Explore, Dream, Discover

May192012

Check this out: Sweet Home Alabama played by ELECTRICITY. Not only is this maybe the awesomest use of Tesla coils to date, but the reason it works is really interesting too. From the creator’s website (but edited for grammar and punctuation…I can’t help it, I’m sorry):

[Tesla coils] create an extremely high frequency voltage at their output. This voltage has enough energy to convert a small part of the air around the coil to a plasma (the purple stuff you can actually see). Now this plasma, when it’s created, forces air out of it’s way as it forms. This creates a pressure wave that propagates away from the spark at the speed of sound.

It’s the same thing that happens with a speaker. The cone moves forward and back, creating a pressure wave we perceive as sound. Cool, eh?

I absolutely love that scientists out there are trying to discover the cure for cancer and other noble things, but damn if I’m not super happy that they’re also playing around with stuff like this.

I…want to build one.

science tesla coils sweet home alabama I think this is what my brother thinks I do at work

May142012

jtotheizzoe:

Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived

Word. Check out the whole comic at the link. So great. If you don’t know, now you know.

Previously: How Faust influenced Tesla.

(via The Oatmeal)

I was aware of much of Tesla’s awesomeness, and that Edison carried with him the faint scent of douchbaggery. I did not realize that they were basically on opposite ends of the spectrum.

science comics oatmeal tesla edison

2PM

thedailywhat:

TV Show Promo of the Day: J.J. Abrams — of Alias, Lost, and Fringe fame — is at the helm of Revolution, a new drama set in a post-apocalyptic world 15 years “after the lights went out” — or when a mysterious electromagnetic pulse threw humanity back into the 19th century, without cars, phones, or (gasp!) the Internet. Premieres this fall on NBC.

[devour]

revolution definitely on my to watch list

May122012

shortformblog:

afternoonsnoozebutton:

Students at students at a high school in Xiaogang City study with the help of of IV drips.

These photos were posted on a popular Chinese networking site last week. They show a group of high schoolers studying in their classroom for the Gaokao (national college entrance exam). An official has verified that the photo is legitimate. Source and verification here.

Taking cramming to a new, pretty unsettling level.

Unsettling? Yeah. Do I want this while I am trying to finish my dissertation? YES PLEASE.

May102012

becauseavengers:

46/100: Jeremy Renner

#omg it took me a minute #i was like ‘jeremy renner i only see- OH MY GOD JEREMY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

(Source: jeremyleerenner.com, via fire-kissed)

Jeremy Renner went to the Nathan Filion school of photobombing

May92012

NC Amendment 1 thoughts.

The outcome of the NC amendment 1 vote has completely depressed me. Not since living in Florida in November 2000 have I been so chagrined by a vote. I am more so this time, as it is not incompetence by a few people, but active bigotry of an entire state. Besides liberally dispensing the side eye of disappointment, I am not really sure what I can do about this. I have been talking non stop to anyone foolish enough to get me going about my views on the majority voting to restrict the rights of a minority, about how you can have a religion and still be a responsible politician for ALL your constituents. About how acknowledging the rights of gay people does no harm to straight people.

I was talking with my roommate and she was saying that lately she has come to realize two things:

1. You shouldn’t make laws based solely on your religion. That your religious views and your political views can be two separate things.

2. You shouldn’t legislate hate.

I like to think that this has something to do with my constant blathering on the subject, but who knows. I am not a political activist, I am not eloquent buy any stretch of the imagination, and I don’t know that many people. I am not gay, I just dislike the idea that a whole segment of the population is being denied basic rights. And it is going to be that much harder for equality to be reached in NC now.

NC amendment 1

10AM