ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOSQUID! Chromatophores are muscle-controlled pigment cells in the skin of cephalopods, such as squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. These chromatophores expand and contract on command in order to help the animal blend in with its surroundings, or to communicate with other animals. [MikeBok]
This video makes me sad. Like really, really sad. Sigh. Thumbs up to the lady at 1:48 for the right answer though. [Motherboard]
You guys have to watch this and see the look on Stephen Hawking’s face at the end of the video. Priceless, isn’t it? :)
A little bit of humor related to today’s announcement. [Via IFLS]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued an official statement that there is no evidence that mermaids exist. The statement, by the agency’s National Ocean Service, came after two letters asking for information about the mythical creatures. It appears the letters came from viewers of an Animal Planet broadcast in May entitled “Mermaids: The […]
Being the physics nerd I am, finding out that the announcement of the results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in the search for the Higgs Boson was going to be made in my city (Melbourne) at the High Energy Physics conference on the 4th of July, had me acting like quite the […]
Today I tripped over a interesting application of science that will change how we look at our friend, the common house ant. 53 year old scientist Dr Mohamed Babu in Mysore, India was alerted to this phenomenon by his wife, who noted that when ants drank some spilled milk, their transparent rear segments would turn […]
Researchers at the Tevatron particle accelerator in Illinois say they’ve come about as close as you can get to finding evidence of the Higgs boson particle. The announcement comes amid rumors that researchers at the Large Hadron Collider will make a notable announcement this week. At the moment, the Higgs boson is still hypothetical and […]
Since the 4th of July is just around the corner, here’s an interesting video featuring John Conkling, a leading expert in the field of pyrotechnics, who talks all about the chemical composition of fireworks, how mortars work, how colors are formed, and he even gives a couple of explosive demos. Check it out! Thanks Kirk!
Bill details how a microwave oven heats food. He describes how the microwave vacuum tube, called a magnetron, generates radio frequencies that cause the water in food to rotate back and forth. He shows the standing wave inside the oven, and notes how you can measure the wavelength with melted cheese. He concludes by describing […]