Paid Archives
This page will be periodically updated with a list of paid subscriber exclusive articles.
Over time I am planning to move towards a more structured set of articles for paid subscribers, including additional resources for learning about physics.
Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me and helps me to keep writing. If there any questions you’d like me to take a look at, or any topics you’d like me to cover, then don’t hesitate to comment or email me and I’ll see what I can do!
The Atom and The Void
The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely thought to exist.
Seizing The Light: The First Photographs Of The Heavens
In 1839, Louis Daguerre took the first photograph of the Moon.
The Moth and The Aurora: The Work of Étienne Léopold Trouvelot
In the 1860s, the American Civil War cut off the supply of cotton to the textile mills of New England. The solution, Étienne Léopold Trouvelot thought, might be found in moths. With the right kind he could produce silk, and with this he could alleviate the shortage.
The World According to Aristotle
As nature therefore makes nothing either imperfect or in vain, it necessarily follows that she has made all these things for men
How Many Alien Civilizations Exist In Our Galaxy?
The Drake Equation goes something like this. First, you work out how often new stars are born. Then you estimate how many of them have habitable planets, ask how many evolve life, guess a few more parameters, and eventually arrive at the number of advanced civilizations that must exist in our galaxy.
On Progress and Revolution in Physics
Speaking generally, we might say science progresses in two distinct ways.
Was There Life on Mars?
A year ago, the Perseverance Rover discovered a rock on the surface of Mars. That happens a lot, of course, but this rock was special. For one thing, it lay amidst a region we think was once a riverbed and through which water slowly moved. The rock showed clear signs of this – it was streaked with a substance called calcium sulphate, a mineral often deposited by slow-moving river water.
What Dark Energy Means For The End of Time
Long ago, long before humankind had dreamed of science, of forces and atoms, of dark matters and dark energies filling the void, our deep ancestors looked up at the splendor of the night and wondered. How, some child must have asked, did it all begin? And then, after some thought: how will it all end?
How Dust on the Ocean Floor Hints at a Recent Near-Earth Supernova
However big you imagine a supernova to be, the reality is certainly bigger. To put it one way, an exploding star can briefly outshine the combined light of every other star in a galaxy; to put it another, a supernova at the distance of Pluto would hit you with more energy than a hydrogen bomb exploding just outside your front door.
Things Are Bigger Than We Imagine: On The Hidden Threads of Creation
There was a time, long ago, when we were conceited enough to believe the Earth and humanity lay at the centre of creation. Kings and emperors proclaimed themselves the rulers of the universe, and thought they alone somehow held sway over the stars and planets.
How the Einstein Ring Could Help Us Build the Greatest Telescope of All Time
Like almost all good discoveries, this one was made by accident. In September of 2023, two months after Euclid set off on its six-year-long mission to explore the cosmos, the telescope sent back a set of images. They were, quite bluntly, nothing special to look at. Indeed, Euclid’s engineers were not yet interested in pretty pictures of the stars and galaxies, but were instead taking calibrations and checking for ice on the observatory’s instruments.
How Gaia Mapped The Milky Way
In 1138, the Ceutan geographer al-Idrisi set out to map the world. This was no easy task. Few maps of any practical kind then existed, and those that did depicted more dragons and demons than coastlines and cities. Only seafarers had charts of any accuracy, but even these were fragmented and limited in scope.
Why Not Venus?
When most people talk about sending people beyond Earth, they have one of two destinations in mind. The first is the Moon, which is lovely and all, but really a very boring place. The other is Mars, which is just about close enough for a crew to reach, rocky enough for them to land on, and with a great deal of effort might be habitable enough for them to survive on.
The Solar Probe: Time to Go Deeper Into the Sun Than Ever Before
This is an article for paid subscribers. Thank you for your support this year! I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and a wonderful start to 2025.
Black Holes, Colliding Galaxies and a Mysterious Ring
This is a bonus article for paying subscribers. Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me and helps me to keep writing. I’m planning to offer more bonus content for you over the coming months and I already have a couple of articles in draft form. If there any questions you’d like me to take a look at, or any topics you’d like me to cover, then don’t hesitate to comment or email me and I’ll see what I can do!