Day 29:
Alright, I have to confess something. This might come as a shock to some of you, others maybe not so much, but I have a problem. No, it's not my unabashed love of chocolate chip cookies. I don't really see that as a problem by the way. It's something a little more, let's just say, unbecoming. And the only reason I'm bringing it up is because it made up quite a large portion of my day today. On occasion I've been known to cuss like a sailer. Usually this only happens when I'm having a particularly bad skate session. But I've noted that it also happens when I am driving through these cities: San Fransisco, Chicago, Detroit, and Boston. Seattle and Cleveland have been very good to me, and although New York City, was absolutely ridiculous, strangely, on my trip there earlier this year I remember enjoying that adventure more than cursing it. I don't plan to re-tempt the NYC gods in that regard. I must have had a really good chocolate chip cookie that day.
Alright, I made the voyage down from Portland, Maine, today into Boston. And honestly, the city wasn't that bad until I missed my parking garage turn into the Museum of Science. Ok, I thought, I'll just go around the block and circle back around... Half the city and forty five minutes later I made the last hour that the museum was open, which was, oh, so hard for me. There was so, so much to see, to fiddle with and to do, but so little time. I must have looked like an over excited child rushing from one spinning thing to the next.
Out of it all though there was one thing that gave me great pause. Oh, and it was marvelous. In the Take a Closer Look section there was a cloud chamber. This small, flat square, sealed box allowed you to see the paths of subatomic particles whizzing by in every direction. And not only that, but their were certain distinctive traits to each cloud disruption that made it so you could tell what sort of particle it was. My jaw dropped when it dawned on me that what the cloud chamber was allowing me to see were actual, physical things, zooming all around us in every direction, nearly permanently undetectable by any means whatsoever. When a disruption whipped the clouds in a line going away from where I was standing that meant that that particle had literally just passed through my body and into the chamber effortlessly and without any notice by me or anyone else, but because of the very specifically tuned and pressurized cloud chamber it's secrecy became known, even if but for a moment.
You could say that a light went on in my head, but that expression really doesn't do this justice. What happened in my mind when I saw this simple little thing filled me with pure joy and it has forever enlighten me. It has demystified the strange and perplexing world of subatomic particles. Reading about them and watching documentaries about them, although, fascinating have always seemed to deepen the mystery, but this basic museum artifact in its simple grandeur has made them real. And even now my understanding of the subatomic world is expanding as new pathways are being connected by new and exhilarating thoughts.
The only other thing I wish I could have seen was the Van de Graaf generator operating. You know, the giant machine that produces electricity that shoots out in all directions! There were smaller version which were really cool. But the big one. The big one would have been freakin awesome to see! It's ok, I have six months to go back for free with my same ticket. At least that's what I thought they said I could do.
Well, I'm am too tired right now. That has been the highlights. Thank you and Goodnight.