Once in a red moon

Wednesday night is going to get a bit darker than usual. On Feb. 20, there is going to be a total lunar eclipse in North America, according to NASA.

During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns red because that's the color of Earth's shadow. I like to pretend that the moon is angry about that flag we stabbed into it in 1969, but to each their own. There may also be a flash of turquoise at the beginning and end of the event, according to NASA. This happens when the light from the sun shines through Earth's ozone layer, which happens to absorb red light.



Here in Florida, the eclipse starts just before 9 p.m. and lasts until shortly after midnight. I wouldn't advise anyone to sit outside and watch the entire thing, since it's about as exciting as watching golf on ESPN.* I know it may seem like a good idea at the time, but the novelty wears off after the first hour or so. I'm probably just going to look at it sporadically — especially when the moon is at its reddest** — so that I can get the full effect without endlessly staring at the sky.

If you forget or just don't plan on going outside, Space.com has some neat photos of previous eclipses. Still, there's nothing like going out and seeing it for yourself, especially since the next one isn't until December 2010.


*Really, who watches that garbage?
**Specifically on commercial breaks during Project Runway.

I can't believe my eyes

Since the ongoing writers strike has halted new episodes of “Bionic Woman,” I know you’re all desperately seeking your fix of bionics. Luckily for us,* scientists at the University of Washington are developing the “bionic” contact lens, which could potentially show images (such as maps) to the wearer, according to National Geographic.

Essentially, the scientists created circuitry that is thinner than a human hair. These “nano-sized” pieces were placed in a liquid and poured over a special lens. The lens has differently shaped “pits,” and each pit corresponds to a certain piece of circuitry. The picture can explain it better than I can:



The first thing that stuck out to me about the photo was not the lens, but rather the strangeness of that eye. You see, I didn’t read the photo caption right away, so it took me longer than necessary to figure out the eye belongs to a rabbit.** And yes, I managed to overlook the abundance of fur also pictured in the photograph.

The biggest problem so far is that the contact may not work, as it appears that not one of the researchers put the contact in his or her own eye. So far, the only conclusion reached is that the rabbits “showed no signs of adverse effects” while wearing the lenses — whatever that means. In order to be useful to the human eye, the image would have to project itself in front of the wearer, as anyone with contacts can tell you that you can’t focus on something that is actually stuck to the lens.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the contact has reached that level of technology yet, although it may happen before the writers strike ends.***


*Who am I kidding: I didn’t watch it either.
**In my defense, the rabbit was identified in the last line of the caption.
***Really, how long is this going to last?

How to blow up an aircraft

Thanks to the magic of YouTube, we soon won't be able to buy gummy bears and other sugary candies in airport gift shops. Granted, I don't think anyone is trying to ban them just yet, but a YouTube video let out a secret about our gelatinous little friends that only a select few — namely chemists and other scientists — knew before.



Potassium chlorate + gummy bear + catalyst (e.g. heat, sulfuric acid, etc.) --> Scary, scary stuff.

Yeah, I know: Where is that potassium chlorate going to come from, hmm? Well, if you look hard enough, I'm sure you can find some. Of course, I'm not going to link to any potential source here, since I enjoy my status as a non-terrorist and — most importantly — I plan to keep it that way.*

To read more about the reaction itself, click here. But please, if you do decide to conduct this experiment yourself, do so in the safety of a chemistry lab or other place with proper methods of disposal.

And never — under any circumstances — conduct this experiment on an airplane.**

*Really, how could I update my blog from jail?
**If for some reason you do, remember: You didn't get the idea from me.

When matter doesn't matter anymore

Lately we've been weaving in and out of cold fronts — during which the temperature may dip into the 50s. Luckily, being in South Florida, we don't have to heat up our cars before we leave or break ice off of the windshield. Compare this to Vostok, Antarctica — which has had the coldest temperature on Earth at minus 129°F, according to Space.com in 2003 — and it makes our winters sound so much more enjoyable.

But, of course, science couldn't stop there. Smithsonian Magazine had to go out and report on the coldest spot in the universe. And the results are quite puzzling: Not only is it found on Earth, but it's also located in America.*

Specifically, it's inside a lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where physicists have almost met face-to-face with absolute zero, or minus 459.67°F. Granted, the scientists reached a temperature 810 trillionths of a degree above absolute zero, but as far as I'm concerned, that's close enough.

The team got there by using lasers and all sorts of potentially-boring techniques that you can read about in the Smithsonian link above. What's more interesting, however, is what matter does at or near absolute zero.

At unimaginably cold temperatures, matter is no longer in a state that we are familiar with, e.g. solids, liquids and gases. Instead, the individual atoms become a single system — as opposed to a bunch of atoms smacking into each other — and are capable of amazing feats, such as maintaining an electrical current until the substance dissipates. Granted, the systems only exist on a microscopic level, but it could be the start of something great.

And don't take my word for it. Here's a clip of a PBS documentary on absolute zero. Also be sure to look for the typo: It says "Deptartment" under Kleppner's name.


*Take that, Antarctica!

Neither rock nor scissors could save you now

Paper: Helping students read, workers appear busy and people with pica eat since before common era. And now, thanks to technology, this object of both love and distain can be used as a battery.

A team of researchers in New York developed a sheet of paper that can both store and discharge energy, according to LiveScience. The team did this by covering a sheet of paper with carbon nanotubes - which is just a fancy way of saying "little tubes made out of graphite" - and soaking it in salt water.

My favorite part about it is that the batteries are biodegradable, unlike the kind that explode all over my seemingly-ancient electronics. There's nothing like cleaning out the garage or a spare room and finding that nasty battery-juice - also called potassium hydroxide - leaking from your Duracells.*

Another amazing quality of the paper battery is that it can charge itself using human blood or sweat, according to Discover Magazine. This could prove useful in powering medical devices, such as artificial pacemakers, which remain inside the body.

I'm sure you could come up with other uses for this wonder-paper, as batteries are as common as bottled water. The batteries may even put the Energizer bunny to shame, as the researchers told Live Science that they hope to print these batteries from a computer one day.

But please, whatever you plan to do with these batteries in the future - whether they're used to power your car or your remote control - I suggest you don't eat them.**

*Don't pretend that it hasn't happened to you. It happens to the best of us.
**I'm looking at you, pica-chew.

What's in a name

We are approaching that blissful week between the end of final exams and the posting of grades. If you are afraid that you did poorly on a final or two, it may not just be the result of poor study habits: It turns out that your name may be to blame.

Supposedly, people whose names begin with the letter C or D are less likely to do well in school, according to a study reported in Yahoo! News. It's not that people with C and D names are less intelligent, but rather that people tend to be fond of their initials and therefore get less bummed out when receiving those letter grades. The conclusion was based on data from 15,000 graduate students over a 15-year period.

Strangely, the study doesn't say anything about people whose names begin with the letter F. I guess the researchers couldn't find any student that was okay receiving that grade.

The researchers also found that baseball players whose initials include a K – which is commonly used to denote a strikeout – are more likely to strike out than other players. For this part of the experiment, the researchers studied the data of 6,000 baseball players who were in the Major League within the past 93 years.

Frankly, more research has to be done on the topic before I'm willing to believe it. While there may be flaws in the data – such as its small sample size – it’s still an interesting proposition. I’m interested to see if the researchers will follow up this experiment and collect more samples.

The same study also found that people are attracted to words and objects that have to do with their names. The example provided in Live Science is that a man named Jack may be more likely to move to Jacksonville than a man named Phil, who may end up in Philadelphia.

By that logic, I should be fond of a former basketball player, a brand of almonds and a country in the Middle East. But sadly, I can't seem to pick out anything associated with my name that I particularly like.

However, I do usually get along with other people named Jordan, as well as other people whose names begin with the letter J.

Maybe those researchers are on to something.

But please, C and D named students, feel free to prove this study wrong and do well on your finals. Granted, most of you are probably done by now, but it’s worth a shot.

As for the rest of you, I guess you have nothing to worry about – at least until grades are posted.

Reefer Madness

As the semester comes to a close, I'm sure you're all looking for things to do. If you have snorkeling or diving gear – which you should, since we live in Florida – you can check out one of the most bizarre places I've ever heard of: the Neptune Memorial Reef off the coast of Miami. Yes, it's an artificial reef filled with dead people.

The reef is shaped like an ancient, underwater city but has the cremated remains of many deceased people in its columns and other architecture. I'm not sure why someone would pay a minimum of $1,500 to bury someone in the ocean when ashes can be tossed for a fraction of the cost. The only upside I can see is that this method won't get you fined for littering.

Anyway, the production of artificial reefs – with or without dead people – has become popular after the destruction of coral reefs by boats, erosion and, our favorite inconvenient truth, climate changes. Natural reefs are formed when coral, which is a sea anemone-like creature, attaches itself to a sea-floor rock. The coral then divides and conquers the area, and it becomes a massive living organism.

Given that coral takes a long time to grow, artificial reefs aim to speed up the process by giving marine plants a structure to grow on, instead of just waiting for the reef to take a shape of its own. Some of the world's reefs have been around for over 50 million years, according to National Geographic.

And you can't just make a reef out of anything. I'm sure you remember the reef made out of old tires that used to be off the coast of Broward County. Really, I don't see the appeal about a reef made out of 2 million tires, but apparently they thought it was a good idea in the '70s – then again, people in the 1970s also thought rocks would make great pets.

The problem with the tires was that they would be swept away during storms and strong currents. This would cause them to collide with and destroy existing marine structures, such as – drum roll – coral reefs. They also just looked like an underwater tray of doughnuts, which isn't that spectacular.

To get a tour of the Neptune reef – which should have been called Atlantis, after the famous sinking city – without having to dig up your scuba gear, click here to see a video of the cremation reef. I'm not sure why, but the video made me laugh. Maybe it's the music. Or that the fish look strangely out of place.

If you don't plan to venture out into the hot December sun but would still like to experience dead people, you can go see Bodies: The Exhibition at Las Olas from the comfort of air conditioning. Be careful, though: you might learn something.