Off the Cuff

[#1]

I was watching PBS the other day… (It helps balance out some of my not so clever viewing choices, like the soapish ABC hit, “Revenge’.)…and learned that in the early ‘70s, Stephen Hawking had come up with a “simple” calculation to support his theory on black holes…

One prestigious scientific journal wrote, “…Hawking stunned the world in showing that when the paradoxical quantum laws that describe subatomic behavior were taken into account, black holes should leak and eventually explode in a shower of particles and radiation.”

Huh?

“…and then in 2004, he announced that he’d made an error, and on the basis of a new calculation, Dr. Hawking concluded that physics is safe and information can escape from a black hole.”

Am I ever glad he cleared that up...

  

It’s not that I don’t like science. I do. In fact, when I was in the third grade and everyone else wanted a Barbie dream car for Christmas, I asked for a science kit. 

Of course, it was a bit disappointing that the only real science experiment I was able to perform with my deluxe Discover the Universe kit was to turn white powder pink (it wasn't as exciting as it sounds.)

I admit that there were a few wistful moments when I thought about Ken and Barbie hitting the beach in that really cool pink coupe and wondered if I'd made a tragic Christmas wish list mistake.

Science can be pretty heady...it boggles the mind just to try and envision the billions of years that the universe has existed…

Now one piece of science I could really get into as a kid was the theory of bubbles. Just a bit of soap water is stretched across a little wand creating a thin filmy sheet. As air fills the area, it takes on a spherical shape. I totally get that.

But...OH NO!

Those smart people couldn't just leave my little bit of knowledge alone. Apparently scientists thought bubbles form when jostling liquid molecules create pockests of low density in the liquid containing fewer molecules. Other molecules rush in to fill these air pockets. An exodus of molecules also occur, causing the pockets or

bubbles to grow. (Isn't that what I said?)

Anyway, some scientists are questioning this theory.  Really? 

Is this really so important that we need our top minds spending time on this?  How about  spending more time on cars that get better gas mileage...or better yet, ones that don't use gas at all - but are affordable (and available) for all of us?

Need some low-brow entertainment?  I highly recommend the new ABC show "Revenge". It's juicy, silly and intriguing...and only takes an hour of your time a week. Check it out.

[#2]

"Is this really so important that we need our top minds spending time on this?  How about  spending more time on cars that get better gas mileage...or better yet, ones that don't use gas at all - but are affordable (and available) for all of us?"

Actually, I think that since gas mileage is improved by having a car in good working order, and some car parts operate using hydraulic power (including many brake systems!), research in fluid mechanics will probably help build better cars down the line.

Even apart from that, it seems as if they have a whole host of applications. From the wikipedia article on bubbles: "In medical ultrasound imaging, small encapsulated bubbles called contrast agents are used to enhance the contrast. In thermal inkjet printing, vapor bubbles are used as actuators... The violent collapse of bubbles near solid surfaces and the resulting impinging jet constitute the mechanism used in ultrasonic cleaning. The same effect, but on a larger scale, is used in weapons such as the bazooka and the torpedo." I have also read that there is some reaction which takes place during "cavitation" (when bubbles are suddenly forced to form, and then burst) which has raised the possibility that we could use these bubbles as a form of thermonuclear fusion.

So it looks as if studying bubbles is pretty important after all! Though perhaps not directly when it comes to car design, you're right.

[#3]

Quizfan's research yields some pretty interesting results. I'm not a science buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I certainly respect those that are and I respect the notion that results have to be questioned and reevaluated. I'm impressed with Hawking -- not only for his scientific insights but also for his willingness to acknowledge his mistakes. I would be highly critical of any scientist who held rigidly to his or her theories, rather than those who show flexibility and humility. And we never know how one discovery may lead to the next. So I agree with quizfan that the study of bubbles may continue to have unexpected consequences for us!