When he was seven years old, he tried to stab a Spanish solider with a lance
When he was eighteen, he talked a friend out of assassinating Napoleon
He once angered an archbishop so much that the holy man punched him in the face
He has negotiated with bandits, been chased by a mob, broken out of prison
He is:
François Arago, the most interesting physicist in the world.

pitchersandpoets:

i know i have beaten this dead horse before but HE’S EVEN WEARING A HOOD

picturesofmath:

“This image depicts the interaction of nine plane waves—expanding sets of ripples, like the waves you would see if you simultaneously dropped nine stones into a still pond. The pattern is called a quasicrystal because it has an ordered structure, but the structure never repeats exactly. The waves produced by dropping four or more stones into a pond always form a quasicrystal.”

This is WELL worth the time to watch. 

I’ve been trying to do it right

I’ve been living a lonely life

I’ve been sleeping here instead

I’ve been sleeping in my bed…

apieceofmine:

By combining massive amounts of diverse data, scientists from NASA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a beautiful high-resolution model of the Earth’s ocean currents.

The project, called Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), uses observational data—including ocean surface topography, surface wind stress, temperature, salinity profiles and velocity data—collected between June 2005 and December 2007. By incorporating these data into an M.I.T. model, the result is “realistic descriptions of how ocean circulation evolves over time,” according to the press release. “These model-data syntheses are among the largest computations of their kind ever undertaken.”

source

Jim Abbott was a major league pitcher who threw a no-hitter with the Yankees in his time. Jim is an amazing guy with a great story. He made it to Major League Baseball whilst missing his right hand. This is an interview of him on Dan LeBatard’s Highly Questionable tv show on ESPN2 (love that show!). I’ve been inspired and fascinated with this guy since I was a kid and I first heard about him. Excited to check out his new book.

Man I love this song so much. Harry Nilsson’s voice is so wonderful. Belt out into song!

Fireworks during the day?