MeasurementBlog

Physicists create millimeter-sized ‘Bohr atom’

G R Peacock — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:00:15 +0000

I’m old enough to remember Neils Bohr (actually had the pleasure of hearing him lecture at MIT in the 1960s) but I first learned about him in my Atomic Physics course when we discussed the model of atomic structure that he first proposed early in 1913. He was one of the giants in 20th Century [...]

Deming Vs Dilbert: In the Army

G R Peacock — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:46:34 +0000

When I was in college, the Korean War was just ended and the Draft was still active. I joined ROTC to insure uninterrupted education. I was lucky enough to get into graduate school and worked, got married had kids and then the ARMY said “Time to Serve”. Again, I got lucky. Some of the research I [...]

Digital InTech Magazine

G R Peacock — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:35:20 +0000

The ISA (which used to be the acronym for the Instrument Society of America but now stands for the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society -shouldn’t that be ISAS... whatever) publishes a monthly magazine for its members called InTech. I’ve been getting the paper version for more than 35 years and just the other day I [...]

Deming Vs Dilbert: Background

G R Peacock — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:07:46 +0000

To get back into the real sharing activity and intent of this blog to share my experiences with visitors, I plan to begin a series of short stories about my measurement experiences in both a small and large organizations over my multiple careers in R& D, Instrument Marketing and web publishing. In my multifaceted careers [...]

The International Year of Astronomy in 2009 (IYA 2009)

G R Peacock — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 05:07:04 +0000

The International Year of Astronomy in 2009 (IYA 2009) is a global celebration of astronomy and its many contributions to society and culture. Originally conceived to honor the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei in 1609, IYA 2009 has grown into a worldwide, education and public outreach effort [...]

NCSL International: A CALL TO ACTION FOR METROLOGY IN THE USA

G R Peacock — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:29:53 +0000

NCSL International issues a call to action by the Metrology Community Boulder CO, USA — According to NCSL International’s Press release dated May 28th: The US Dept. of Labor rejects petition to recognize Metrology job descriptions in its proposed 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System” We know that Metrology is the bedrock upon which all U.S. commerce [...]

DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

G R Peacock — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:58:07 +0000

Is The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program new to you? It was to me until I discovered it a little while ago. ACRF is the largest global change research program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Its primary goal is to improve the treatment of cloud and radiation physics in global climate models in order [...]

Planets & Stars Sizes

G R Peacock — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:20:37 +0000

It is a matter of perspective, something the video below from YouTube and Giant Stars describes in excellent detail and with astounding graphics. The animation is an interactive version of a well known set of images circulating the Internet. Use this multimedia feature as a guide and inspiration. For exact planet and star proportions refer to [...]

Johnson Noise Thermometry

G R Peacock — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:13:21 +0000

About 25 years ago, I first visited the Instrumentation Labs at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ONRL) at the invitation of the late Bob Shepard. Bob was a pioneer in many areas of temperature measurement and at that time was the Chairman of ASTM Committee E20 on Temperature. He was also head of the lab at [...]

A Chemical Jigsaw Puzzle

G R Peacock — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:59:07 +0000

Based on an idea by Omer Roucoux. Can’t learn chemical reactions? Don’t know how combining powers work? Discover new ways of understanding, or teaching, chemical reactions. In 1978, Omer Roucoux published this chemical jigsaw puzzle. It is available here in two parts, as a GIF and the original DrawFile version for RISC [...]