The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

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Sand battery takes over heating duties for Finnish city.

9 September 2025 grant 0

News Atlas reports on an industrial-scale sand battery that is replacing a woodchip-fired power plant in Pornainen, Finland, with clean heat and energy:

It’s set to reduce carbon

… Read the rest “Sand battery takes over heating duties for Finnish city.”
Scientific illustration of a rocket launching in the 1950s, metal scaffolding and exhaust clouds, a white tower rising skyward, gleaming in black and white.

Science Art: First missile launched at Cape Canaveral, July 24, 1950.

4 August 2025 grant 0

A photo from the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s collection of Images from NASA/Cape Canaveral.

Here are a couple of quotes from a recent Florida Today story describing the launch:… Read the rest “Science Art: First missile launched at Cape Canaveral, July 24, 1950.”

SONG: Something’s Knocking on the Door

24 July 2025 grant 0

SONG: “Something’s Knocking on the Door”. (OGG version here.)

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Based on “China’s Bold Plan Unveiled: A Deep-Sea Space Station 6560 Feet… Read the rest “SONG: Something’s Knocking on the Door”

Scientific illustration of a medieval submarine, the "Rotterdam Ship," designed to ram battleships underwater in the Age of Sail.

Science Art: The “Rotterdam Ship” was one of the earliest submarines…, 1934

14 July 2025 grant 0

This image is actually much older than 1934; it’s just that that is when William Beebe published it (courtesy of the New York Public Library) in his book Half Mile Down, which is both… Read the rest “Science Art: The “Rotterdam Ship” was one of the earliest submarines…, 1934”

Scientific illustration of machines for moving water. Ducts, pumps, pistons, turbines.

Science Art: Turbines and Pumps, Manchester, 1882.

26 May 2025 grant 0

This is a waterwork as the Industrial Revolution hit full swing.

It’s the final image in a book I’ve used here before, A practical treatise on hydraulic and water-supply engineering:… Read the rest “Science Art: Turbines and Pumps, Manchester, 1882.”

SONG: Titanium Heart

24 April 2025 grant 0

SONG: “Titanium Heart”. (OGG version here.)

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Based on “Man survives with titanium heart for 100 days — a world first,” Nature, 13 March… Read the rest “SONG: Titanium Heart”

scientific illustration of the propeller, gears, and supporting rod of a device meant to measure the flow of water (or any other fluid).

Science Art: Woltmann’s Tachometer, 1882

21 April 2025 grant 0

Oh, hydrology.

This is a device to measure the speed of water flow, as described in A practical treatise on hydraulic and water-supply engineering: relating to the hydrology, hydrodynamics,… Read the rest “Science Art: Woltmann’s Tachometer, 1882”

SONG: They Can Make It Rain Bombs (a penitential Camper Van Chadbourne cover)

24 January 2025 grant 0

SONG: “They Can Make It Rain Bombs” . (OGG version here.)

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: This isn’t based on any recent research. It’s a penitential cover for being late… Read the rest “SONG: They Can Make It Rain Bombs (a penitential Camper Van Chadbourne cover)”

Scientific illustration, or photograph, really, of the green-and-black geometry of a WWII fighter plane cockpit, with an angled canopy above and a steering yoke in center of a small array of dials and indicators.

Science Art: Cockpit view of the Macchi MC.200 Saetta, 2009

18 November 2024 grant 0

This image came from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force with the less-easy-to-understand name (or “designation”) “210921-F-AU145-2009.” But it’s… Read the rest “Science Art: Cockpit view of the Macchi MC.200 Saetta, 2009”

Using rocket science to make “carbon-negative” energy.

2 November 2024 grant 0

Heatmap reports on some SpaceX alums — that is, former employees of the space corporation — who gave up on astronauting in favor of making some things work better down here/ … Read the rest “Using rocket science to make “carbon-negative” energy.”

scientific illustration of a series of hooks for lifting things.

Science Art: Hooks, Swivels, &c.

28 October 2024 grant 0

Need a lift? These are hooks designed for lifting … well, whatever you need picked up.

I found them in (deep breath): The engineer’s sketch-book of mechanical movements, devices,… Read the rest “Science Art: Hooks, Swivels, &c. ”

Scientific illustration of factories spreading smoke and soot into the air 100 years ago, with a warning from the early 20th century about carbon dioxide levels having climate effects.

Science Art: The Furnaces of the World…., 1912

23 June 2024 grant 0

This is a Popular Mechanics illustration from 102 years ago that sounds like it could have been written today. Warnings about industrial pollution increasing air temperature are nothing… Read the rest “Science Art: The Furnaces of the World…., 1912”

Scientific illustration of an early industrial machine used to detach cotton. Wheels, gears, and circular casings, all precisely fitting together.

Science Art: Detaching Roll Mechanism, 1912.

16 June 2024 grant 0

This is a device from Cotton Card-Room Machinery, a catalog published by Whitlin Machine Works.

I can’t say much about how it works because I’ve never been in a cotton card-room.… Read the rest “Science Art: Detaching Roll Mechanism, 1912.”

Scientific illustrations of rows of radio telescopes

Science Art: MeerKAT telescopes, 2018

29 April 2024 grant 0

They do look a little like meerkats, these big African satellite dishes. This is a photo from the Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory… Read the rest “Science Art: MeerKAT telescopes, 2018”

Scientific illustration of Victorian plumbing, a check valve from a 19th century guide to hydraulic fixtures by J.T. Fanning.

Science Art: Check Valve, 1882.

12 February 2024 grant 0

A valve to prevent backflow… so the river doesn’t wind up in the reservoir, or the effluent in the shower pipes.

From A practical treatise on hydraulic and water-supply engineering:… Read the rest “Science Art: Check Valve, 1882.”

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Honorary Troubadours
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  • Laura Veirs, who knows her way around a polysyllable.
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  • Dr. Jim Webb, astronomy professor and acoustic guitarist.
  • Artichoke, the band behind 26 Scientists, Vols. I and II.
  • They Might Be Giants, unrelenting proponents of scientific popular song.
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  • Giant Squid, doom metal about the sublime horrors of marine biology.
  • Gethan Dick,6 scientists, 6 musicians, 1 great album
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— Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, 1851
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