Mai huzban can haz blog!

Allan has been working on a series of novels, one complete, two more highly developed. He's decided to blog about his experiences, discoveries, mistakes, influences, and so on. He's got a great sense of humor, which makes the blog readable (not like my LOLspeak title).
Allan's Blog

Well, science...

ScienceBlogs didn't stay down long, but I do intend to write some science+art posts.

Shall we start with light? After all, most crafts, scultures, drawings and paintings are enjoyed primarily visually. Tactile qualities may be of interest, too, but sighted people examine most things with their eyes.
Light is photons, vibrating at certain frequencies known as the visible spectrum. Light can also vibrate at lower frequencies (infrared, microwave) and higher frequencies (ultraviolet). These photons are released when electrons, small particles in orbit around the nucleus of an atom go from a high energy state to a lower energy state. The energy the electron had gained to be in that state has to go somewhere, and it does so in the form of the photon. The bigger the difference between the high, or excited, electron orbit, and its lower energy orbit, the higher frequency of the photon wave.
When we think of light as coming from fire, electricity, or the sun, we are looking at ways the electrons are raised to high enough energy levels that their jumps back release photons.
Then those photos reach objects. Most objects reflect light. Even matte-finishes on beads, acrylic painting, paper collage, etc. meant to reduce shine don't stop reflection. If no light is reflected, a item would seem either completely transparent or completely black. Color comes from an item reflecting light of a certain frequency, while absorbing other light. White objects reflect light across the visible spectrum. The difficulty in mixing colors comes partly from this. After all, the colors you look at are really reflected light, and if the frequencies reflecting off a blend of pigments isn't right, you get dark and muddy colors.

Solidarity!

One of my favorite bloggers over on ScienceBlogs is on strike; half the bloggers there are either on strike or have left because management has been jerking them around too long. They are supposed to get paid, and the checks haven't been coming. They might blog anyway, as these are dedicated communicators, but they also can't get tech support, management doesn't respond to their questions and concerns, and the final straw hit the camels' backs when Science Blogs sold a blog space to a large corporation, so that Pepsi could put their spin on nutritional science.

Anyhow, I've been thinking for a while about doing some posts on how science and crafting and art intersect. Things like why do colors fade in sunlight, what goes into a gemstone, how do fibers connect to each other, etc. But I'm in the middle of a research paper right at the moment, so I can't go into specialized topics like this. What I can do is link you to some interesting science stuff at least once a day. If you like science, you'll have something to read without the ScienceBlogs organization.

I'll start you off with an article on nuclear fusion. How does it relate to crafts? Well, if it can be developed to the point of being a major energy source, it could mean an era of more abundant, less polluting energy, and that means you can put together better lighting and tools for your studio. Also, the price of manufacturing and shipping would be far less vulnerable to fluctuating fuel prices, so you will probably not have to worry about price spikes for your supplies. Consumers would likely end up with more money to spend on fun things once their electricity bills go down. On the other hand, it's likely to be decades away, so don't gt your hopes too high.

July sale: Life's a Beach

Thanks, Mom, for helping me with the theme.

20% off anything to do with oceans, water, sand and sun. Please don't forget to contact me for the markdown before you make your purchase.