“To Reorder Please Call DEAD BATTERIES”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice…
Dead Batteries
Month: March 2026
Astronomy in the Library
Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1970’s. Presumably a good chunk of it holds up? Chances are there are some spectacular discoveries (like our modern value of the Hubble constant) that would need a little updating. Maybe it’s also safe to assume that Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium has a few details now out of sync with our modern understanding?
By “our modern understanding,” we mean the field of experts, not the guys in the basement. We know stuff, sure. Some stuff.
Incidentally, Astronomy from a Space Platform is also from the ’70s. The proceedings from an AAAS symposium in Philadelphia in December 1970, it opens with an article titled “Energy Production from Nuclear Fusion,” highlighting the (then) current state of research on the subject.
Guess they didn’t yet realize what they were up against, but, hey, who doesn’t appreciate a little optimism now and then?
“Well Made”
Discovered inside an old wooden desk, burnt into the solid-wood drawer. No complaints about the quality of construction, to be honest. But how long has it been since furniture makers burnt in their brand with red-hot iron?
Coil
Large and heavy coils of enamel-clad copper wire, which allow for tight, dense windings, are useful for demonstrating induced currents caused by a changing magnetic field. Students can spin magnets on a rubber band to produce enough electrical energy to light an LED. Not much, sure, but it’s still borderline magical.
Note that these hold up for a long time. Acquired in April of 1966 – just shy of six decades ago – and it’s still in regular use.
That $115.00 price marked on there? $1,171.89 in today’s dollars. Do you think we’ve recouped our investment?
Bearings
Well there’s your problem. When the bearings have that much accumulated crud inside, they don’t work as well as they should. Or at all.