(via Big Think)

If NDT says so, then that’s good enough for Secret Weapon Science.

Image credit: Florida State University

But don’t blame the tryptophan for your sleepiness, blame the 3,000 calories you probably just had for dinner.

The regular “science” t-shirts also look great.

• To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of 74 mph, which is Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
• The eye is where the storm’s barometric pressure is the lowest.
• From Wikipedia: “Before the official practice of naming of tropical cyclones began, significant tropical cyclones were named after annoying politicians, mythological creatures, saints and place names.”
• If the year’s World Meteorological Organization list of 21 tropical cyclone names is exhausted, the Greek alphabet is used.
• The tropical cyclone list omits Q, U, X, Y, and Z names. (Sorry, Zarley Zalapski!)
• Storm surges (rise of ocean level caused by high winds pushing on the ocean surface) reached as high as 27.8 feet in Pass Christian, Miss. during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
• Hurricane season in the Atlantic starts June 1 and ends November 30. Eastern Pacific hurricane season starts May 15 and also ends on November 30.
• Each inch of rain that falls in the city limits of Washington, D.C. is equivalent to 1.18 billion gallons of water.
• Hurricanes (tropical cyclones) don’t exist in Germany, but scorpions are found in all continents except Antarctica.

As part of tomorrow’s Science Day at the Ballpark, PhillieBot was calibrated specifically not to throw at Roy Halladay-type speed, all the better for the Phillie Phanatic to catch the first pitch (at about 40 mph).

Tomorrow’s Science Day at the Ballpark (part of Philadelphia’s weeklong Science Festival) will also include fun activities and demonstrations on the CBP concourse before and during the game, including animals from the Philadelphia Zoo and an exhibit on the physics of a curveball.

Story and video of PhillieBot at Philly.com.

Go to: Philadelphia Science Festival

UPDATE: PhillieBot bounced his big pitch. Oh well, you can still follow PhillieBot on Twitter.

The culprit: OXIDATION

(Gasp!)

In the late 1880s, Van Gogh mixed sulfur-based white paints into his chrome yellow paints to give the yellow a brighter appearance. What the master did not anticipate was that exposure to sunlight over time would cause oils in the white-yellow mixture to turn the yellow pigments (lead chromate) green, creating a brown color.

Photo credit: Vladimir Lefteroff/Corbis

This appears to have happened through oxidation: through the energy in sunlight, electrons are released from the oils, and these electrons are absorbed by the lead chromate. This transfer of electrons is the basic process that turns iron into iron oxides, more commonly known as rust.

Researchers at the University of Antwerp used leftover paint tubes from 19th century artists, UV rays to mimic sunlight, and huge x-ray machine to determine the cause of the browning. The results were published in Monday’s Analytical Chemistry.

The results of this research will likely lead to some changes in art conservation, including controlling sunlight exposure and room temperature, since heat can also affect the oxidation process.

Read more:

Sunflowers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Story at the Guardian

Fun note: after Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie delivers the high snap that threw off punter Matt Dodge’s rhythm, Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant explodes DeOssie with block estimated near 50 Gs of force, over FIVE times what a fighter pilot experiences during a roll.

(via Bleeding Green Nation)

Did you all see the lunar eclipse on winter solstice morning Tuesday? I did, but I didn’t get any good pictures. Oh well, there’s always the year 2094!

Here are good pictures at NPR.

Put science under your tree/in someone’s stocking/on your sleigh/other this year! Here are a few items that will delight science and non-science ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages.

Cardboard Safari

Like the trophy look without the moral quandaries of hunting? Decorate your home with Cardboard Safari – easy to assemble sculptures of animals (and other items) made from recycled cardboard. Also available are holiday items and rockets. ROCKETS!

Here is Cardboard Safari in action, as seen in Better Homes and Gardens.

Retail price: various (at CardboardSafari.com)

Jr. Chemistry Set

Remember these? Relive your mad scientist youth or foster the love of chemistry in an up-and-coming youth with a modern version of the junior chemistry set. You can foster it a little bit with the “My First Chemistry Set” ($19.95) from Scientific Explorer or a whole lot with the Thames & Kosmos brand “C3000 Chemistry Set” for a cool $229.95. (Wow, that’s a lot of science! You could get a 160GB iPod Classic or an 8GB iPod Touch for that much.) You can build your own fire extinguisher or conduct electricity in a test tube with the C3000. Fun!

Retail price: $19.95 and up (at ScientificsOnline.com)

Home Planetarium

These days, with light pollution affecting many residential areas, it’s hard to get a good look up for star gazing. So take it inside with the Star Theater Pro brand Home Planetarium. It comes with “Starfield” and “Earth/Moon/Sun” image discs, with additional image discs sold separately. Not geeky enough? Get the Death Star Planetarium. Need more? Watch this old episode of South Park.

Retail price: $169.99 (at ThinkGeek.com)

Hydrogen Powered Car

Another Thames & Kosmos product, this Fuel Cell X7 kit allows you to build a working fuel cell car powered by water. Through the process of electrolysis, water is decomposed into its hydrogen and oxygen components, using the resulting gas to power the vehicle. (No, you can’t get in and drive it.)

Retail price: $99.95 (at Discovery Channel Store)

Lumadessa Prints

Josh Brill’s cool limited edition Flora Fauna art prints include birds, extinct animals, and mammals. A stylish way to show off your favorites like Cardinalis cardinalis (northern cardinal) or Ursus maritimus (polar bear). Various sizes available, all Giclée prints on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth, 305 g, 100% cotton archival fine art paper. And according to the artist, 5% of all profits are donated to animal and environmental causes.

Retail price: $20 and up (at Lumadessa)

Tsunami Glassworks

These gorgeous science-inspired glass pieces are the work of Tsunami Glassworks from Ontario, Canada. Pictured is the cell bowl. Tsunami’s pieces include floral-inspired glass and biology-type glass, including our favorite, ventricle. For a limited time, Tsunami is offering their pieces for online shopping.

Retail price: $80 and up (at Tsunami shop)

Science T-shirts

Spread your love of science with a fine t-shirt. I like this one and this one.

Retail price: $9.99 and up (at ThinkGeek)

I Heart Guts

Learn anatomy the soft and cute way! With I Heart Guts, you too can snuggle with a Stomach Plush (pictured), a Gallbladder Plush, and other less-mentionable organs! The I Heart Guts crew also has t-shirts and other fine novelties.

Retail price: $11.99 and up (at I Heart Guts shop)

Giant Microbes

Along the same lines as I Heart Guts, you can learn microbiology the safe and soft way, with Drew Oliver’s Giant Microbes line. Cholera (pictured) has never been so cute!

Retail price: $8.95 and up (at Neatorama shop)

Ken Burns: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Get filmmaker Ken Burns’ critically-acclaimed series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea on 6-disc DVD or Blu-Ray from PBS. It won the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series, so that’s all you need to know. Also available are a hardcover companion book ($50) and the soundtrack on CD ($18.99).

Retail price: $89.99 and up (from PBS Shop)

Girls Can Tell

You need these. Hand-screened anatomical and mechanical diagrams on tea towels, coasters (spring in a jar terrarium coasters pictured), tote bags, notebooks, art prints, etc. by our friend, the super talented Girls Can Tell. Tell Sara we sent you!

Retail price: $6 and up (from Girls Can Tell)

Happy Shopping!

Photo credit: Catalin M. Timosca

It’s been twenty years since northern autumn started on a full moon, so make sure to get out starting at sunset tonight to check out the Super Harvest Moon. More information here at NASA’s website.

The Harvest Moon gets its name from agriculture. In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset. It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox became “the Harvest Moon,” and it was always a welcome sight.

This one would be extra welcome because it is extra “Harvesty.”

Then get back out for the autumnal equinox at 11:09pm EDT for a Moon-Jupiter conjunction, where they both appear in the night sky next to each other, to shiny effect.

Related: “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young