Science!, We Can Do That Now!

We Can Do That Now!-Universal Translators

The foundation of any good relationship is communication. This is true of friendships, marriages, communities, and civilizations. Being able to articulate nuanced thoughts and feelings is the only way by which we gain a deeper understanding of those around us. Throughout history, language has been the primary means used by humanity to communicate with one another. But we don’t all speak the same language, and so barriers remain. And while the urge to understand one another my date back to the dawn of time it is the advent of science-fiction that pushed the concept of a universal translation machine to…

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Science!, We Can Do That Now!

We Can Do That Now!-Personal Jetpacks

               One of humanity’s oldest and most primal urges is to learn what it’s like to fly. Tales of humans and gods soaring through the sky litter mythology. Throughout history some of humanities greatest engineers sketched out ideas in an attempt to make their dreams a reality. And finally, with the invention of the airplane, they succeeded.  But flying across the country in a cramped coach seat isn’t exactly what our ancestors had in mind. They want to feel the wind on their faces, to feel the freedom of nothing but air all around them. Which is why even after…

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Science!, We Can Do That Now!

We Can Do That Now!-Hypospray

Needles. Everybody hates them. Even those of us who don’t have a phobia of them still find the process of jabbing sharpened metal into our skin to be a not so comfortable experience. Which might be why in science fiction we find that an alternative to this invasive experience is as common a staple as spaceships and laser beams. I’m speaking of course of the future’s most famous medical tool: Hypospray.           As is the case with most hypothetical futuristic technologies the hypospray was popularized on the original Star Trek stories. The story goes that it was an inventive way of…

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Science!, We Can Do That Now!

We Can Do That Now!- Replicators

The Star Trek franchise has always served as a fount of ideas for futurists. From wireless communication devises to tractor beams, scientists have spent decades trying to create real-life versions of the fictional innovations they’ve seen on their television screens. Perhaps no technology has seemed further from our grasp than the series’ replicators. These devices are first shown to be able to create basic food rations before receiving upgrades that allowed them to create sophisticated meals and industrial materials, all of these items being created seemingly from thin air. But something from nothing is not a feasible area of academic…

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Robots Don't Wear Belts, Science!

Robots Don’t Where Belts: Nanobots

There is an old saying that goes “bigger is better” and considering the vastness of the universe we occupy, it’s easy to understand why we human beings might feel compelled to build bigger and better technological achievements. But while our universe may be infinitely large its secrets are microscopically small. For instance, a living cell, the building block for all life on our planet, can be as small as 5 µm. What is µm stand for? Micrometer, one-millionth of a meter. Viruses can reach sizes as small as 7.0xl0-7 µm3. Which is colloquially known in the scientific community as being…

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Mind Blown, Science!

Mind Blown- Superstring Theory

Sometimes, instead of blowing your mind, advanced scientific concepts can just feel like they’ve left your brain twisted in knots. That’s right, in this edition of Mind Blown we’re tying up all our loose ends with a cursory examination of string theory. In eleven entries so far you’ve seen me mention or allude to string theory on more than one occasion, well the time for telling you just what you needed to know to get by is over. We’re going down the rabbit hole people. Hold on tight. To begin with, forget everything you learned about those pesky little sub-atomic…

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Science!, Science! For Parties

Science! For Parties-Water To Wine

We’ve come to the end of the line here at Science! For Parties. But like any good party guest, we’ve saved the best for last. For our final party trick, we’re going to teach you how to pull of the greatest party trick ever recorded in human history. A feat so grand that the first person to ever successfully pull it off was declared to be the son of god. Today dear reader, you are going to learn how to turn water into wine. What will you need to pull off this science feat of biblical proportions? Well, to start…

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Mind Blown, Science!

Mind Blown- We are a computer simulation

Despite my overwhelming nerdiness, I’ve never really been much of a gamer. Video games just never held that much interest to me. With the sole exception being Sid Meier’s Civilization series. It’s possible for me to lose entire weeks to those games and not even notice. And sometimes during those sleep-deprived binges, I wonder if it’s possible that I’m just an NPC in some galactic alien simulation. Turns out I’m not the only one who is kept up at night by this idea, more than a few theoretical physicists have put for the theory that everything we know may just…

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Science!, Science! For Parties

Science! For Parties- The Invisible Licorice

Welcome back readers to Science! For Parties. In this edition, we put a new twist on an old trick. You all remember our previous post Backwards When Wet where we showed you how to change the direction of an arrow using only a glass of water. Well consider this post a spiritual sequel to that one, but in today’s entry, we are going to use that same principle of light refraction we learned before to make a piece of licorice disappear. Just like last time, you’ll need a clear glass, but for this trick instead of water we’ll be using…

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Science!, Science! For Parties

Science! For Parties- Non-Newtonian Dance Party

Have you ever been to a party where it seems like everyone is waiting for someone else to be the first one on the dance floor? It’s a bummer, right? Well with a little bit of preparation you can make sure that the next party you host comes with guests ready made to boogie down. Science! For Parties presents Non-Newtonian Dance Party! Now, this is the rare science party trick that I recommend only doing at your own party as it can make an unknowing host a little nervous. First, you’ll need to mix up a box of cornstarch with…

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