• Who am I?

    I am Qrystal; or at least, that's my dot-name! Har har. (My name is really Crystal, but that's not as internet-searchable; hence, switching the C for the little-used letter Q.)

    I am here because I enjoy writing. I do this mostly for myself, but I also have a passion for helping others learn things from the things I write. Now that I am done my Ph.D. in Physics, I am stepping away from academic research so that I can indulge in some creative ways to share my knowledge and inspire the appreciation of scientific thinking in others. I am also working as a tutor, which is one of the jobs I've most enjoyed doing in my life so far.


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    • Heating and Cooling Degree Days

    Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

    To analyze your building’s thermal efficiency, it is useful to review historical temperature data, particularly the heating and cooling degree days.  To that end, I just found an incredible website: DegreeDays.net, where I found a table showing my local daily heating degree days, with various baseline temperatures, so I can analyze my heating costs and determine [...]

    Lack of Funding in Science

    Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

    If lack of funding drives our most promising young people away from careers in research, the long-term damage to science could be significant,” Finneran said. To prevent this, he said, scientists may have to learn how to fight for what research dollars they can get. U.S. Bailout May Set Back Science Funding, Experts Fear. I’m [...]