Science! | J.R. Johnson

Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category

Faster Than a Slow Thing

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Ig Nobel, inspiration, science experiments on January 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I’m work work working away here, but of course crossing things off my to do list is never as fast as I’d like. Which is why it was somewhat reassuring to come across The World’s Longest Running Lab Experiment.

The World’s Longest-Running Lab Experiment Is Almost 100 Years Old

The world’s longest-running lab experiment is an ongoing work in sheer scientific patience. It has been running continuously for nearly a century, under the close supervision of several custodians and many spectators – and it’s ever so slowly drip, drip, dripping away.

If you’ve ever wondered about the viscosity of pitch (noun, not verb) or are just curious, read the article above or watch for the next drop. Should only be a few years. A decade at most!

Given this I know I, for one, will be heading back to my to do list feeling just that little bit faster!

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*Photo by Morgane Le Breton on Unsplash*

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A Hot Second in a Cold Place

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, science, space, winter on January 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Like many of you, we caught some of the winter weather that’s making such a splash this weekend. I feel for those who are digging out from the snow and sleet and ice many got, but for us it was a little snow and a lot of cold.

We hit -34C last night, which is (checks notes) really really cold! Which made today the perfect day to post this quick @ScienceandtheCity video on how space would feel, temperature wise.

Would space feel cold without a suit?

Yes. The answer is yes.

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Size of Life

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, bit of fun, it's all relative, life, nature on January 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Another entertaining project from Neal.fun:

Size of Life

(Although the image of a person next to that Titanoboa is more than a little scary. At least we could have taken that ~~angry turkey~~ Velociraptor!)

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Brighter Days Ahead

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, astronomy, science, solstice, Thoughts on December 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time again!

Winter solstice is nearly upon the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s what to know about the shortest day of the year

Yes, the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead.

Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter.

That’s right, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the shortest day of the year. (And if you’d like a quick reminder of the astronomy of it all, this one’s helpful: December Solstice 2025.)

So light a candle (physical or metaphorical, your choice!), and look ahead to a brighter future.

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Look What We Did!

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, accomplishments, cool projects, creativity, history, inspiration, Thoughts on December 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Last month marked 25 years of humanity’s continuous presence in orbit around this fair planet.

25 years, one website: ISS in Real Time captures quarter-century on space station

Two NASA contractors, working only during their off hours, have built a portal into all of those resources to uniquely represent the 25-year history of ISS occupancy.

ISS in Real Time, by Ben Feist and David Charney, went live on Monday (October 27), ahead of the November 2 anniversary. In its own way, the new website may be as impressive a software engineering accomplishment as the station is an aerospace engineering marvel.

It’s a good story about persistence and creativity, and it’s great to have all of this history and knowledge in one place.

It’s also easy to get bogged down in the trials of life and forget what’s good. But really? Our adventures in space are pretty incredible. For most of our species’ existence we’ve looked up at the stars and dreamed. And now?

Look! Look what we did!

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Say Hello!

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, astronomy, inspiration, meteor shower, space on November 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We Earthlings are in the middle of the Leonid meteor shower. It takes place this year from November 6th through the 30th, but will peak overnight tonight. Even better, the moon is only 9% full, so the only competition will be from human light sources.

Leonid meteor shower: All you need to know in 2025

The Leonid meteor shower is back! Leonid meteors are already flying. The peak is on the morning of November 17.

Love this animation!

Meteor Showers 2025 – 2026 – American Meteor Society

So tonight, if you find yourself in a place with clear skies, look up.

The Universe is saying hello.

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Yours in Syzygy

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, space, supermoon on November 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Tonight, friends, we have yet another supermoon, the brightest of the year. This month is the Beaver Moon.

The biggest, brightest Supermoon of 2025 rises Tuesday night – The Weather Network

Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, November 4-5, the Sun, Earth, and Moon will align in syzygy, with the Earth-facing side of the Moon fully illuminated by the Sun.

So last night, tonight, and tomorrow all showcase the moon at its best. I don’t know about you, but I do not get tired of that big bright ball in the sky getting even bigger and brighter.

If you don’t either, look up!

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Writers Learn the Darnedest Things

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #BakingSortOf, random facts, Writers, writing on October 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Powdered sugar is a kitchen staple.

For whatever supply chain reason, we went through a powdered sugar shortage up here a while back, grocery store shelves with sad empty spots where this baking essential should be. That led me to wonder who uses it, and for what.

Need to make icing for that birthday cake? Or a batch of shortbread? Or dust the top of your chocolate cake or French toast or Beaver Tails or Swedish pancakes? You’ll probably need powdered sugar.

Some readers may know this already, but powdered sugar is also a key ingredient in a product that you probably want to keep far away from your kitchen: grenades.

To make grenades, the Army needs 30 tons of powdered sugar

It turns out that sweet powdery sugar, the same you might put on funnel cake at a state fair, is a major ingredient to make things go boom, or at least hiss and spray smoke.

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Though powder sugar’s use in industrial weapons making isn’t an obvious leap of logic, the chemistry is fairly simple… Explosives need an oxidizer, ignition source and fuel, and sugar is an excellent fuel.

And that is another interesting fact for your “writers learn the darnedest things” file.

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