SAM MORRELL

Astrophysics
Environmental Intelligence
Computer Science

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Building the Light Pollution Matrix

February 9, 2024

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of recording an episode of a Restoring Darkness podcast with Michael Colligan and Mark Baker. The topics of our conversation ranged from light pollution activism, the role of the lighting industry in solving light pollution, and how we at the Environment and Sustainability Institute and Departments of Physics...

Dealing with Blank Lines Comments in Fortran READs

September 4, 2017

Just a quick little programming snippet today. When preparing data files, it’s often useful to include headers and comments in them, especially in the more complicated ones. Most data applications that you might be loading data into, such as maybe Python or MATLAB, have plenty of ability to filter out those comments, but what if...

My Plans for the Apple Watch

August 24, 2017

I have traditionally been a fan of Apple stuff, but lately I’ve found myself becoming less and less enamoured with their current offerings. Whether it be the lacklustre MacBook Pro, with zero USB-A connectors and complete lack of an SD card slot, or the omission of a 3.5mm audio jack on the latest iPhones, they...

What I’ve Been Listening To – January 2016

February 1, 2016

And so, like a flash, the first month of 2016 has come and gone. The weather is really beginning to ramp up now and hit the UK with its full, highly dynamic glory. Thanks to this abysmal serving of rain, clouds and somewhat lacklustre cold snaps, I’ve had plenty of time sat at my computer...

My Top Tips for Preparing for a Physics Degree

August 10, 2015

You’ve just finished your A-levels, you say? Well done, I think you’ve earned a break so go on and enjoy it. However, I wouldn’t mind guessing that at some point in the next couple of months you’re going to get a little bit bored and might even start looking for something to do. If you’re kicking...

University is Over… for Now

June 12, 2015

It is a momentous day for me and rest of the remaining class of 2011 of the University of Exeter’s physics department. Today was our last ever results day. It was also the day where I found out, to my eternal delight, that the last 4 years have yielded a masters degree in physics; an...

#InternationalWomensDay

March 8, 2015

You may have noticed that today, Sunday 8th March 2015, is International Womens Day. This sounded like an ideal time to write about some exceptional scientists whom I greatly admire; who just also so happen to be women. Rosalind Franklin The Woman Who Discovered the Structure of DNA The discovery of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the...

6EQUJ5 – Decoding the Wow! Signal

December 11, 2014

Nothing quite spikes human interest like a good old fashioned mystery, and the the events at a radio telescope in Delaware, Ohio in 1977 could qualify as just that. The voluntary radio astronomer on duty, Dr. Jerry Ehman, noticed a signal that has gone down in history as one of the great puzzlers of the...

My New Project – Axe Engine

October 25, 2013

Despite being deep into the 3rd year of both a physics degree and deep into a masters project, I’ve decided to try something quite ambitious. For ages, I’ve wanted to try my hand at writing a 3D game engine, and until now I’ve had neither the confidence or the knowledge to carry off such a...

A Little Digital Audio Rant

November 17, 2011

Hi All, it’s that time of the year again. Time for a good ol’ rant from yours truly. This time I’m ranting about digital audio. In particular, music downloads and CDs. Personally I just can’t get my head around why someone would rather buy MP3s / AACs off of iTunes or any other miscellaneous MP3...

Random Star Trek Trivia

November 13, 2011

Okay, I think it’s time for a geek out. Here goes. Since I am a massive geek of general sci-fi, and in particular the Star Trek form of sci-fi, time for a little trek related trivia post. The phrase ‘Beam me up Scotty’ was never, ever actually said in the original series, quite ironic seeing...

Happy Birthday @Voyager2!

August 17, 2010

If there’s one thing in modern society which I think is very much overlooked it’s the big black thing above us… no, not the clouds of doubt over the houses of parliament! I means space. Back in the heyday of space exploration everybody was excited about being the first into space, the first to the...

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