science and mathematics: October 2007 Archives

Professor Orzel of Uncertain Principles writes on the difficulties faced by solar energy production:

As best I can reconstruct it, the argument went like this: In order to meet the energy needs of the US entirely with solar power, we would need to cover 0.2% of the land area of the United States with photovoltaic cells, roughly equal to the area of paved roads in the US. And that's using solar cells with an efficiency of 50%, not too far below the theoretical maximum for a single-layer device.

To give even more context, researchers at the moment are aiming for producing a solar panel with 20% efficiency. Even worse are the production problems faced with providing that many solar panels to feed the energy needs of the US. Solar energy just isn't economically feasible by any stretch of the imagination as an overall solution.

Wired Science reports on new ways to beat drug resistant strains of tuberculosis. The new procedures involve using a drug cocktail that weakens tuberculosis's own defences, so that antibiotics can once again attack tuberculosis directly.

I myself had a case of tuberculosis infection some years back and the threat of having a drug resistant strain was a scary prospect during the six months I had to take antibiotics. I was lucky I didn't have a drug resistant strain. Via /.

A provocative article that lays out much of my own viewpoints on the dumbing down of the American education system, and how it's churning out a lot of children completely unequipped with an understanding of basic concepts:

He cites studies, reports, hard data, from the appalling effects of television on child brain development (i.e.; any TV exposure before 6 years old and your kid's basic cognitive wiring and spatial perceptions are pretty much scrambled for life), to the fact that, because of all the insidious mandatory testing teachers are now forced to incorporate into the curriculum, of the 182 school days in a year, there are 110 when such testing is going on somewhere at Oakland High. As one of his colleagues put it, "It's like weighing a calf twice a day, but never feeding it."

But most of all, he simply observes his students, year to year, noting all the obvious evidence of teens' decreasing abilities when confronted with even the most basic intellectual tasks, from understanding simple history to working through moderately complex ideas to even (in a couple recent examples that particularly distressed him) being able to define the words "agriculture," or even "democracy." Not a single student could do it.

I'm amazed every day by how little incoming freshmen at the college I work for know - from basic scientific principles like the behaviour of forces, to how to write an analytical essay. It's ridiculous.

Discover Magazine had a contest for best two minute video explaining String Theory to the masses. The winner is very good:

Astronomers at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland have discovered an Earth-like planet with favourable surface temperatures (0-40C) for life.

It orbits Gliese 581 in the Libra constellation, and is a mere 20 light-years away, with a size of 1.5 Earths (does it say how much of a sci-fi geek I am that I automatically wrote "1.5 Earth norm" as the description for its size?) This is the same team that has been making other planetary discoveries (mostly gas giants due to the accuracy of available measurements) on distant solar systems. It seems their system keeps getting more and more refined.

How I missed this back when it was first published, I have no idea.

A delightfully geeky article on the calculus involved in determining the right time to say "I Love You:"

The Engineer, delightful and rational fellow that he is, made it clear that he would not be saying “I love you” until he was sure. Otherwise, he might waste this very important statement by saying it too early in the relationship, when his love was still growing rapidly, thereby taking away the significance in later weeks/months when his love was much, much greater.

Judy, obviously disappointed by this response, pressed and asked WHEN exactly that would be. His response: when dLove/dt = zero.

The article goes on to analyse his statement in humour akin to the brilliant XKCD. Thanks for the link, Clarke.

The winners of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize have been announced: Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change

As pointed out by Prof. Orzel of Uncertain Principles, it is traditional for American recipients of the Nobel Prize to be invited to the White House for dinner. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that festival of awkward.