Friday, September 01, 2017
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Yes, you do weigh less at the Equator, and here's roughly how much
The Earth spins one full rotation in a period just under 24 hours (kinda). At a spot that is one inch from the North (or South) Pole, the speed of the ground as it rotates around the axis is literally just over 1/4in per hour. By comparison, a common snail can slither 1837in per hour. However, at the Equator, the speed of the ground as it rotates around the axis is a whopping 1,036 MPH! This is faster than the Speed of Sound (761.2 MPH). Thankfully, the laws of nature do a great job of making sure we do not notice such things as we walk about in your daily lives.
Even still, that is fast enough to notice the effect of the centrifugal force of Earth's spin on your weight. Basically, you weigh less at the Equator than you do at the North Pole. Your mass doesn't change, of course. It's just that the pull of Earth's gravity is slightly mitigated by it's rotation about its axis.
That said, there are many factors that affect the local gravity. The problem is that gravity itself is generally measured in terms that are meaningless to everyday life. So, when an online local gravity calculator tells you that your local gravity in meters per seconds squared, that isn't all that helpful in finding out how much more or less you'll weight somewhere else.
I've created a simplified calculator as a spreadsheet . It will tell you how much you'll weigh at any latitude based on your current weight at your current latitude. The calculations on the spreadsheet are rough. They do not take into account many factors that might affect your weight, nor are they precise enough for serious scientific studies. However, they are close enough to satisfy whatever curiosity you might have. As such, use the spreadsheet for entertainment purposes only, and have fun seeing how much less you'll weight at particular latitudes!
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Saturday, August 05, 2017
Thursday, August 03, 2017
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Friday, July 14, 2017
This one is even better. #irony
I ran across some underutilized and selfie-overloaded hashtags on Instagram. So, I give them some attention with my own selfie.
The result was humorously ironic. Instagram surrounded me with beautiful women.
via Instagram http://ift.tt/2tPLzoq
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Monday, July 10, 2017
We didn't evolve from apes?
I'm not going to touch on arguments pro and con regarding evolution or creationism in this article. This is simply a criticism of a particular ploy used when some engage in those arguments. It's common to hear a proponent for evolution to say the following when in a discussion with a creationist:
Humans didn't evolve from apes. We evolved from a common ancestor with apes.
But this statement is disingenuous. The truth is that we did evolve from an early ape species which diversified over time into five great apes species and sixteen ape species, namely Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orangutans, Humans and various Gibbons. Sure, it's true we didn't evolve from Chimpanzees, but we did evolve from an ape species from which all other modern ape species also evolved.
I guess the claim of not evolving from apes came out of the desire to side step or disrupt creationists' arguments driven by their misconceptions about evolution. If a creationist says "evolution says we evolved from apes", then it's an easy comeback to say "no it doesn't, actually." But, in truth, yes, evolution does indeed say we evolved from an ape species, and this is backed up by modern discoveries. There's no need dance around this by splitting hairs on what is meant by the word "ape".
- Is a wolf a canine? Yes. Is a fox a canine? Yes. Did wolves and foxes evolve from a common canine species? Yes. Then wolves and foxes evolved from canines.
This example is just to drive the point home. Canines and apes (all mammals, reptiles and amphibians, actually) all evolved from common tetrapod ancestor species that first lived on land about 400 million years ago. Yes, we are all tetrapods that evolved from a common tetrapod ancestor species. In the larger scope, we evolved from tetrapods! Just as more immediately, we evolved from apes.
Sunday, July 09, 2017
Updated States Travelled List
I've travelled to a few more places in North America recently. Here's my updated map of US:
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Thursday, June 08, 2017
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
Saturday, June 03, 2017
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Friday, May 26, 2017
Thursday, May 25, 2017
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