by Herb Masters
Did someone say “Science”?
Did you notice what happened the other day? It would have been very easy to miss it. Based on a decision made in Versailles, France last year, the kilogram went through a bit of an identity update and your weight was “adjusted”! It was decided that “Prototype” wasn’t good enough. So last week they rolled out the new one. It’s a bit tricky to figure out how they now measure the kilogram. They use a Kibble balance! (This isn’t for weighing pet food.) Like so many things in science it is about accuracy. Here’s a nice dry story about it… The Romance of Precision Measurement (I think it is interesting if nothing else but to see who the narrator is!). As always Veritasium has a great video about this… How We’re Redefining the kg You might also be interested in a new application for Legos! Have you heard about NIST? It is one of the most important science agencies that our taxes support.
Congratulations are well deserved for Dr. Peter Gleick at the Pacific Institute. He was just awarded the 2019 BMI Prize for Strategic Global Challenge of Fresh Water. Yet one more amazing speaker who will be presenting at SkeptiCal 2019. Have you registered yet?
I’m always impressed by what is being discovered these days. How about a new species of coral 50 miles from San Francisco? Chromoplexaura cordellbankensis As measles continues to make the news, there is a tough new regulation under consideration these days.
We are heading into summer soon. The rain today was a treat but don’t plan on it continuing. As the rains dry up for the summer so does the number of presentations we are digging up for you to attend. Rest assured they won’t completely stop and there will always be interesting ones as well. For instance…
- Wonderfest: ‘The Serengeti Rules’ Mon 5:00 St. Helena
- Food, Agriculture, Biotechnology and Some Other Thoughts Thu 5:00 Palo Alto
- Blossoms and Bugs Bioblitz at Potrero Meadows, Saturday, June 1, 11AM to 2PM Sat 11:00 Mill Valley
It is amazing that it was 50 years ago since we were dancing with the moon. The Apollo 10 astronauts returned to earth after passing within 14 kilometers of the moon! Two months later humans landed on the moon for the first time in history.
Do you have some kids in your life? How to Talk to Kids About Climate Change (and Have Fun, Too)
Have a great week learning cool new stuff.
herb masters
“An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature’s answer.” – Max Planck, German theoretical physicist (born 23 Apr 1858).