I get asked a lot of questions. “What does Don smell like? Did you mean to set that on fire? Why are the townsfolk outside with pitchforks and torches AGAIN?” For legal and moral reasons I can’t always answer those questions, but sometimes the fates are kind and I am happy to share my wisdom with Explosions Inc.’s loyal fans. This week I’ll open up the mailbag and serve up some hot steamy knowledge in our first installment of:
FLAMING HUNKS OF SCIENCE!
with Aaron
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Last week, researchers from Caltech announced they had found evidence suggesting an as-yet undiscovered ninth planet may be lurking in the hinterlands of our solar system. We at Explosions Inc. have taken it upon ourselves to answer some of the most common questions that have arisen in the wake of this announcement. You can add your voice to the chorus of confusion below in the comments.
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Thanks to the hurly-burly of modern life, we seem to spend every moment of every day under constant pressure. School, jobs, relationships, the constant threat of velociraptor attack, the list seems endless. Among this litany of pressures, however, is one that we cannot do without. I'm talking about air pressure. This week I want to show you a neat demo you can try at home that takes advantage of a quirk of air pressure. So sit back, relax, and make sure to keep your velociraptor spray handy.
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I was staring resolutely into the middle distance, practicing my world-weary, erudite look, when a few feral thoughts scampered nimbly through the wastes of my wide-open mind: What exactly is an explosion? Shorn of all the fire, debris, shockwaves, and cool protagonists walking away without looking back, what is the essence of an explosion, the thread that binds all explosions together? Is there a singular definition that encompasses them all? Give yourselves a second to think about that. I'll wait........(Warning. Some gross images ahead)
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In the woolly wilds of Oregon, Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, bees are buzzing, and if your covered wagon turns over while fording the river, you might not die of hypothermia. (That was an Oregon Trail joke.) What better way to usher in the season and enjoy the outdoors than building your own stomp-bottle rocket launcher? Safe and easy, you can welcome back the songbirds with a barrage of air-propelled science! (Explosions Inc. does not condone firing rockets at living creatures. Not even birds. Not even if they totally pooped on you and your fancy new pants completely on purpose while you were minding your own business. Stupid birds.)
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The final episode of my epic Chemical Reaction Trilogy! Perhaps it's not quite Peter Jacksonesque in scope (maybe more Terry Gilliamesque) but it's a good primer. This time I discuss where the energy that is released in a chemical reaction ends up and this video is in no way yet another excuse for me to set myself on fire. Nope, not at all. Not one little bit. Nuh-uh...Really.
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An ode to element number 8. Without it my job would be so much more difficult. Come to think of it, my entire life, and yours as well would be devoid of, well, pretty much everything, including life. Good thing it's the third most abundant element in this little universe we like to call home. So come along as I sing the praises of your friend and mine, the shining star of the chalcogen family
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reaction when Don conveniently pointed out we had done just that, a long time ago. So strap yourself into your way-back machine and let's take a trip down memory lane to the Big Bang of Explosions Inc.
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We got a new camera! An honest-to-goodness, shooting stuff, all the bells and whistles, type camera......And I'm completely terrified of it. Like a suspicious peasant who won't go near the creepy old castle without muttering and making cryptic signs to ward off the evil eye. But I put on my big boy pants, burned some sage to discourage the negative humors, sacrificed a fatted calf to any deities who may be around (okay, so it was a slim jim) and I made a brief video to check it out. And it worked! Kinda.
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In the annals of scientific research there are many sober, conscientious minds, meticulously following protocol to slowly, inexorably advance the state of human knowledge towards the goal of being just a little bit less wrong about the universe. There's also a lot of silly whack-a-doodles who can't be trusted not to run with scissors. Guess which group I'm going to write about today.........
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Let’s say you’ve sealed a cat in a box with a killing device powered by the radioactive decay of an element (Don’t ask why. In this hypothetical you’re a sociopath). If the element decays, the device is triggered, the cat dies, and the ASPCA will come gunning for you. Whereas the average decay rate of elements is well known, exactly when each atom actually decays is not able to be predicted. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory states that until an observation is made of the inside of the box, the quantum system described above is represented by a wave function in superposition. That is, the cat can be considered both alive and dead.
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We may live in a holographic simulation. Everything that can be conceived of must exist somewhere in the universe. There's this cat, you see, in this box that's both dead and alive, man. Dead and alive.
s much as I love the mind-bending ideas of scientific conjecture, sometimes the use of these ideas rankle my common sense. Especially when ideas like the quirks of quantum theory are accidentally or, even worse, purposefully misinterpreted and the model of the universe science is trying to build is mistaken for the actual thing
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I'm not a scientist, but I play one on the internet. I'm not a teacher but I sometimes play one in a classroom. It can be argued that I'm an educator because I like to tell people stuff about things but so does the sketchy guy on the street corner who yells at trees and trashcans. I prefer to think of myself as part of a proud tradition that stretches back into antiquity.
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A few weeks back Don wrote an article on the spectrum of scientific inquiry where he talked about the loss of respect some of the "softer" sciences suffer due to the lack of hard evidence, explosions, and the stereotypical trappings of the scientific endeavor. In that subtle love poem written to his wayward mistress of Anthropology I saw myself mirrored and this week I'd like to make reparations and start by apologizing personally to Biology, Biologists, and a girlfriend I had long ago at whom I sarcastically rolled my eyes when she made the same points.
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Brace yourselves. Winter is……well, winter is here. As parts of the US are being savaged by the polar vortex, indoor activities take on a whole new appeal. To help pass the time, here’s a fun, hands-on activity to make your very own super ball. As usual, please do this activity under the supervision of a responsible adult or at least someone who satisfies the legal definition of adult and has the self-delusion to believe he/she is responsible.
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As the arrow of time rockets us inexorably towards the goyish New Year* it is once again appropriate to whittle down by arbitrary rules the amazing complexity of events of the past year into what amounts to the lowest hanging dingleberry on the literature bush: The Listicle. So without further ado (or much ado at all) I present:
Aaron's Top 5 Sciencey Thingies of 2014
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Music and science, yo. That’s my jam. Sure I have other hobbies like breathing and occasionally eating food, but the lion’s share of each and every day is spent engaged with science, music, or some combination of the two. I particularly love it when they are combined and today I want to talk about a couple of my favorite intersections of music and scientific technology.
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Today, Aaron gets physical!…And Chemical!…With Chemistry!
And for a limited time only a special play-along-at-home experiment for no extra charge! Satisfaction guaranteed or double your money back! Click now. Operators are standing by.
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"BY YOUR POWERS COMBINED, I AM.....sincerely concerned about legislative efforts to significantly change the composition of the EPA's Science Advisory Board." Okay, maybe that's not the most exciting plot synopsis of a Captain Planet fan-fiction episode. However, recent legislation is threatening to do exactly that and it is just one in a series of challenges towards government funded science being faced in America and abroad. Join Aaron as he looks at one of these pieces of legislation and the possible repercussions for the EPA.
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This week I follow in the footsteps of Daring Don Riefler and attempt my very first vlog to add my two cents about influenza and the flu vaccine.
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