Observational physics

 

I do little to promote my blog or website as each was created primarily for my own satisfaction. Occasionally, I mention an avian posting to a birding group, but that is about it. That others look at my material is of interest, but it is not paramount.

In the last four years, I have made 777 postings and most now receive anywhere from 50 to 150 viewings; viral is not a term that can be applied to anything I do (nor would I want it to be). So, I was curious to discover that a posting made four years ago had an ongoing and considerable viewership. What poignant combination of images and words could possibly have resulted in such continuing interest? As most of my postings are about the local natural world, might it be about a rare bird or possibly a cute bear? No. Such things pass out of viewer consciousness shortly after being posted.

Yet, the perpetually popular posting is about the natural world. Before revealing the identity of this oddity, I have to acknowledge that the ongoing favourite has not had the substantial viewer numbers as have my three hits: the desecration of a pictograph (2,920 viewings), a train wreck (2,831), and the sighting of an ogopogo (1,600). Three things characterize these postings: They are not as much about the natural world as they are about human foibles; Interest in them dies to virtually nothing within a week or so; Viewers are predominately local (western Canada).

By way of contrast, the ongoing favourite, with nearly a thousand viewings so far, has different characteristics: It is about the natural world, rather than about people; Interest has percolated along at quite a few viewers per month since the beginning; Viewers come from forty different countries and every populated continent. Links to this posting come from Wikipedia in three different languages, discussion groups, question-and-answer sites, and from searches seeking an explanation for precisely the question I attempted to address. 

It is a posting that uses physics in an attempt to explain lake-surface patterns seen during rain

Go figure.

The posting attempted to explain patterns such as seen in this picture.

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2 Responses to Observational physics

  1. John Hart says:

    This is exactly how I found your site in the first place! While on vacation this summer at Lake George NY, I was watching the surface of the bay where we stay during a rain shower and wondering the same thing. An internet search on the topic brought me to you and then to try and download an App for my phone to do time lapse photography. Unfortunately, the rain passed and did not return for the remainder of our vacation! I will have to wait for some free time and a rain squall to test it out further.

  2. John Hart says:

    I should add that I’ve been enjoying your site immensely ever since!

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