Katharine M. J. Osborne's Blog
Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne
This week I posted an article on absolute zero, inspired by the unusually wintry weather here in Phoenix. It's getting down into the 30s Fahrenheit at night where I live. I've lived here for so many years that this seems very cold to me. It's even been overcast and soggy. Bleh.
It's such a contrast to my childhood spent rather north of here. I remember one time when I had to walk home from school when it was minus 65 degrees Celsius with a windchill of minus 80 degrees Celsius. The school had to close for the day because it couldn't be properly heated, and my parents couldn't pick me up because it was too cold to start the car. Part of my coat actually froze. I made it home a bit numb, but was fine after a big bowl of soup. Well, that's my "uphill both ways" story!
Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne
I currently live in Phoenix (moving to Hawaii in a couple of weeks - can't wait!), and winter has even reached here. I won't go as far as saying that the bitter cold has taken hold - though I'm so acclimatized to 120 degree fahrenheit heat that 40 degrees is bitterly cold to me. Actually, there will probably be snow on the nearby Superstition mountains tomorrow which will be a pleasant and unusual sight.
Since it is officially winter, I decided to write some winter themed articles. It always amazing to me that weather is perennially a topic of conversation - we all say it is boring, but everyone always seems fascinated by the changes. Of course, those changes can be dramatic. Colorado has just survived a huge blizzard which has snarled air traffic all over North America.
Here in Arizona, rain is so rare that anyone who has lived in the state for any length of time that as soon ast it starts they will instantly run to the nearest window and peer out for several minutes, ewwing and awwing (visitors often stare at the Arizonans in disbelief at the apparently strange behavior).
Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne
I've always loved making ciphers and cryptograms. As a kid I learned pigpen, then made up several of my own alphabets. As an adult, I wrote an entire chapter on cryptography in my book on data processing (it was my favorite chapter to write).
There is something fascinating about making and using symbols. However, using symbols is another matter, especially in math and science. Obscure symbols make concepts and information quite a bit cryptic. This week I've made several puzzles using symbols from physics, chemistry and math.
Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne
As a Phoenician myself, I can say that perpetually sunny Phoenix Arizona is known for it's conference venues. The 2007 IRPS is returning to Phoenix to discuss reliability in applied physics and the micro and nano scales. Phoenix is also host to many engineering firms so this is a great place for the symposium.
Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne
This article from the BBC has announced that researchers at MIT have been working on a simple system for delivering energy to electronic devices. The system is still in development but as devised would only work at a distance of a few meters. The MIT team has been quick to point out that the technology could be easily scaled up or down to work at different distances.
Wireless power was first proposed by Nikola Tesla about a century ago.
