Monthly Archives: November 2008

The Candy Kingdom

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Rating the Halloween candy

The Candy Hierarchy Anew (Halloween Experiment Debriefing ’08)

TOP TIER
(caramel, chewy, oh my classy)
Caramellos — Milky Way — Snickers — Rolos* — Twix

Going back three decades or so to how I would rate things: Rolos and Twix do not appear near the top of my list; I rate Kit-Kat higher than Twix. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were in the top tier, along with the caramel/fudge cubes. Milky Way rates slightly below Snickers. I don’t see Mr. Goodbar listed — that goes in the post-tertiary level. I drop Junior Mints waaay down; in my youth I could not abide what mint did to the taste of chocolate. Smarties, OTOH (or in the other hand) were not bottom-tier.

Try to Set the Night on Fire

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Light My Photonic Crystal

[R]esearchers describe a method for adding light-emitting elements in a precise way to a future photonic circuit. They filled a small hole in a silicon wafer with a liquid containing tiny chunks of fluorescent semiconductor and imaged the pattern of light that was generated. The technique permits easy removal and replacement of the fluorescent particles and offers a way of creating photonic structures that include light emitters set out in some desired pattern.

It's not April 1st, Right?

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I have scienceray on my RSS feed, and they are a source of some pretty neat pictures. The latest is on crystals: Introduction to Crystals and Their Formation

Crystals are neat-looking, so I looked at the pictures. And then I started reading the text.

This is a first of a series of articles dealing with the healing power of crystals.
[…]
The big thing about crystals is to remember that they work in tune with the vibrations and brainwaves that humans naturally produce. Because of this, it is important that your vibes are in harmony with those of the crystal.

Oh, crap. New-age crap, to be specific. This sounds like a job for Orac, and sure enough, he’s dealt with it. Your Friday Dose of Woo: Crystals, crystals everywhere, but no woo to amplify

Dude, it's Physics, Part II

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The Physics of Surfing (Part Two: Tubes and Barrels)

But why do some waves break as hollow grinding tubes while others crumble more gently and forgivingly? Let’s examine a little wave dynamics in order to assess the situation. Ocean waves are created by wind blowing over the ocean surface, as the kinetic energy of the air is converted into potential and kinetic energy of the water. The biggest and most powerful waves are created in massive storms. As the swells generated by these storms travel over the open ocean, the originally chaotic “victory at sea”-type wave motion is gradually organized into cleaner lines. As with all waves, it is not the actual material (water in this case) that travels any distance through the medium — it is the energy of the wave. As the wave energy passes through a point in the ocean, the water molecules rise and fall in a circular pattern but remain in the vicinity as the disturbance passes by.

Previously: Dude, It’s Physics

Help Me, Obi Wan

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General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle to explain what a hologram is, and isn’t.

I only watched a few minutes of CNN’s election coverage before becoming ill (figuratively) and switching off the TV, so I missed where he called their camera trick a hologram. But it wasn’t, and several people caught it.

So what happened?

CNN focused more than 35 high-definition cameras on Yellin to get multiple views from Grant Park in Chicago for the look of a 3-D holographic image Tuesday. That made it appear as if Yellin was in the studio talking with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.

That’s a camera trick, but not a hologram.

Unfortunately, some of the criticism misses the mark. Uh, Wolf, That CNN Election Image Wasn’t a Hologram

A hologram is a photographic image that is three-dimensional and appears to have depth. They work by creating an image composed of two superimposed pictures of the same object, but seen from different points.

No, but I think I can see how the writer got from what a hologram actually is to this explanation. A hologram is a comparison of an image with some reference light, not the comparison of two images. Some of the light bounces off of the target and then interferes with the reference beam (and I think this interference pattern is the “superimposed” reference), and you record the interference pattern on the film. That pattern has all the information of the object, and when you pass a reference beam through the film (or off the surface, if it’s a reflection hologram) you’ll see a 3-D image.

The CNN image wasn’t 3-D. It looked something that was 3-D on the TV screen, but like everything else on the screen, the image was 2-D.

How Holograms Work

CNN’s Hologram. Real or Fake? calls the CNN technique a tomogram, which I don’t think is right. Tomography gives you 2-D slices of a 3-D object, and that’s not what’s happening here.

CNN’s “Holograms” Aren’t Holograms, So Cut It Out doesn’t attempt an explanation of holography, and is content to note that

It was movie magic, folks, similar to what we all remember from The Matrix. Given that it was done live without a hitch, it was extremely way cool. But it wasn’t a hologram, and no amount of wishing will make it so.

Zapperz, in Not A Hologram, has linked to an article that lists other instances of people misusing “hologram”

Apparently, You Can Make This Stuff Up

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Amazon.com (UK) user product reviews: Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point, Black

OMG, this is TFF. Beverage-through-the-nose caliber. (sorry, calibre)

You’d think, with all of the new anti-obscenity laws, that this pen would have a V-chip installed. It DOESN’T!!!!! You should see some of the filthy words and drawings that my children were able to write with this product. I am going to file a formal complaint with the FCC.

Buyer (with young children) Beware!!!!

This product has NO included manual and NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT! You are on your own. I have used these in the past, so I was able to figure it out, but it took a while. Another caveat: If you lose the cap, there is NO way to attach it to anything because the retainer clip is inexplicably attached to the cap. Also, the caps for the different colors of ink all fit each other, so it is far too easy to misplace a cap on the wrong pen. Very confusing.

I also especially like the A4 vs 8.5×11 compatibility comment. Go read.