Category Archives: Science

Science

Dilbert Creator Hacks His Own Brain

October 25, 2006 – 5:34 pm

Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, has been suffering from an unusual condition for the last 18 months. It’s called Spasmodic Dysphonia, and essentially its a condition where your brain forgets how to talk. You may still be able to communicate by other means, singing, for example (because different portions of the brain are used to process singing than for normal speech). But for some individuals, normal everyday speech becomes limited, or impossible. [...]

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Supercooled Water

November 9, 2004 – 9:19 am

My wife and I will often stick bottles of water in the freezer for a little while, because, well, really cold water is refreshing. A few nights ago, I had done that, and I got to witness a neat phenomenon. When I first removed the bottle from the freezer, the water was still liquid and clear. But after I jostled it, the water almost instantly turned into a frozen slush.

This was a mild example of supercooling. The water was at the freezing point, but crystalization had not started yet. But when I disturbed the bottle, it set off a chain reaction, and the water froze before my eyes. [...]

By Dougal | Also posted in Fun | Comments (7)

No eclipse for us

October 28, 2004 – 10:42 am

We missed the eclipse last night. Despite having mostly clear skies in the early part of the day, at the time that the lunar eclipse started, it was raining here. Bummer.

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