Homemade Lava!

When I was a kid, I used to love making volcanoes in the pathway to my house. There was something satisfying, and primal, about mounding up sand and dirt, pouring the baking soda and vinegar (and red food coloring, if you wanted to) into the volcano's maw, and watching the resulting eruption of fizz and foam. You could even put small, plastic dinosaurs on the volcano's flanks and wish them well before they met their doom. But the video below takes that fun to a whole new level. Some people at Syracuse University have built a furnace that melts basalt and are now creating their own lava flows. My small plastic dinosaurs wouldn't stand a chance.

The Lives of the Cell -- A Book Review

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was recommended to me, and I'm definitely glad that I read it. It's a collection of brief essays about biology, the wonder of cells and their internal machinery, and human society. Thomas strikes me as the M.F.K. Fisher of biology writing, able to turn a striking phrase every page or so, using clear prose and occasional poetry to communicate his thoughts. Here's a great example: ""It is hard to imagine a solitary, independent, existentialist minnow, recognizable for himself alone." That's a great sentence. It's true that Thomas sprinkles in some jargon here and there, but on the whole he's excellent. Highly recommended.

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Popular Mathematics Books

I recently put out an APB to other science writers on Twitter and LinkedIn, asking for recommendations for good books that explain math for the layman. I have been a math groupie for many years, enjoying books like The Man Who Knew Infinity and The Art of Mathematics. I knew, though, that there must be many more good reads out there in the world. I got some great tips, which I listed below. If you, dear reader, have any other recommendations, please leave a comment.

The World of Mathematics

The Number Devil

A Short Account of the History of Mathematics

Mathematics for the Million

The Music of the Primes

Fermat's Enigma

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

Street-Fighting Mathematics: The Art of Educated Guessing and Opportunistic Problem Solving

Math Girls

The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity

In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World

Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life

The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, The World's Most Astonishing Number

The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene

A Tour of the Calculus

The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics

The Cartoon Guide to Calculus

Science Illustration

I just realized that I hadn't mentioned the opening of a new Science Gallery show at New York's Eyebeam Art + Technology Center. Eyebeam is hosting Surface Tension: The Future of Water, a cool series of artworks that explore the role of water in the world today, especially as fresh water becomes a more and more valuable commodity. I wrote about the show for both the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American: you can read my reviews here and here. I thought in general that the artworks were thought-provoking and cool. Take a look at some of my photos:

Drawing Science

I don't usually enjoy going to conferences, but recently I heard of an event that seemed like one of the coolest gatherings I had ever heard of. Beginning this Sunday at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and lasting through July 14th, is the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators annual conference. Presentations include "Science into Imagination: The Art of Creature Design," "Visual Storytelling for the World: Art Direction at National Geographic," and "Illustrating Misconceptions: How Scientific Graphics Can Mislead Students." My mind is officially blown. I love good science illustrations -- I once saw a live demonstration at the California Academy of Science, in San Francisco -- and the chance to go to an entire conference on the subject sounds beyond amazing. I may have to join this organization.

The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature by Timothy Ferris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a profoundly interesting book. In it, Ferris argues that the more-or-less simultaneous rise of liberal democracy and modern science is not a coincidence: both thrive on the open exchange of ideas and an experimental spirit. If you like the history of ideas, this is the book for you.

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Amazing Ferrofluid Animation

On Twitter, I follow the amazing Maria Popova, who also curates the very cool Brain Pickings website. I come back to this site day after day because of the eclectic content that touches on design, science, philosophy, and art, as well as the great design of the site itself. (That yellow and white together are wonderful.) This morning, Maria posted a Twitter link to the following animation featuring ferrofluids, a substance I first encountered at the Exploratorium, and then later at another exhibit in the New York Hall of Science. These liquids will blow your mind, as does this clip: