Misc. science facts

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

History of Concrete

I like concrete, i have used it on some pretty big construction projects. The biggest pour i have been involved in was for a wind turbine base. That was 42 x 6 m3 lorries full. Thats a lot especially when it all has to be vibrated to get the air out.



Concrete is a manmade building material that looks like stone. Combining cement with aggregate and sufficient water makes concrete. Water allows it to set and bind the materials together. Different mixtures are added to meet specific requirements. Concrete is normally reinforced with the use of rods or steel mesh before it is poured into moulds. Interestingly, the history of concrete finds evidence in Rome some 2000 years back. Concrete was essentially used in aqueducts and roadway construction in Rome.

It is said that the Romans used a primal mix for their concrete. It consisted of small gravel and coarse sand mixed with hot lime and water, and sometimes even animal blood. To trim down shrinkage, they are known to have used horsehair. Historical evidence states that the Assyrians and Babylonians used clay as the bonding material. Even ancient Egyptians are believed to have used lime and gypsum cement for concrete. Lime mortars and gypsums were also used in building the world-acclaimed pyramids.

However, Romans are known to have made wide usage of concrete for building roads. It is interesting to learn that they built some 5,300 miles of roads using concrete. Concrete is a very strong building material. Historical evidence also points that Romans used Pozzalana, animal fat, milk and blood as admixtures for building concrete.

1903 England Rail mounted concrete mixer

Hoover Dam

2,500,000 cubic m's concrete


Concrete Art

 

[rtwjunkie]

Concrete was what also allowed the Romans to build the roof on the Pantheon, apartment buildings, and numerous other large buildings.

 

[twilyth]

Learn about the cytosol - http://directorsblog.nih.gov/2015/02/12/cool-videos-coordinated-chaos-in-the-cells-cytosol/


https://www.youtube.com/embed/uh2vqlBuTxU

 

[twilyth]

The mechanics of popcorn

A lot of math and jargon, but there are some interesting pix like this one

Figure 3.
Fractures and jumps. (a) Snapshots of the somersault of a piece of popcorn while heated on a hot plate, 350°C (see electronic supplementary material, movie S1). We assume that the displacement in the y-direction is small compared to the displacements in the x–z plane because the kernel stays in the depth of field of the camera which is about 3 mm. (b) The fracture of Impatiens glandulifera seedpod, adapted from Deegan [13]. (c) The snapshots of the somersault of a gymnast, adapted from Muybridge [26]. (Online version in colour.)

Article is summarized here - https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/biomechanics-popcorn

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Cleaning up oil spills with magnets

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/how-to-clean-up-oil-spills-0912.html


How does a transistor work ?

anybody fancy a silicon chip?

 

[twilyth]

Technically this isn't strictly science related but it's science adjacent - the NASA's new mission poster.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

For me.... this approach doesnt work. I remember when Star Wars was a real thing, the war in space, lets not forget, the first space missions were military backed with the aim of providing weapons platforms.


I was hoping they would ditch this shit after Challenger.

It kind of trivializes the science. Who is next....The Griffins, with Stewie at the helm.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Why is super glue so strong?

Super glue is made of cyanoacrylate, an acrylic resin that creates a strong bond almost instantly. The molecules of this acrylic resin react on contact with the hydroxyl ions found in water. Because some trace of water can be found on the surface of almost anything, super glue can bond immediately and tightly to almost any object. The cyanoacrylate molecules start to link and form chains, triggered by the water. They spin around in strands that form a super-strong plastic mesh, and they only stop when the glue becomes thick and hardens, and the molecular chains can't move.

The chemical process that super glue undergoes is called anionic polymerization. This dries up the water to create the bond, and the heat this process generates can even burn your skin. If you happen to glue something other than the intended object, like your fingers for example, be careful how you unstick yourself.

Cyanoacrylate's bonding ability is so quick and so strong (a square-inch bond can hold weight of over a ton) that inadvertent finger-sticking often happens. The basic rule of super-glue first aid is not to force anything apart, or you will tear your skin. First remove excess glue, but scrape it off and don't use any kind of fabric, as that may cause a chemical reaction that could burn your skin. Soak your hands in warm soapy water, and then carefully pull your fingers apart using a dull tool.

Take care never to open the super glue cap with your mouth! Loosening super-glued lips is no easy matter. Cyanoacrylate's bonding ability is so strong, it can be used instead of stitches to close up wounds. If super glue is combined with a different alcohol, it becomes less toxic and can be used more safely on the skin.

 

[twilyth]

Is there a reason that you're posting in a 16pt font?

 

[xvi]

Is there a reason that you're posting in a 16pt font?

..for maximum science, obviously.

 

[twilyth]

Here is an article that talks about the different types of materials used in particle detectors - from dry cleaning fluid, to mineral oil and from Antarctic ice to old Soviet artillery shells - http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/february-2015/10-unusual-detector-materials

There's even a link for building your own particle detector at home - http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/january-2015/how-to-build-your-own-particle-detector

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The strongest natural material ever known has been found... in the teeth of a tiny shellfish.

Scientists, who made the discovery while examining limpets, say the substance could revolutionise industrial engineering.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth believe it is even stronger than the silk spiders use to make webs, until now thought weight for weight to be the world’s toughest biological material.

The scientists examined the teeth of limpets, which cling to rocks around Britain’s shores, and found fibres of a mineral in them, known as goethite, have evolved to form super-strong structures.

This helps the shellfish dig into rocks to stop them being washed out to sea.

Professor Asa Barber, who led the research, said: ‘Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for structures that have excellent mechanical properties.

‘All the things we observe around us, such as trees, the shells of sea creatures and the limpet teeth studied in this work, have evolved to be effective at what they do.

‘Until now we thought that spider silk was the strongest biological material because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics, but now we have discovered that limpet teeth exhibit a strength that is potentially higher.’

The study, published today in the Royal Society journal Interface, suggests that the structure could be copied by engineers.

Professor Barber added: ‘We discovered that the fibres of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure.

‘This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures

 

[Ahhzz]

Yup, read that this morning. Interesting

 

[twilyth]

From wikipedia

Goethite (FeO(OH)), (/ˈɡɜrtaɪt/ GUR-tite) named after the German polymath and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), an iron bearing hydroxide mineral of the diaspore group, is found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since ancient times for its use as a pigment (ochre). Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples taken from the caves of Lascaux in France. It was first described in 1806 for occurrences in the Hollertszug Mine, Dermbach, Herdorf, Siegerland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[3]

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The science of bubbles

Anyone who has lathered up soap or seen frothy suds form on top of freshly poured soda has witnessed the delicate science of bubbles in action. But while bubbles and foamy materials are common in everyday life, scientists have struggled to model suds’ complicated behavior — the way clusters of bubbles grow, change shape and ultimately pop.

Understanding and predicting bubble behavior is important because the production of chemicals we rely on, such as flame-retardants, involves froths and foams.
The underlying equations could have a variety of applications, including helping to make better metal and plastic foams, developing lightweight crash-absorbent materials and also to model a number of biological processes such as the growth of cell clusters.

An early attempt at understanding the structure of soapy foams is encapsulated in "Plateau's laws" – formulated by 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau. Then Lord Kelvin developed his theory of an "ideal foam" of equal-sized bubbles in 1887, an accurate version of which was finally made in the lab in 2012 by a team at Trinity College, Dublin. But a more general set of equations describing bubbles on varying length and time scales remained elusive, until now. The challenge is to create mathematical models that describe how interfaces between bubbles move and how they "meet" in complicated phases.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Wing Tip Vortex

from wiki
Wingtip vortices are circular patterns of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift.[1] One wingtip vortex trails from the tip of each wing. Wingtip vortices are sometimes named trailing or lift-induced vorticesbecause they also occur at points other than at the wing tips.[1] Indeed, vorticity is trailed at any point on the wing where the lift varies span-wise (a fact described and quantified by the lifting-line theory); it eventually rolls up into large vortices near the wingtip, at the edge of flap devices, or at other abrupt changes in wing planform.

have a click here
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Lift-induced_vortices_behind_aircraft_(DLR_demonstration).ogv

 

[twilyth]

Vortex generator

A vortex generator (VG) is an aerodynamic device, consisting of a small vane usually attached to a lifting surface (or airfoil, such as an aircraft wing)[1] or a rotor blade of a wind turbine.[2] VGs may also be attached to some part of an aerodynamic vehicle such as an aircraft fuselage or a car. When the airfoil or the body is in motion relative to the air, the VG creates a vortex,[1][3] which, by removing some part of the slow-moving boundary layer in contact with the airfoil surface, delays local flow separation and aerodynamic stalling, thereby improving the effectiveness of wings and control surfaces, such as flaps, elevators, ailerons, and rudders.[3]

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

you see these on a lot of commercial aircraft they save about 10 % fuel i think.

they are called canards, its the French word for duck.

 

[64K]

Some things defy my understanding about aerodynamics. Did you know that you can make a paper tube fly?

http://www.10paperairplanes.com/how-to-make-paper-airplanes/07-the-ring.html

You don't have to go to great lengths to make it spin as the author says. Just toss it like a football. I make these sometimes for kids and they think it's some kind of magic because there are no wings. Even most adults have never seen this.

 

[0zzy]

The strongest natural material ever known has been found... in the teeth of a tiny shellfish.

Scientists, who made the discovery while examining limpets, say the substance could revolutionise industrial engineering.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth believe it is even stronger than the silk spiders use to make webs, until now thought weight for weight to be the world’s toughest biological material.

The scientists examined the teeth of limpets, which cling to rocks around Britain’s shores, and found fibres of a mineral in them, known as goethite, have evolved to form super-strong structures.

This helps the shellfish dig into rocks to stop them being washed out to sea.

Professor Asa Barber, who led the research, said: ‘Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for structures that have excellent mechanical properties.

‘All the things we observe around us, such as trees, the shells of sea creatures and the limpet teeth studied in this work, have evolved to be effective at what they do.

‘Until now we thought that spider silk was the strongest biological material because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics, but now we have discovered that limpet teeth exhibit a strength that is potentially higher.’

The study, published today in the Royal Society journal Interface, suggests that the structure could be copied by engineers.

Professor Barber added: ‘We discovered that the fibres of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure.

‘This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures

Weird. I thought some spider silk was the strongest, but now this right?

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Weird. I thought some spider silk was the strongest, but now this right?

The strangest kind of research can come up with such amazing results. Brilliant.


Here is some more stuff about it

Scientists believe they may have found the strongest natural material known to man, one that could be copied to make the cars, boats and planes of the future - the teeth of the humble limpet.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth examined the mechanics of limpet teeth by pulling them apart all the way down to the level of the atom.

They found that the teeth of the snail-like creatures, common to shorelines and rock pools around the world, is potentially stronger than what was previously thought to be the strongest biological material, the silk of a spider.

Scientists believe the structure could be reproduced in high-performance engineering, such as racing cars and in boat hulls.

Professor Asa Barber, who led the study, said: "Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for structures that have excellent mechanical properties. All the things we observe around us, such as trees, the shells of sea creatures and the limpet teeth studied in this work, have evolved to be effective at what they do.

"Until now we thought that spider silk was the strongest biological material because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics, but now we have discovered that limpet teeth exhibit a strength that is potentially higher."

The study, published today in the Royal Society journal Interface, found that the teeth contain a hard material known as goethite, which forms in the limpet as it grows.

Limpets need the high-strength teeth to rasp over rock surfaces and remove algae for feed when the tide is in.

Prof Barber said: " We discovered that the fibres of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure.

"This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures.

"Engineers are always interested in making these structures stronger to improve their performance or lighter so they use less material."

Limpets' teeth were also found to be the same strength, no matter what the size.

Prof Barber added: "Generally a big structure has lots of flaws and can break more easily than a smaller structure, which has fewer flaws and is stronger.

"The problem is that most structures have to be fairly big, so they're weaker than we would like. Limpet teeth break this rule as their strength is the same no matter what the size."

Examining effective designs in nature and then making structures based on these designs is known as 'bio-inspiration'.

Prof Barber said: "Biology is a great source of inspiration when designing new structures but with so many biological structures to consider, it can take time to discover which may be useful."

 

[xvi]

Some things defy my understanding about aerodynamics. Did you know that you can make a paper tube fly?

http://www.10paperairplanes.com/how-to-make-paper-airplanes/07-the-ring.html

You don't have to go to great lengths to make it spin as the author says. Just toss it like a football. I make these sometimes for kids and they think it's some kind of magic because there are no wings. Even most adults have never seen this.

Some quick googling found me this. Neat!

 

[twilyth]

Atoms are mostly empty space

It is true that atoms are mostly empty space. In fact, if all of the space from the body’s atoms were eliminated, the leftover result would be so tiny, the body could fit into an opening that is less than 1/500th of a centimeter -- or the point of a pin. Although atoms are small and comprised of empty space, they are numerous; the average adult human body is estimated to contain 7 octillion (or 7 followed by 27 zeros) individual atoms. Each atom is believed to contain material that was created billions of years ago. For instance, hydrogen is thought to be nearly 14 billion years old, and oxygen was thought to be created about 12 billion years ago.

More about the structure of the human body:

• The human body is thought to contain 10 times more bacterial cells than actual cells that form the body.
  
• 60% of the human body is comprised of water, which contains hydrogen and oxygen molecules.
  
• Although the brain makes up just 2% of the total human body, it requires at least 20% of the body’s entire oxygen supply.

 

[twilyth]

Smallest bacterium found - this is so small no one was even sure it could exist.

For scale, the bar on the bottom right is 100 nanometers.

Forget Mars.

Scientists recently found a type of life on Earth so unknown to us it might as well be alien. The lifeforms are so tiny that researchers have been debating whether or not they could even exist for decades.

They finally caught the tiny bacterium, which only has a volume of 0.009 cubic microns (for perspective, a micron is one millionth the length of a meter) on film. Here's the shot:

 

[xvi]

A resource group managed to capture light acting as a wave and a particle at the same time. Too much science for me to fully comprehend quickly, but there are articles out there that explain it. Thought that was pretty neat.