tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post8522396732001118902..comments2024-02-07T22:52:15.919-07:00Comments on Partial Ellipsis of the Sun: A Blog for Scientists who like Words and Writers who like Science: Petrographic Thin Sections, Deadlines, and Nature's Stained GlassWord Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-23798629823498811482014-02-03T00:19:31.284-07:002014-02-03T00:19:31.284-07:00Oh, it's way more fun over here today. I laugh...Oh, it's way more fun over here today. I laughed out loud. Thanks, Lego!Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-54465949704447737232014-02-03T00:12:37.388-07:002014-02-03T00:12:37.388-07:00Eight-Year-Old What’s-His-Name
(Cast: SS = Scienti...Eight-Year-Old What’s-His-Name<br />(Cast: SS = Scientific Steph, G = Guess, GM = Guess’s Mother)<br /><br />SS: So, little boy, what’s your name?<br />G: Guess.<br />SS: Gus?<br />G: No, Guess.<br />SS: Yes, guess your name, right?<br />G: Yes, Guess, my name.<br />SS: Okay. Are you Ernest?<br />G: Yes, I am earnest.<br />GM (overhearing): You are not Ernest. That is a bad Guess! (to SS) Guess, his name.<br />SS: (to GM) He lie?<br />GM: Eli? No!<br />SS: But you said he was not earnest.<br />GM; Yes, he is not Ernest. Guess!<br />SS: Eli?<br />GM: No, did you not hear what I said before? Guess!<br />SS: Willie?<br />G (interjecting): I did not lie. I will never lie. I am earnest.<br />GM: He is not Ernest.<br />SS: Please! No more guessing games. Will one of you just tell me the name?<br />G and GM (simultaneously): Yes. Guess!<br />SS (losing patience): Surmi? <br />G and GM (simultaneously): Huh?<br /><br />LeguessLambdalegolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-71744882732145955272014-02-02T06:07:09.013-07:002014-02-02T06:07:09.013-07:00As long as you don't take those names in "...As long as you don't take those names in "vein." ;-) Thanks for the scoop, lego.<br /><br />I did wish Guess could have let the "Who's on first?" scenario play out. <i>That</i> would have been fun!Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-89860581895514549262014-02-01T23:54:01.743-07:002014-02-01T23:54:01.743-07:00SS,
Yeah but, yeah but… I have scoured baby-name s...SS,<br />Yeah but, yeah but… I have scoured baby-name sites and “Guess” is nowhere to be found either! (The closest I could find was “?” of “? and the Mysterions” fame.) If Denver-area parents are nutty enough to name their kid “Guess,” does it not stand to reason that New Delhi-rooted parents might be nu…<br /><br />Wait, wait, wait! This charade must end! Olivine, Ovaltine, and now, Surmise. It’s a tangled trinity of tales, a three-pack of lies! Conversely, your contention about meeting a boy named Guess (full name: Guess Gene Denim?) is plausible, believable and, as you swear upon a stack of books that need to be reshelved, “absolutely true.” I take you at your word, woman.<br /><br />Am I busy with green things? Oh yes I am. Busy grappling with my envy -- envy for the likes of people who actually encounter and engage Guesses, launch blogs, concoct igneous fudge, and fudge neither scientific data nor either mundane or eternal truths… <br /><br />…as opposed to minting counterfeits, casting shadows and blowing smoke.<br /><br />Hey, this opening a vein is even better than opening a vino… or two.<br />Lego…legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-75179031314597463762014-02-01T11:15:33.782-07:002014-02-01T11:15:33.782-07:00Lego,
Slightly confused here...Your link shows...Lego,<br /> Slightly confused here...Your link shows Surmi as a name but not Surmise. My writing about "Guess" as a boy's name was absolutely true. Hmmmm, not sure about your "Surmise" name, especially given the lie-tale-vino issue. Kindly illuminate further unless you are busy with green things ;-).Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-35446470667734412652014-02-01T10:54:04.892-07:002014-02-01T10:54:04.892-07:00SS,
I also often meet interesting kids at my local...SS,<br />I also often meet interesting kids at my local library. Last week, as I sat at a library computer enjoying PEOTS, an eightish-year-old little girl and her mother descended upon a corner table nearby and began perusing stack of cookbooks. They appeared to be Indian (racial profiling). I later discovered their family had indeed moved here from New Delhi a decade ago, and that the precocious little girl had amassed a formidable English vocabulary. I peripherally noticed the girl’s attention periodically being drawn to the colorful PEOTS images on my computer screen.<br /><br />“What’s your name?” I asked her. <br />“Surmise,” she responded.<br />I knew only a smattering of Indian girls’ names (Indira, of course, Toru, Amrita, Sarojini, Sudha and Kamala). So I began with the most likely.<br />“Indira?” I surmised. She seemed bemused by this.<br />Her mother piped in, saying, “Yes, we named her Surmise, thinking it would be fun.”<br />Site that proves I am not lying: http://babynames.merschat.com/index.cgi?function=View&bn_key=73719<br /><br />But sometimes, I confess, I do make it up as I go merrily along. For example, when I wrote “I will now curl up with a some buttered thin slices of olivine and a cup of hot Ovaltine,” that was not completely truthy. Regrettably I inadvertently misspoke, and I am sorry to any of you who may be offended by that. <br /><br />Here is the bottom line, “what you must take away” from that stretched-taut truth: From the “slices of OLIVINE,” the takeaway is that “It was a LIE.” From the “cup of hot OVALTINE,” the takeaway is that “It was a TALE.” Truth be told, after some rearrangement of pillows, I curled up with a glass of VINO, then a second glass of VINO.<br /><br />Speaking of ingestion: Actually, the color green is generally a good indicator of food quality, at least according to the moldy samples in my refrigerator research. (I get a lot of false positives with my jars of olives, however.)<br /><br />In Vino Veritas<br />Lego…legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-16950707761930237052014-01-31T18:20:29.586-07:002014-01-31T18:20:29.586-07:00How was the olivine/Ovaltine combo, lego? It is a ...How was the olivine/Ovaltine combo, lego? It is a pairing that hadn't occurred to me. One of our geologic mantras was "All that's green is olivine...unless it's epidote or..." Actually, color is generally a poor mineral indicator quality.Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-28270891932097759102014-01-31T12:00:03.205-07:002014-01-31T12:00:03.205-07:00In an above post I wrote, “The basalt with olivine...In an above post I wrote, “The basalt with olivine reminds me of that kaleidoscopically psychedelic sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey (which is an extremely oblique hint to this week’s NPR puzzle).” <br /><br />The oblique hint was the word “Odyssey.” The NPR puzzle answer this week is BLOSSOM/BLOOM (Remove consecutive S’s from a word to form its synonym.) Leopold Bloom was the protagonist in Joyce’s Ulysses, which was based on the Odyssey by Homer.<br /><br />Now that’s oblique! If any reader of this blog solved the NPR puzzle on the strength (or, rather, weakness) of that hint, please let us know. You are in store for some major congratulations.<br /><br />LegoBliqua legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-86874457839298587082014-01-30T12:00:41.459-07:002014-01-30T12:00:41.459-07:00Hard to comment on that one. The legal length disc...Hard to comment on that one. The legal length discussion was interesting.<br /><br />The Leif the Lucky Bridge looked intriguing. Kind of like putting your arms and legs in four states at Four Corners, U.S., you could stand there straddling two continents and ponder gabbros, plate tectonics, the mid-Atlantic rift...I wouldn't want to do that on Icelandic Highway 425.<br /><br />We may need sub field trips ;-).Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-6973907663311294832014-01-30T10:51:15.557-07:002014-01-30T10:51:15.557-07:00So, I was intrigued by that Bridge Across Continen...So, I was intrigued by that Bridge Across Continents (also called the Leif the Lucky bridge, apparently, in honor of Leif Ericson) I linked to above, so a used a few spare minutes to find it on Google Maps. Big disappointment. It's a dinky little footbridge to nowhere, accessible by footpath from a small parking lot off the road that follows the perimeter of the island in that area, just south of Keflavik. Worse, the road itself crosses the mid-Atlantic ridge nearby, without any marking or fanfare. Looks totally missable. So, let's skip it on our field trip.<br /><br />On the other hand, it's not nearly as creepy as the Icelandic Phallological Museum, in Reykjavik....janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-55346456654762195672014-01-29T17:29:17.370-07:002014-01-29T17:29:17.370-07:00Ms. Frizzle surely would!
I picked up Godel, Esc...Ms. Frizzle surely would! <br /><br />I picked up <i>Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid</i> yesterday. I am always meeting great kids at the library. <br /><br />When I asked the ~ 8-year-old boy what his name was he said "Guess." When I started to guess, his mom piped in and said "Yes, we named him Guess, thinking it would be fun." Guess has been down this road a time or two. I'm not sure but he might go along with a Will Shortz puzzle where you remove an "ES" from a word to get a name you don't have to explain<i> every</i> time...<br /><br />But, that might just be a Guess.<br /><br />Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-45454972286014375882014-01-29T13:38:12.560-07:002014-01-29T13:38:12.560-07:00Your announcement of the field trip to Iceland, an...Your announcement of the field trip to Iceland, and legolambda's comments, put me in mind of the <i>Magic Schoolbus</i> series. But Ms. Frizzle would probably have taken the kids to the mid-Atlantic ridge on the seabed.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-11307829757830392022014-01-29T11:07:48.171-07:002014-01-29T11:07:48.171-07:00Fascinating about using a similar technique to det...Fascinating about using a similar technique to determine gout versus pseudo gout. And a lot less prep time!Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-39225290040793161152014-01-29T11:03:02.765-07:002014-01-29T11:03:02.765-07:00Jan, I was hoping you'd say that about digital...Jan, I was hoping you'd say that about digital calipers.<br /><br />As to digital Vernier calipers, of course you are correct...though that is how Amazon and others market them ($10 and change):<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/inch-Digital-Vernier-Caliper-Micrometer/product-reviews/B004IYNAEC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1<br /><br />It's quite similar to how geologists still use "crossed Nicols" even though they are not true Nicol filters now.<br /><br />Do other examples leap to mind?<br /><br />Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-85483078288782039802014-01-29T10:32:51.290-07:002014-01-29T10:32:51.290-07:00Not to be a nit-picker (which is what I've alw...Not to be a nit-picker (which is what I've always imagined Pierre Vernier to have been), but I'm not sure it's correct to refer to digital calipers as digital <i>Vernier</i> calipers (unless, of course, they've got an analog Vernier scale as well).janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-86508131506213839542014-01-29T10:01:24.298-07:002014-01-29T10:01:24.298-07:00The only digital calipers I've used is when I ...The only digital calipers I've used is when I spread my thumb and forefinger apart <i>that much</i> when eyeballing a lesion....janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-44977851071118912822014-01-29T09:40:50.305-07:002014-01-29T09:40:50.305-07:00Hmmmm, hoping your question is rhetorical, Jan. No...Hmmmm, hoping your question is rhetorical, Jan. No answers here. <br /><br />Oh, Lego, they have digital Vernier calipers now (of course). Have you used one, Jan?<br />Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-51780035893436588452014-01-29T09:27:16.318-07:002014-01-29T09:27:16.318-07:00Ok, Lego, I skipped a lot of steps:
http://geolog...Ok, Lego, I skipped a lot of steps:<br /><br />http://geology.wwu.edu/dept/faculty/hirschd/other/thinsections/<br /><br />The original chunk of rock is significantly thicker (Figure 37 in the link above). Then, through a series of different kinds of saws, grinders, and polishers the rock is cut, ground and polished to the 30 micrometers thickness. <br /><br />I posted the link so you can see what a process it is to get an evenly polished layer rock. And as the professor points out in the link, a lot of thin sections go wrong at the last few stages...It is definitely quite an art to make a good thin section.<br /><br />Glad you liked the new images!<br /><br />Umlauts for all,<br />StephWord Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-63474389842876719352014-01-29T08:21:29.257-07:002014-01-29T08:21:29.257-07:00Hmm.... Just checked a handy ream (500 sheets) of ...Hmm.... Just checked a handy ream (500 sheets) of copy paper. Came to 50 mm, or 50,000 micrometers, which makes each sheet 100 micrometers thick.<br /><br />I remember, in grad school, sticking micropipette electrodes into leech neurons that were about half that in diameter, just about at the limit of visibility without a microscope, which we used, of course, during the experiments. Doing the dissections, using hand-held tools, removing bits of connective tissue much smaller than that, I wondered what the selective pressure had been to evolve the ability to control movements smaller than the eye could see?janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-44523599804336621942014-01-29T06:56:42.575-07:002014-01-29T06:56:42.575-07:00SS,
Thanks for the answers (and, jan, thanks too f...SS,<br />Thanks for the answers (and, jan, thanks too for your always helpful comments and links).<br /><br />Steph, I wish I were a kindergartner in your class. Sounds like every week might be better than a visit to Willie Wonka’s! <br /><br />I had to look up “micrometer.” (It’s both a unit of measurement and an instrument of measurement!). My “research” reveals that 30 micrometers (microns) is roughly half the thickness of a sheet of copying paper or newsprint. Wouldn’t the diamond-hewn rock-slice be very brittle and difficult to work with and study?<br /><br />I suspect slide rules are now considered antiques, but do scientists still use Vernier Calipers (that’s what we called micrometers in physics class)? <br /> <br />jan’s mention of solo artists Bjork (add umlaut) and “the man in black,” Johnny (add umlaut) Cash got me to pondering band names. Bjork was in the Sugarcubes (Why do/did we call those “lumps” of sugar?) and Cash was backed by the Tennessee Three (almost acceptable in last week’s NPR puzzle!) and the Highwaymen. <br /><br />Like others I know who are far too easily amused, I am always on the lookout for good band group names, and two good ones appear in your and jan’s posts: “Here they are, live on stage, it’s Igneous Fudge!” (add umlaut) and “Let’s hear it for the latest new folk/punk sensation, Pseudogout!” (add two umlauts)<br /><br />SS,<br />The second link to Tom Phillips works. The images are reminiscent of Chartres Cathedral. Thanks.<br /><br />LegoutLumpa legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-44049547185739344362014-01-29T06:10:45.358-07:002014-01-29T06:10:45.358-07:00Hmmmm, try this link instead:
http://tomphillips...Hmmmm, try this link instead: <br /><br />http://tomphillipsrockart.blogspot.com/2012/03/nwa6386-diogenitethin-section-14.htmlWord Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-25849163963847964412014-01-29T06:01:13.011-07:002014-01-29T06:01:13.011-07:00Here are some additional spectacular thin sections...Here are some additional spectacular thin sections:<br /><br />http://tomphillipsrockat.blogspot.jp<br /><br />Be sure to check out the diogenite, a plutonic rock from a stony meteorite. <br />Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-46667905888722161832014-01-29T03:42:08.506-07:002014-01-29T03:42:08.506-07:00Let's see. Firstly, thanks for your thoughts a...Let's see. Firstly, thanks for your thoughts and questions, Lego and Jan. The wave of insomnia is sweeping west!<br /><br />Thin sections are indeed cut with a diamond saw to a thickness of about 30 micrometers. Thanks for the wikipedia link to igneous rocks, Jan; it is a good introduction. In general, slower cooling intrusive rocks have the bigger crystals and faster cooling extrusive rocks have the smaller or no crystals. Interesting you mention crock pots, Lego, as one of the kindergarteners' favorite projects is "Igneous Fudge," where we taste the difference between slow-cooled (granite) and fast-cooled rocks (obsidian). Half of the mixture cools in the crock pot and half on a bed of ice.<br /><br />Ah, yes, it is indeed Nicol filter, Jan. We always called them "crossed nicols." I will have to work on getting the names right, especially if I go to meet with Dr. (Mary) Temple Grandin! My second job out of college involved description of core samples in thin section and by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). <i>Those</i> are some pretty wild images. . .<br /><br />Enjoyed the bridge photo but did not see any camel spiders lurking. "Ring of Fire" or Bjork (with umlaut): that sums it up perfectly! Except that now a weird mixture of the two has now become an early-morning ear worm. . .<br /><br />Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-8271305431653357852014-01-29T01:17:55.531-07:002014-01-29T01:17:55.531-07:00Insomnia and Wikipedia do go so well together, don...Insomnia and Wikipedia do go so well together, don't they? Anyway, I look forward to you continuing to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_across_continents_iceland.jpg" rel="nofollow">bridge</a> writing and science, or gaps in our education, or mid-ocean ridges, or whatever. Should Johnny Cash's <i>Ring of Fire</i> be playing in the background, or would Björk be more appropriate?janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915875085991225575.post-31553323612592011592014-01-29T00:50:42.849-07:002014-01-29T00:50:42.849-07:00I'm familiar with polarized-light microscopy, ...I'm familiar with polarized-light microscopy, but "nichols filter" was new to me, too, so I did some digging. The term is actually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol_prism" rel="nofollow"> Nicol filter </a>, named for William Nicol, who used prism of calcite to produce a polarized beam from unpolarized light. Apparently, other polarizers, like Polaroid sheets, are used today, though the term remains in use.<br /><br />Polarized-light microscopy is used in many other field, including medicine, e.g., to determine whether fluid from an arthritic joint contains crystals of uric acid (gout) or calcium pyrophosphate (pseudogout).<br /><br />The Wikipedia article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rocks" rel="nofollow"> igneous rocks </a> does a nice job explaining the difference between fast-cooling/extrusive/fine-grained rocks and slow-cooling/intrusive/coarse-grained ones.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.com