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Oil prices are negative, say headlines everywhere. How is that possible? Oil prices aren’t actually negative–but it’s a great headline. How oil is priced is very complicated. So here’s a simplified analogy that will give you the big picture. Pretend oranges are SUPER important to modern society. (An orange a day…) Every day, if you […] More
Nuclear energy is a very misunderstood topic. Issues include the risk of meltdowns, radiation, and how to store nuclear waste. Why do some people think that nuclear power is clean, considering all the waste? Because the numbers are very clear. “All the waste” from nuclear is still much less wasteful than burning fossil fuels. Here’s […] More
If you have seen the classic drinking bird toy, then you have probably wondered how it works. You might not have succeeded in explaining why it works. Some say that Einstein was baffled by it. Engineer Bill Hammack disassembled the drinking bird toy to understand the principles behind it. What looks like red water inside […] More
Science says the EmDrive is a fake. Its creator designed the EmDrive as an engine for space travel. The EmDrive uses a RF resonant cavity thruster. This should create thrust without any propellant. Traveling around and carrying all your fuel with you gets very expensive, and a propellant-less thruster would change space travel forever. Unfortunately, […] More
This is such a lovely story of an engineer who knew his stuff and saved the day! The W. M. Keck Observatory is a two-telescope astronomical observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The total funding to the Keck telescopes is in the billions of dollars, and it’s responsible […] More
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