Thomlex - Science

Micro Helicopter

bill — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 18:27:17 -0400

Alexander Van de Rostyne built Pixelito, a 6.9 gram remote-control helicopter. Pixelito is fully functional, with 4 channels of control via infra red. It has no servos and no swashplate. The swashplate is the mechanism that allows the spinning blades to be tilted forward or back or side to side, allowing the pilot to control where the helicopter goes. (link from Stocktrader).

Link

Dawn through the Year

bill — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 01:17:00 -0400

The picture, taken near Ajo, Arizona is a multiple exposure, each shot taken ten days apart, at 8:30 AM for a year. The sun's seasonal shift forms this figure 8, known as the analemma. Because of this effect, sundials can run ahead of clock time by as much as 16 mins 33 secs or fall behind by as much as 14 mins 6 secs.

Link

When I saw this picture, it reminded me of an elderly gentleman named L. Gordon Plummer. He was retired, but volunteered time to come into my sixth grade class and teach us physics once per week. He'd teach us interesting things like basic concepts in relativity and quantum mechanics, or about hyper-cubes (four-dimensional objects). He invented a sundial that is always correct, by incorporating an analemma-shaped object into the design. It's still standing (I think) in Balboa Park in San Diego. I'm sure he's passed on long ago now. He was an interesting person, one that made an impact on me.

DNA Could Become Unstable by Design

bill — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:53:00 -0400

Scientists at Oregon State University have proposed that supposedly-stable DNA bases can be pushed into a "dark state" where they are highly vulnerable to damage from ultraviolet radiation. The idea challenges some of the most basic concepts of modern biochemistry.

Only tangentially-related, but I've wondered about this conceptually: when playing chess, part of a winning strategy is to play conservatively when you're ahead, and make wild, risk-taking moves when you're behind. The same strategy applies in other aspects of life, for instance, a large corporation will plod slowly but surely, while a startup must be nimble and take creative risks. I've wondered if a similar strategy wouldn't be valuable in biology: when things are going good, take steps to prevent random genetic change, and when things are not going good, encourage it.

Link

Floating Paperclip

bill — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 21:12:00 -0500

A paperclip will float on water due to surface tension. This picture is photographed through a grill, and the deformation of the water can be seen.

Link

Science's Top Ten Experiments

bill — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 19:04:00 -0500

Robert P. Crease recently asked physicists to nominate the most beautiful experiments of all time; this is a list of the top ten.

This graphic demonstrates an experiment done by Galileo where he rolled a ball down a plane and used a water clock to time it's speed. He discovered that the ball accelerated, something commonly known now, but at the time, this conflicted with Aristotle's prediction that the rate would be constant.

Link

Review of Zhivago Blog

bill — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 03:01:00 -0500

Subjects ranging from the Singularity to ancient Egypt to High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography (such as the picture here).

Zhivago puts a lot of effort into creating composite images of various sites he reviews, and the result is impressive.

Link

Swimming in Syrup

bill — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:14:00 -0500

Which is faster, swimming in syrup or swimming in water? Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota led an experiment to find out. A 25-meter swimming pool was filled with syrup made with guar gum. Volunteers were timed swimming through the syrup (described as looking "snot-like") and through water.

In the end, it turns out the times weren't much different. Though the syrup dragged against people slowing them down, it also gave them something to pull against while swimming which sped them up.

Link

Electron Microscope Art

bill — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 22:16:00 -0500

Cool electron microscope pictures tinted by MicroAngela. (link from Charity, who's great write-ups and formatting put us all to shame.)

Link