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Niels
Niels

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May 4, 2021

A journey to the center of the Earth in 1267.34 seconds

Let’s say you managed to dig to the center of the Earth, took some photos for Instagram, then decided you might as well continue, having come this far, and dug to the other side as well. …

3 min read

A journey to the center of the Earth in 1267.34 seconds
A journey to the center of the Earth in 1267.34 seconds

3 min read


May 4, 2021

Wonky results when digging to the center of the Earth

While working on an entirely different topic (rhymes with ‘fissile’), I got to wondering — how does the Earth’s gravity vary with depth? Let’s start by examining what causes gravity. We have Newton’s law for gravitation: We can use this to calculate the acceleration towards the center of the Earth…

Gravity

3 min read

Wonky results when digging to the center of the Earth
Wonky results when digging to the center of the Earth
Gravity

3 min read


Mar 3, 2021

Why is ice slippery?

This question became of acute importance to me a few weeks ago, after some bicycle-related lithobraking. The answer turns out to be fascinating. Water is quite an odd substance. In terms of phases, we have three phases we’re familiar with: gas, liquid and solid. …

Ice

4 min read

Why is ice slippery?
Why is ice slippery?
Ice

4 min read


Feb 12, 2021

Staying warm while cycling

With the current cold weather, I got curious — how should you stay warm while cycling? Clearly, cycling faster requires more energy, heating you up. On the other hand, it also increases heat losses: the air flows around you faster, cooling you down. How does this scale? …

Heat Transfer

3 min read

Heat Transfer

3 min read


Feb 2, 2021

David Hume and the Is/Ought problem

David Hume was a 18th century empiricist Scottish philosopher. One of his early works was A Treatise of Human Nature, published in 1739. This was not received well by critics. In his memoirs, My own life, published in 1776, just a few months before his death, he mentions: Never literary…

David Hume

4 min read

David Hume and the Is/Ought problem
David Hume and the Is/Ought problem
David Hume

4 min read


Jan 31, 2021

Parallels between Sassoon’s Counter-Attack and The Charge of the Light Brigade

A while back, I was reading a poem called Counter-Attack, by Siegfried Sassoon — a First World War poet. The poems from that period tend to be gruesome, unpleasant, evoking the mud, stench and death of trench warfare. An excellent example of such poems is Dulce et Decorum Est, by…

Siegfried Sassoon

3 min read

Siegfried Sassoon

3 min read


Jan 30, 2021

A simple climate model — part 1

I have been working on neutron Monte Carlo simulations for quite some time, in order to simulate various aspects of nuclear systems. Recently, I realized I can use the exact same approach to model radiative transfer of heat as well. The overall approach should be surprisingly simple! We will start…

Monte Carlo

7 min read

A simple climate model — part 1
A simple climate model — part 1
Monte Carlo

7 min read


Jan 28, 2021

Determinism, free will and moral responsibility

This is an excerpt of a larger set of comments on determinism and compatibilism, and serves as a short introduction to the concepts. Determinism is a philosophical concept stating that, given full information about a paste state, the future is fully determined. That would appear to imply a lack of…

Philosophy

3 min read

Philosophy

3 min read

Niels

Niels

2 Followers

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