Ryan Golant
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rgolant.bsky.social
Ryan Golant
@rgolant.bsky.social
800 followers 320 following 47 posts
PhD candidate in Astronomy at Columbia University || cancer survivor || science communicator || cat enthusiast || professional waster of time
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rgolant.bsky.social
Today I learned that the guy who invented the hydraulic press was also instrumental in the development of the flush toilet. The Duality of Man.
An excerpt from the Wikipedia page on the hydraulic press: "A hydraulic press is a machine press using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalent of a mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He invented and was issued a patent on this press in 1795. As Bramah (who is also known for his development of the flush toilet) installed toilets, he studied the existing literature on the motion of fluids and put this knowledge into the development of the press." (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_press)
May 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
rgolant.bsky.social
This is my cat, Alfvie. When I jiggle his belly, ripples propagate across his body. Similar phenomena occur in fluids and plasmas.

A thread on Alfvén waves [12 posts]:

#astronomy #astroedu #cats
My cat Alfvie, a gray and brown tabby, lying on my side with his belly up My cat Alfvie, a gray and brown tabby, lying on the couch with his belly up My cat Alfvie, a gray and brown tabby, lying on a gray blanket with his belly up
May 5, 2025 at 12:38 AM
rgolant.bsky.social
This is my cat, Alfvie. In my last thread, I mentioned that he’s very cute – this is still true. But how are Alfvie’s stripes like the magnetic fields in a plasma?

A thread on Alfvén’s theorem [15 posts]:

#astronomy #astroedu #cats
My cat Alfvie, a gray and brown tabby, stretched out on the couch with his stripes exposed.
April 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM
rgolant.bsky.social
This is my cat, Alfvie. He’s very cute. But why did I name him Alfvie?

A thread on magnetohydrodynamics:

#astronomy #astroedu #cats
My cat Alfvie, a gray and brown tabby, looking up at me with very wide eyes
April 20, 2025 at 7:51 PM
rgolant.bsky.social
@bot.astronomy.blue signup
April 15, 2025 at 2:16 AM
rgolant.bsky.social
Here's a draft of the syllabus for my new class, "Our Magnetic Universe," an introduction to astrophysical magnetism for upper-level astro/physics undergrads: ryangolant.github.io/syllabus.pdf. Comments, suggestions, praise, scathing critique -- all welcome!

#EduSky #astroedu #astronomyeducation
ryangolant.github.io
April 15, 2025 at 2:11 AM
rgolant.bsky.social
It's currently unclear whether my university will exist in one year, but... I just got approval to teach a new course on astrophysical magnetic fields in Spring 2026! So, I think I'll start posting some fun facts about fluid dynamics, plasmas, magnetic fields, etc. (+ pictures of my cat, of course)
April 15, 2025 at 1:58 AM