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RSSScience Quote of the Week #11
Mar 11
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The Academic Awards, PhD Comics Style
Mar 07
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In honor of last night’s Academy Awards, PhD Comics has provided us with their version of The 2397th Academic Awards:
PhD Comics continues to provide great entertainment to students and researchers who can commiserate with the characters portrayed in the their comics.
Find this comic and other PhD comics at phdcomics.com. While you’re there, also be sure to check out ‘Moesday’ which depicts a regular week in the life of a graduate student.
Bond as a Graduate Student
Mar 07
Back in 2007, Joel Gilmore created the following video of the well know 007, James Bond, as a Graduate Student. The video was an invitation he made for a party celebrating the completion of his PhD.
Thanks to @nparmalee, @LadyScientist, and @scicurious of the twitterverse for bringing this great video to my attention.
How successful do you think Bond would have been as a grad student?
Science Quote of the Week #10
Mar 04
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This week’s quote comes from George Wald.
“Science goes from question to question; big questions, and little, tentative answers. The questions as they age grow ever broader, the answers are seen to be more limited.”
A “Hella” of an Idea
Mar 03
“To Whom It May Concern:
For all intents and purposes, the SI prefix system has served the scientific community extremely well since its inception. However, we believe there is one significant flaw in the system which demands immediate attention.”
So begins the mission statement of a facebook petition calling for the designation of “hella” as a prefix for 1027. “Hella” means “very” or “a lot of” in North Californian slang.
“As you know,” the statement continues, “the largest number with a designated SI prefix is 1024, which carries the name “yotta-”. However, in our world of increasing physical awareness and experimental precision, this number is no longer a satisfactory “upper bound” in scientific nomenclature. The analysis of many physical phenomena reveals natural quantities in excess of 27 orders of magnitude, a number which is currently ignored by the SI system.”
Austein Sendek, a physics student from the University of California, is the founder of this movement. He calls the naming of “critical importance.” Over 28,000 people have signed and joined the facebook petition.
The Telegraph reports “If the change is approved, the hella would be the first new SI prefix introduced since 1991, when the International Committee for Weights and Measures approved yotta and zetta (21 zeroes).”
Professor Ian Mills, a British chemist who heads the Consultative Committee for Units (CCU) – the committee which would have to approve the “hella” addition told the Telegraph that it was unlikely the change would take place as most of the existing SI prefixes are derived from Latin or Greek, and he does not think the committee will change that precedent.
What do you think about this hella idea?
- For more infomation and to sign the petition visit the The Official Petition to Establish “Hella-” as the SI Prefix for 1027 Facebook Page.
- Buy a “Hella” T-shirt at the MakeHellaOfficial Store