The science they didn't teach you at school
Mind twisting probability
And now for something completely different! It’s… Monty… Hall’s amazing problem. (If you aren’t old enough to remember Monty Python, ignore that bit.) The Monty Hall problem is a great example of the way our brains struggle with probability, but in researching my latest book Dice World, in which it … Continue reading
Where’s quantum Wally?
It’s appropriate that the episode of The Big Bang Theory I watched last night featured as part of a kind of nerd Olympics a competitive game of Where’s Wally (or to be precise, the US variant of the book Where’s Waldo? – why did they change the name?) where contestants … Continue reading
Quantum Vampires
The title of this piece may sound like the latest Young Adult bestseller (and I reserve all rights, thank you very much) but I was thinking of something a little more down to earth… yet at the same time rather more exciting. Even though it has been out for a … Continue reading
Is space really cold?
We are used to thinking of space as a cold place. And it is, sort of – but not always in the ways you might expect. For instance, if you were suddenly dropped into space you might assume that the minimal temperature out there would mean that your blood would … Continue reading
What’s the point of goose bumps?
I think the thing I enjoyed most about writing The Universe Inside You was the chance to explore how small aspects of the human body could help explore some entertaining science. Take skin, for instance. The outer layer of your skin is primarily the same material as your hair and … Continue reading
Einstein’s Orange
Einstein’s masterpiece from around 1914, general relativity, explains the workings of gravity. But it’s not enough to think of gravity being produced by a warp in space – to work, it also has to be a warp in time. Read more >>
Antigravity = Perpetual motion
One of the most enjoyable chapters to write in my book on gravity was the one on antigravity, in part because some of the ideas are so silly, and it part because it’s a truly fascinating concept. Unfortunately, there are real problems with making an antigravity material like the ‘cavorite’ … Continue reading
Your body as a laboratory
Your body is one of the most amazing things in the universe, a great starting point form exploring all sorts of science. Here’s a few fascinating factoids: Explore more at the Universe Inside You website >> Read More >>
Beware the average
I was struck by an item on the local news this morning saying that the average house price in the UK was £163,910 according to the Nationwide Building Society. This seemed a dubious statistic. Why? Because the average (or mean) is not a good measure of a distribution that isn’t … Continue reading
What do you want to see?
The really interesting bits of science in bite sized portions from science writer Brian Clegg
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