This is a repository for all cool scientific discussion and fascination. Scientific facts, theories, and overall cool scientific stuff that you'd like to share with others. Stuff that makes you smile and wonder at the amazing shit going on around us, that most people don't notice.
Post pictures, vidoes, stories, or links. Ask questions. Share science.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Not exactly science, but this is a pretty cool, related thing. They've created almost the entire ship in Unreal Engine. My understanding is you can download it on PC, but I don't have a computer with anywhere near a good enough graphics card do do it. Still, it's pretty cool to scroll around videos of people "playing" it to get an immersive feel for what it was like on that thing.
A fireplace inside a cruise ship cabin seems a bit unreasonable if not downright dangerous. [Reply]
As with ant colonies, I've always been fascinated by the complex group intelligence of bees. The way a single bee is very simple and insignificant. But an entire collective of bees is impressively intelligent. Each individual developing their own role and responsibility within the collective, and millions of them all working together as a complex team. Add to that, the way that these bees develop specific adaptations to individual flower species. It's crazy what these tiny simple creatures are capable of. They are truly more beneficial to the environment than we give them credit for.
They are scared that students will look at the sun during the eclipse and damage their eyes. Guessing, they are scared they will be liable for any damage to said idiot child.
JFC. We are soft.
Have school. Allow the teachers to understand science and the students to experience science in school. Do you think parents are going to be MORE responsible at home?
Is this what science education has become?
Then this just popped up.
Originally Posted by :
A young woman visited New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai Hospital shortly after the eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017. She told Dr. Avnish Deobhakta, an ophthalmologist, that she had a black area in her vision and then drew a crescent shape for him on a piece of paper.
When Deobhakta examined her eyes, he was astonished. He saw a burn on her retina that was exactly the same shape. It was "almost like a branding," he said.
She had looked at the sun during the eclipse without any protection. The burn was an image of the sun's outer edge.
With every eclipse, ophthalmologists see patients who looked at the sun and complain afterward that their vision is distorted: They see small black spots; their eyes are watery and sensitive to light. Usually, the symptoms resolve, although it may take several weeks to a year.
But the woman's retinal burns, which Deobhakta and colleagues described in a medical case write-up, would not heal. Her retina was permanently scarred, an example of the severity of injuries that can follow looking at an eclipse without proper precautions.
With the eclipse coming next Monday, ophthalmologists advise people to not assume that short glances at the sun are safe. Damage can occur, they say, in less than a minute.
David Calkins, director of the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center and vice chair of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, said younger people were most at risk of retinal injury, possibly because the lens of their eye is clearer than the lens in older people. He said they also may be a bit more reckless.
But age is no guarantee of safe eclipse viewing.
A study described 20 people ages 15 to 82 in England who complained of symptoms like black spots in their vision or blurry vision after an eclipse in 1999. Four said they used eclipse glasses; one said she used sunglasses. The rest looked with naked eyes.
Five had visible damage to their retinas. All but four of the 20 were better after seven months.
Not everyone is so lucky. A study published last year involved four young Irish women who looked at the sun during a religious gathering in October 2009. The women, who did not know one another, sought medical attention within a few days of looking at the sun. They complained of blind spots in the center of their vision and said objects appeared distorted and blurred.
Investigators from Galway University Hospital followed up with the women for an average of more than five years. One was followed for 11 years.
Years later, the researchers reported, all of the women still had the blind spots.
For Deobhakta, the situation with the woman in 2017 is a cautionary tale.
While she did put on protective glasses for part of her viewing of the eclipse, she at first looked at it several times for about six seconds each time without protection.
She felt fine for four hours. Then her symptoms emerged: blurred vision, distorted shapes and colors, and that crescent-shaped black spot in the center of her vision with her left eye.
Most people look at an eclipse through special eclipse glasses. Often the glasses have a cardboard body with special film in the eyeholes that filters out harmful rays.
Deobhakta said he did not trust many of the eclipse glasses being sold and felt it was not worth taking a chance on them. He prefers an indirect method that involves using pinholes, like in a colander, to cast the sun's shadow on the ground.
Professional groups say many eclipse glasses are safe but urge caution when buying them. The American Astronomical Society reported that potentially unsafe eclipse glasses flooded the market before the 2017 eclipse.
To help people find eclipse glasses, the astronomical society lists reliable sellers and distributors.
Legitimate eclipse glasses must meet specific international safety standards known as ISO 12312-2. Testing measures how much ultraviolet, visible and infrared light gets through.
But an ISO logo on the glasses is not necessarily an assurance, the astronomical society warns, because dealers can — and some do — snatch an ISO logo from the internet and put it on their glasses.
Rick Fienberg, project manager of the astronomical society's Solar Eclipse Task Force, said counterfeiting companies were also putting the names of legitimate distributors on their products. That doesn't necessarily mean they're unsafe, he added. But it does mean that the seller, or the company that sold it the products, is committing fraud.
Fienberg suggests buying directly from a seller on the astronomical society's list.
But, he said, if you are worried about your glasses, there is a way to see if they are effective. Look around a room with the eclipse glasses on. The glasses should be so dark you can't see anything. Then, go outside and glance at the sun with the glasses on. You probably are safe, he said, if you can see the sun through the lenses and "the image is sharp and comfortably bright."
Deobhakta still worries. He said he knows he is overly cautious but can't help warning people about the coming eclipse.
"Do not look at it whether you have glasses or not," he said. "I'm not going to let my family members look at it. I'm a doctor. That's why I say what I say. I saw what happened."
They are scared that students will look at the sun during the eclipse and damage their eyes. Guessing, they are scared they will be liable for any damage to said idiot child.
JFC. We are soft.
Have school. Allow the teachers to understand science and the students to experience science in school. Do you think parents are going to be MORE responsible at home?
Is this what science education has become?
Then this just popped up.
WTF? Do you even read what you post?
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Parts of Illinois will witness a total solar eclipse for the second time since 2017 on Monday, and some schools are closing so students can get the full experience.
Illinois is one of only 15 states to experience this rare event. Even more spectacular is that part of southern Illinois will experience totality for a second time, where the moon completely blocks the face of the sun.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Dr. Noah Petro with NASA said Chicago will see about 94% of coverage during the eclipse.
"A total solar eclipse is one of those events that people really should try to enjoy. If you can get into the path of totality, I really encourage people to do that," he said. "The moon will block the light from the sun, and for about three minutes you'll be treated to one of the most spectacular solar shows imaginable."
After Monday, the next total solar eclipse visible in the United States will be in 2044.
According to Adler Planetarium, the eclipse event will last from about 12:51 to 3:22 p.m. The eclipse is expected to be at its peak around 2:07 p.m.
SEE ALSO: Adler Planetarium solar eclipse celebrations include free outdoor event, eclipse glasses giveaway
"For that time, people will notice [temperatures] start cooling off, you'll notice birds and animals start getting ready for bed, and it is this really sensory experience," Petro said.
Some northern Illinois schools will be closed Monday, giving students an opportunity to watch the eclipse at home.
Country Club Hills School District 160 and South Holland School District 151 will be on break during eclipse day. In Park Ridge, students at Maine Township High School District #207 will be dismissed at 12:07 p.m. to experience the event.
Many schools will remain in session during the eclipse and are hosting opportunities for learning and safe viewing.
New Trier District #203 and Deerfield Public Schools District #109 are hosting eclipse viewing events for students. Deerfield PSD #109 will provide eclipse viewing glasses so students can safely watch the event during school hours. [Reply]
The '17 eclipse, my house was in Totality. I was dead center. It blew my mind!! Birds went to sleep. Owls started hooting. My solar yard lights came on etc. Kinda spooky.
I had read about the largesse of a total that I put out signs on our small highways in all four directions to come to my land (10 acres) to camp and view. I bought a bunch of sunglasses, hamburger makings and other foods items. My wife and daughter laughed at me.
I had 10 RV's camp in my back 40. I made +$1,500 through sales that day. I didn't say "I told you so" to my wife and daughter but I could see I didn't have too. My IQ shot up 20 points from that day.
If you have a chance to travel a bit to view the Totality, do it. It is one of those memories burnt into you for life. [Reply]
