Category Archives: Physics

Spaced

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Pete Rowley

Today is the day that Expedition 35 return from the International Space Station. Later tonight they will climb into the docked Soyuz capsule, and perform a re-entry back to Earth, bringing to an end a truly phenomenal period of public … Continue reading →

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Speedbumps

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Pete Rowley

I apologise for things being a bit quiet around here recently – I can only blame my shonky time planning in failing to fit new posts in. I’ve actually started penning 3 or 4 over the last couple of months, then something … Continue reading →

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Meteor madness 2 – look at the size of that thing

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Pete Rowley

So yesterday was all abuzz with cool videos of the Chelyabinsk meteor, and a whole bunch of questions.  How big was it? Did any of it hit the ground? Did it explode or not? How fast was it going? Today … Continue reading →

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The experimentalist

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Pete Rowley

I got asked a question the other day, and it got me thinking. The question was ‘what makes a good scientist?’ The more I thought about it, the more I realised that while there are a number of key traits … Continue reading →

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Scaling new horizons

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Pete Rowley

It’s fair to say that when most people ask what I do, I simply reply “volcanologist”, “sedimentologist”, or “geologist”, depending on the audience. On the infrequent occasions they ask further what I do, it usually gets summed up as “I see how … Continue reading →

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Fault Dynamics 101

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Pete Rowley

This is a post I’ve been putting off writing for a while, as I find it a very tricky subject to cover without a hands-on practical.  However, a question which has been asked of me a few times (and particularly … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Education, Geology, Geophysics, Physics, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Loose cable

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Pete Rowley

For months now there has been a rather over-excited public belief that a bunch of scientists in Italy received some neutrons from CERN a bit sooner than they should have. The OPERA experimental results reported late last year – i.e. … Continue reading →

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The pyroclastic flows of Mount Doom

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Pete Rowley

I thought I might take the opportunity to write a few posts about my first love – pyroclastic density currents (PDCs).  These are basically particle-laden flows, rich in ash and pumice, which form from explosive eruption columns or the collapse … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Geology, Physics, Science, Sedimentology, Travel, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Shameless plug – European Geosciences Union session

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Pete Rowley

Calling all sedimentologists, physical volcanologists, and flow modellers. Myself, Guilhem Douillet, Gert Lube, and Rich Brown are chairing a session at the EGU conference in Vienna next April, titled “Sedimentation and stratigraphy from pyroclastic gravity-driven flows” Our hope is to … Continue reading →

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Expanding your horizons – quack geology

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Pete Rowley

I was pointed at this today. It’s a video describing how closed minded scientists are ignoring the truth; a “conspiracy of silence”. The “simple truth is too upsetting to too many applecarts”.  That’s right ladies and gentlemen, plate tectonics is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Geology, Geophysics, Media & Perception, Not even wrong, Physics, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments