So just what is out there beyond the Standard Model? “Other than the laws of physics, rules have never really worked out for me.” -Craig Ferguson Earlier this week, evidence was presented measuring a very rare decay rate — albeit not incredibly precisely — which point towards the Standard Model being it as far as new particles accessible to colliders (such as the LHC) go. In other words, unless we get hit by a big physics surprise, the LHC will become renowned for having found the Higgs Boson and nothing else, meaning that there’s no window into what lies beyond the Standard Model via traditional experimental particle physics. Image credit: Fermilab, modified by me. But that by no means is the same thing as saying “the Standard Model is all there is.” What else is out there? Image credit: NASA, ESA, CFHT, and M.J. 1.) If dark matter is a particle — and the way it appears to clump and cluster strongly suggests that it is — it must be a particle beyond the standard model. 2.) 3.) Why not? Image credit: John Rowe Animation. 4.) 5.)
Researchers Develop Technique to Remotely Control Cockroaches Remote control cockroach cyborgs Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique that uses an electronic interface to remotely control, or steer, cockroaches. “Our aim was to determine whether we could create a wireless biological interface with cockroaches, which are robust and able to infiltrate small spaces,” says Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “Ultimately, we think this will allow us to create a mobile web of smart sensors that uses cockroaches to collect and transmit information, such as finding survivors in a building that’s been destroyed by an earthquake. “Building small-scale robots that can perform in such uncertain, dynamic conditions is enormously difficult,” Bozkurt says. “We decided to use biobotic cockroaches in place of robots, as designing robots at that scale is very challenging and cockroaches are experts at performing in such a hostile environment.”
Home - NAVIbots Breaking Bad Science Advisor Donna Nelson on the Show's Real-Life Science - Breaking Bad Editor’s Note: Dr. Donna J. Nelson, Professor of Organic Chemistry at University of Oklahoma, has served as a science advisor on Breaking Bad since 2008. In this exclusive essay for AMCtv.com, she discusses the explosive potential of Etch-a-Sketch, the technicalities of building an RV battery, and the lethality of ricin. Breaking Bad may be a fictional show, but much of its science is based in reality. Etch A Sketch Explosives In Season 1 Episode 7, Walt tasks Jesse with procuring supplies so they can switch their operation to a P2P cook. The balanced equation for the highly exothermic (heat-releasing) reaction shown on screen is: Fe2O3 + 2 Al –> 2 Fe + Al2O3 Walt and Jesse use about a pint of thermite in the scene, which would require 553 grams of aluminum (or about 184 original Etch A Sketches). The tricky part is igniting the thermite, which requires temperatures much hotter than that provided by most safety fuses and open flames. Walt’s solution?
‘White smells’ are to odors what white noise is to sound The featureless soundscape known as white noise is effectively as neutral as music can get for humans—too many frequencies are combined in one waveform and the human ear just isn't able to pick any specific detail out. The same thing happens with white light, which contains all the colours of the visual spectrum. Now it seems that it's possible to create "white smells"—that is, smells that don't smell of anything specific. White noise isn't just a hum in the background—it specifically refers to a kind of frequency spectrum that's completely flat (and Wired.co.uk has previously explored the different "colors" of sound). Every frequency has the same energy, so the noise just kind of melts into an overall hum of nothingness. White smell works on the same principle. Weiss and her team first derived a range of 86 "monomolecular odorants" which covered the effective spectrum of smell. That left them with 191 individual batches for their 56 study participants to have a sniff at.
Read, I, Pencil I, Pencil My Family Tree as told to Leonard E. Read I am a lead pencil—the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that's all I do. You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. I, Pencil, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove. Simple? Pick me up and look me over. Innumerable Antecedents Just as you cannot trace your family tree back very far, so is it impossible for me to name and explain all my antecedents. My family tree begins with what in fact is a tree, a cedar of straight grain that grows in Northern California and Oregon. The logs are shipped to a mill in San Leandro, California. Consider the millwork in San Leandro. Don't overlook the ancestors present and distant who have a hand in transporting sixty carloads of slats across the nation. My "lead" itself—it contains no lead at all—is complex. My cedar receives six coats of lacquer.
25 (Free) 3D Modeling Applications You Should Not Miss 3D-modeling tools help turn individual ideas into beautiful models and prototypes for a variety of fields. These tools allow building and customizing models from the ground up, no matter if you are a keen beginner or a professional engineer. Popular in various industries such as film, animation, gaming, architecture, and interior design, 3D models are key aspects of various projects. Choosing the best modeling software is often difficult because of various aspects and the wide range of features available in these tools. Read more: 25 Websites to Download 3D Printer STL Models Wings 3D Wings 3D is an advanced sub-division modeler which offers a wide range of modeling tools and a customizable interface, along with a built-in AutoUV mapping tool, as well as export facility for common 3D formats. Supported Platforms: Windows | macOS | Linux [Download here] Daz Studio Supported Platforms: Windows | macOS [Download here] Open SCAD Supported Platforms: Windows | macOS | Linux | BSD [Download here]
How to Prevent and Protect Your Hair From Split Ends A split end is when the hair-shaft splits or flays due to excessive heat and misuse. They happen when the protective cuticle has been stripped away from the ends of hair fibers. Split ends are more likely to develop in dry or brittle hair. Typically the hair splits into two or three strands, and can be as long or two to three centimeters in length. Did you know that splitting of hairs at the ends” is also known as “Trichoptilosis”? Typical causes of damage include: What Split Ends Can Look Like: Types of Split Ends a. Avoiding Split Ends – 8 Tips and Techniques: Get your hair cut or trimmed regularly – (at least every 6 weeks). We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of this blog! Tags: Biosilk, broken hair, fix split ends, hair products, hair repair, hair tips, professional hair products, reconstruct hair, Redken, split ends
Giving thanks for our place in the Universe “We live in an atmosphere of shame. We are ashamed of everything that is real about us; ashamed of ourselves, of our relatives, of our incomes, of our accents, of our opinions, of our experience, just as we are ashamed of our naked skins.” -George Bernard Shaw All that is real about ourselves is nothing to be ashamed about; quite to the contrary, it’s something to be eminently thankful for. This very existence is all we have, and while it’s minuscule compared to the entire Universe, it required the entire Universe to bring us to the point where it’s possible for us to exist. What do I mean by that? I mean that everything we’ve ever known about our existence owes its origins to something far grander than our experiences here on Earth would have us believe. Image credit & copyright: Leonard Eisenberg, 2008, of (The turkey that many of us will be eating tomorrow is perhaps our 160,000,000th cousin, some 50,000,000 times removed.) Image credit: ESA / Rosetta Spacecraft.
Robots This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed below. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition and have been provided courtesy of theMid-continent Research for Education and Learningin Aurora, Colorado. Grade level:6-8Subject area:technologyStandard: Understands the relationships among science, technology, society, and the individual.Benchmarks:Benchmark 1: Knows ways in which technology has influenced the course of history (e.g., revolutions in agriculture, manufacturing, sanitation, medicine, warfare, transportation, information processing, communication). Benchmark 3: Knows examples of advanced and emerging technologies (e.g., virtual environment, personal digital assistants, voice recognition software) and how they could impact society. Benchmark 4: Knows that science cannot answer all questions and technology cannot solve all human problems or meet all human needs.
Sack Attack VEX Sack Attack Quick Description VEX Sack Attack is played on a 12’x12’ square field configured as seen above. Two alliances – one “red” and one “blue” – composed of two teams each, compete in matches consisting of a fifteen second autonomous period followed by one minute and forty-five seconds of driver- controlled play. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by Scoring Sacks and Bonus Sacks in your colored Floor Goals, Troughs and High Goal, and by having the most Robots of your color Parked at the end of the Match. VEX Sack Attack Game Details There are a total of ninety-eight (98) Sacks and four (4) Bonus Sacks available as Scoring Objects in the game. VEX Sack Attack Documents & Downloads VEX Sack Attack Tournaments, League Play and World Championship Information 2013 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship Qualifying Criteria2012-2013 VEX Robotics Competition Season Events2012-2013 VEX Robotics Competition College Challenge Events Links
What Programming Language to Learn (Next) | Streamhead So you’re ready to learn a new programming language? You might be entirely new to the world of application development, in that case, welcome! Or you’ve might have been creating applications for years, but now you feel you’re ready for something new. Note: This article is also available in Serbo-Croatian. I created this flowchart after reading Seven Languages in Seven Weeks. Be Sociable, Share! A Visual History of Nobel Prizes and Notable Laureates, 1901-2012 by Maria Popova Mapping the greatest cultural and scientific advances in modern history with inspiration from John Cage’s music. After her wonderful visual timeline of the future based on famous fiction last week, I asked Italian information visualization designer Giorgia Lupi and her team at Accurat to create an exclusive English version of another fantastic visualization designed for La Lettura, the Sunday literary supplement of Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera — this time exploring the history of Nobel Prizes and laureates since the dawn of the awards in 1901. Visualized for each laureate are prize category, year the prize was awarded, and age of the recipient at the time, as well as principal academic affiliations and hometown. Each dot represents a Nobel laureate, and each recipient is positioned according to the year the prize was awarded (x axis) and his or her age at the time of the award (y axis). (Click image for hi-res version) Donating = Loving Share on Tumblr
Inventor's Guide - VEX Wiki From VEX Wiki 2008 VEX Inventor's Guide Complete 2008 VEX Inventor's Guide (27M pdf, 07-22-2008)Introduction (0.7M pdf, 06-27-08)Structure (3.2M pdf, 06-27-08)Motion (6.6M pdf, 06-27-08)Power (2.1M pdf, 06-27-08)Sensors (1.9M pdf, 06-27-08)Control (4.1M pdf, 06-27-08) Logic (1.9M pdf, 06-27-08)Programming (divider) (0.1M pdf, 06-27-08)Appendix A, Safety (0.1M pdf, 06-27-08)Appendix B, Glossary (0.5M pdf, 06-27-08)Appendix C, Challenges (0.4M pdf, 06-27-08) Appendix D, Control Configurations (2.6M pdf, 06-27-08) Appendix E, Transmitter Menus (3.1M pdf, 06-27-08) 2005 VEX Inventor's Guide