Tag Archives: history

A Cursed(?) Diamond’s Story: The Koh-i-Noor

Last week, I said I’d have “…tales of cursed gems, glow-in-the-dark diamonds, diamonds from outer space…” ready this week: “barring the unexpected”. Then the unexpected happened. But I do have most of the Koh-i-Noor’s story ready for you. I pieced … Continue reading

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A Big Diamond, a Little History, and Some Geology

I take commercial puffery with a grain of salt, but that 2,492 carat diamond from the Karowe mine does seem “epic”. It’s also what I’ll be talking about this week: along with the Karowe mine, Botswana, what diamonds are and … Continue reading

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Squishy Stars, Science, and Sirach

A paper published this month doesn’t so much tell us what’s inside a neutron star, as show what’s not inside. Considering how little we know about these immensely-dense stellar objects, that’s a significant step toward understanding the things. I’ll take … Continue reading

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“We Will Come After You”, Being Careful, and Truth

America has changed since my youth. I’ve seen fire and brimstone give way to tofu and soy sauce, rotary dial phones replaced by smartphones. Some things, however, haven’t changed. Like the value we place on freedom. How my country’s self-described … Continue reading

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Marshmallows in Space! New Habitat Technology, Old Science

I remember when many folks were getting used to the idea that space travel wasn’t just science fiction. Some apparently still haven’t gotten the memo, but others have been developing new technologies. Like inflatable space stations. I’ll be talking about … Continue reading

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