Adieu 2016 - Best Of FYP!

Alloys: Wood’s Metal

Also known as Lipowtiz’s alloy as well as the commercial names of Cerrobend, Bendalloy, Pewtalloy, and MCP 158 among others, Wood’s metal is a bismuth alloy consisting of 50% bismuth, 26.67% lead, 13.33% tin, and 10% cadmium by weight. Named for the man who invented it, a Barnabas Wood, Wood’s metal was discovered/created by him in 1860.

Wood’s metal is both a eutectic and a fusible alloy, with a low melting temperature of approximately 70 °C (158 °F). While none of its individual components have a melting temperature of less than 200 °C, a eutectic alloy can be considered as a pure (homogeneous) substance and always has a sharp melting point. If the elements in a eutectic compound or alloy are not as tightly bound as they would be in the pure elements, this leads to a lower melting point. (Eutectic substances can have higher melting points, if its components bind tightly to themselves.)

Useful as a low-temperature solder or casting metal, Wood’s metal is also used as valves in fire sprinkler systems. Thanks to its low melting temperature, Wood’s metal melts in the case of a fire and thanks to the bismuth it is made from, the alloy also shrinks when it melts (bismuth, like water ice, is one of the few substances to do so) which is the key to setting off the sprinkler system. Wood’s metal is also often used as a filler when bending thin walled metal tubes: the filler prevents the tube from collapsing, then can be easily removed by heating and melting the Wood’s metal. Other applications include treating antiques, as a heat transfer medium in hot baths, and in making custom shaped apertures and blocks for medical radiation treatment.

With the addition of both lead and cadmium, however, Wood’s metal is considered to be a toxic alloy. Contact with bare skin is thought to be harmful, especially once the alloy has melted, and vapors from cadmium containing alloys are also quite dangerous and can result in cadmium poisoning. A non-toxic alternative to Wood’s metal is Field’s metal, composed of bismuth, tin, and indium.

Sources: ( 1 - image 4 ) ( 2 - image 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 )

Image sources: ( 1 ) ( 3 )

Behold the awesomeness that is the heart of a blue whale. This colossal organ weighs 440 pounds and was retrieved from the carcass of a whale that had washed up on the shore of Newfoundland in 2014. Despite decomposition the heart was still in such great condition that it was a perfect candidate for preservation via plastination, which is precisely what was done by mammalogy technicians at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Head over to Wired to learn how museum scientists went about preserving this titanic ticker.

[via Wired]

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

10 Tools for the Armchair Astronaut, or  How to Explore the Solar System from Home

At this very moment, spacecraft are surveying the solar system, from Mars, to Saturn, to Pluto and beyond. Now you can ride along to see the latest discoveries from deep space. For this week’s edition of 10 Things, we’ve assembled a toolkit of 10 essential resources for the desktop astronaut.  

1. It’s Like Facebook, but for Planets

Or is it more of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Solar System? Whatever one calls it, our planets page offers quick rundowns, as well as in-depth guides, for all the major bodies in the solar system. Explore from the sun all the way to the Oort Cloud.

+ Peruse the planets + See how objects in the solar system stack up against each other

2. Keep Your Eyes on This One

If you still haven’t tried Eyes on the Solar System, you’re missing out. This free, downloadable simulation app lets you tour the planets and track the past, current and future positions of spacecraft–all in 3D. Eyes on the Solar System uses real NASA data to help you take a virtual flight across both space and time.

+ Prepare for departure

3. Dateline: Deep Space

With so much exploration underway, discoveries and new insights into the solar system come at a pace that borders on bewildering. NASA is rewriting the textbooks, literally, on a regular basis. Relax, though: there are several easy ways to stay up to date with what’s happening in space.

+ See the latest headlines + Stay connected on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram + Find more top NASA social media accounts

4. Space? There’s an App for That

NASA offers phone and tablet apps for star gazing, pictures, news, 3D tours, satellite tracking, live NASA TV and many other kinds of info.

+ Start downloading + See other cool apps

5. A (Very) Long Distance Call

We’re in constant communication with spacecraft all over the solar system. The Deep Space Network is a global network of giant antenna dishes that makes it possible. With this online app, you can learn how it works – and even see which spacecraft are phoning home right now.

+ Deep Space Network (DSN) Now

6. Collect ‘Em All

Spacecraft 3D is an augmented reality (AR) application that lets you learn about and interact with a variety of spacecraft that are used to explore our solar system, study Earth and observe the universe. Print out the AR target and your camera will do the rest, making the spacecraft appear in 3D right in front of you. Learn more about these robotic explorers as they pop up on your desk, in your hand, or on your dog’s head.

+ Download Spacecraft 3D + See more cool 3-D resources from NASA

7. Ever Wanted to Drive a Mars Rover?

This site will give you a 3D look at the Mars Curiosity rover, along with some of the terrain it has explored. It will even let you take the controls.

+ Experience Curiosity

8. More E-Ticket Attractions

But wait, there’s more. NASA offers a variety of other fascinating (and free) online experiences, all based on actual data from real missions. Here are a few to explore:

+ Mars Trek + Vesta Trek + Moon Trek

9. The Universe Is Our Classroom

Studying the solar system makes for a compelling route into learning and teaching science, engineering and math. We have some great places to start.

+ Find resources for teachers + Build your own solar system with your classroom

10. Bring It on Home

After you’ve toured the far reaches of the solar system, you can always come home again. When you have spent time studying the harsh conditions on our neighboring planets, the charms of a unique paradise come into sharp focus, the place we call Earth.

+ Watch a real-time video feed from Earth orbit + See a daily global view of our planet from a million miles away + Hold the earth in your hands with the Earth Now mobile app

Discover more lists of 10 things to know about our solar system HERE.

Follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

Reaching out into space yields benefits on Earth. Many of these have practical applications — but there’s something more than that. Call it inspiration, perhaps, what photographer Ansel Adams referred to as nature’s “endless prospect of magic and wonder.“ 

Our ongoing exploration of the solar system has yielded more than a few magical images. Why not keep some of them close by to inspire your own explorations? This week, we offer 10 planetary photos suitable for wallpapers on your desktop or phone. Find many more in our galleries. These images were the result of audacious expeditions into deep space; as author Edward Abbey said, "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.”

1. Martian Selfie

This self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows the robotic geologist in the “Murray Buttes” area on lower Mount Sharp. Key features on the skyline of this panorama are the dark mesa called “M12” to the left of the rover’s mast and pale, upper Mount Sharp to the right of the mast. The top of M12 stands about 23 feet (7 meters) above the base of the sloping piles of rocks just behind Curiosity. The scene combines approximately 60 images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, camera at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. Most of the component images were taken on September 17, 2016.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

2. The Colors of Pluto

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution, enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Pluto’s surface sports a remarkable range of subtle colors, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. Many landforms have their own distinct colors, telling a complex geological and climatological story that scientists have only just begun to decode.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

3. The Day the Earth Smiled

On July 19, 2013, in an event celebrated the world over, our Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn’s shadow and turned to image the planet, seven of its moons, its inner rings — and, in the background, our home planet, Earth. This mosaic is special as it marks the third time our home planet was imaged from the outer solar system; the second time it was imaged by Cassini from Saturn’s orbit, the first time ever that inhabitants of Earth were made aware in advance that their photo would be taken from such a great distance.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

4. Looking Back

Before leaving the Pluto system forever, New Horizons turned back to see Pluto backlit by the sun. The small world’s haze layer shows its blue color in this picture. The high-altitude haze is thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn’s moon Titan. The source of both hazes likely involves sunlight-initiated chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane, leading to relatively small, soot-like particles called tholins. This image was generated by combining information from blue, red and near-infrared images to closely replicate the color a human eye would perceive.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

5. Catching Its Own Tail

A huge storm churning through the atmosphere in Saturn’s northern hemisphere overtakes itself as it encircles the planet in this true-color view from Cassini. This picture, captured on February 25, 2011, was taken about 12 weeks after the storm began, and the clouds by this time had formed a tail that wrapped around the planet. The storm is a prodigious source of radio noise, which comes from lightning deep within the planet’s atmosphere.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

6. The Great Red Spot

Another massive storm, this time on Jupiter, as seen in this dramatic close-up by Voyager 1 in 1979. The Great Red Spot is much larger than the entire Earth.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

7. More Stormy Weather

Jupiter is still just as stormy today, as seen in this recent view from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, when it soared directly over Jupiter’s south pole on February 2, 2017, from an altitude of about 62,800 miles (101,000 kilometers) above the cloud tops. From this unique vantage point we see the terminator (where day meets night) cutting across the Jovian south polar region’s restless, marbled atmosphere with the south pole itself approximately in the center of that border. This image was processed by citizen scientist John Landino. This enhanced color version highlights the bright high clouds and numerous meandering oval storms.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

8. X-Ray Vision

X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by our Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by our Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The NuSTAR data, seen in green and blue, reveal solar high-energy emission. The high-energy X-rays come from gas heated to above 3 million degrees. The red channel represents ultraviolet light captured by SDO, and shows the presence of lower-temperature material in the solar atmosphere at 1 million degrees.

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

9. One Space Robot Photographs Another

This image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Victoria crater, near the equator of Mars. The crater is approximately half a mile (800 meters) in diameter. It has a distinctive scalloped shape to its rim, caused by erosion and downhill movement of crater wall material. Since January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been operating in the region where Victoria crater is found. Five days before this image was taken in October 2006, Opportunity arrived at the rim of the crater after a drive of more than over 5 miles (9 kilometers). The rover can be seen in this image, as a dot at roughly the “ten o'clock” position along the rim of the crater. (You can zoom in on the full-resolution version here.)

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

1280 x 800

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

10. Night Lights

Last, but far from least, is this remarkable new view of our home planet. Last week, we released new global maps of Earth at night, providing the clearest yet composite view of the patterns of human settlement across our planet. This composite image, one of three new full-hemisphere views, provides a view of the Americas at night from the NASA-NOAA Suomi-NPP satellite. The clouds and sun glint — added here for aesthetic effect — are derived from MODIS instrument land surface and cloud cover products.

Full Earth at night map

Americas at night

Discover more lists of 10 things to know about our solar system HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

These giant mesh nets provide drinking water in the driest desert on Earth.

Fallstreak holes are natural phenomena that often get mistaken for UFOs. These ‘hole punch clouds’ occur when water droplets inside a cloud freeze and fall beneath it, creating a large gap that looks like a perfect hiding place for a flying saucer.

Aliens, obvi.

The rarity of fallstreak holes is what tends to throw people.

That paired with the tendency to look at anything in the sky and cry ‘UFO!’ is the perfect makings of a false alien alarm.

Sometimes these clouds have little rainbows inside.

They aren’t always circular, though…

They make all kinds of crazy shapes.

Including airplane/sword/cross/wieners.

Photos via: Rantplaces

Source

Dude, bullets are literally made to shatter on impact. It's to prevent over-penetration. Bullets frequently shatter if they hit human bone inside a body, for example. So congrats, a katana is as good at stopping bullets as a human bone. Or a regular butter knife. Or even a regular piece of old steel. Like the ones used in a target range. Ever wonder why the steel plates at target ranges don't have holes in them even tho rifle caliber bullets hit them? It's cause the bullet shatters on impact.

To be very clear, the intention of the post was never to say that Katana is the ultimate sword. It was merely to enlighten the possibility of the bullet getting shattered by a sword/Knife.

Yes, bullets do shatter on impact.

But I am not so sure about what you say about the human bone though.

I believe it really depends on that kinetic energy of the bullet, the bullet size and the place of impact of the bullet on the body.

And even with the tissues surrounding the bone, there have been many instances where the Femur ( thigh bone ) fractured on impact.

If anyone reading this has a background in the field, would highly appreciate to hear your stance on this.

Thanks for asking anon ! :D

apparently one whale years ago was observed doing this for hours and now more and more whales in the area are seen copying it so we think it’s a whole new behavior and it seems to be a response to shrinking food sources.

Instead of expending any energy actively hunting, the whale just holds its mouth open wherever fish are being hunted by birds. To escape the birds, the fish try to hide in the whale’s mouth because it’s a darker area that looks like shelter. …They’re turning into giant, sea-mammal pitcher plants.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mms.12557?referrer_access_token=bXLTS5BeSw_vlIKHkM0bYIta6bR2k8jH0KrdpFOxC654HjreJ8D19K86UreR5JPsSRb0CuGhiJSV1L1ht-N1Gf_K_1a9MREFzQGU9oJDNctsKDin_HXcYEdsLg3EbcTl

Vantablack absorbs 99% of light and is the darkest material ever made.

How does sand from Sahara end up in your windshield ?

TBH cleaning your car is a rather mundane task. But when you fill your head with some interesting physics the task actually gets rather pretty interesting. Here’s some good for thought on such an occasion :

The dust on your windshield might actually be from the Sahara desert

To understand how, lets start with some simple physics.

The stacked ball drop

You basically take couple of balls, align them up and drop them to the ground. The ball at the top reaches the most highest due to the subsequent transfer of energy from the other balls.

                                    Source Video : Physics Girl

Here is an exaggerated but amazing slow motion of the same energy transfer with a water balloon. Notice how the transfer of energy takes place between the water balloon and the tennis ball.

                                     Source Video : Slow Mo Lab

Sandstorms in the desert

Sandstorms/ Dust storms as you might be aware, are pretty common in the desert. . Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface.

And this can cause something phenomenal to happen:

If the wind speed is sufficient then larger sand particles can propel finer ones high into the atmosphere. ( just like the stacked ball )

Then these fine particles are caught in the global wind pattern and are transported across the globe until they fall down to the earth as rain.

How cool is that ! Have a great day!

* Tracking saharan dust in 3D - NASA video

** All the World’s a Stage … for Dust - NASA article

** Wiki on Saltation