What's new?

Now that Lock Haven University has "pulled the plug" on my website, I have moved it to a new server. There are still some issues due to the differences between Microsoft operating systems and UNIX. The most obvious clue is missing graphics, evidenced by empty rectangular boxes. I've restored most of these. If I missed any and you need these, you may find them at the April 2022 archived copy of my website or in earlier backup copies on the internet archive. Also, please let me know the specific pictures and I can fix them.

I have not yet checked for dead external links.

August 18, 2023 Here's a powerpoint memoir about physicist James A. Van Allen, This will only be here a limited time. VanAllen

October 24, 2022. I've finally finished edits and corrections on Articles written for print publication. These were mostly written for my column Toys, Tricks and Teasers in MAKE! magazine.

October 17, 2022. Significant edits have been made to A descriptive explanation of ocean tides.. This is an antidote to the many web and textbook misrepresentations of the physics of earth's tidal bulges.

September 16, 2022.

These are not new, but here's a listing of what I consider my best web documents.

  • The Museum of Unworkable Devices. The most comprehensive collection of perpetual motion machines, some even patented. Detailed analysis of why they don't work.
  • Intelligent Design Creationism. Intelligent Design is an hypothesis with no scientific or philosophical merit. Here's why, from a physicist's perspective.
  • Is Earth a Round Spinning Ball? Of course it is, and here's a summary of all the scientific evidence for it.
  • The Flat Earth. History of a belief contrary to overwhelming scientific evidence refuting it.
  • The Hollow Earth. History of a belief that spawned an incredible theory of a severly warped geometry of the universe.
  • Tidal Misconceptions. Many textbooks and websites get this wrong when trying to explain why the two tidal bulges that drive tides are on opposite sides of the earth.
  • The Moon Illusion. This visual illusion of an enlarged moon when it is near the horizon has generated an obsession bordering on lunacy to explain it.
  • Fibonacci Flim Flam. Mathematical mysticism generates dubious science.
  • Physics Puzzles. Over 100 physics puzzles that have simple, intuitive and non mathematical solutions. Answers are given for most of them.
  • Stereo 3d Experiments. Adapters for 2D and 3D cameras that you can build that extend the camera's capabilities. With examples of results.
  • Visual Illusions. Some of my original visual illusions are here.
  • Visual Illusions in Stereo 3d Taking illusions into the third dimension. Some are my original creations.
  • Humor, Satire and Parody. Some of my original work, and several internet classics.
September 16, 2022.

I've just completed reformatting of old documents in Skepticism, pseudoscience, urban Legends.. September 12, 2022.

Edits done in Scraps from the editor's wastebasket. and The Ideal Scientific Equipment Company, our fictitious sponsor.

September 11, 2022.

Finally, the missing pictures are restored in most of the documents on my web pages! If I missed any, let me know.

September 10, 2022.

I have finished restoring missing pictures in the physics lab manual through half of the optics experiments, including the instructor's notes. Many of the experiments are dated, but still instructive.

September 7, 2022.

The 3d galleries of stereo camera experiments are finished. These pictures may be viewed in stereo on your computer screen without special glasses. Click on the link "How to View 3d" to find out how. If you have difficulty at first try reducing the size of your screen display.

September 6, 2022.

The Museum of Unworkable Devices is finished. Also the illusions documents in Stereoscopy and Illusions. The remaining sections I need to edit are Abuses of Science and the stereo camera experiments. Complete copies may be found on the backup copy of my web pages on the internet archive.

September 5, 2022.

The perpetual motion files' missing pictures have been restored, If I missed any please let me know with specific references.

There are no problems with any of the quotation collections. All documents in the ed-biz and hoaxes directories are intact.

September 4, 2022. Here are the major documents that have been edited and their images restored.

The puzzles pages. The last document now has 82 puzzles.

Everything in Myths and Mysteries of Science.

Everything in Cutting Edge Science. These documents are humor and parody. Some folks didn't get that.

Everything in Physics Documents The main page of Tidal Misconceptions, but the linked related documents have not been checked. I'll soon be working on major revisions to this document.

All of the chapters of Intelligent Design.

The flat and hollow earth essays. Also Is the earth a round spinning ball?

Directly downwind faster than the wind (DDWFTTW), How to be a successful professor without really trying, An illustrated dictionary of physics, A religion for the rest of us, The Moon Illusion, Fibonacci Flim Flam.

Input and suggestions are welcome. In an effort to foil spammers who mine web pages for addresses, I show my email address only as a graphic. When responding to anything on these web pages please indicate the specific document by subject, name or filename.

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