Manil Suri explains why numbers go on forever and gives a brief history of how humans invented and used numbers, for curious kids of all ages. Continue Reading From thousands to millions to billions to trillions to quadrillions and beyond: Do numbers ever end?
The use of Indian popular cinema for political ends has a long history – one that predates Indian independence. UMBC art historian, Preminda Jacobs, writes about how the connection between cinema and politics has made it the primary vehicle for the lengthy careers of numerous charismatic politicians. Continue Reading Bollywood is playing a large supporting role in India’s elections
By Adi Foord, Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UMBC Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. If the James Webb telescope was 10 times more powerful, could we see the beginning of time? – Sam H., age 12, Prosper, Texas The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on Dec. 25,… Continue Reading Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains
Richard Forno, principal lecturer in computer science and electrical engineering at UMBC explains the Chinese state-sponsored hacker group Volt Typhoon. Continue Reading What is Volt Typhoon? A cybersecurity expert explains the Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure
UMBC’s Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems, explains the Anthropocene and the vote of the Subcommission on Quarterly Stratigraphy rejected that proposal to mark the Anthropocene as an epoch, with 12 of 18 members voting no. These are the scientists most expert at reconstructing Earth’s history from the evidence in rocks. They determined that adding an Anthropocene Epoch – and terminating the Holocene Epoch – was not supported by the standards used to define epochs. Continue Reading The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underway
Brian Van Wyck, assistant professor of history at UMBC, explains the origins of the history of migration between Turkey and Germany and the goals both governments pursued by bringing Turkish imams to work in German mosques. Continue Reading Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters
Adi Foord explains how wormholes, relativity, telescopes, and more play into the potential for time travel in this Curious Kids piece. Continue Reading Is time travel even possible? An astrophysicist explains the science behind the science fiction
Ivan Erill and colleagues discovered a new kind of relationship between viruses, where a satellite virus that needs its “helper” virus to replicate attaches to the helper’s neck to make sure they enter the host cell at the same time. Continue Reading Vampire viruses prey on other viruses to replicate themselves − and may hold the key to new antiviral therapies
In this interview, Manil Suri discusses his unique perspective on mathematics and his goals in writing his latest book. “There’s just so much joy to be had out of mathematics,” Suri says. “So this book is written for people who want to really engage with mathematics on the level of ideas rather than get into computations and calculations.” Continue Reading ‘Big Bang of Numbers’ – The Conversation’s book club explores with author Manil Suri how math alone could create the universe
Patricia Young, professor of education, discusses the merits and downfalls of AI in the classroom along with other scholars. Continue Reading Should AI be permitted in college classrooms? 4 scholars weigh in
Curly-haired chemist Tara Carpenter explains how your hair’s structure affects its sometimes unpredictable and undesirable behavior on hot and humid summer days. Continue Reading Why does your hair curl in the summer? A chemist explains the science behind hair structure
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Special Collections we’ve recently completed a major digitization and rehousing project of our collection of over 5,400 photographs made by Lewis Wickes Hine in the early 20th century. Continue Reading The US has a child labor problem – recalling an embarrassing past that Americans may think they’ve left behind
