Earth’s Different Years

The Earth has three different types of physical year. Each is longer than the standard calendar year of 365 days. I. The Sidereal year: 365.256363004 days (365 d 6 h 9 min 9.76 sec)        (Defined at the epoch J2000.0 = January 1, 2000, 12:00:00 TT where one day is defined as 86,400 …

Entropy, Infinity and Consciousness

An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope showing a universe filled with galaxies of stars. Almost every object in the image is a galaxy. The smaller appearing galaxies are more distant and older than the larger foreground galaxies. They appear bluer from the light of many young bright and massive but short-lived stars that …

U.S. Electrical System Laws and Regulations

A reference list of U.S. laws and regulations related to electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution A1. Federal Water Power Act  (1920) A2. Public Utility Holding Company Act  (1934) A3. Rural Electrification Act  (1936) A4. Atomic Energy Act  (1954) A5. Price Anderson Act  (1957) A6. National Energy Act  (1978) A6b.  Public …

Astronomy Research Papers

BATSE Observations of X-ray Pulsars The article below is adapted from a little astronomy educational PR piece I wrote many years ago. BATSE stands for Burst And Transient Source Experiment and was an experiment on NASA's satellite observatory, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), pictured above being deployed into orbit from the Space Shuttle. BATSE …

A Carbon and Energy Profile of the USA circa 2015

The U.S. emitted 6,586,700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2015 The United States is the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and produces 15% of the global annual emission of greenhouse gases. The United States has the second highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of any nation (after Canada) with over …

A Primer on Global Warming and Climate Change

In 2013 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that, to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, humans could only burn another 269 billion more tonnes of fossil fuels. The estimated reserves of fossil fuels (as of 2009) that are considered proven and economically recoverable amount to 763 billion tonnes. Humans currently burn …

Profile of the USA circa 2010

A quick statistical look at the USA around the year 2010 "The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and …

Solar Power in Alabama and Tennessee: Useful Information

The solar potential map above is for a flat collector tilted at the site latitude. A compilation of useful reference information about installing and using Solar Photovoltaic Power in Alabama and nearby areas. When solar panels are installed on a home or commercial building in a grid-tied system the excess electricity generated above that being …

Moving Beyond Fire

A Meditation for Earth Day April 22, 2009 We are a civilization of the wheel. The dynamism of our modern industrial society is literally powered by the turning of wheels and shafts. We have now become almost completely dependent on these turnings like no previous civilization in history. Rotating wheels and shafts are used in …

Mind, Body and Modern Science I

Closing the Loop: Can Modern Physical Science Explain Consciousness? Abstract The nature of the connection between the Conscious Mind and the Physical Body is a famous philosophical and scientific problem that involves determining the interactions and causal relationship(s) of two very different entities: the conscious or mental mind that comprises the totality of our experiential …