tedmichalik.com » Science

Best Visual Illusion of the Year for 2010

Ted — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:34:34 +0000

Wooden balls rolling up a slope? Is this a new force of nature or magic? No, just a very cool optical illusion. Click here to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAXm0dIuyug&feature=player_embedded

My Review of Celestron 8 Inch CPC Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope ULTIMATE PACKAGE

Ted — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:05:15 +0000

Originally submitted at Telescopes.com

The CPC 800 GPS XLT is the most portable of Celestron’s top-of-the-line fork-mounted astronomical telescopes and includes Celestron’s premium StarBright XLT coatings. This telescope is at home as a superb visual instrument or, with optional wedge and CCD cameras, as a serious astrophotog…

Great Value

By Ted from Louisville, KY on 4/8/2010

Pros: Strong Construction, Quality Lenses, Compact, Accurate

Cons: Heavy

Best Uses: Astronomy

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

I love my new scope! The inclusion of the power tank and the set of 2″ eyepieces sealed the deal. It is perfect for me to use in my local astronomy group’s Sidewalk Astronomy events. I just secure the scope in the back seat with the seat belt, toss in the tripod, power tank, eyepiece case, and I am good to go. Setup is easy and the ability to do an alignment with solar system objects is very handy. On my first outing, I aligned the scope on the moon and used the “GOTO” to find Venus and Saturn before anyone else could spot them even with binoculars. The built in floodlight on the power tank also came in very handy in the twilight to find a binky dropped by one of the kids.

This scope is a lot heavier the the NexStar8 I used before, but that is a good trade off for its crisp rock steady views and excellent tracking.

(legalese)

SOLAR MINIMUM VS. GLOBAL WARMING

Ted — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:20:53 +0000

An article on Spaceweather.com discusses the latest analysis of climate researchers Judith Lean (NRL) and David Rind (NASA/GISS). Their model can account for 76% of the variation in the surface temperature of the Earth over the last 30 years just by considering solar activity, volcanic eruptions, ENSO (El Nino), and the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Click here to see their full article with predictions for the next two decades.

How DNA Copies Itself

Ted — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:52:26 +0000

Here is a clip from the PBS program “DNA The Secret of Life”. Computer animation is used to illustrate the process that makes near-perfect copies of DNA.

How DNA Copies Itself

Mathemagic

Ted — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:39:30 +0000

Arthur Benjamin can figure out 3-digit squares in his head faster than people with calculators. Personally, I have to use a calculator to keep my checkbook balanced, so I am in total awe of his abilities. Check out the link below.

Lightning Calculation and other “Mathemagic”