The Science Thread

[urth]

Here's something to marvel at. The Mariana Trench, depicted to scale:

http://i.imgur.com/m3ZxZ.jpg

Wow. That's deep.

[mshray]

Check out the Odd Physics Video Archive

don't miss the anti-gravity cat on p. 3 or the dolphins on p. 4.

[mshray]

Here are a couple interesting links, especially the first one.

The Smithsonian's 3-D Fossil Collection

The Dynamic Periodic Table

[RGMike]

Here are a couple interesting links, especially the first one.

The Smithsonian's 3-D Fossil Collection

kewl! (For a sec i thought I was gonna have to dig up a pair of 3-D glasses)

[urth]

Here are a couple interesting links, especially the first one.

The Dynamic Periodic Table

Funny you should mention the Periodic Table. Was talking to my sister the other day, and she mentioned that my nephew has memorized the Periodic Table. He's 7.

Hope he doesn't let that get around or he's in for some serious teasing. Another nerd in the making. I guess they run in our family.

[ggould]

Here are a couple interesting links, especially the first one.
The Dynamic Periodic Table

this is the one I like!

[Lightnin' Rod]

This is sort of sciency... live animal observation.  Brought to my attention by this morning's Jon Carroll column:

http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox#utm_campaign=unknown&utm_source=3034451&utm_medium=social

[ggould]

[Lightnin' Rod]

This is taking home science a bit too far.  (Warning:  SFGate keeps freezing my browser today (IE 8 ), not sure why.)  

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/03/international/i083333D22.DTL

[ggould]

I'm not a fan of Rush, but found this article about black holes kind of funny, from the Rush point of view:

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/the-fate-of-the-first-black-hole.html

[RGMike]

I'm not a fan of Rush, but found this article about black holes kind of funny, from the Rush point of view:

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/the-fate-of-the-first-black-hole.html

well, Rush kind of ARE a black hole, musically. Or Geddy's voice creates black holes. or something. (ducks as Tinka throws something)

[ggould]

This is a probe I worked on back in '74-'75.  The technology was also behind the guitar business I've been in since the late 70's.   I keep in touch with Voyager 2 via Twitter, example:

I am currently 13 hrs 14 mins 20 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2011:232:2L)

from the Writer's Almanac:

On this date in 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft. They timed the launch to coincide with a rare planetary alignment that allowed the craft to make use of each planet's gravity to boost it on its way. The original purpose of the mission was to explore Jupiter and Saturn; it's since passed Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and is now considered an "interstellar mission" because it still has enough velocity to leave the solar system. It's currently flying through the heliopause: the area where the solar wind is opposed by hydrogen and helium gases from interstellar space, forming a kind of bubble around the solar system. Scientists believe it will be able to continue sending back signals until at least 2025.

Voyager 1 and 2 also carry golden records, with pictographic instructions on how to play them. The records contain sounds, images, and welcome messages from Earth, as well as a map to our location. Carl Sagan chaired the committee that decided what should go on the record. He said: "The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this 'bottle' into the cosmic 'ocean' says something very hopeful about life on this planet." President Jimmy Carter included his own message on the record: "This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours."

[Lightnin' Rod]

This is pretty cool, though he shouldn't quit his day job.  Seriously cool day job.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/12/astronaut_chris_hadfield_sings_david_bowie_s_space_oddity_in_space.html

[ggould]

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/wham-o-frisbee/

[dischead]

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/wham-o-frisbee/

The inventor, Walter Morrison, a carpenter with a knack for tinkering, came up with the idea for the simple toy by tossing empty cake pans. His breakthrough improvement, after switching from metal to molded plastic, was curving the disc’s outer edge like an airfoil. In 1955 he sold his invention to Wham-O—manufacturer of slingshots and Hula-Hoops—where a product designer named Ed Headrick made the final tweak of rippling the top with concentric ridges. These add turbulence, which holds air against the surface for a longer flight.

It's surprising how many things in that paragraph are either a bit misleading or outright mistakes.
But I guess that's what you get when constantly generating new "content" is part of your
business model.

- While Morrison may have been inspired by, and participated in, the tossing of metal pie tins or
can lids, the activity predates him by years and perhaps decades.

- He didn't switch from metal to plastic -- his initial models were crafted from balsa wood.  He
switched to plastic after an increase in the price of balsa wood.

- While ridges may increase flight length, the effect probably isn't noticable by the average disc
player.  I have many smooth discs that can be thrown quite far.

- Ed Headrick also added a cupola and other baroque features to the flight plate of early discs
that greatly decreased flight length, and made them less stable and weaker.  It took nearly
twenty years for these to be removed.