Science
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3 COMMENTS
The Header Images
How about those header images? Aren’t they gorgeous? Most of them are nebulae, the massive clouds of elementary particles and plasma that coalesce into solar systems like our very own. If it weren’t for stars, and the fusion of lighter elements into heavier ones that occurs in their constant explosions, we wouldn’t exist. The carbon… Continue reading
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The Visualization of Extra Dimensions
I meant no offense in correcting you today in front of my fellow cadets. As per your request, I’m writing up my argument for submission tomorrow morning. Excuse the typographical errors and sloppy diagrams, I’m having to put this together under my bunk as we spent all afternoon in the simulators and it’s now Lights… Continue reading
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The Universe isn’t Flat
Long before Thomas L. Friedman argued that the world was metaphorically flat thanks to the globalization of economics, there was a brilliant piece of English satire written as if the world was literally flat. Edwin Abbott Abbott wrote FLATLAND in 1884 to make fun of a rigid social hierarchy (in the book, the number of… Continue reading
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Understanding Hyperspace
There’s quite a lot of material on hyperspace in The Reader. And as a medium for travel, hyperspace plays a pretty big role in Molly’s adventures. A massive role, frankly. Some of the secrets of hyperspace are what turn her story into something with universe-wide implications. That’s why it’s important that I understand the principles… Continue reading
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The Impossible Map
I’ll never forget the day I showed Dr. Lisa Robinson, one of my astronomer friends at NASA, what has since become known as “The Impossible Map.” We were having lunch together in the cafeteria near KSC HQ (the hub of Kennedy Space Center’s inland industrial area) when I showed her The Reader for the first… Continue reading