How else to explain Super-Repellant Surfaces
The surface, made up of silicon spikes just 400 nanometers wide, physically repels a wide variety of liquids, including water, oil, solvents and detergents.
Especially anything named “Ethyl”
As Long as I'm in the Neighborhood . . .
Titanic Was Found During Secret Cold War Navy Mission
Ronald Thunman, then the deputy chief of naval operations for submarine warfare, told Ballard the military was interested in the technology—but for the purpose of investigating the wreckage of the U.S.S. Thresher and U.S.S. Scorpion.
Since Ballard’s technology would be able to reach the sunken subs and take pictures, the oceanographer agreed to help out.
He then asked the Navy if he could search for the Titanic, which was located between the two wrecks.
Since the bulk of the US Navy’s nuclear fleet has been subs, most of the students I taught were destined for subs, and many of my shipmates who had done tours at sea had their dolphins. That experience piques my interest even more when stories such as this pop up. (My own brief trip on a sub was enough to seal the deal that I wouldn’t be doing that for a living. 6′ 3″ with a touch of claustrophobia wasn’t going to mix well with most of the subs active back then)
For some more discussion of the Scorpion accident, and how the location of the sub was eventually determined, I recommend Blind Man’s Bluff by Sontag and Drew. There are also stories about Project Jennifer, a mission to retrieve a Russian sub, as well as some other very interesting submarine-related espionage activities.
Can't . . . Avoid . . . Collision
Remember the conservation-of-momentum problem you did in 1st semester physics, where the projectile breaks into two pieces at the apex of its flight? Now multiply by Avogadro’s number (and then an additional order of magnitude or more)
Momentum’s conserved, even in slo-mo.
Maybe They'll Ask for Seconds
Brian Greene Op-Ed in the NY Times, on science and science education. Put a Little Science in Your Life
But here’s the thing. The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth — not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences.
Classic Science Compendium
The 2008 “Classic Science Papers” Challenge is done. Thanks to gg for coming up with the idea, and making the list of all the posts. I’ve still got one installment left to do, on a second paper, which I should be able to finish up shortly.
In Philadelphia, it's Worth Fifty Bucks
Guitarist Bo Diddley dies at 79
“This distinctive, African-based … rhythm pattern (which goes bomp-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp) was picked up by other artists and has been a distinctive and recurring element in rock ‘n’ roll through the decades,” according to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Guitarist George Thorogood, a Diddley disciple, put it more bluntly.
“[Chuck Berry’s] ‘Maybellene’ is a country song sped up,” Thorogood told Rolling Stone in 2005. ” ‘Johnny B. Goode’ is blues sped up. But you listen to ‘Bo Diddley,’ and you say, ‘What in the Jesus is that?’ ”
bomp-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp. Oh, yeah. Write it, baby!
——
Okay, that makes three.
Wasting Time With Optics
“Magnifier bar” for reading small print. It’s a cylindrical lens, so there’s astigmatism, aberration, and some off-axis distortion. With graph paper, it’s sufficient to distract a physicist, if that’s what your evil plan requires.
Yes, We Have No Bananas
Bananas are in a bunch of trouble
Panama disease – or Fusarium wilt of banana – is back, and the Cavendish does not appear to be safe from this new strain, which appeared two decades ago in Malaysia, spread slowly at first, but is now moving at a geometrically quicker pace. There is no cure, and nearly every banana scientist says that though Panama disease has yet to hit the banana crops of Latin America, which feed our hemisphere, the question is not if this will happen, but when. Even worse, the malady has the potential to spread to dozens of other banana varieties, including African bananas, the primary source of nutrition for millions of people.
Banana scientist? Can you get an actual degree in “banana science?”
Conference by Proxy
Chad’s got his complete summary of the DAMOP meeting up at Uncertain Principles. Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and the wrap-up.
I would have liked to have gone but my plans were thwarted. Next year the conference is in nearby Charlottesville, VA, so I’ll definitely try and make that one. I don’t think there will be another conference competing for my time and attention.
Ooh, I Know This One!
Plain pine box, right?