Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mad Science #2 – Zapping ICBMs with Nuke-Induced Radiation Belts

Posted on December 5, 2017 by jlredford

Another great recent source of crazed science stories is Sharon Weinberger’s thorough and refreshingly skeptical history of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, The Imagineers of War.    DARPA has been all the rage for the last few years because … Continue reading →

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Mad Science #1 – Soviet Space Station Rayguns

Posted on November 4, 2017 by jlredford

I’ve been reading a lot of juicy stories about completely crazed projects recently, so I’d like to pass some on.  These were projects that made sense to someone at the time, but were really awful ideas, ones that you can … Continue reading →

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The Least Substantial Lasts Longest

Posted on October 29, 2017 by jlredford

A few days ago a friend noted that this was the 40th anniversary of the VAX computer line, one of the most successful and most criticized machines ever.   Its first model was the VAX 11/780, which was announced on Oct … Continue reading →

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Who Are the World’s Leading EEs?

Posted on October 7, 2017 by jlredford

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) is the world’s largest technical society, with about 420,000 members.   Although founded in the US in 1884, over half its members are international.   Its highest rank is Fellow, which can only be … Continue reading →

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Recent Posts on Let’s See This Work

Posted on September 17, 2017 by jlredford

I’ve been putting movie-related posts over on  this other blog, Let’s See This Work.   Here are some you might like: Stats on the Most Influential Effects Movies – When were these made and who did them? “The Founder” as Design vs Finance … Continue reading →

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The Engineering of Biology at MIT

Posted on July 14, 2017 by jlredford

One of the big reunion activities at MIT is Technology Day, a series of lectures from faculty done shortly after commencement.   This year the theme was Synthetic Life, and the talks were just as creepy and interesting as you might … Continue reading →

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“The Earth After Us” – Humanity in Deep Time

Posted on May 29, 2017 by jlredford

So I was once sitting in an introductory geology class, and the instructor was talking about limestone.  “It’s sometimes formed by calcium carbonate precipitating directly out of seawater,” he said, “Until life evolved 600 million years ago, and it then became … Continue reading →

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Boston, City of Other People’s Bad Memories

Posted on April 6, 2017 by jlredford

My home city has had a remarkably long run of peace.  The last time war touched Boston was when it was besieged for almost a year by the colonials during the American Revolution, some 240 years ago.   Few places in … Continue reading →

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Plug For “Let’s See This Work – An Engineer At the Movies”

Posted on March 17, 2017 by jlredford

I’ve started a new blog that’s specific to movies, looking at them with a technical eye:  Let’s See This Work .  It’s not so much about the technical construction of movies, but rather notes from a technical person on what … Continue reading →

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How Did Wind Get So Cheap?

Posted on January 30, 2017 by jlredford

Rather surprisingly, wind power is now the cheapest form of electricity in the US: This comes from the tree-hugging socialists at  Lazard Asset Management.  Unsubsidized wind comes in at $32 to $62 per MWh, depending on the site.   Natural gas … Continue reading →

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