David Morales's feed

The new AZ math law

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:41:00 +0000

Proof by prayer will be considered in the fall session PHOENIX - If only Rodney Dangerfield were still alive, he would love the jokes coming out of Arizona today, including the latest math bill just passed. It begins like...

Das final solution to the immigration problem

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:15:00 +0000

Ein News Channel Brothers and sisters, our homeland is a confronting a problem never before seen on the face of the earth. But fear not countrymen, I have found das solution! Historyum The problem of our homeland...

A modest proposal: solving the education funding crisis

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:39:00 +0000

Military spending in all its myriad forms works out to represent 53.3 percent of total US federal spending. That's right. 53 cents of every dollar that Uncle Sam collects from you goes to blowing stuff up. This got...

Why you can't live without statistics

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:54:00 +0000

There are three types of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. I think that one of the problems with math education in this country is that not even math instructors understand why the math is important. Nowhere is this more...

LOST figured out - the science gave it away!

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:23:00 +0000

(SPOILER ALERT) This will only spoil things and only make any sense if you have watched the most recent season of Lost. The man in black and Jacob weren't introduced until the last episode of the last season, and...

The calculus of pi - for dummies: Part III

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:47:00 +0000

In the first article we defined pi as a fraction between two numbers representing geometrical quantities. Our exploration of pi only involved arithmetic. The second article introduced how pi can be used to define a new concept of angle that...

Pi week: going full circle - Part II

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:41:00 +0000

In the previous article we defined pi as a fraction between two numbers representing geometrical quantities. This idea makes sense in our minds, but actually calculating the exact value of pi becomes a daunting task. Why was this? To...

Pi week: going full circle - Part I

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Last Sunday the world stopped to reflect on one of the great unsung heroes of the world - the number Pi. Why Sunday? The first few numbers in the decimal expansion of the world's most famous irrational number are 3...

Tucson coal mountains: this is the coal that must be burned today for your lights to work

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:24:00 +0000

Where Tucson's electricity comes from We explored where power in Tucson comes from, namely electrical power, in a recent article. While it may not seem that mining plays an important role in electrical usage, we noted that: The...

The Science of Rodeos

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Rodeo holiday at the end of each February Tucson is probably the only city in the nation with a Rodeo holiday that gives students a two-day break from school each February. Rodeo, also known as Fiesta de los...

Feeling powerful in Tucson

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:30:00 +0000

View of the Catalinas from near Speedway and Craycroft I work in a lab at the University of Arizona with no windows. Sometimes it will rain and I won't even know until I walk outside in the evening...

Is the sky falling in Tucson?

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:22:00 +0000

From the Chicken Little movie "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" This is the popular cry from Chicken Little, the popular fable told to kids. In a nutshell, an acorn falls on Chicken Little's...

Tucson: Rock City

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Saguaros, mesquite, and snow covered mountains In the late 1970's there was a popular song by the band Kiss called Detroit Rock City. They clearly have never been to the Gem & Mineral Show that begins this week...

The generational costs of mining

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Duval mine in Green Valley, AZ The electronic age is here, and has been for some time now. The information super-highway is thriving and there are talks for massive broadband projects to provide access to fast internet for...

Is Green the new Red: Progress

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:46:00 +0000

Highways and cities In the last article we took a quick tour of recent and amazing achievements and how far science and technology have come in the last century. It seems as though there is only one direction we...

Is Green the new Red: Common Sense

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:56:00 +0000

It is amazing how far science and technology have come in the last century. We have been to every continent, mapped the earth with satellites, set human foot on the moon, and we have sent robots to explore the Martian...

UA Professor Tom Vincent, RIP

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Tom Vincent, Professor Emeritus in the University of Arizona's Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer.Dr. Vincent received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Oregon State University, and...

Happy 95th birthday to Martin Gardner!

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:31:00 +0000

Martin Gardner doesn't have a Ph.D in mathematics, or any Ph.D. for that matter. He wasn't even an undergraduate math major. Yet he has probably popularized mathematics more than any person in the last...

Conflict between Navajo, Hopi, and Big Coal: environmentalists banned

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:16:00 +0000

This is an update to the last article dealing with the Peabody Coal company (which provides the coal for Tucson Electric to make Southern Arizona's electricity to power our science and technological advancements. No power, no labs.) The...

Is Green the new Red: Mining (cont.)

David Morales, Tucson Science Examiner — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Continued from page 1 Nuclear power Glowing green Another discovery was made on Navajo land. Uranium! An important anniversary was just reached this summer. The 30th anniversary of the Church Rock Uranimum Mill...