Zero Gravity

If you don’t already know, let me be the first to tell you: 2009 is the Year of Science!

It’s the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Abraham Lincoln was also born on the exact same day (and year) as Darwin, and Lincoln would found the Academy of Sciences.

2009 also marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope to study the skies - and the 400th anniversary of the publication of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion.

It’s the International Year of Astronomy and the International Year of Planet Earth.

2009 is the Year of Science.

What are you going to do about it?

I’ve joined COPUS - the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science - a network of over 500 organizations working to promote science awareness throughout the year. Each month is a different theme - evolution, energy resources, astronomy, physics, biodiversity, etc. I will be producing video and audio content that will appear on the COPUS website. I also hope to be involved in events in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

January’s theme is the Process and Nature of Science. Here’s my first video touching on the theme…

Related post:
http://www.sciencecomedian.com/blog/2008/08/02/why-is-the-sky-blue/
(includes the real reason the sky is blue)

Links:
http://www.copusproject.org

http://www.yearofscience.org

Once, when I was maybe ten years old, I asked my dad, “Why is the sky blue?”

A pretty reasonable question for a little ten-year-old scientist. But he wasn’t in the mood.

He said, “Go ask your mother.”

And I thought: Great, she knows.

I turned from my dad, and headed toward the kitchen, knowing I was one step closer to having my answer.

And as I rounded the corner, I was experiencing the thrill of the Scientific Method. I was following in the footsteps of Galileo and Isaac Newton.

And, to a certain degree, I was correct. I was, indeed, one step closer to my answer. Not the answer, but an answer.

There she stood. I took a deep breath, and asked her, “Mom, why is the sky blue?”

And I’ll never forget her response:

“Because I said so.”

At first, I was in awe of my mother. Later, I learned not to trust her in matters of science.

(The real reason the sky is blue has to do with light scattering by oxygen and nitrogen molecules. The Usenet Physics FAQ of UC Riverside has a good explanation - including the role Albert Einstein played in proving it was the air molecules themselves that were responsible and not particles of dust or droplets of water vapor suspended in the air)