Sunday, May 29, 2011
A look at the concept of spacetime and the house in Goettingen, Germany where Minkowski put the idea to use in reformulating Einstein’s special theory of relativity
Posted by Paul Halpern on 05/29 at 02:24 PM
(1) Comments •
Friday, April 15, 2011
An account of the meeting between Chaplin, Einstein, and Chaplin’s physician Dr. Cecil Reynolds(who was later to be a consultant for the film Frankenstein).
Posted in honor of what would have been Chaplin’s 122nd birthday.
Posted by Paul Halpern on 04/15 at 05:43 PM
(2) Comments •
Sunday, March 06, 2011
A brief history of the once-controversial notion of atomism.
Posted by Paul Halpern on 03/06 at 11:33 AM
(6) Comments •
Saturday, March 05, 2011
An interview of Clyde Tombaugh, conducted by phone on March 31, 1996 as part of the research for my book “The Quest for Alien Planets.”
Posted by Paul Halpern on 03/05 at 07:12 PM
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Another foray into the rich holdings at The Library Company of Philadelphia. This time the focus is on a 17th-century satire that includes sections on overpopulation, astrological quacks, and longitude.
Posted by Darin Hayton on 03/02 at 10:59 PM
(2) Comments •
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Earthquakes were commonly associated with celestial phenomena, either comets or planetary conjunctions. They were also connected to the outbreak of diseases. A fragment from some university lectures points to how astrology explained both earthquakes and diseases in early modern Europe.
Posted by Darin Hayton on 02/20 at 10:55 PM
(1) Comments •
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
A look at the science behind the historic squares of Philadelphia.
Posted by Paul Halpern on 02/16 at 10:08 PM
Monday, February 14, 2011
Ralph Kraum was a skilled astrologer who had a flourishing practice in the 1960s. When he died, he left in his reference books numerous scraps of paper that reveal his efforts to use astrology to understand the world. This post looks at some of those scraps for what they tell us about the practice of astrology.
Posted by Darin Hayton on 02/14 at 10:55 PM
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Some thoughts about the three sundials at Haverford College and the broader relationship between sundials and science.
UPDATE: Added a photo and description of a fourth sundial on campus.
Posted by Darin Hayton on 11/23 at 10:56 PM
Friday, November 19, 2010
A new case of crime and sex chromosomes suggests that we haven’t left the seventies behind after all.
Posted by Nathaniel Comfort on 11/19 at 09:22 PM