Gravitational Attraction
What would happen if two people out in space a few meters apart, abandoned by their spacecraft, decided to wait until gravity pulled them together? My initial thought was that …
What is Science?
Today I gave a presentation on the general topic of "What is Science?" After some brief remarks about what science isn't and some of the factors (such as attitude) which reflects the best of science, I had the audience of around 16 students perform tests on automatic flushing toilets. The exercise, which I published before, is a great way of getting at all of the concepts of experimental verification without any specialize equipment or preparation - the perfect platform for an informal talk or class.
I then tried to show some things that we are confident work (and why) and things that we are confident don't work (and why) and finally some things where the picture is a bit fuzzier. I'd prefer to have at least one more example of something non-trivial that we are confident works, for which the data is accessible. I use vaccines as an example, given its rising popularity and relevance in the news, but I'd love to have another.
