What is a flame?
A couple months back we talked about a really cool science communication contest called The Flame Challenge. Alan Alda (yes, the actor) was always frustrated that his teacher never gave him a good answer for “what is a flame?” You know, this is a really entertaining image in my head. An 11-year-old with Alan Alda’s voice is pretty much the funniest thing I’ve thought of all day. But I digress …
Science communicators everywhere submitted their videos, stories and illustrations to try and explain a flame in simple, fun terms. I was going to submit one, but my animation skills are so far limited to making a word do a cartwheel. I need some practice, or someone smarter to collaborate with. And the best part? The submissions were judged by 11-year-olds (second only to New York Times food critics in their ruthless thresholds of perfection).
On Saturday, at the World Science Festival in NYC, Mr. Alda will present the winner. I know who my money’s on (Hint: Did you watch that video!?), but be sure to check out all the finalists.
Light a fire of curiosity for someone today and share the story of a flame!
(via Center for Communicating Science and World Science Festival)
X-ray Crystallography
It is a method of determining the arrangement of atoms within a crystal, in which a beam of X-rays strikes a crystal and causes the beam of light to spread into many specific directions. From the angles and intensities of these diffracted beams, a crystallographer can produce a three-dimensional picture of the density of electrons within the crystal. From this electron density, the mean positions of the atoms in the crystal can be determined, as well as their chemical bonds, their disorder and various other information.
X-ray crystallography can locate every atom in a zeolite, an aluminosilicate with many important applications, such as water purification.
Science is lovely in silk (at least it is in the hands of Karen Kamenetzky).
Kamenetzky on her work:
I dye, paint and stitch cottons and silks to create boldly colored wallhangings inspired by microscopic/cellular imagery - a kind of visual invented biology with textiles. I find this imagery metaphorically rich since all change fundamentally happens on this infinitesimal level.
![skaterboytae:
When a honeybee dies it releases a death pheromone, a characteristic odor that signals the survivors to remove it from the hive. This might seem a supreme final act of social responsibility. The corpse is promptly pushed and tugged out of the hive. The death pheromone is oleic acid [a fairly complex molecule, CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH, where = stands for a double chemical bond].
What happens if a live bee is dabbed with a drop of oleic acid?
Then, no matter how strapping and vigorous it might be, it is carried “kicking and screaming” out of the hive. Even the Queen bee, if she’s painted with invisible amounts of oleic acid, will be subjected to this indignity.
Do the bees understand the danger of corpses decomposing in the hive? Are they aware of the connection between death and oleic acid? Do they have any idea what death is? Do they think to check the oleic acid signal against other information, such as healty spontaneous movement? The answer to all these questions is, almost certainly, No. In the life of the hive there’s no way that a bee can give off detectable whiff of oleic acid other than by dying. Elaborate contemplative machinery is unnecessary. Their perceptions are adequate for their needs.
Ann Druyan & Carl Sagan, Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors: Who Are We?, What Thin Partitions](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4llqojM141qgpn9lo1_1280.jpg)
When a honeybee dies it releases a death pheromone, a characteristic odor that signals the survivors to remove it from the hive. This might seem a supreme final act of social responsibility. The corpse is promptly pushed and tugged out of the hive. The death pheromone is oleic acid [a fairly complex molecule, CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH, where = stands for a double chemical bond].
What happens if a live bee is dabbed with a drop of oleic acid?
Then, no matter how strapping and vigorous it might be, it is carried “kicking and screaming” out of the hive. Even the Queen bee, if she’s painted with invisible amounts of oleic acid, will be subjected to this indignity.
Do the bees understand the danger of corpses decomposing in the hive? Are they aware of the connection between death and oleic acid? Do they have any idea what death is? Do they think to check the oleic acid signal against other information, such as healty spontaneous movement? The answer to all these questions is, almost certainly, No. In the life of the hive there’s no way that a bee can give off detectable whiff of oleic acid other than by dying. Elaborate contemplative machinery is unnecessary. Their perceptions are adequate for their needs.
Ann Druyan & Carl Sagan, Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors: Who Are We?, What Thin Partitions
(Source: bizea)
Toddler received world’s smallest artificial heart as he waited for a transplant
Italian doctors have saved the life of a 16-month-old boy by implanting the world’s smallest artificial heart to keep the infant alive until a donor was found for a transplant.
The tiny titanium pump weighs only 11 grams and can handle a blood flow of 1.5 liters a minute. An artificial heart for adults weighs 900 grams.
Surgeon Antonio Amodeo said the baby had become family and his team wanted to do everything to help him.
“Every day, every hour, for more than one year he was with us. So when we had a problem we couldn’t do anything more than our best,” he said. (Photo: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)
yeah titanium pumps
Luminol is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8N3O2H7. In the presence of a catalyst called Potassium Ferricyanide, Luminol reacts with Hydrogen Peroxide to yield Nitrogen gas and 3-Aminophthalic Acid. This product molecule initially forms in an excited state and thus releases energy in the form of a ghostly blue light.
Tea lovers! This molecule is called Theanine.
It is commonly found in tea, primarily in green tea. Able to cross the blood-brain barrier, Theanine has psychoactive properties. Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress, and improves cognition and mood in a synergistic manner with caffeine.
Read the rest at http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla! Apparently tumblr has max height for posts. Ew.
Tesla, the original BAMF.
