Season of Light?
Today is the Winter Solstice - the shortest period of daylight this year. I really need to see the light:
Last night, we lost power. There was a very bright flash of light from a nearby transformer accompanied by the smell of pyrotechnics, but then we were left in the dark, navigating around the house by the light of a laptop.
Today, around 3:30, I was listening to music in the physics club lounge, when I realized it was getting dark. Might as well have been in the advanced lab where they were doing the Michelson interferometer experiment. Except that my music was better :-)!
By the way, on the winter solstice, the sun has its lowest noontime altitude. However, it is not necessarily true that that day has the latest sunrise or the earliest sunset. That, apparently is a complex function of latitude and geographic features like mountains. According to an article in the Desert Morning News, Patrick Wiggins, of NASA, said, "It's a lot like understanding the theory of relativity." I have taken that as a challenge. I will learn the special theory of solstices over break!
Finally, thanks to Dr. Carkner for another successful run of the planetarium show, "Season of Light." He can probably explain the special theory of solstices.
2 comments:
Yipes. No candles or flashlights handy? Though I think this says something about your family that you had to navigate by the light of a laptop. ;)
Nope, I think our music was better. :P
Will the special theory of solstices appear in any of your classes once you learn it. It would make an interesting topic. *grin*
Special theory of solstices explained:
http://www.larry.denenberg.com/earliest-sunset.html
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