Most summers I usually mix in some discussion of a science fiction movie or three. There were fewer options this year, but I did manage to see Tenet. I suppose in the present context we should spend a moment just on that fact. I was able to see the film at a local drive-in theater. With all respect to theater staff doing their best, it is not clear to me that any cleaning and distancing protocol can eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk of sitting in the same room with strangers for 2+ hours. Cleaning and masks and … [Read more...] about Science Corner: If I Could Turn Back Time
entropy
Science Reader Question: Time and Forgiveness
HC asks: How would you describe time? In Groundhog Day Phil Connors relives the same 24 hours continually, providing him limitless opportunities to correct his mistakes and live out the perfect day. It's a tantalizing fantasy, an opportunity not to act without consequence but to select precisely those consequences we desire while removing any possibility of regret. While our spinning planet and its cyclical orbit give our lives a semblance of repetition, we can only experience each moment once. Effects follow causes; … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Time and Forgiveness
Science Corner: Dancing in the Sunshine
The second law of thermodynamics gets trotted out all the time, especially in conversations about evolutionary biology. Less familiar are principles of maximum entropy production, which deal specifically with systems that are not in equilibrium (everything the same temperature). Most of the situations we experience involve differences in temperature, but there's still a lot to learn about how physics works when temperatures differ (at least partly because the math is more complicated). Which brings us to this study … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Dancing in the Sunshine