Elon Musk Announces New Hyperloop Approval Making NYC To DC Trip In Only 29 Minutes

The Magnus Effect is cool! Learn more about it in @veritasium video: https://youtu.be/2OSrvzNW9FE

Møbius donut.

Ceramics: Aluminum Nitride

First synthesized in the late 1800s, aluminum nitride’s potential wasn’t realized until a hundred years later in the late 1900s. AlN is a ceramic with high thermal conductivity but is an electrical insulator. It is classified as a covalent compound, the only stable compound in the binary Al-N system. 

AlN is similar in properties to beryllium oxide (BeO), but is cheaper and has less of a potential to be toxic. In addition to the properties mentioned above, this ceramic also has high chemical resistance and exhibits piezoelectric properties. 

Thanks to its thermal and electrical conductivity properties, AlN is useful in microelectronics. It is used in microelectronic packaging, surface acoustic wave sensors, in RF filters, as a crucible for the growth of gallium arsenide crystals, in piezoelectric MEMs applications, and many more. In addition, the wurtzite phase of aluminum nitride, w-AlN, is a wide band gap semiconductor material, with potential applications in deep ultraviolet optoelectronics. 

Because AlN is a covalent compound, high pressures or sintering aids are required to assist densification during production. Typical additives include rare-earth or alkaline-earth oxides, such as yttrium compounds. The additives and sintering conditions used can alter the properties of commercially available grades of AlN.

Sources: ( 1 ) ( 2 - images 2 and 3 ) ( 3 - images 1 and 4 ) ( 4 )

Does one of these LEGO men look bigger than the other? They’re actually the exact same size, but are in an Ames room - a false-perspective illusion room that tricks your brain into thinking things are smaller, or larger, than they really are.

You can make one of these models to try this for yourself. Download our free template from here. And it even works in full size, if you can make one large enough!

What can we learn from ants and plants?  

That’s what IBMer Mauro Martino set out to answer in his award-winning data visualization, Network Earth. It explores nature’s interconnected relationships, and how they affect each other and our planet. By making the complex but important topics easier to visualize, we hope to help make more of them accessible to all.

Curves of constant width

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The width of a circle is constant: its diameter.

But the circle is not the only shape that holds this pristine title. For instance let’s look at the Reuleaux triangle

Reuleaux triangle

A Reuleaux triangle is a shape formed from the intersection of three circular disks, each having its center on the boundary of the other two.

The Reuleaux triangle is the first of a sequence of Reuleaux polygons, curves of constant width formed from regular polygons with an odd number of sides.

Some of these curves have been used as the shapes of coins

To drill square holes.

They are not entirely square, their edges are fillets i.e the edges are rounded and not sharp.

This animation offers a good insight as to why that is so.

And in china, apparently on bicycles.

The man Guan Baihua shows his self-made multi-angle-wheel bicycle on May 6, 2009 in Qingdao of Shandong Province, China. Guan Baihua spent 18 months to complete this strange bicycle.

Other shapes of constant width

There are other shapes of constant width beside the Reuleaux triangle ( that has been discussed in this post ), a whole bunch of them really. Do take a look at them. ( links below )

I will leave you guys with my favorite one.

More:

If this post fascinated you, i strongly suggest you check these out. They go in-depth with the mathematics that underlies these curves and talk about other cool stuff:

An animation of non-circular rollers

Shapes and Solids of Constant Width - Numberphile  

Shapes of constant width

Reuleaux Polygons,           

Edit:

For those who are wondering if these are something that one would stumble upon on a regular basis. You may not find perfect ones but similiar ones definitely.

I found mine on a really old BMI calculator thingy. ( not sure what you would call it )

Have fun exploring !

It’s International Asteroid Day!

There are more than 700,000 known asteroids, but how much do you know about these rocky remnants left over from the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago? 

Today, June 30 is International Asteroid Day. Here are some things to know about our fascinating space rubble.

1. A Place in Space 

Asteroids—named by British astronomer William Herschel from the Greek expression meaning “star-like"—are rocky, airless worlds that are too small to be called planets. But what they might lack in size they certainly make up for in number: An estimated 1.1 to 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 kilometer are in the Main Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. And there are millions more that are smaller in size. Asteroids range in size from Vesta—the largest at about 329 miles (529 kilometers) wide—to bodies that are just a few feet across.

2. What Lies Beneath 

Asteroids are generally categorized into three types: carbon-rich, silicate, or metallic, or some combination of the three. Why the different types? It all comes down to how far from the sun they formed. Some experienced high temperatures and partly melted, with iron sinking to the center and volcanic lava forced to the surface. The asteroid Vesta is one example we know of today.

3. Small Overall 

If all of the asteroids were combined into a ball, they would still be much smaller than the Earth’s moon.

4. Except for a Big One

In 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first and then-largest asteroid, Ceres, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is so large that it encompasses about one-fourth of the estimated total mass of all the asteroids in the asteroid belt. In 2006, its classification changed from asteroid to  as a dwarf planet.

5. Mission to a Metal World 

NASA’s Psyche mission will launch in 2022 to explore an all-metal asteroid—what could be the core of an early planet—for the very first time. And in October 2021, the Lucy mission will be the first to visit Jupiter’s swarms of Trojan asteroids.

6. Near-Earth Asteroids

The term ‘near’ in near-Earth asteroid is actually a misnomer; most of these bodies do not come close to Earth at all. By definition, a near-Earth asteroid is an asteroid that comes within 28 million miles (44 million km) of Earth’s orbit. As of June 19, 2017, there are 16,209 known near-Earth asteroids, with 1,803 classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (those that could someday pose a threat to Earth).

7. Comin’ in Hot 

About once a year, a car-sized asteroid hits Earth’s atmosphere, creates an impressive fireball, and burns up before reaching the surface.

8. But We’re Keeping an Eye Out

Ground-based observatories and facilities such as Pan-STARRS, the Catalina Sky Survey, and ATLAS are constantly on the hunt to detect near-Earth asteroids. NASA also has a small infrared observatory in orbit about the Earth: NEOWISE. In addition to detecting asteroids and comets, NEOWISE also characterizes these small bodies.

9. Buddy System

Roughly one-sixth of the asteroid population have a small companion moon (some even have two moons). The first discovery of an asteroid-moon system was of asteroid Ida and its moon Dactyl in 1993.

10. Earthly Visitors 

Several NASA space missions have flown to and observed asteroids. The NEAR Shoemaker mission landed on asteroid Eros in 2001 and NASA’s Dawn mission was the first mission to orbit an asteroid in 2011. In 2005, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa landed on asteroid Itokawa. Currently, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx is en route to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu; it will bring a small sample back to Earth for study.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

What Are Earthquake Hazards?

Ground Shaking

The first main earthquake hazard is the effect of ground shaking. Buildings can be damaged by the shaking itself or by the ground beneath them settling to a different level than it was before the earthquake (subsidence).

Liquefaction

Buildings can even sink into the ground if soil liquefaction occurs. Liquefaction is the mixing of sand or soil and groundwater during the shaking of a moderate or strong earthquake. When the water and soil are mixed, the ground becomes very soft and acts similar to quicksand. If liquefaction occurs under a building, it may start to lean, tip over, or sink several feet. The ground firms up again after the earthquake has past and the water has settled back down to its usual place deeper in the ground. Liquefaction is a hazard in areas that have groundwater near the surface and sandy soil. 

Ground Displacement

The second main earthquake hazard is ground displacement along a fault. If a structure (a building, road, etc.) is built across a fault, the ground displacement during an earthquake could seriously damage or rip apart that structure. 

Flooding

The third main hazard is flooding. An earthquake can rupture (break) dams or levees along a river. The water from the river or the reservoir would then flood the area, damaging buildings and maybe sweeping away or drowning people. Tsunamis and seiches can also cause a great deal of damage. Atsunami is what most people call a tidal wave, but it has nothing to do with the tides on the ocean. It is a huge wave caused by an earthquake under the ocean. Tsunamis can be tens of feet high when they hit the shore and can do enormous damage to the coastline. Seiches are like small tsunamis. They occur on lakes that are shaken by the earthquake and are usually only a few feet high, but they can still flood or knock down houses, and tip over trees. 

Fire

The fourth main earthquake hazard is fire. These fires can be started by broken gas lines and power lines, or tipped over wood or coal stoves. They can be a serious problem, especially if the water lines that feed the fire hydrants are broken, too. For example, after the Great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, the city burned for three days. Most of the city was destroyed and 250,000 people were left homeless. (Source)

Fallstreak holes are natural phenomena that often get mistaken for UFOs. These ‘hole punch clouds’ occur when water droplets inside a cloud freeze and fall beneath it, creating a large gap that looks like a perfect hiding place for a flying saucer.

Aliens, obvi.

The rarity of fallstreak holes is what tends to throw people.

That paired with the tendency to look at anything in the sky and cry ‘UFO!’ is the perfect makings of a false alien alarm.

Sometimes these clouds have little rainbows inside.

They aren’t always circular, though…

They make all kinds of crazy shapes.

Including airplane/sword/cross/wieners.

Photos via: Rantplaces

Source

NTU and JTC develop enhanced fire protection for steel

Credit: shutterstock/Anusorn Abthaisong

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and national industrial developer JTC have unveiled what they are calling a 3-in-1 coating for better fire and corrosion protection.

‘In a fire, our coating forms a compact charred layer that acts as a protective barrier against the heat,’ explained Aravind Dasari, a Principal Investigator at the NTU–JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre.

Called FiroShield, the coating functions like regular paint and is easy to apply, according to the research team. It can be applied on bare steel without the need for sand blasting, and provides protection against fire for two hours. 

Dasari explained, ‘While typical fire coatings will also form a charred layer, those are thick and foam-like, which can fall off easily and leave the steel exposed to the fire. What we aimed at was an innovative coat that works differently from conventional intumescent coatings and can stick to the steel surface for as long as possible under high temperatures, and yet has durability and weather resistance under normal conditions without a need for a top coat of paint.’

To find out more see the January issue of Materials World or visit  bit.ly/2nft8Z3