Monthly Archives: April 2011

Overview of Vintage Space

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

I’ve added a new page to Vintage Space. The Overview page is meant to give readers who are less familiar with topics in space history a guide to the chronology of the space age. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive … Continue reading →

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Evolution quote: Sirks and Zirkle

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

Reposted from Evolving Thoughts At this point it might be well to insert a fact that has generally been overlooked by the historians of biology. The pre-evolutionary concept of species is generally given as a universally accepted view that species … Continue reading →

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The statistics of dying

Posted on April 24, 2011 by

I have often commented in the past that the supposed scientific revolution is described in popular presentations as the astronomical revolution and the modernisation of physics with sometimes a bit of medicine tacked on to make it seem broader whereas … Continue reading →

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Giants’ Shoulders #34

Posted on April 19, 2011 by

Sascha here, general canine manager of On Giants’ Shoulders the super sensational history of science blog carnival. This months carnival is a couple of days late because our host, the nice Jai at From the Hands of Quacks, had a bad … Continue reading →

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Dos and don’ts in history of science

Posted on April 17, 2011 by

This post is an attempt to put down an idea that has been loosely turning around in my mind for some time, partly continuing the thoughts raised in my earlier two posts on ‘Good popular history of science’, slightly inspired by the attempt … Continue reading →

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Pissing on a Holy Cow

Posted on April 15, 2011 by

I have become somewhat notorious in the limited circles of those denizens of the intertubes who interest themselves for science and its history for being nasty to Tuscany’s second most famous son Galileo Galilei, today, just for a change, I … Continue reading →

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Geological risks and human society

Posted on April 13, 2011 by

A month after the earthquake and the Tsunami that devastated the western coast of Honshu people begin to realize how vulnerable even a modern society can be if hit by a massive geological disasters. From all known geological phenomena surely … Continue reading →

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Gagarin and the Enigmatic Vostok 1

Posted on April 11, 2011 by

April 12, 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s Vostok 1 flight. Only four years after Sputnik ignited the space age, Gagarin became the first man to venture into space; the mission lasted 108 minutes and he made one orbit … Continue reading →

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The Royal Institution and the Spirit of Improvement

Posted on April 8, 2011 by

The Royal Institution is now best known as the scientific home of Michael Faraday, Humphry Davy, and (for a short while) Thomas Young.  As such it was one of the cornerstones of nineteenth-century British chemical and physical research.  However, it … Continue reading →

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Landings and Launches

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

Landing a spacecraft isn’t easy, especially when you’re landing on another planet. Aside from the challenges of a remote landing (i.e. landing without astronauts on board) are the challenges presented by the target planet’s environment.  Mars is a great example. … Continue reading →

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