Try to focus on this moment right now. Fix it in your mind. You can’t, can you? Because even as you think about a moment that moment has passed. What we consider to be the present is actually the recent past. Our mind makes sense of the data it’s being sent and paints us a picture of the world around us but it takes time to process that data and in that time the world moves on. We live milliseconds in the past never quite catching up to the present. Trippy to think about right? And we haven’t even gotten…
Category: Science!
Science! For Parties!: The Leidenfrost Effect
Ever been on a date and wanted to bust out the double whammy of impressing your dinner companion with your cooking skills and your science knowledge? Then you’re in luck because today’s Science! For Parties! is going to teach you how to do just that. As always don’t try this at home without a sober adult present. Take whatever pan you feel like it and place it on you stove. Turn the stove on high and let the pan heat up. You’ll want to give it at least a few minutes as the cooking surface of the pan will need…
We Can Do That Now: Neurogaming
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with the world of Science! here at the Eclectic Eccentric and a recent conversation got me jazzed to jump back into it with a new installment of We Can Do That Now! Where I discuss something incredibly cool: Neurogaming. Something so cutting edge spellcheck is telling me it’s not a word. I’m gonna go ahead and interpret that as a sign that I should start with a definition. What is Neurogaming? Well it’s a cutting edge branch of the videogame industry that seeks to use Brain Control Interfaces (BCIs) to create comprehensive…
Mind Blown: White Holes
We all know about black holes, those cosmic devourers from whose gravitational pull nothing, not even light, can escape. They are a point of fascination in both science and sciences fiction so common that the phrase “like a black hole” has become a part of our vernacular. But while you’ve probably heard about black holes you’re likely not all that familiar with their astronomical twin: the mythical white hole. In this month’s Mind Blown section I take a look at a natural phenomenon so mind bending to this point it has only been theorized about. So what exactly is a…
Science! For Parties Presents: Fire! For Parties
Hey everybody! Welcome to Science!: For Parties where I show you a neat trick you can pull of at a party then explain the science behind it. Because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to be that guy at the party? This week we start out with something easy. All you’ll need is a candle and a match/lighter. Simply light the candle then blow it out. When it begins to smoke take another lit match or your re-lit lighter and insert it in the smoke as if you were trying to light it. The flame will jump from the smoke…
We Can Do That Now!- Force Fields
“Shields Up!” It’s a familiar refrain for science-fiction aficionados. From Star Trek to Dune to Independence Day invisible shields of energy that protect ships, buildings, or individuals from attack have been a staple of Geekdom from its very inception. But now this science fiction is headed quickly towards becoming science fact. I explain how in this the inaugural edition of We Can Do That Now! Work on real-life force fields is nothing new. After all more than one generation of scientists has grown up having to choose a side in the never-ending battle between the Force and the Federation. However…
Robots Don’t Wear Belts- CES Review
The world famous Consumer Electronic Show took place in Las Vegas this past weekend and what a better way to start my monthly look at tech series off than with a look at some of the very cool things showcased at this years event. In keeping with my always sunny disposition lets start with one of the winners of a CES Innovation Award the Raybot. Created by ECOVACS Robotics, Raybot is a water-free robot designed for the automated cleaning of solar panels. It uses a blow-sweep-vacuum system to get rid of dust and debris and keep your solar panels operating…
Mind Blown- Infinite Worlds Theory
Somewhere out there machete wielding Dinosaurs are oppressing the human race and you are the last great rebel hope to led an insurrection against their brutal regime and finally overthrow the egg laying bastards. Also somewhere out there you write steamy romance novels and wear only jeans that have been properly bedazzled. Thus is the beauty of Infinite Worlds Theory, according to which everything that could happen, has happened. Maybe just not to you. Infinite Worlds Theory, or as it is more properly called by cosmologists and theoretical physicists the Many Worlds Interpretation, states that there are an infinite number…