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Author Archives: Sid Perkins

Where cosmic rays are born

By Sid Perkins / February 16, 2013

Here we go! Shock waves in the clouds of gas surrounding an exploding star (as in this artist’s depiction) accelerate charged particles called protons to very high speed, creating cosmic rays.
Credit: Greg Stewart, SLAC Nat'l Accelerator Lab.

New evidence links origin of these very energetic particles to massive explosions of distant stars

Posted in Earth & Sky, Space | Tagged astrophysicist, atoms, cosmic rays, galactic magnetic field, gamma rays, getinvolved, Harvard University, light year, light-speed, Milky Way, Patrick Slane, protons, Stanford University, Stefan Funk, subatomic particle, supernova, supernova remnant, topstories

Dino-sized poop

By Sid Perkins / January 31, 2013

Ewww: Scientists use poop from living animals to estimate the size of dung dropped by T. rex and other dinos

Posted in Dinosaurs & Fossils | Tagged Argentinosaurus, Arizona; Karen Chin, Boulder; James Farlow, coprolite, dinosaur, dung, feces, forensic science, getinvolved, Indiana University, Mountain Sky Middle School, paleontology, Purdue University, sauropod; Karl Flessa, scat, T. rex, teacher, topstories, Tyrannosaurus rex, University of Arizona; Amber Struthers, University of Colorado

Your head’s battery

By Sid Perkins / January 17, 2013

Scientists have designed a small electronic circuit (inside the two golden squares) that can monitor the strength of the natural battery in a guinea pig’s inner ear. The tiny device had to collect energy from the ear’s battery and then store it until there was enough power to transmit data to doctors. Credit: Mercier et al. (2012), Nature Biotechnology

Fluids in the inner ear can actually power an electronic device, such as an implant

Posted in Computers & Electronics, Tech & Math, Technology & Engineering | Tagged cochlea; Anantha Chandrakasan, current, ear surgeon, electrical engineer, electrodes, getinvolved, guinea pig, Harvard Medical School; Gene Frantz, implant, inner ear, MIT; Konstantina Stankovic, potential, Texas Instruments; battery, voltage

Surprising hot springs

By Sid Perkins / January 8, 2013

A lake sits in the crater of the Philippine’s Taal volcano. Scientists recently discovered that hot springs flowing into the lake come from a shallow source — the lake itself. Credit: MatthieuG/Wikimedia Commons

Scientists find shallow source of water for volcano’s hot springs

Posted in Earth | Tagged aquifer, Austin; University of California, Bayani Cardenas, Berkeley; Taal Volcano, getinvolved, groundwater, hot springs, hydrologist, hydrothermal vent, infrared, Michael Manga, Philippines, Steve Ingebritsen, thermal imaging, topstories, U.S. Geological Survey; USGS, University of Texas, volcano, volcanologist

Cool Jobs: Crime scene investigators

By Sid Perkins / December 5, 2012

The dead do tell tales — if experts care to listen. Forensic anthropologist William Bass arranges a display of how a person’s bones change year by year as we age. This information can help identify a crime victim when little else is known. Credit: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

These researchers don’t miss a clue

Posted in Chemistry, STEM Careers | Tagged blood, blowflies, bones, cadaver, cool jobs, crime scene, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, DNA, evidence, FBI, feature, fingerprints, Forensic Anthropology Center, forensics, genes, Kendall Stoner, maggots, polymerase chain reaction, Reanna Day, the Body Farm, William Bass

A diamond planet?

By Sid Perkins / November 30, 2012

Distant, carbon-rich world could contain one-third its weight in gems that are relatively rare on Earth

Posted in Space | Tagged 55 Cancri, 55 Cancri e, astronomy, cancer, Cancri, carbon planet, constellation, diamonds, extrasolar planet, getinvolved, Goddard Space Flight Center, graphite, light year, Marc Kuchner, NASA, Nikku Madhusudhan, planet, super-Earth, topstories, transit, Yale University

A fishy mammal ID

By Sid Perkins / November 13, 2012

For more than a century, the fossilized skull of an ancient fish was misidentified as a primate

Posted in Dinosaurs & Fossils | Tagged Argentina, Arrhinolemur scalabrinii, Brian Sidlauskas, dentition, Florentino Ameghino, fossils, genus, George Gaylord Simpson, getinvolved, Greek, John Lundberg; Academy of Natural Sciences, Latin, lemur, Oregon State University, paleontologist, paleontology, primate, South America, species, taxonomy, teeth

Harder than diamonds?

By Sid Perkins / October 22, 2012

This image depicts the mixture of fullerenes (pink, soccer ball–shaped molecules) and xylene (blue molecules) before it is compressed to form a material that’s hard enough to dent a diamond. Credit: Carnegie Institution of Washington

Researchers create new material that may be world’s hardest

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged Bertil Sundqvist, buckyball, carbon, chemical bonds, chemical structure, diamond, diamond anvil cell, fullerene, getinvolved, high pressure, Lin Wang, molecules, soccer ball, super tough, topstories, xylene

Making rocks into magnets

By Sid Perkins / September 28, 2012

Lodestone is the most magnetic and common type of natural magnet.Credit: Wikimedia/Ryan Somma

Lab experiments show one way that certain types of stones can morph into magnets

Posted in Chemistry, Earth | Tagged Charles Aubourg, claystone, crystals, Douglas Elmore, electrons, geology, getinvolved, lava, lodestone, magnet, magnetic field, magnetism, magnetite, mineral, nucleus, sedimentary rocks, topstories, University of Oklahoma, University of Pau and the Adour Countries

Sniffing for bad air

By Sid Perkins / September 14, 2012

The air quality in many classrooms is unhealthy, due to poor ventilation. But simple solutions such as opening a window can help get rid of bad air. Credit: i_love_zou_york/iStockphoto

Handheld carbon dioxide sensor can help identify classrooms with unhealthy ventilation rates

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged American Chemical Society, Architectural Energy Corporation, ASHRAE, carbon dioxide, classrooms, Earth’s atmosphere, getinvolved, headache, indoor air quality, Jack Driscoll, PID Analyzers, Roger Hedrick, sensors, sleepiness, topstories, ventilation, VOCs, volatile organic chemicals

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