The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim (see note [1] below) and Konstantin Novoselov for their groundbreaking experiments regarding the extraordinary properties of two-dimensional carbon. Nowadays, the burgeoning cornucopia of applications is such that a 21st century individual can literally kit themselves from head to toe with accoutrements which feature […]
Year: 2017
Sound Pressures Generated by Exploding Eggs
The claims made in lawsuits – and the need to verify or disprove them – sometimes spark interesting research. The Acoustical Society of America’s Fall 2017 meeting included a report titled, “Sound pressures generated by exploding eggs”. Investigators Anthony Nash and Lauren von Blohn began this research thanks to a lawsuit: A restaurant had hard-boiled […]
“Roxanne,” plus 5 percent compounded
The song “Roxanne,” by The Police, gets a five-percent speed boost every time the singers sing the word “Roxanne”, in this video: Thanks to Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention. BONUS: Earlier today, we reported a different experiment in data communications: “Data Communications via Wet Sting, or via Hungry Snail.”
Data Communications via Wet String, or via Hungry Snail
A wet string works, for sending information from one computer to another, says a new experiment. This adds to the list of low-tech ways to move data, the most lively method involving a hungry snail. The string experiment is reported on the RevK’s Rants web site, with the headline “It’s official, ADSL works over wet […]
“Egg unboiling machine enables graphene battery development”
“Egg unboiling machine enables graphene battery development,” is the headline in Mining Weekly. The article itself says: The Australian researchers who successfully unboiled an egg are turning their attention to capturing the energy of graphene oxide to make a more efficient alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The Flinders University team in South Australia has partnered with Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria, ASX-listed First […]
Ping Pong Patches (traumatic accidents with table tennis balls)
Some sports related injuries are less common than others. For example, there is only one* formally documented case of ‘Ping Pong Patches’ (Scott MJ Jr, Scott MJ III, Cutis, 1989; 43 : 363 – 364.) in the medical literature. Sadly, the online database for Cutis only goes back as far as year 2000. But fortunately, […]
Sleep to forget teacher, or sleep to remember grandmother?
It seems that a lack of sleep may prevent the brain from forgetting unimportant information. A lack of sleep may also prevent the brain from remembering important information. How can scientists make sense of this seemingly-nonsensical seeming-contradiction? Imagine you just met your child’s teacher, who is named Gwen. The name Gwen, however, is firmly associated […]
Dicey, and then some: Stirred, not shaken (physics)
“Dice Become Ordered When Stirred, Not Shaken” is a headline on a snappy summary of a new physics paper. The headline, and the summary, are published in Physics Focus. Their own summary of their summary: “A jumble of thousands of cubic dice, agitated by an oscillating rotation, can rapidly become completely ordered, a result that […]
Modelling heat loss from a semi-spherical cow udder
Theoretical physicists are sometimes accused of making over-simplifications for mathematical models. This has lead to many variations on the spherical cow story, where a physicist claims to be able to cure a sick cow, but only if it is a spherical cow in a vacuum. Oddly, most iterations of this tale ignore heat radiated from […]
Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan’s earlobe crease (study)
Attention was recently drawn to the fact that Robert E. Lee had a crease in his right earlobe, and that he died from cardiovascular disease. But Lee was by no means the only historical figure who showed such signs. Francesco M. Galassi, Dr. who is a Postdoc assistant in the Paleopathology and Mummy Studies Group […]