free self raising flour and a little bit (1/4 tsp) of xanthan gum plus smushed up cadburys twirls... was very tasty!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1580654/millies-cookies-recipe

#glutenfree   #glutenfreebaking   #glutenfreerecipes  

2013-01-21 09:01:58 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Gluten free Millie's Cookies...Nom!

I tried these yesterday using gluten free self raising flour and a little bit (1/4 tsp) of xanthan gum plus smushed up cadburys twirls... was very tasty!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1580654/millies-cookies-recipe

#glutenfree   #glutenfreebaking   #glutenfreerecipes  

2013-01-08 11:44:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Stargazing live coming up! - +Great stargazing apps

Whatever 2013 has brought with it so far this is a great opportunity to stop for a short while and join many others in taking in the wonders the universe has to offer. Take a deep breath and breath in the magic of the observable universe and it's estimated 9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars :) 

To help you explore andoid devices can download this free app:
                   *SkyMap* http://goo.gl/fniQm

For iphones:
                   A selection of apps are available: http://goo.gl/J2sUJ

... and then give a little wink for Neil Armstrong and Patrick Moore too :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/activity/stargazing-live-at-ral/occurrence/219902

#science   #astronomy   #stargazing   #BBC  

2013-01-08 11:42:28 (9 comments, 6 reshares, 23 +1s)

Plasma Speaker Project Update: Part 1 

Device 1 is now assembled, after some issues with cooling, and now producing Plasma!!! No music yet though, but i have faith that we'll get there :D ... Mainly because my mate Graeme is amazing with this sort of thing and I am happily learning many cool things from an amazing scientist.

Science is pretty! :D

Stay tuned (pun fully intended) for further updates and video footage and next developments in the following weeks :)

#science   #physics   #music  

2013-01-08 09:16:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Stargazing live coming up! - +Great stargazing apps

Whatever 2013 has brought with it so far this is a great opportunity to stop for a short while and join many others in taking in the wonders the universe has to offer. Take a deep breath and breath in the magic of the observable universe and it's estimated 9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars :) 

To help you explore andoid devices can download this free app:
                   *SkyMap* http://goo.gl/fniQm

For iphones:
                   A selection of apps are available: http://goo.gl/J2sUJ

... and then give a little wink for Neil Armstrong and Patrick Moore too :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/activity/stargazing-live-at-ral/occurrence/219902

#science   #astronomy   #stargazing   #BBC  

2012-12-25 00:36:57 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!

#happyholidays  

2012-12-04 16:29:52 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Fasting Experiment

I recently caught a documentary on Horizon about intermittent fasting to reduce your levels of IGF-1 growth hormone. The idea is that your body can be in two modes... "growth mode" or "repair mode" and in evolutionary terms it would be likely that you would have periods where you don't eat and periods where you do so the body would select the mode based on what was available coming in, in terms of nutrients. Now since we have abundant nutrients these days our bodies are somewhat stuck in "growth mode". This is the idea anyway. 

This intrigues me because I do not find i experience hunger in the same way as other people. I don't have to eat at specific times and i have actually forgotten to eat at all some days, especially when busy. So how would i cope with fasting i wondered... so I am going to try it and see if ican fa... more »

2012-12-03 16:43:58 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Laser-plasma physics... in 82 words

When an intense laser pulse comes into contact with matter, it very quickly drives it into the fourth state of matter; plasma. A plasma is formed when electrons are released from their host atoms by the presence of the extremely high electric field of the laser, generating a gaseous soup of subatomic particles consisting of ions and electrons.
All types of radiation are given off during a high power laser-plasma interaction, including beams of electrons, protons, ions, X-rays, gamma rays and neutrons.

#science   #scienceeveryday   #physics   #plasma  

2012-12-03 16:43:18 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)

What is a Laser? In 84 words...

A laser is a device that amplifies light using the controlled process of exciting and de-exciting atoms, called stimulated emission. The emitted ‘laser light’ exhibits a high degree of spatial coherence, such that the light can be focused to a very small spot, and temporal coherence, where each constituent photon travels in phase. This coherence allows laser light to interact very strongly with matter.

The term laser is itself an acronym for ‘Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation’. 

#scienceeveryday   #science   #laser  

2012-11-27 23:46:35 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

How a laser works....Snoop style!

Ok every so often you come across something that tickles your funny bone so much you spend the rest of the evening feeling like you've just done 2hrs of serious ab work... Tonight for me this came courtesy of Gizoogle... the beautifully hilarious Google parody. 

For how a laser works snoop style: http://goo.gl/OcUY1

Google more sciencey goodness at http://www.gizoogle.net/ 

#science   #Gizoogle   #funny   #Snoopscience  

2012-11-20 15:18:15 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 17 +1s)

Physics is beautiful!

This image is of the Astra laser*, striking a gold coated piece of glass and viewed through a filter to cut out the 800nm laser light (which would otherwise burn the camera). 

The light you are therefore observing in the image is created by the plasma  created by the interaction of a high power laser with matter. This plasma is incredibly hot and therefore emits across a very wide spectral range which therefore would make the plasma look white to us and it contains all the visible colours. :)

This image was taken on an experiment that I've just finished conducting this last week on the Astra laser, and as tiring, and sometimes downright exhausting, as experiments can often be the study of how this world of ours works will always be both beautiful and fascinating.

The science is all around... go enjoy it :)
more »

2012-11-19 18:03:24 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

WOW! More chocolate = More nobel prizes!

Check out this amazing graph showing the correlation between how much chocolate a country eats and how many Nobel prizes it produces per 10 million people. :)

Now can we capitalise on this...

1. Do we need to eat a better mix of chocolate? That swiss stuff is awfully good. How varying the chocolate experiences we have. Trying something new is supposed to be very good for the brain... as it seems is chocolate... why not combine these and try a new chocolate type today! :D

2. Science with chocolate. Why limit chocolate's power... lets bring it into our studies... try a chocolatey experiment today and see if you feel any different after. Why now start by measuring the speed of light with chocolate using the experiment details here:  http://goo.gl/K3kwz

3. Be one with the chocolate!... more »

2012-10-15 14:11:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Kitty has a go...cute! :)

http://i.imgur.com/E00nl.gif

#stratos   #felixbaumgartner  

2012-10-14 17:57:46 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Big moment happening now!

Getting ready for it! Now Jump! :D

http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/

#livejump  

2012-10-03 17:28:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Next chief scientific advisor to the government: Sir Mark Walport

A very interesting show on the life scientific today with our next chief scientific advisor, who came across very enthusiastic  :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n111x

2012-10-03 14:42:19 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 21 +1s)

Attention ladies: Physics is fun... honestly! 

The fact that so few girls go on to do Physics at A'level is a sad reflection of the lack of progress in our education system. When i started studying A'level physics there were 12 girls and 12 boys in my class... by the end of the A'level I was the only female left. I put up with having my questions ignored by one of the teachers, hearing their views on why women would not do physics and watching the rest of my classmates admonished for 'letting a girl get a better score' on a test. 

I believe it is less likely that the same sort of blatant discrimination takes place now but the fact that a subject that contains so much beauty and magical phenomena appears to not be capturing the interest of half of our  potential great minds is very sad and we as a society will definitely find ourselves missing out in thefutu... more »

2012-09-19 19:44:29 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

How to speak Pirate this evening!


Be a fine day to talk like a scurvy Pirate seadog!

Talk like a Pirate!

2012-09-19 09:16:11 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 19 +1s)

Happy Talk like a Pirate Day!

Aaarrrggghh.....Surrrrrender the science booty or walk ye plank ye Scallawags!

#talklikeapirateday   #PirateDay  

2012-09-16 20:50:41 (6 comments, 7 reshares, 22 +1s)

Creature of the Day!

As i went off to lunch I discovered this little fella... now I don't know my caterpillars so if anyone can identify him (assuming it is a him) for me I'd love it :)

So fluffy and beautiful! Nature is amazing!

#ScienceSunday   #caterpillar   #nature  

2012-09-10 14:42:51 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Laser pulses get shorter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19489384

I'm now calling my 10femtosecond laser a long pulse beam :P

2012-08-10 06:19:43 (30 comments, 127 reshares, 142 +1s)

Plasma Speaker Project!

Today i convinced a friend to join me in a fun project to build ourselves a plasma speaker. This will probably take a while to get together but i am sooo excited! Check out what other people have done:
Plasma Speaker / Singing Arc - Early Modulated Prototype

In this video the music is coming from the plasma!!

In a regular speaker the sound is produced by transforming the electrical voltage signature of music that travels down your speaker cable into the fast lateral motion of a cone within the speaker...this produces the pressure waves in the air that your ear can detect and then transform back into an electrical signal in your brain. :D 

In the plasma speaker the pressure wave comes from the modulation of the voltage, creating the plasma, which produces pressure waves in the plasma which just like in the speaker case can... more »

2012-08-05 20:03:52 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 17 +1s)

Sodium x 16 + Batmantium

For everyone wondering what Batmantium's atomic number was (presumably from the Case of the Chemical Syndicate : http://goo.gl/OmC7t)

via +ThinkGeek - In honour of The Dark Knight Rises: great summer wear (regular T or babydoll) available this weekend only (although, they said that a few weeks ago too, so they can't really be trusted.... ;) )  http://goo.gl/fKwFA


#ScienceSunday  
#DarkKnightRises  

2012-08-01 10:04:50 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 15 +1s)

Physics is awesome and the prettier the better! :D

This two laser beams simultaneously (and very close together) hitting a solid slab of hydrogen :)

#science   #scienceeveryday  

2012-08-05 20:00:44 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 11 +1s)

VIP Backstage Pass Science Lovers!

Check out some of the behind the scenes action of some of the UK's most amazing science facilities: Lasers, Accelerators, X-rays, Telescopes.... who could ask for more! 

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/BackstageScience

#science   #awesomeness   #scienceeveryday   #physics   #sciencesunday  

2012-07-25 08:46:22 (10 comments, 11 reshares, 19 +1s)

Is Galileo still right?

Lets check by racing a feather and a metal ball in vacuum. :P

Feather in Vacuum - Backstage Science

#science   #physics   #education   #scienceeveryday  

2012-07-06 17:04:05 (5 comments, 4 reshares, 13 +1s)

Planets, stars and great big lasers.

Just watched an amazing talk by the excellent Dr +Chris Murphy, a fantastic young physicist at the university of Edinburgh, and learnt a number of awesome and fun facts.

1. A human is a more efficient emitter of energy per cubic meter than the center of the sun! 

- A cubic metre of human produces around 1250W of power (about 12 lightbulbs worth).

- A cubic metre at the center of the sun puts out 276.5W. 

Surprising? Well we get so much energy from the sun because the sun is huge! So all the metre cubed really add up. 

2. The centre of planets and stars are really strange places where the physics is not very well understood because it is incredibly difficult to model as the state of warm dense matter is one in which the common approximations we use in the normal world no loner apply. 
Lase... more »

2012-06-21 11:44:25 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Diamond Light Source and saving the chocolatey goodness

Today i was lucky enough to be invited for a tour around Diamond Light Source. A 561m circumference synchrotron in the heart of oxfordshire, doing all kinds of fascinating science ranging from testing airplane engines for stress to perfecting the chocolate making process, which is science i fully support and probably significantly fund.

http://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/About/Films/background.html

In nearly all chocolately goodness you will find cocoa butter, the delicious fat derived from the cocoa bean. The ratio of cocoa butter to cocoa solids massively changes the flavour and texture and thus the type of chocolate we experience. What i learnt today is that the melting and resolidifying of the cocoa fat can happen in a number of different way.

Cocoa butter... 'the nontoxic fat that is solid at room... more »

2012-06-07 18:42:18 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 16 +1s)

Amazing Chocolate Cake

Ok so i normally post science, and there is some great science in the pipeline i promise, but i couldn't resist sharing this amazing recipe for chocolate cake that i discovered this weekend and i love very very much. 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake

I am one of the growing number of people that doesn't deal well with gluten (makes me very tired, headachey and grumpy) so i avoid it like the plague but i do love cake. So here I adapted  this recipe by simply substituting the regular wheat flour for gluten free varieties and also adding a teaspoon of Xanthan Gum. It came out moist, sticky and chocolatey... sooo yum.

It has coffee in it which i will mention as you really can not taste it all which is good for me as i am not a fan of the bean except in extreme tiredness situations. 

Ial... more »

2012-06-07 11:56:36 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 20 +1s)

We need to look after our planet

When will we learn?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18339905

Maybe we just need to practice?...... sooo.....

*How about practicing one thing every day? *

Today i am thinking about water!

Can we be more efficient with water? As today is so wet here near in Oxford thinking about it is somewhat easier. Water is one of the worlds most precious resources and even though it might seem abundant (especially here and now for me) it really isn't and is getting more polluted every day while as a population we actually need more and more water every day.

Problems i am thinking about:

- I have a dripping tap i need to fix.
- I want to reduce the amount of chemical, washing power, washing up liquid etc that i wash down the drain so many times a week.
- I am... more »

2012-06-01 22:26:47 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

The story of Stuff

A great presentation about what we are doing to our world. We need to change and protect it :) 

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/

2012-06-01 11:22:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Alert: The world has run out of news!

Today it appears the UK media ran out of news and, in what I can only imagine is an act of desperation, came up with this.

The GPC (Government Procurement Card) system is one of the few remaining points of sanity in the system. Not only does it save the taxpayer money on the processing of purchases (which used to cost £50 per individual formal requisition) but it saves them in staff time, resource time and from personal experience experimental time. 

As for the % issues the found I am concerned by the lack of detail... so doughnuts were purchased.. are we talking about 10 doughnuts for £1 at Tescos which were used for some networking event to encourage people to come together to discuss ideas during their lunchbreak or are we talking about some kind of gourmet doughnuts people are buying on their GPC during their weekly shop?My... more »

2012-05-26 22:46:59 (31 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Who will win #Eurovision ? Poll

+1 your choice of participants using the comments and share this if you want others to vote :)

#eurovision #eurovision2012 #eurovisionsongcontest2012 #eurovisionsongcontest #ESC