Triple Point Physics
Turns out, if you can find just the right temperature and pressure, you can make a substance boil, steam and freeze at the same time. Here’s a video of cyclohexane alternating between solid, liquid and gas.
Children’s Books
It’s International Children’s Book Day today. What were some of your favorites as a child?
SciFi is Now
There’s practically nobody on the face of the planet who doesn’t know what’s been going on these past few weeks. Saw a sign in a bookstore: The Post-Apocalypse section has now been moved to Current Events. That seems to sum it up for me. It’s been over 100 years, since the end of World War…
Jokes for Writers
Here are some jokes that (maybe) only a writer will find humorous: Writing is 10% typing and 90% staring at your computer trying to find a better way to describe someone eating a piece of toast. When I die and y’all go through my search history, you’ll be disappointed to find mostly just definitions for…
What I’m Reading: Ready Player One
I know, I know: old news. But I didn’t read the book nor watch the movie when it first came out. I usually don’t care for books about video gaming, but I kept hearing good things about this one, so I dipped a toe in. Earnest Cline quickly pulls you into the world of the…
ExoMars: United Space Exploration
The ExoMars programme comprises two missions: the first – the Trace Gas Orbiter – launched in 2016 while the second, comprising a rover and surface platform, is planned for 2022. Together they will address the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. This is a joint program between the European Space Agency (ESA)…
What I’m Reading: Consider This
I’ve been reading a great little “How-To” book on writing recently. The subtitle is “Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different,” and that’s pretty much what the book is – a memoir of the author’s epiphany moments. There are chapters titled “Textures,” “Tensions,” and “Troubleshooting,” interspersed with “Postcards from the Tour” chapters…
What I’m Writing: Song Lyrics
I’ve decided to title the chapters with some of Tell’s song lyrics. Of course, this means I now have to write said lyrics … Here’s a sample of the inner workings of my favorite half-velyr: Do you see me? Do you know me? Am I just a backdrop scene? My Melancholy Around and around and…
What I’m Reading: The Ten Thousand Doors of January
This is a great little debut novel by writer Alix E. Harrow. It’s more of a fantasy rather than sci-fi, but I enjoyed reading it and hope the author keeps writing. January Scaller is a young girl raised in a huge old mansion by a rich old collector. At times, she feels like just another…
What You’ll Need to Know in 2020
I came across this article in Discover, written in 2000. I thought it’d be interesting to see what they got right and where they missed the mark. Here’s their list: We’ve come a long way from 2000, but it’s not the future yet …