The Trailblazing First Generation Computer the World ForgotAt the dawn of the computer age, Australians developed a 2.5 tonne behemoth named CSIRAC — now recognised as one of the grandfathers of modern computers. By Wilson da Silva IN NOVEMBER 1949, CSIRO scientists in Sydney independently created what is… May 01 23May 01, 2023Article at Medium
The Importance of Dangerous IdeasIt took courage to defy the certainties of life and his own faith: but Darwin did it because he knew he had found a greater truth. by Wilson da Silva IT’S ONE of the greatest stories in science: how an inquisitive 22 year-old sails around the world,… Oct 07 21October 07, 2021Article at Medium
Back From Extinction: The ‘Jurassic Pines’ They should have died out with the dinosaurs, but their seedlings are now being nurtured back from oblivion. IT HAS BEEN CALLED the botanical find of a century: a lonely stand of conifers, the last of their kind and thought to have been extinct for… Jul 18 21July 18, 2021Article at Vocal
Australian Computing’s Trailblazing, yet Forgotten, OriginsAt the dawn of the computer age, Australia was among the world leaders, with a 2.5 tonne behemoth named CSIRAC that broke new ground. By Wilson da Silva IN NOVEMBER 1949, CSIRO scientists in Sydney independently created what is now recognised as only… Apr 19 23April 19, 2023Article at CREATE Magazine
Louis Pasteur: Portrait Artist Turned Medical Giant A gifted artist, Pasteur had wanted to teach painting; instead, he proved microbes cause disease and showed the world how to stop them. LOUIS PASTEUR never really wanted to study science: in fact, he had long harboured the dream of being an artist.… Jul 13 21July 13, 2021Article at Vocal
Space Shuttle: Final Flight of a Legend What’s it really like to watch a space shuttle blast off? Even for someone who’s seen hours of footage, it’s literally breathtaking. IF HUMANITY HAS a beachhead to the stars, this is it: Cape Canaveral. This sandy promontory, jutting out into the… Jul 13 21July 13, 2021Article at Vocal
Holocaust Survivor, Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist ... and Playwright He survived a Nazi labour camp, stumbled into chemistry and won a Nobel Prize. Then Roald Hoffmann returned to his first love: literature. FOR A HANDFUL of the world’s best scientists — those suffering from nobelomania– October can be a tense… Jul 12 21July 12, 2021Article at Vocal
How Lasers and Wi-Fi Were Born – Thanks to Cosmology Truly revolutionary technologies come from the most unlikely places, like cosmology, which gave us lasers, GPS and even Wi-Fi. WHERE DO WE come from? How did we get here? They are questions which have been asked as long as there have been people.… Jul 08 21July 08, 2021Article at Vocal
‘Hello From Earth’: The Unlikely Story of an Interstellar Message This is the improbable story behind Australia’s first attempt to contact an extraterrestrial civilisation. By Wilson da Silva IMAGINE YOU could send a text message to an Earth-like planet far away, a planet that could well be home to an alien… Jul 01 21July 01, 2021Article at Vocal
Sudden Impact: The Day the Dinosaurs Perished On a clear day 66 million years ago, the sky abruptly caved in and 75% of all life became extinct. SIXTY-SIX MILLION years ago, in one cataclysmic flash, the Earth changed forever. Without warning, a mountain-sized rock pierced through the 480 km… Jun 25 21June 25, 2021Article at Vocal
Neil Armstrong and the Revival of Lost Horizons A decade ago, when the first man to walk the Moon called for a new age of space exploration, it was inspiring but fanciful. That’s no longer the case. WHAT DO YOU ask a man who walked on the Moon, and has never been able to live it down? All… Jun 09 21June 09, 2021Article at Medium
The Man Who Coloured the Cosmos Once, all deep space photography was black-and-white. But when a chemist developed a new technique, colour exploded from the heavens. FEW PEOPLE have a building named after them, much less an asteroid, a planet or a star. But a whole galaxy? Filled… Jun 08 21June 08, 2021Article at Vocal
Back From Extinction: Discovering the ‘Jurassic Pines’ They should have died out with the dinosaurs, but their seedlings are now being nurtured back from oblivion. IT HAS BEEN CALLED the botanical find of a century: a lonely stand of conifers, the last of their kind and thought to have been extinct for… May 25 21May 25, 2021Article at Medium
Radiance: The Brilliant Career of Marie Curie Marie Curie was an undisputed scientific giant, and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. But her research also eventually claimed her life. By Wilson da Silva IT WAS AN AILING François Mitterrand, in the final weeks of his last term as French… May 11 21May 11, 2021Article at Vocal
CSIRAC: World’s Last Surviving 1st Generation Computer For decades forgotten in a warehouse, one of the grandfathers of modern computers — and only the fifth to go live — has been restored. By Wilson da Silva THE WORLD WAS a different place in 1949: vinyl LP records had just been invented, the… Apr 27 21April 27, 2021Article at Vocal
How a Drunk Driver Led to the Birth of Russia's Sputnik 1 In the milieu of the Cold War, a roadside accident three generations ago led to Sputnik 1, and the beginning of a new era: the Space Age. By Wilson da Silva HAD IT NOT BEEN for a collision with a tree by a vodka-sodden driver on the outskirts of… Apr 15 21April 15, 2021Article at Vocal
How a Drunk Driver Led to the Birth of Russia’s Sputnik 1In the milieu of the Cold War, a roadside accident three generations ago led to Sputnik 1, and the beginning of a new era: the Space Age. By Wilson da SilvaHAD IT NOT BEEN for a collision with a tree by a vodka-sodden driver on the outskirts of… Oct 03 20October 03, 2020Article at Medium
The Man Who Inflated the UniverseWorking late one night, Alan Guth accidentally struck upon a solution to the birth of the cosmos. Until then, he’d had trouble holding down a job. By Wilson da Silva ALAN GUTH still finds it amazing that he can understand anything about the first few… Jun 09 20June 09, 2020Article at Medium
CSIRAC: Last Surviving Grandfather of ComputersFor decades forgotten in a warehouse, one of the grandfathers of modern computers — and only the fifth to go live — has been restored. By Wilson da SilvaTHE WORLD was a different place in 1949: vinyl LP records had just been invented, the now-iconic… Jun 07 20June 07, 2020Article at Medium
Why Japan Fears Not the RobotWesterners can find robots creepy, but the Japanese see them as endearing — thanks to a 600-year-old tradition. By Wilson da Silva WHY ARE WE so afraid of robots? It’s not just anxiety about the job-killing potential of creeping automation and the… Apr 21 20April 21, 2020Article at Medium
