Articles written by David Shane - Page 2

Where Knowledge Rules

What is Helium

About me - David Shane

I'm a physics graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. To make a living I use nuclear magnetic resonance to study potential hydrogen storage materials. The articles I write on Helium tend to fall into 1 of 4 categories.

1. Physics articles:

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Computers & Technology > Computers & Technology (Other) About portable eBook readers: 1 of 4
An eBook reader is, quite simply, an electronic device used for reading books that exist only digitally. These eBooks are usually either downloaded directly onto the reader wirelessly, or downloaded first to a computer and then transferred to the reader via a cable. While there are many different readers on the market, they ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory What's so bad about socialism: 5 of 18
What is socialism? To determine just what might be wrong with it, we first must determine what it is. In contemporary parlance, the word can mean anything from safety nets like Social Security, to wealth redistribution projects like progressive taxation, to full government control of the means of production. Some of these "s... More..
Health & Fitness > Diet (Other) Emergency food supplies: What you need: 5 of 18
None of us really knows our future, so it makes sense to be prepared, including having an emergency food supply at home. The disasters that could have us tapping into our food storage range from a sudden job loss that has us struggling to pay for groceries to something like an EMP attack that destroys critical electronic inf... More..
Education > Colleges & Universities (Other) Is professor bias a problem in our public colleges and universities?: 7 of 24
Is professor bias a problem is our universities? The answer is a definite yes, but how much that problem affects you depends on your field of study. Every professor you meet will have some philosophy of life guiding them, some sort of religion, some sort of political persuasion. But will it affect their teaching? Sometimes, ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Politics (Other) Has the voter become irrelevant in US politics: 10 of 31
Shall we take a look at a couple U.S. House Congressional districts? Here is the barely contiguous second Congressional district of Arizona. Here is the fourth Congressional district of Illinois, looking like a "U" on its side with serifs. Does it make sense to draw such convoluted districts today, or do you think is it bein... More..
Personal Finance > Banking Basics Saving with certificate of deposit accounts: 3 of 9
A certificate of deposit (CD) is a common fixed-term, fixed-return investment product. 1. How a CD works A CD is an interest paying deposit account similar to a savings account, and can be purchased at most banks, as well as through many brokerage firms. Unlike a savings account, CDs have a fixed term, commonly ranging from ... More..
Personal Finance > Investing Basics Best funds for inflation protection: 2 of 4
With stimulus-mania in Congress, and the looming inevitability of trillion dollar federal deficits, the U.S. dollar is almost certain to experience large inflation. If you have cash savings you want to protect from devaluation, there are several strategies you could take. Here are a few mutual and exchange traded funds you m... More..
Sciences > Physics How MRI works: 2 of 4
You probably learned at some point that everything, all of matter, is composed of atoms. These atoms, in turn, are composed of electrons orbiting a central nucleus. The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons, and how many protons the nucleus has determines what we call the atom - hydrogen or oxygen or carbon, and so on.... More..
Personal Finance > Investing (Other) Investing in electric utilities: 2 of 4
With the high price of gasoline, looking for a replacement transportation fuel is back in the thoughts of many, and one of the oldest solutions may be making a comeback: the electric car. GM, for example, plans to introduce the Chevy Volt in 2010 (1), and several other vehicle manufacturers have plans as well (2). There are ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics, News & Issues (Other) Answering objections to the deployment of the US missile defense system: 1 of 2
The preamble to the Constitution of the United States lists as one of the goals of the document the establishment of a government to "provide for the common defence." Today, we live in a world where the enemies of America have, or are developing, short and long range ballistic missiles that can harm the US homeland, as well ... More..