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Everyday Science: Making Light in Electronics
By DXS Physics Editor Matthew Francis

A while back, I wrote about one of the most common ways of making electric light: fluorescent bulbs. Understanding fluorescent lights requires quantum mechanics! While a lot of quantum physics seems pretty removed from our daily lives, it's essential to most of our modern technology. In fact, reading what I'm writing requires quantum mechanics, since you are using a computer (maybe a handheld computer like an iPad or smart phone, but it's still a computer) or a printout from a computer.
Modern electronics, including computers and phones, depend on semiconductors. Conductors (like the copper wire in power cords) let electricity flow easily, but semiconductors conduct electricity more reluctantly—but that very reluctance lets us control the flow. While they can't sustain large currents like conductors can, we can tinker with the chemistry of semiconductors to make them conduct electricity in very precise ways. One of those ways lets semiconductor devices make light: those are known as light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. Read more ...
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Everyday Science: Why is the sky pink?
By DXS Physics Editor Matthew Francis

On Earth, the sky is blue during daytime, turning red at as the sun sinks toward night.
Scattering light
Well, it's not quite as simple as that: if you ignore your dear sainted mother's warning and look at the Sun, you'll see that the sky immediately around the Sun is white, and the sky right at the horizon (if you live in a place where you can get an unobstructed view) is much paler. In between the Sun and the horizon, the sky gradually changes hue, as well as varying through the day. That's a good clue to help us answer the question every child has asked: why is the sky blue? Or as a Martian child might ask: why is the sky pink?Read more ...
__________________________________________________________________________ Everyday Science: Why can you hear around corners, but not see?
By DXS Physics Editor Matthew Francis
As I sit and type this in my study, I can hear my cats crashing around the living room, which is around the corner from me. There's a wall between us, so I can't see them or shoot them with my water pistol (which I would be tempted to do if they were in the same room, before they knock over something fragile). So, just like in my earlier post on mirrors, we'll start with a question: why can I hear my cats around the corner, but not see them?
Read more...
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Everyday Science: Mirror, mirror on the wall, mirrors don't switch hands at all
By DXS Physics Editor Matthew Francis
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nice
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