I can barely remember yesterday.
January 18th, 2012
google brain visualized
Search by Image, Recursively, Transparent PNG, #1 from kingcosmonaut3000 on Vimeo.
Very neat. Via kottke:
This is mesmerizing: using Google Image Search and starting with a transparent image, this video cycles through each subsequent related image, over 2900 in all.
It gets more interesting the longer it goes on. It’s like watching a visualisation of the neural connections of a cyborg. Or something.
December 11th, 2011
yeti farmers/farming yetis
The yeti crab is self-sufficient beyond belief when it comes to it’s dietary requirements.
The bristles that cover the crab’s claws and body are coated in gardens of symbiotic bacteria, which derive energy from the inorganic gases of the seeps. The crab eats the bacteria, using comb-like mouthparts to harvest them from its bristles (see a video of this on our YouTube Channel).
The bacteria in K. puravida gardens are closely related to species that live in other cold seeps and hot hydrothermal vents all over the world. “It looks like the bacteria may use the seeps as stepping stones, to create this global connected population that consumes the energy coming out of seeps and vents,” says Thurber.
Thurber thinks that K. puravida waves its claws to actively farm its bacterial gardens: movements stir up the water around the bacteria, ensuring that fresh supplies of oxygen and sulphide wash over them and helping them to grow. “This ‘dance’ is extraordinary and comical,” says Van Dover. “We’ve never seen this strategy before.”
More at Nature
November 24th, 2011
formation of brinicle, brine icicle, caught on film
The BBC has caught a spectacular undersea phenomenon on film. Watch the video on the BBC website.
The science behind the phenomenon:
Dr Mark Brandon Polar oceanographer, The Open University
Freezing sea water doesn’t make ice like the stuff you grow in your freezer. Instead of a solid dense lump, it is more like a seawater-soaked sponge with a tiny network of brine channels within it.
In winter, the air temperature above the sea ice can be below -20C, whereas the sea water is only about -1.9C. Heat flows from the warmer sea up to the very cold air, forming new ice from the bottom. The salt in this newly formed ice is concentrated and pushed into the brine channels. And because it is very cold and salty, it is denser than the water beneath.
The result is the brine sinks in a descending plume. But as this extremely cold brine leaves the sea ice, it freezes the relatively fresh seawater it comes in contact with. This forms a fragile tube of ice around the descending plume, which grows into what has been called a brinicle.
Brinicles are found in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, but it has to be relatively calm for them to grow as long as the ones the Frozen Planet team observed.
November 23rd, 2011
come off it
From a talk by Alan Watts. Shame about the strings added in the background.
November 17th, 2011
ISS HD
The International Space Station has a nice camera on board these days… View fullscreen.
Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König.
Another (see previous post) impressive time-lapse video found via kottke.
November 17th, 2011
365 skies
(watch fullscreen)
A camera installed on the roof of the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco captured an image of the sky every 10 seconds. From these images, I created a mosaic of time-lapse movies, each showing a single day. The days are arranged in chronological order. My intent was to reveal the patterns of light and weather over the course of a year.
A simple experiment that is almost profound to watch unfold. My favourite part is the way the sunrises and sunsets flood in and out.
Ken Murphy’s “A History of The Sky” (via kottke).
September 10th, 2011
how transistors work
I’m trying to improve my knowledge of electronics but most books tell you either too much or too little and leave you frustrated. This video filled in the missing gaps for me, regarding transistors.
The most beautiful thing about it is how elegant these electronic components are. They each contain very few materials and mechanisms, but demonstrate a tremendous understanding of the physical world.
August 2nd, 2011
more playing with food
Far be it from us to destroy anyone’s nerdy fascination with lighting stuff on fire with a microwave—one of the ultimate proofs of commitment to your geekdom—and what better object to show off this dangerous, potentially poisonous exhibit than with a grape?
The experiment is simple. Take a seedless grape and slice it down its length, making sure not to cut all the way through (this part is important!), so you leave just a small amount of skin connecting the two halves. Put it face-up in a microwave, turn it on for 30 seconds, and presto! A ball of flame.
So what the heck is going on in that thing? Grapes are packed full of electrolytes, an ion-rich liquid (also known as “grape juice”) that can conduct electricity. Each grape-part serves as a reservoir of electrolytes, connected together by a thin, weakly conducting path formed by the skin. Microwaves produce the energy that shove the stray ions in the grape back and forth very quickly between the two halves.
As a consequence, the current that’s produced pumps excess energy into the skin bridging the grapes, heating it up to 3000 degrees and eventually bursting into flame. Meanwhile, the traveling electrons arc through the flame and across the gap, which ionizes the air around the grape creating a bright blue burning plasma (phew!).
And what about the poisonous gas tainting your roommate’s dinner? Well, he’s talking about the ozone (O3) generated when the air inside the glass is ionized (think lightning storm). While not directly poisonous, ozone in high doses can cause issues with your lungs and just isn’t the best thing you could breath. And the smell isn’t all that appealing either.
From here via reddit/askscience
July 30th, 2011
lively cuisine
A live squid with its head removed is served on top of a bowl of sushi rice, accompanied by sashimi prepared from the head (usually sliced ika (squid) and ika-kimo (squid liver)) as well as other seafood. Seasoned soy sauce is first poured on top of the squid to make it “dance”.
Possibly the creation of a chef who was chastised in childhood for playing with his food.
via kottke