Tips on lab write-ups at Uncertain Principles
Not only were you able to [verb] the [noun], you did [verb] the [noun]. Say that directly.
My nit: when I was TA-ing it was a battle to disabuse them of the notion that “experimental error” is “the difference between our answer and the one in the book”
Reflecting on a new generation of mirrors
Hicks, a mathematician at Drexel University, Philadelphia, used computer algorithms to generate the mirror’s bizarre surface, which curves and bends in different directions. The curves direct rays from an object across the mirror’s face before sending them back to the viewer, flipping the conventional mirror image.
Because you can’t slip and mess up the pattern when you’re 95% done.
Previously: Not the Same as Gauche
Two-story slide lets you get from the third floor to the lobby in a fun and fast manner.
For the less adventurous, the options of using the stairs or a lift remain.
I won’t care.
Introducing the gel-filled army helmet that will crush bullets as they penetrate it
[T]he aim is to produce a new liner made from the miracle gel, which will absorb much of the energy of an impact from a bullet – reducing the chances of it penetrating the outer layer and softening the shock to a soldier’s skull and neck
When our eyes see colours, they are actually detecting the different wavelengths of the light hitting the retina. Colours are distinguished by their wavelengths, and the brain processes this information and produces a visual display that we experience as colour.
This means that colours only really exist within the brain – light is indeed travelling from objects to our eyes, and each object may well be transmitting/reflecting a different set of wavelengths of light; but what essentially defines a ‘colour’ as opposed to a ‘wavelength’ is created within the brain.
[…]
Magenta is an “extraspectral” color. Sir Isaac Newton noticed that magenta did not exist in the spectrum of colors from white light when he played with prisms. But when he superimposed the red end of the spectrum on to the blue end, he saw the color magenta
The insect-powered plane project, aka Fly Plane
You might have noticed the ironically honeycomb shaped fabric mesh sealing the jar. It’s primary purpose is to retain the bees, but it also serves to aid in the sedation of the now irritated insidious insects. The chilling method proving fatal, I rendered them unconscious my means of gaseous intoxication.
Many insects were harmed in the making of this plane. He’s mad, I tell you.
Stop-action Coinstar commercial
‘Most unfortunate names’ revealed
Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.
It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.
Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.
And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.
I knew someone whose girlfriend had a gynecologist named Harry Beavers. Is it a case of destiny? Perhaps. There’s a blog called Appropriately Named that has more.
Magnetic self-assembly in slow motion
90 1/8″ small magnets arranged in a 9×10 matrix with a larger magnet brought close. Beautiful self-assembly occurs
Slower and slower motion, so you can see what’s happening.