Victoria Crater, on Mars. The black dot on the rim, at about the 10 o’clock position, is the Mars rover Opportunity. Expected to fail after 90 days, it has been exploring faithfully for more than three years.
Science & Math
Not So Fast
n2 – n + 41 produces prime numbers for all integers from 0 to 40 — but it fails when n equals 41.
Suburban Physics
You’re driving a car. The windows are closed. In the back seat is a kid holding a helium balloon.
You turn right. You and the kid sway to the left. What does the balloon do?
Math Notes
25 × 92 = 2592
Math Notes
13 + 53 + 33 = 153
The Beverly Clock
In the foyer of the Department of Physics at New Zealand’s University of Otago is a clock that has been running continuously since 1864. The “Beverly Clock” is driven by variations in atmospheric pressure and by daily temperature variations, so it never needs winding.
Relax
On March 23, 1989, a 1,000-foot asteroid missed the Earth by 400,000 miles.
If it had passed 6 hours earlier it would have struck us, creating the largest explosion in recorded history.
Math Notes
42 = 24
Math Notes
(27/8)9/4 = (9/4)27/8
Tee Time
The last golf shots on the moon were taken by Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard in February 1971.
When the crew returned to Earth, they received the following telegram from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland:
Warmest congratulations to all of you on your great achievement and safe return. Please refer to the Rules of Golf section on etiquette, paragraph 6, quote – before leaving a bunker a player should carefully fill up all holes made by him therein, unquote.