The Lab

odditiesoflife: Frozen Swiss Landscape In January 2005, Lake...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:49:07 -0400

Frozen Swiss Landscape

In January 2005, Lake Geneva and the surrounding area were hit with a horrific ice storm. Everything was completely blanketed with ice when waves breaking on the lake’s shore hardened into a solid coating in the sub-freezing temperatures. Several boats even sank under the weight of the ice. The wind gusts reached 110 km/h (60 mph) and literally froze water sprays in their place.

Source 1, 2

jtotheizzoe: fuckyeahfluiddynamics: Underwater explosions are,...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:58:53 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

Underwater explosions are, in general, much more dangerous than those in air. This video shows an underwater blast at 30,000 fps. During the initial blast, a hot sphere of gas expands outward in a shock wave. In air, some of the energy of this pressure wave would be dissipated by compressing the air. Since water is incompressible, however, the blast instead moves water aside as the bubble expands. Eventually, the bubble expands to the point where its pressure is less than that of the water around it, which causes the bubble to collapse. But the collapse increases the gas pressure once more, kicking off a series of expansions and collapses. Each bubble contains less energy than the previous, thanks to the loss of pushing the water aside. (Video credit: K. Kitagawa)

If you needed something to make a science GIF out of this weekend, here’s a good subject.

Whoa.

“I don’t say homosexuality is an abomination, Sir, the bible...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:24:13 -0400

“I don’t say homosexuality is an abomination, Sir, the bible does.”

wilwheaton: bobbycaputo: nbcnews: After vote allowing gay...

Fri, 31 May 2013 15:02:56 -0400

wilwheaton:

bobbycaputo:

nbcnews:

After vote allowing gay kids to become Boy Scouts, some families call it quits

(Photo: Dan Koeck for NBC News)

The father of a Cub Scout sat his son on his lap late last week and told him news that tore up both their hearts: The family was leaving the Boy Scouts.

Read the complete story.

Goodbye and good riddance. The boy scouts is no place for those who discriminate.

It’s really sad that kids who love Scouting are having that taken away from them because their parents are bigots. And those bigot parents will likely make their kids hate on “the gays” because they can’t bring themselves to admit that it’s their bigotry that’s taking something their kids love away from them.

wildcat2030: The bionic man, and what he tells us about the...

Thu, 30 May 2013 05:55:44 -0400

wildcat2030:

The bionic man, and what he tells us about the future of being human

-

Rex, as he’s called, has been put together by an expert team for a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary ‘How to Build a Bionic Man’ - in an effort to show just how far prosthetic science has advanced. Tom Clarke reports.

(by Channel4News)

fuckyeahfluiddynamics: The world’s most powerful artificial...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:21:39 -0400

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

The world’s most powerful artificial tornado is part of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Though popular enough with visitors that the staff will bring out smoke generators to make it visible, the tornado was not built as an attraction - It’s actually part of the building’s fire protection system. The modern open design of the museum meant that conventional smoke removal systems were inadequate. Instead vorticity is generated in the central lobby with 144 wall-mounted jets. The angular velocity created by the jets is strongest at the middle, in the vortex core, due to conservation of angular momentum - exactly the way a spinning ice skater speeds up by pulling his arms in. The core of the vortex is a low pressure area, which draws outside air toward it - this is how the tornado pulls in smoke when there is a fire. The fan on the ceiling provides the pressure draw necessary for the smoke to be pulled up and out of the building at a supposed rate of 4 tons per minute. See the tornado in action here. (Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz Passion; submitted by Ivan)

jtotheizzoe: We never sit here under the weight of all this...

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:57:55 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

We never sit here under the weight of all this air, the 5 x 10^18 kg of atmosphere that sits above everyone on Earth, and say “Gosh, that sure is heavy!”

You don’t realize just how powerful that 1 bar (~100 kPa) of pressure is until a train car is filled with steam, allowed to cool, and then implodes ohmygod did that just happen?

For more implosion goodness, check out this awesome video from Veritasium.

vicsecretmodels: legs for DAAAAAAAAAAAAYSSSSSSSS This must be...

Sun, 05 May 2013 05:10:26 -0400

vicsecretmodels:

legs for DAAAAAAAAAAAAYSSSSSSSS

This must be santi cazorla yo, like, props santi, props

jtotheizzoe: Meet Ronan, a 3-year-old sea lion that loves disco...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:11:23 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

Meet Ronan, a 3-year-old sea lion that loves disco and the Backstreet Boys, and is the first non-human mammal able to keep the beat to music.

Previously, birds like parrots (like this parrot, and this parrot, and this parrot, and these parrots) were the prime head-bobbers of nature. And it’s not tied to vocals, like the way that parrots mimic human speech (since sea lions don’t do that). It seems like rhythm is a natural part of biology.

So next time you move, feel the beat in your evolution, man.

(via The Two-Way : NPR)

Funniest thing I have seen on tumblr in a good long while

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:06:38 -0400

Funniest thing I have seen on tumblr in a good long while

fuckyeahfluiddynamics: As the Arctic warms, methane that was...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:58:13 -0400

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

As the Arctic warms, methane that was previously trapped by permafrost rises from the muddy bottom of lakes to escape into the atmosphere. Here the first clear ice of the fall has trapped the rising methane bubbles, allowing scientists an opportunity to estimate the amount of methane being released. When spring arrives and the lakes melt, the methane will rise again. (Photo credit: M. Thiessen/National Geographic)

jtotheizzoe: A fun fact tucked away in the newly...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:45:59 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

A fun fact tucked away in the newly gathered source code for Apollo and Gemini programs: The Apollo guidance computer used a type of memory called core rope memory to store programs. That is a solid-state ROM made of actual rope, with ferrite rings serving as the bits.

(ᔥ kottke, image above of Apollo core rope memory unit via Wikipedia)

Photo

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:37:47 -0500

Photo

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:40:49 -0500

jtotheizzoe: crookedindifference: NASA Day of...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:15:27 -0500

jtotheizzoe:

crookedindifference:

NASA Day of Remembrance

Each January, we honor the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews, as well as other members of the NASA family who lost their lives supporting NASA’s mission of exploration. We thank them and their families for their extraordinary sacrifices in the service of our nation.

On this Day of Remembrance, as we remember our fallen heroes with tributes and public ceremonies, I will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Across the country, all flags at NASA Headquarters and the NASA centers will be flown at half-mast in their memory.

Space exploration is a difficult and dangerous endeavor. We recognize these pioneers’ sacrifices each day with our ongoing commitment to safety. As an agency, we know the risks inherent in each mission. Ensuring the safety of our employees is our highest priority.

The legacy of those we have lost is our ongoing work and the inspiration of generations of new space explorers. Every day, with each new challenge we overcome and every discovery we make, we honor these remarkable men and women. Please join me in working to fulfill their dreams for the future.

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.
NASA Administrator

Heroes.

fuckyeahfluiddynamics: Droplets of oleic acid spread across a...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:12:25 -0500

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

Droplets of oleic acid spread across a thin film of glycerol on a silicon wafer. The shapes here are driven by hydrodynamic instabilities, particularly Marangoni effects due to the differences in surface tension between the two fluids. (Photo credit: A. Darhuber, B. Fischer and S. Troian)

Photo

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:19:00 -0500

mindblown….

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:18:07 -0500

mindblown….

LOL

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:01:00 -0500

LOL

jtotheizzoe: alleluiaaa: These are the patterns of planets...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:04:58 -0500

jtotheizzoe:

alleluiaaa:

These are the patterns of planets orbiting around each other. It’s as though they’re eternally dancing around each other. Each step, pattern, movement makes a beautiful shape unique to their relationship. It’s so… glorious.

It also hurts my eyes if I stare at it for too long.

All based on this:

“Take the orbits of any two planets and draw a line between the two planet positions every few days. Because the inner planet orbits faster than the outer planet, interesting patterns evolve.”

Lovely!