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GALLERY
The end of a long day measuring the sun and sky
Forrest M. Mims III
In 1998 a local power company donated a Yankee Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFR-7) to my research site, Geronimo Creek Observatory. The MFR-7 measures the full sky irradiance at seven wavelengths of blue, green red and near infrared light every 15 seconds. The shadowband blocks the direct sun at each measuring cycle. By subtracting the signal when the detector array in the canister is shaded from the full sky irradiance, the direct sunlight can be calculated. All this is done automatically, and the data are stored by the computer that controls the positional rotation of the shadowband. More.
COLUMNS
 Classics: Amateur
Science Classics: Homemade Van de Graaff Generators
Shawn Carlson
Forrest Mims' World of Science
by Forrest M. Mims III
Editorial: The Hindenburg disaster: Another look
by Forrest M. Mims III
Mind of a Theorist: A Mathematical Interlude I: What is a space?
George E. Hrabovsky, President, MAST
Puzzle 'Toons by Brian Mansfield
Wanderings with Ralph Coppola
Mathematics Corner: How do we use limits?
George E Hrabovsky, President. MAST
Eye on the Sky: Eye on the Sky: The December Sky by Paul Curtin
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NEWS
MAST in the News
Dr. Paul MacCready, the Father of Human-Powered Flight, to speak at the 2005 Citizen Science Conference
Wanted: Contributions to The Citizen Scientist
Backscatter. Views and responses from TCS readers.
FEATURES
The
finer points an Introduction to Powerpoint
Dianna Hrabovsky, Treasurer,
MAST
PowerPoint is a powerful program for performing visual presentations with
your computer. The program allows you to create and manipulate images
called slides. They are called slides because what you are doing is creating
a slide-show on the computer. More.
A
laboratory version of "Twas the
night before Christmas"
Mike Dziekan
Connecticut Analytical Corporation
'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the lab,
Not a beaker was stirring
not even our Mighty Mouse. More.
PROJECTS
Airship Hindenburg: Experimental study of the involvement of
the outer covering paint (dope) in the disastrous final fire
William H. Appleby
The most memorable destruction of a lighter-than-air airship was the burning
of the hydrogen-inflated Hindenburg as it approached the mooring
tower (mast) at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937.
More
Distance Makes the Sound Grow Fainter
John W. Dooley, Physics Department
Millersville University
Sound become fainter as the listener moves farther away from the source.
This familiar effect was invoked to understand the results of the "half
as loud" experiment.
Underlying the effect are two distinct processes; one conserves energy,
and the other does not. Here we consider the process in which energy is
conserved. More
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PRODUCTS
The
Sun and Sky Monitoring Station by Forrest M. Mims III.
An excellent product for beginning scientists,
seasoned amateurs (or even professionals) looking for a new challenge,
or someone trying to come up with a reasonably self-contained science
fair project. Briefly stated, this kit gives one the instrumentation needed
to track accurately the total sunlight in a given time period, measure
haze and water vapor in the atmosphere.
Click
here to order.
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17 December 2004