Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2009

Death by Black Hole


Neil De Grasse Tyson has come out with a great collection of essays on astrophyisical subjects. Tyson is a very entertaining scientist who creates concrete pictures of astronomical ideas, depicting abstract issues as they bear on the senses. He also has a great sense of humor and knows how to extend our sense of reality through science. The best thing he does is show how the scientific mind works. In his most famous essay, " Death by Black Hole" placed in this compilation, Tyson tries to describe what it would be like to be drawn into a black hole from a personal and scientific point of view. He goes into detail about how your body would be stretched when entering the black hole (spagettification) and in so doing describes the physical processes that would distort the body. Tyson makes these difficult concepts of physics understandable. In another essay, Tyson discusses the ends of the world, plural, showing how the universe will slowly disperse and cool. He also considers the role of chaos in the functioning of the solar system despite the phyical laws it follows and he considers the role of antimatter in maintaining the balance of the universe. He is a very lively and interesting writer who can make science an attractive subject for almost anyone. This is a good read.


Thursday, July 3, 2008

Hats Off to the Maryland Science Center!!!

I grew up in a scientific household. My dad was a chemist for Corning, Inc and when we were kids he would bring home liquid nitrogen, hydrochloric acid, lasers, and all sorts of things to teach my brother and me about science (or was it to shut us up?) There is a certain look that kids get when the science experiments roll out... you wish you could bottle and sell it. But alas, if the best we can do as adults is to bring those smiles out once in a while, that'll have to do. [Enter Maryland Science Center]

Yesterday two young women showed up at our branch with smiles as their secondary objective, their primary objective being, of course, education. And what a show it was! There were Slinkys, Bunsen burners, explosions and many many bright shining smiles. I guess I could try to describe it in words, but this time let's let the pictures speak for themselves.






We have lots more programming coming up this summer for kids and adults. For more information about upcoming programs please give us a call or stop by the branch:

Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Interim Library
945 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Washington, DC
(202) 671-0267