Physical Science

The blueprint. When Rutherford discovered the proton in 1918, he was still convinced about the possible existence of some other subatomic particle. He conducted several experiments to illustrate this prediction, and in 1920, concluded that there should, indeed, be another subatomic…
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When one thinks of robotic snakes, giant monstrosities and evil scientists usually come to mind, not lifesaving tools of the future, but that is just the route that Howie Choset, a 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has decided to take…
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Rheology is the study of flow.  Here in Hawaii, lava is flowing into the sea.  Geologists and geophysicists study such states of molten rock.  It is also the flow of ketchup, mustard, honey, foams, paints and/or any substance that differs…
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Custom Thermoforming: A Viable Alternative to Accepted Technology Custom thermoforming is the process of heating a thin plastic sheet to the point where it can be pressed, folded, and trimmed to form any conceivable shape or package. Due to the…
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Many of the other writers have stated that a fortnight is generally thought of as fourteen nights / fifteen days and, as a general rule, I would agree with them. Where I live, in northern Spain, the phrase ‘quince dias’,…
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According to the European Space Agency (ESA) one of the most dangerous, toxic substances on Earth, nuclear waste, may become the future fuel for interplanetary freighters and space luxury liners. What to do with nuclear waste has been the subject…
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Aluminium is highly reactive and does not occur in the free state. However, it is widely distributed and it is the third metal in abundance on earth after Oxygen and Silicon.  Aluminium exists primarily as Alumino-Silicates (i.e. as Felspar, NaAlSi3O8,…
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I have the pleasure of being married to an Electronics Engineer. There are always projects on the go and on many occasions I have to identify components as my eyes are younger and stronger. Along with this, I often have…
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This is a simple conjecture of a possible future method for cutting down the cost of building a spaceship. It was an idea I mooted in a book I wrote a number of years ago. I never published the book,…
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Cell division is the creation of new ‘daughter’ cells from a single ‘parent’ cell. At some point in their life cycle, all cells will divide and the new cells could be exactly the same as the original cell or share…
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