An Animal That Can Handle the Pressure

On August 15, 1934, Otis Barton and William Beebe set the record for descending to the ocean depth of 3,028 feet. They did this with a spherical deep-sea submersible called a bathysphere. This submersible was made with very thick cast steel to handle the remarkable pressure at such depths. At this depth, the bathysphere would…

Any Other Obvious Conclusions?

Some time ago I read an article entitled, “Maybe an Asteroid Didn’t Kill the Dinosaurs” by Jeffrey Kluger. Here is a little excerpt: “When a scientific principle is common knowledge even in grammar school, you know it has long since crossed the line from theory to established fact. That’s the case with dinosaur extinction. Some…

Snowflakes

Simple, yet ridiculously intricate. Snowflakes are easy to overlook. As a kid, I use to watch the snowflakes land on my glove as I looked with fascination at their complexity. As an adult, I’m baffled as to why water would take such an extraordinary shape. A snowflake is formed when water vapor freezes. But still,…