Thank you all for the amazing support and encouragement with this project. I have received some fantastic emails and comments in the last few days. It is a great feeling to see a project come to fruition.
After some thought, I believe I will take this project in two directions. First, a sort of mini-expose on young scientists that can be shared on this blog. Every so often, I will highlight a young (or young-at-heart) scientist at whatever point in their career with what their life is like. So this is a solicitation to all you amazing and interesting people to share your story with me. Please comment, twitter, email or send up smoke signals letting me know you would be happy to put a mini-bio of yourself on the website. We can do a questionnaire, get some photos and some good stories and share your life and experience as a scientist to the world. We want the rest of society to know we are real people with awesome hobbies, families, adventures and personalities.
I particularly want this to be as real as possible, so even if you think you don't qualify because you are not a professional hockey player on the side (I'm not sure how that would work) or if your blog on heavy metal music only reaches 2-3 people a week, tell me about it! Tell me about wanting to be a scientist as a kid (or if you didn't, how did you end up here?). Who did you idolise? Did you have a poster of Uhura up in your bedroom until you were 28? Is your significant other a scientist? How did you meet? What do you listen to while you do research? Do the lyrics from Paradise City somehow find their way into your code? (Oh, just me then? Okay.) You get the idea. So please, get in touch!
Now, the second aspect to this project is a bit more ambitious, but there seems to be a lot of support and resources for this. I would like to do a photography exhibition along the same lines. I would like to show the faces behind the science, from the past to the present (and twirling...twirling into the future!). This is obviously much more long term, but I would also like opinions and suggestions for this. I think it would be interesting to have some non-science information about famous figures; what were their spouses like? Did they go to social events? Did they like music? Obviously, the further back we go, the harder this information is to obtain, but it could be a journey through history, showing the diverse backgrounds of scientists. It is important to convey to the public that us scientists come from all sorts of histories and specialities, through time. It would be especially effective if through the exhibit, the stories and the diversity exploded as we got closer to 'modern' times. It could have great potential to really inspire kids that anyone could be a scientist.
You know how parents sometimes tell their kids that "Einstein wasn't very good at maths at school either" [which isn't true, but you know what I mean] to try to encourage them to stick with it? Well, wouldn't it be much more effective if there was a widely-held belief that, actually, most scientists struggle at first, and it does not come easy to all of us, but if you like it and you want to do it, you should be able to. Kids want to be rock stars and presidents, why can't being a scientist seem just as cool and easy? After all, it's the motivation that got us all started, right?
Scientists would have much more of a priority in politics and government if funding was not seen as a burdensome obligation, but instead as an easy way to secure the future of the country and the prospects of future generations. Imagine if, instead of the one geeky kid (probably you or me or whoever else is reading this) who sheepishly says they kind of want to be a scientist when they grow up, most kids were able to say this proudly and without hesitation. If it was given the same regard and respect as politicians or musicians, we could really change the world.
Bring it on!
________________
New website for The Faces of Science: http://facesofscience.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Your R136a1 is so fat...
Any regular news readers would have been hard-pressed to miss the news that the largest star to date has been discovered, our new friend, R136a1. Using the ESO Very Large Telescope and archival Hubble data, researchers at the University of Sheffield isolated a star that is 265 times the mass of the Sun, a million times brighter and a birthweight about 320 times the Sun's.
Paul Crowther, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield studied two young clusters of stars, NGC 3603 and RMC 136a, both clusters of young, hot, massive stars. The interesting thing about this is that this discovery completely dwarfs previous knowledge that stars were limited in their mass by about 150 times the mass of the Sun. Within R136, only four stars weighed more than 150 solar masses at birth, yet they account for nearly half of the wind and radiation power of the entire cluster, comprising approximately 100 000 stars in total.
Comparing R1361a to the Sun, the brightness is about the difference between the Sun and the full moon. Imagine now that we simply replaced the Sun with R136a1, “Its high mass would reduce the length of the Earth's year to three weeks, and it would bathe the Earth in incredibly intense ultraviolet radiation, rendering life on our planet impossible,” says team-member Raphael Hirschi from Keele University.The relative sizes of different stellar classifications are shown below:
The important thing to take away from this discovery is that this is simply the dynamics of scientific research. In the same way the Kuiper Belt forced us to redefine our Solar System and Pluto's classification, this forces us to redefine our understanding of stellar evolution and dynamics. I am inclined to agree with astronomer royal Martin Rees (who can't? With such stellar *ahem* eyes and a devil-may-care smirk...) in his assessment that this is a cool discovery and it's great that it involves UK science and advanced telescopes, but it is not Earth-shattering. It just makes us appreciate the ever-changing understanding of the universe around us.
Paul Crowther, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield studied two young clusters of stars, NGC 3603 and RMC 136a, both clusters of young, hot, massive stars. The interesting thing about this is that this discovery completely dwarfs previous knowledge that stars were limited in their mass by about 150 times the mass of the Sun. Within R136, only four stars weighed more than 150 solar masses at birth, yet they account for nearly half of the wind and radiation power of the entire cluster, comprising approximately 100 000 stars in total.
Comparing R1361a to the Sun, the brightness is about the difference between the Sun and the full moon. Imagine now that we simply replaced the Sun with R136a1, “Its high mass would reduce the length of the Earth's year to three weeks, and it would bathe the Earth in incredibly intense ultraviolet radiation, rendering life on our planet impossible,” says team-member Raphael Hirschi from Keele University.The relative sizes of different stellar classifications are shown below:
The important thing to take away from this discovery is that this is simply the dynamics of scientific research. In the same way the Kuiper Belt forced us to redefine our Solar System and Pluto's classification, this forces us to redefine our understanding of stellar evolution and dynamics. I am inclined to agree with astronomer royal Martin Rees (who can't? With such stellar *ahem* eyes and a devil-may-care smirk...) in his assessment that this is a cool discovery and it's great that it involves UK science and advanced telescopes, but it is not Earth-shattering. It just makes us appreciate the ever-changing understanding of the universe around us.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Ode to a lost Futurama
Oh, Futurama, what has happened to you?
You used to be clever, honest and true
After years of our begging we got you back
Just to see scripts that seriously lacked
MomCo as Apple? Really, give me a break
Bender and Amy? Please man, I just ate
Where is the science? The nerd jokes? The fun?
Did all of your writers suddenly run?
Jokes about photons, wire drawers and Trek
Have now been replaced with nothing but sex
Zapp was awesome when he was just Kirk
But now he's just gross and your everyday jerk
Kif and Amy once gave hope to the scrawny
Now she's not pleased unless he is brawny
It was a great balance, catered to every man
"Bite my shiny metal ass" while drinking Olde Fortran
I want Bender again to be frightened of twos
And Fry to want Leela, though he knows he will lose
We loved the quantum finish and the Aleph-null-plex
And what about Gore, Nichelle, Hawking and Gygax?
Nibbler and Zoidberg, Hermes and Scruffy
Your characters were epic and terribly funny
Who didn't love Flexo with Star Trek to mock?
You gave us back Nimoy, who was more than just Spock
Maybe the writers want this time to stay
So they're changing the humour, leaving nerds in dismay
Without nerd support, you wouldn't be here
We cried out for more but you've left us in tears
I know we are few but we do still exist
Desperately wanting more than just pish
I know it's a risk to leave us in the dust
The general public might find it a must
I'm saddened and sick by your lack of tact
Maybe it's true; we can never go back
Time to say goodbye to the lads in 3k
Maybe when we're there, it'll all be okay.
SHOCK! Particle rumour denied
*Gasp* Sit down, this one is really going to blow your mind. A blogger made something up?! Say it ain't so!! My faith in the webertubes is shattered!
Apparently some Italian particle physicist started a rumour on his blog that the Tevatron accelerator discovered evidence for the ever-elusive Higgs Boson.
Fermilab denied the rumours on their twitter page (also a trustworthy source) that the rumours are just from a fame-seeking blogger. Shame he got a news article as well. But really, people, this is what happens in the future world made up of a "series of tubes". We get things like rumours and the massive, impressive ability to link to lots of places!
I do love the fact that a rumour like this can spread though; much better than the rumours than take hold like Jeff Goldblum falling off a cliff. It shows that the general public are actually interested in the Higgs Boson, or have at least been convinced that they should be. Just add "God" to the start of anything and the American public will jump on it. If Americans jump on it, then surely it is newsworthy, right? Don't get me wrong, I think the media fascination with this subject has taught the public a very important lesson in the world of science which is it takes a freaking long time. There is *gasp* DATA to analyse. Funny that. Sounds like scientists are not keen to just jump on a discovery. We have been well-trained since the days of Joseph Weber to not jump on a possible detection, straight for a claim like a submarine bomber looking for a radar signal (if you know the story of Weber, I promise that is a very clever simile!)... maybe a little too well-trained in hesitancy, but hesitant nonetheless. What can I say? We just like checking and double-checking our numbers before making a claim. It is going to take some time. If we don't, I promise scientists are going to look more foolish than they will if they just make the public wait.
Apparently some Italian particle physicist started a rumour on his blog that the Tevatron accelerator discovered evidence for the ever-elusive Higgs Boson.
Fermilab denied the rumours on their twitter page (also a trustworthy source) that the rumours are just from a fame-seeking blogger. Shame he got a news article as well. But really, people, this is what happens in the future world made up of a "series of tubes". We get things like rumours and the massive, impressive ability to link to lots of places!
I do love the fact that a rumour like this can spread though; much better than the rumours than take hold like Jeff Goldblum falling off a cliff. It shows that the general public are actually interested in the Higgs Boson, or have at least been convinced that they should be. Just add "God" to the start of anything and the American public will jump on it. If Americans jump on it, then surely it is newsworthy, right? Don't get me wrong, I think the media fascination with this subject has taught the public a very important lesson in the world of science which is it takes a freaking long time. There is *gasp* DATA to analyse. Funny that. Sounds like scientists are not keen to just jump on a discovery. We have been well-trained since the days of Joseph Weber to not jump on a possible detection, straight for a claim like a submarine bomber looking for a radar signal (if you know the story of Weber, I promise that is a very clever simile!)... maybe a little too well-trained in hesitancy, but hesitant nonetheless. What can I say? We just like checking and double-checking our numbers before making a claim. It is going to take some time. If we don't, I promise scientists are going to look more foolish than they will if they just make the public wait.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Why I am here
Hello cyber-world! I decided to start this blog to share my pithy ramblings that are the result of hours spent perusing the web-er-tubes. I do not know where this blog will lead, who will choose to follow or whether anyone will, in fact, read it. I do know, however, what motivated me to start this. Let me share with you... are you settled? Okay.
First of all, I am an avid reader of the ScienceBlogs writer, PZ Myers (not to be confused with his scary alter-ego of misspellings, PZ Meyers) and his blog, Pharyngula. Recently, there was an interesting discussion on why there are a lack of prominent female sceptics. Now, the term 'sceptic' can be applied to many things, whether it is a sceptic of religion, a sceptic of faith, a sceptic of the world, a sceptic of miracles, or any other possible thing you want to be sceptical of, the current societal infatuation with Twilight included. I like to think that the world of science is the ultimate haven for sceptics. We were generally led to science by a certain curiosity of how the world around us actually works. And I mean, ACTUALLY works. None of this religion-mumbo-jumbo. I do not know about you, but I find the concept of quark-gluon plasmas much more fascinating than a big man with a great beard pointing his finger and saying 'Me want Universe!' (and you want to know something even better? There's this thing called EVIDENCE for plasmas! Shhhh). So I am here to lend my voice to the world of female sceptics. Indeed, there are few women in my field and I imagine even fewer who want to risk exposing themselves to the cruel world of the blogosphere, but I can take it. If I can be tattooed 15 times I can certainly take on the world of the interwebs.
My personal journey with science has led to me researching the existence of gravitational waves, with a dollop of astrophysics and a soupçon of statistics. This was not a journey of enlightenment, of bright lights and shiny epiphanies, but a tiring one that consisted of fits of anger, holes in my wall the size of physics textbooks, morbid cartoons of Cauchy being eaten by a T-Rex, sweat-laced homework assignments, tears, rage, frustration and many other horrible things. However, it also resulted in some amazing bonding moments with fellow students, the beauty of Cauchy's Integral Theorem, the shininess of finally solving the Schrödinger equation, more science fiction marathons than one would think possible and the amazing feeling of finally being handed the diplomas by the same professors who made my life miserable (but very educated) for four years. Four years, it flies by. So that is me and that is why you should trust me. Also, there are not enough female, tattooed, scientists out there to show other girls who may not fit the stereotype that we do, actually exist and would open them with welcome arms to this world!
I am here to share my thoughts with you, oh Reader. We are going to have a wild adventure together analysing and tearing apart the world around us, with occasional rants on my behalf of my research (all fellow mourners welcome). I may also attempt to teach you some cool things, if you want to learn. Want to join? It should be fun! So pull up a browser, pour yourself some coffee and let the discussion ensue. To emulate the immortal words of The Doctor, I am most definitely a mad woman with an internet account. Let's have an adventure!
First of all, I am an avid reader of the ScienceBlogs writer, PZ Myers (not to be confused with his scary alter-ego of misspellings, PZ Meyers) and his blog, Pharyngula. Recently, there was an interesting discussion on why there are a lack of prominent female sceptics. Now, the term 'sceptic' can be applied to many things, whether it is a sceptic of religion, a sceptic of faith, a sceptic of the world, a sceptic of miracles, or any other possible thing you want to be sceptical of, the current societal infatuation with Twilight included. I like to think that the world of science is the ultimate haven for sceptics. We were generally led to science by a certain curiosity of how the world around us actually works. And I mean, ACTUALLY works. None of this religion-mumbo-jumbo. I do not know about you, but I find the concept of quark-gluon plasmas much more fascinating than a big man with a great beard pointing his finger and saying 'Me want Universe!' (and you want to know something even better? There's this thing called EVIDENCE for plasmas! Shhhh). So I am here to lend my voice to the world of female sceptics. Indeed, there are few women in my field and I imagine even fewer who want to risk exposing themselves to the cruel world of the blogosphere, but I can take it. If I can be tattooed 15 times I can certainly take on the world of the interwebs.
My personal journey with science has led to me researching the existence of gravitational waves, with a dollop of astrophysics and a soupçon of statistics. This was not a journey of enlightenment, of bright lights and shiny epiphanies, but a tiring one that consisted of fits of anger, holes in my wall the size of physics textbooks, morbid cartoons of Cauchy being eaten by a T-Rex, sweat-laced homework assignments, tears, rage, frustration and many other horrible things. However, it also resulted in some amazing bonding moments with fellow students, the beauty of Cauchy's Integral Theorem, the shininess of finally solving the Schrödinger equation, more science fiction marathons than one would think possible and the amazing feeling of finally being handed the diplomas by the same professors who made my life miserable (but very educated) for four years. Four years, it flies by. So that is me and that is why you should trust me. Also, there are not enough female, tattooed, scientists out there to show other girls who may not fit the stereotype that we do, actually exist and would open them with welcome arms to this world!
I am here to share my thoughts with you, oh Reader. We are going to have a wild adventure together analysing and tearing apart the world around us, with occasional rants on my behalf of my research (all fellow mourners welcome). I may also attempt to teach you some cool things, if you want to learn. Want to join? It should be fun! So pull up a browser, pour yourself some coffee and let the discussion ensue. To emulate the immortal words of The Doctor, I am most definitely a mad woman with an internet account. Let's have an adventure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)