The Vizzies

I know last night was the 2015 Oscars and there was a whole lot of beauty and bling going on, but have you ever thought about the beauty of science? No, it isn't just a geek thing. Everyone I know thinks about it. Oh, right. I have a geek merit badge, too.

Anyway, the National Science Foundation and Popular Science joined together this year to sponsor the International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. With 303 entries from twelve different countries and categories such as illustration, posters and graphics, and video, 50 finalists were judged on artistic merit and communication of science ideas. Readers voted for the People's Choice.

Check out the video for the creativity and beauty of neurons firing in the brain, x-ray of turtle structure, and beautiful chemical reactions videos happening real time. Very cool! Go science!

Early Radiation Knowledge

Most of us never think about radiation effects except when we need to have a dental or chest x-ray to rule out disease. Also, the sun's radiation affects us daily but we don't pay it much attention until we are faced with a nasty burn. (Not a smart course of action.)

But what about the early days of science and medicine when x-rays were newly discovered? I came across this General Electric 1940s film on German physicist, Wilhelm Röntgen's discovery of x-rays. This educational "infomercial" is interesting AND scary when you think of how little they knew. 

Compare that to today's use of medical physics in CT, MRI, and other imaging methods. Progress has been made and medical science has come a long way. Something to think about. Go science!

X-rays - 1940 - How Little We Knew

I recently found this old black and white video of a scientist explaining x-rays to a non-science audience. It's interesting and a bit scary to realize how little people knew about the positive and negative effects of radiation at that time. It makes me realize that we must be cautious when using seemingly fantastic new technologies. I love trying new science tools, methods, and materials more than most, but this video is a reminder that hazards and side effects can be unknown until additional research is done.