If you take two empty cans, one closed on the bottom and the other open (i.e. a tube), and turn them upside down, which will be harder to push into a bucket of sand? If, reasoning by analogy to liquids, you (like most people), said the closed one…well, you can sort of guess where this is heading: A closed can is, in fact, easier to push into a bed of sand than an open tube. Given the usual fine print. Adrian Cho explains over at ScienceNOW:
Rich Olson has a posted about his Peltier cooler based cloud chamber. He’s tested Americium, Carnotite, and Autunite samples in it. Peltier Cooler Based Cloud Chamber More: HOW-TO: Make a cloud chamber Inward-pointing scanner, cloud chamber from FMCG
Sporting the slogan “More heroes! More villains! More SCIENCE!” on the cover, the second edition of The Physics of Superheroes, by James Kakalios, delivers the goods. Revamped since the first edition, with more examples and a new section on quantum mechanics, this book makes learning physics exciting and fun. No more “ball falling off a […]
Here are a couple more excerpts from The Fat Man and Circuit Girl show. In the first clip, Jeri converts an optical flatbed scanner so that it rotates around an object (like her FACE!) and scans inward. In the second, she makes a cloud chamber with a toy tank (a tank in a tank) to […]
Eric Gradman has created this awesome interactive fluid dynamics program called Besmoke. It is iPhone accelerometer aware and responds to sound input. It is based on Navier-Stokes fluid simulations. Besmoke – Interactive Fluid Dynamics with iPhone and Sound Reactivity
Tufts University has a really good book available online about the physics of music and musical instruments. It’s a nice balance between theory, examples, and hands-on projects. The Physics of Music and Musical Instruments covers the physics of waves, sound, music, and musical instruments at a level designed for high school physics. However, it is […]
Jim Ottaviani and Sean Bieri are doing a serialized zombie comic on the Tor site. Join us for chills, thrills, and pulse-pounding scientific breakthroughs as we embark on a tour of the Quantum Zombie, Inc. facility, courtesy of a guy who bears a striking resemblance to famed scientist and cat-lover Erwin Schrödinger. Hijinks, hilarity, and […]
