Galileo's Pendulum

Science, Society, and Fiction from Matthew R Francis

A scientific valentine

Betelgeuse is red
Rigel is blue
Aldebaran knows
I’m Sirius about you

Betelgeuse is red and Rigel is blue. [Credit: Mouser, with annotations by moi]

Science is often unfairly characterized as cold and inhuman. Certainly as with any intellectual endeavor some emotional detachment may be necessary, but scientists are frequently passionate about their work. The best scientists channel their love into their work, and share that love with others.

I hope in this blog, I’ve conveyed at least some of my own feelings about our beautiful, frustrating, marvelous, complicated Universe. And for those feeling lonely or otherwise unhappy about Valentine’s Day (an absurd holiday, to be truthful), here’s my version of a classic xkcd comic:

$\sqrt{\heartsuit} = ?$
$\cos(\heartsuit) = ?$
$\frac{d}{dx}\heartsuit = ?$
$\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \heartsuit = ?$
$F\{\heartsuit\} = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int f(t) e^{i t \heartsuit} dt = ?$

“My normal approach is useless here….”

Matthew R. Francis

February 14, 2014

Astronomy, General Science, Just for Fun, Personal Musings

scientific beauty

One response to “A scientific valentine”

James A White

February 18, 2014 at 11:37 am

Hawking’s “Brief History of Time” asserts that time is not a uniform constant. Does that mean that two objects that come into existence simultaneously can have different durations of existence i.e. one twin become older than the other or the bud on a vine someday have existed longer than the stump?

A scientific valentine

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