1

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Do any of the solar system satellites have satellites themselves?

« on: 13/02/2021 23:19:21 »

The rings of Saturn contain lots of smallish objects that rotate around each other, more or less.

2

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Are there metals that shift from soft to hard?

« on: 03/10/2018 01:39:49 »

Nitnol might be somewhat close to what you are seeking.

http://www.specialmetalalloys.net/nitinol.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_titanium

diogenesNY

3

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: To what extent can Biblical accounts of Noah's flood be believed?

« on: 24/09/2018 21:42:01 »

Even if we let slide all notions of Naval Architecture as applied to the ark, and even if we don't bother too much about the mathematics of species differentiation, regional habitats, which one(s) actually got on board, etc......

I am always amused by the questions of not only how they fed the animals (and with what feedstock, how much and stored where), but how the waste products were disposed of.  The waste of that many animals would have produced a quantity of gaseous ammonia that would have quickly killed anything below decks before even a platoon of shovel wielding waste disposal technicians could have cleared the stalls.

Its a fun story, as long as you don't bother with any of the facts.

The part of the story they don't usually read in Sunday school are the several chapters that come after the landing and rainbow.  That is, the part where Noah grows grapes, makes wine and then gets drunk in his tent and passes out naked....  hilarity/confusion ensues.  This epilogue seems to have something to do with retconning why the Canaanites were later cursed.  Seriously, check this out, its all there.

diogenesNY

4

Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors / Re: Who is the father of physics?

« on: 27/07/2018 19:15:35 »

I think Aristotle wrote the first dedicated book on the subject.

--diogenesNY

5

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Is the big bang impossible?

« on: 25/06/2018 21:47:10 »

Just to make things _even more complicated and confusing_ --- What is generally understood to be described by the 'Big Bang' in current models, describes a period _post inflation_ .

As pmbphy suggested, Alan Guth is the go to guy on inflation.  Highly worth a look.....  I read _The Inflationary Universe_ and managed to digest about half of it.

Also, no model of the BB suggests that things emerged from a point or a singularity.....  that is just a mathematical consequence of trying to work events backwards following an incomplete model.  Quantum mechanics (sort of) avoids this problem, but has a bunch of others.  BB simply starts out with the universe in a very hot and dense state....  however, not unlike when the football game on TV runs long, it 'joins the universe already in progress.'

It is worth noting, that in such a postulated hot dense state in which the universe is speculated to have  existed way back 13.7 Billion years ago, there are some really funky consequences, like the four forces being indistinguishable (or really basicly one) and when you have such high energy levels in such close quarters, there is the (speculative) possibility for the creation and rapid decay of largely unimaginable and exotic highly massive particles that can (likely) never be replicated......  really some far out stuff.  A lot of the conventional stuff we think about in our current macroscopic universe really doesn't apply -- or at least applies really differently when things are expressed at extreme scales too (e.g. very high energy, very large, very small, etc) --  opens up whole different ballgames.

diogenesNY

6

General Science / Re: How should I crack an egg?

« on: 23/06/2018 21:43:08 »

Be careful, Marika!

You don't want to inadvertently start a war.

diogenesNY

7

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Could Jupiter become a star?

« on: 25/05/2018 20:25:03 »

To somewhat echo and elaborate on what Kryptid said:

The short and practical answer is NO.  Jupiter simply lacks (by a large factor) the mass necessary to initiate and maintain a nuclear fusion reaction.

On a more theoretical basis, if you were to ask:  What would it take, by any stretch of the imagination, bound by allowable mainstream physics, to transform Jupiter into a star?

The answer would be: Mass, a whole lot of mass.
The numbers vary a bit, but Kryptid suggested a factor of 75 or 80, I have also heard more like 100 spoken of.  So to put it another way, using nice round numbers, you would have to add about another 100 Jupiter masses to the planet Jupiter (more or less) in order to ignite and sustain the necessary fusion reaction for Jupiter to function as a star as ordinarily defined.

diogenesNY

8

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: What was the first form of written language?

« on: 16/05/2018 21:12:10 »

If we ignore pictographs and personal signs, Linear A and Linear B are pretty much the leading candidates.

They were Minoan scripts.  Linear A was earlier, but remains undeciphered, and may be more pictogramatic and not really a complete written Language.  It was seemingly more of an internal palace accounting cypher, perhaps.  Linear B, reasonably deciphered is more of a traditionally constituted written language.  It incorporates both symbols and pictograms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_B

--diogenesNY

9

Chemistry / Re: Is there a 'quick and dirty' way to determine a liquid's surface tension?

« on: 12/10/2013 21:11:57 »

Checking in here.... 

Thanks for the various enlightening responses.

alancalverd, You are quite correct about adding some sort of wetting agent.  I do not have the exact numbers at my fingertips, but ink should have (very roughly, subject to myriad factors) about half or two thirds of the surface tension of water for use in the 'typical' fountain pen.  This is based on several analysis (not mine, obviously) of the physical properties of several commercial inks.

All failing, I shall just record my variations in formula and observe performance effects.   I have a variety of ingredients and additives I wish to experiment with both singly and in combination.  While I will certainly get a nice spectrum of empirical data, I had hoped for a convenient way to add some numbers to the resulting goo.

CliffordK, initial experimental batches shall probably be in the range of little more than an ounce or so.  I have a bunch of different surfactants, binders, biocides, retarding and quickening agents and other things that I plan to try adding in and recording the effects.  I will have several identical, inexpensive, clear bodied fountain pens to try them out in:  A _Platinum Preppy_ converted from cartridge to _eye dropper_ fill configuration.

The following link is to a commercial website, but is included for the sole purpose of illustrating a specific model of fountain pen.  No connection or endorsement implied.
http://www.jetpens.com/Platinum-Preppy-Fountain-Pen-05-Medium-Nib-Black-Ink/pd/4522

I'll be happy to keep y'all posted as I make ever bigger messes.  Always welcome more info, advice, input, etc.

Thanks again,
diogenesNY

10

Chemistry / Is there a 'quick and dirty' way to determine a liquid's surface tension?

« on: 08/10/2013 22:52:18 »

Is there a 'quick and dirty' way to determine a liquid's surface tension?

Not sure really what this sort of measurement would entail.....  Reason I ask is, I am getting the bug to do a bit of tabletop mad science involving making up my own fountain pen ink, in various formulations.  Ink chemistry is pretty interesting and a lot more complex then, say, paint.  Having fun starting with Prussian Blue + binder, and I intend to experiment with various additives, etc, in careful and recorded measure. 

Anyway, will be experimenting with ways to slightly lower the surface tension, which needs to be a bit less than that of distilled water to perform best.  Lots of ways to record this, but would like to have quantifiable data if possible.

Thanks y'all in advance,
diogenesNY

11

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: Would a water-impacting meteorite alter the climate?

« on: 09/04/2013 18:26:19 »

Just a thought.... but off the top of my head, an ocean impact might have an even more severe effect than a land impact.

While on land, there would be lots of pulverized rock but lets keep in mind that a sea impact would not be just a scaled up version of tossing a stone into the creek.

It would certainly have to cause massive tsunamis as all that energy has to go someplace....... but also would cause an amazing amount of water to be instantly vaporized......  insta-boiled - and directly injected up into the atmosphere.

I don't know how much water this would be, but it should be easily calculatable.  Make assumptions about the mass and density of the rock, and the speed of impact and you can rough hash the energy of impact......    That much energy injected into that sq footage of water, etc.....  maybe there are hydrological rules of thumb for this.....  I don't know, but it would be a whole bunch.

Lots of hot steam - water vapor - shot into the atmosphere.



Speculated results:  LOT more cloud cover.  (high?  medium?  low?  all?)
LOTS more snow some places.
LOTS more rain some places.

Specific effects:  not sure....  any meteorologists on the board?

Not 100% sure what they would exactly be, but I would spec that the effects of an ocean strike would be _more_ profound than a land strike.

diogenesNY

12

Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors / Re: Who am I?

« on: 08/03/2012 04:16:37 »

Geezer for the WIN!  It _was_ Theophrastus (ca371-ca287BC)

(Please note:  The included Wikipedia links are for illustrative purposes and do not represent citations of fact or scholarship.  A cursory review of the cited Wikipedia articles seems to show that they are generally acceptable, although I might take issue with some of the details presented.  Any presented matter of fact that interests you should be treated with the same vigor and skepticism as any item of fact otherwise elsewhere presented, gathered or derived.  Homework is mandatory. YMMV.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophrastus

He was first Aristotle's personal friend, then later a student and Aristotle's personal assistant at the Lyceum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_(Classical).  Later, after Aristotle's death he acceded to control (chairmanship?) of the Lyceum, according to provisions in Aristotle's will.  Some of his other students thought that they were more in line for the Job.   The Lyceum was home to Aristotle's Peripatetic School http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripatetic_school (he walked all over the place while lecturing, and his students had to follow him at a fast walk like a mob to hear what he was saying)  of philosophy.  Theophrastus then presided over The Lyceum for about 36 years.

In any case, they were close personal friends as well.  Although they composed their own works, much of their research was collaborative.  One notable example is their measurement of the circumference of the earth.  Climbing mountains and taking observations and measurements, using non-decimal, non-algebraic trigonometry they came up with a (maybe - there is some issue about the value of the units used:  stadia) twice as large estimate of the Earth's circumference.  Not too bad IMHO.

Theophrastus is considered by some to be the father of Botany, and his ten volume (of which 9 volumes survive intact) collection entitled On Plants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Plantarum, describes observed plants and attempts to catagorise them into groups according to properties (e.g. leafy, produces nuts, produces gum, etc).  He also wrote an eight (of which six survive) volume treatise On the Causes of Plants.  These works were essentially empirical (and IMHO quite modern) in nature.

He was an extremely apt observer of the natural world after Aristotles nature, and although there was much overlap, Theophrastus interests also struck out in many original directions.  He had an extraordinary output of published writings on an extremely broad range of topics.  The quantity and scope of his interests and publications would seem enormous by any standard, except perhaps as overshadowed by the even greater output of Aristotle.  Unlike Aristotle, however, his written works are not so artfully written.  Some of theme seem to be more outlines or lecture notes on a given subject than a narrative text.

Aristotle had a brief professional association with a young Alexander the Great (as his tutor).  When the Romans 'liberated' Athens, some years later, the anti-Macedonian sentiment got quite strong and Aristotle and Theophrastus headed back to Theo's home of Lesbos for a while and that is where they did much of their work on animals and plants respectively.  They eventually returned to Athens several years later and resumed their respective careers.

Geezer, I am sure you got this, but for clarity's sake the (anachronistic)reference to Bass and JimBob is to two denizens of a particular other subboard here on NS.  They are geologists (and a pair of real characters... I think I can say without serious fear of contradiction) and would have good cause to take issue with the use of the term 'stones' - at least if it were used that way today.  At the time, the distinction between rock and mineral was not particularly defined.  He wrote an empirical book 'On Stones' grouping various rocks and minerals by appearance, behavior, and other observable properties.  He is also author of a book 'Characters' on observed human behavior, also attempting to organize things by groups.

His other output is varied and comprises subjects both scientific and humanistic.  There are writings on ethics, physics, politics, education and many other things.  There does seem to be a common current of observation and recording, even if the data does not always lead to a specific conclusion in the more naturalistic studies.

An interesting and accomplished individual.

@damocles:  My namesake (Diogenes of Sinope, the Cynic Philosopher (flourished ca.4c BC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_of_Sinope as opposed to the somewhat similarly named Diogenes Laertius, the historian) was certainly an interesting individual, but he was not a scientist.  He came from Sinope, a city on the Black Sea (modern Turkish Sinop).  His comments and observations were primarily on ethics and matters of human nature, education, behavior and the like.  No directly written works (of which there are known to be several) of Diogenes of Sinope survive, and what legacy we have of his comes from quoted fragments and stories.  He was a personal friend (frenemy?) of Plato and crashed all of Athens' best parties and generally made a public nuisance of himself. 

A story describes his own encounter with Alexander the Great that I think is highly amusing and instructive although it is not really relevant to this forum, but highly worth looking up.

Hope this was entertaining and instructive.

diogenesNY

13

Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors / Re: Who am I?

« on: 02/03/2012 00:32:57 »

who am I...?

The guy I worked for.....  real big shot, household name.  Me?  Well, I did some pretty good work too, kinda overshadowed by The Boss tho..... guess that happens, no regrets tho.

See, thing is, I had actually met The Boss and we became friends before I started working with him....  basically I was his galley slave grad assistant.  We actually got pretty close.  I am godfather to his children. 

The Boss.... lemme tell you, this guy has researched and written about a lot, and I mean A LOT of topics...  the depth and breadth he went into and the ideas he developed are amazing, if sometimes a bit intimidating.....  and for what its worth, being his #2 was the opportunity of a lifetime.... but damn, he sometimes drove some of us a bit crazy, couldn't seem to sit still..... was always wandering around and we would all have to chase after him to hear what he was saying.

So, like I was saying....  The Boss had near rock star status (well, as it applies to someone in his line anyway) but for reasons that... well...  need not be gone into right now, things.... um.....  lets just say that the situation got a bit dicey for us at home and we considered it the better part of valor to make ourselves scarce for a while. 

So, The Boss and I split town and we head, as it happens, back to my old stomping grounds where I figure we can hole up a while, relatively unmolested.  Now, here we were, stuck on this island in the middle of.... um....  that doesn't really matter.....  but  here away from the school we found ourselves with a bit of time on our hands. Needless to say,  guy like The Boss isn't going to just sit around picking his nose, so he set to work on a new research project, and so did I. 

I used my time there researching and authoring a set of books on plants.  Describing observed specimens, categorizing them by properties, and attempting to explore and describe particular aspects of their nature.  This turned out to be pretty well received and regarded.  Some people even viewed it as groundbreaking.  The Boss turned his attention to animals, with his usual intensity and output.

Anyway, so the situation, shall we say, got a little less threatening for us and we decided that we could safely return (to his) home and resume our work there.  Kindof annoying how external politics can drive these things and create such personal dislocations in people's lives and work,  but then again our self imposed exile seems to have allowed us to produce some seminal works.

Again, I kinda found myself in The Boss' shadow and my published output may have been smaller compared to his,  but it was a damn sight more and better than anyone else I knew of, and dammit, I broke a lot of important ground too!

And, yes the pun IS intentional, and I don't give a gohwdam if Bass and Jimbob get all bent out of shape about my use of the term 'Stones'.  (Now, don't go getting the wrong idea.....  I think they are great guys... know their stuff... 'distinct' sense of humor .... hell, I just might add them to my compilation of Characters.)

Meteorology, physics, sensation and other things all interest me....... and NO!  I _am not_ spreading myself too thin. 

Enough of this....  I really have to get back to work....  things are starting to get awfully busy around here....  I seem to spend more of my time doing all this administrivia and operating the outfit than actually doing much real research nowadays.....  wages of success, I guess.

So, who am I?

14

Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors / Re: What famous Russian scientists do you know?

« on: 01/03/2012 22:47:29 »

I know that this is an old thread, but I could not let it pass without mentioning Alexander Friedmann. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Friedman

This is the cosmologist who did much of the early work developing the model of the Universe that seems to now be the dominant model.  (the less than descriptively named FLRW metric:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedmann%E2%80%93Lema%C3%AEtre%E2%80%93Robertson%E2%80%93Walker_metric
)

An interesting and important guy.

--diogenesNY

15

Chemistry / Equation or reaction where plastic and metal react?

« on: 19/01/2011 02:20:56 »

What you are looking for may be a procedure known as 'Powder Coating'.

It involves bonding a powdered plastic to a material (usually.. maybe always.. a metal.... not sure off the top of my head) by coating it with powder than heating it and bonding the coating to the metal.  Have a look... put Powder Coating into your favorite search engine, and see what you get.

--diogenesNY

16

Geek Speak / Can someone please make a good web browser??

« on: 27/12/2009 04:44:41 »

Although I use several different web browsers, depending on what I am doing, two are particularly notably positive:

Firefox..... good in a lot of ways.  Try it, you may like it.  Stable, effective good feel.

Opera.  I have been using it since 3.x (mid 1990's)...  Again, try it.

diogenesNY

17

Technology / How do water fuel cells work?

« on: 27/12/2009 02:11:37 »

[] [] When I was at school in the 1950's there was a section in my science book dealing with adding water through the carburetor of a car engine to increase economy.The text did not definitely state the cause but said that it may be due to the water breaking down under the combustion conditions and becoming a fuel.I have only come across one person who has succeded with this. He had a large container of water on the bonnet of a fairly heavy 6 cylinder car which he was using to make deliveries of large trailer loads of firewood. The water dripped into the air intake and he was getting a fuel economy about 30% better than would normally be expected.

The process of adding small amounts of water to the combustion chamber is called 'Water Injection'  It has _nothing_ to do with water breaking down and being burned.  It is a well known process that, amongst other things cools the chamber and improves the process of smooth combustion.

Here is a brief quote from wikipedia on the subject of Water Injection:

In internal combustion engines, water injection, also known as anti-detonant injection, is a method for cooling the combustion chambers of engines by adding water to the cylinder or incoming fuel-air mixture, allowing for greater compression ratios and largely eliminating the problem of engine knocking (detonation). This effectively increases the octane rating of the fuel, meaning that performance gains can be obtained when used in conjunction with a supercharger or turbocharger, altered spark ignition timing, and other modifications.

the entire article can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engines)

Hope this is slightly enlightening.

diogenesNY

18

Chemistry / CONFLICT? Titanium Dioxide acts as a catalyst, as a barrier and as a whitener?

« on: 27/12/2009 01:30:08 »

While I cannot add  much to the photocatalyst portion of the question, perhaps this will go partway to enlightening the issue of the nature of Titanium Dioxide. 

Titanium dioxide is _very_ white.  It is used as the main pigment in the artist's paint (acrylic) called 'Titanium White' which is the most opaque and photo-stable of all of the artist's white paints.  In fact Titanium White is simply a mixture of acrylic medium (which is clear) and very finely ground titanium dioxide.  It has extraordinary staying power, resistance to degradation by UV radiation and opaque covering power.  (Zinc white is a transparent white pigment). It can be thinned an amazing amount and still maintain its covering power.  It is used as a whitening pigment in many other applications as well including industrial paints and coatings, and is very effective at shielding UV radiation and that is why it is used as a sun blocker in a number of varied applications.

Hope this was of some small help.

diogenesNY

19

Chemistry / Where can I buy cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX)?

« on: 11/08/2009 20:31:04 »

Jeez... you bronze age types and your reliance on physical geography and local proximity!

He should just check out http://www.restrictedmilitaryexplosives.com

or, if he doesn't want to deal with all the legal bother, he could just figure out how to unbolt the nuclear strong force and he would likely have all the explosive power he could ever want.....  shouldn't really be all that hard....  I imagine all you would really need is to figure out a way to shrink yourself and your toolbox down to slightly smaller than Planck Length and the rest would be child's play.

diogenesNY

20

Chemistry / What colour is paint before the colour is added?

« on: 02/08/2009 23:20:05 »

I was just wondering if during production paint is white and they add different colours once its finished, or if to get white paint you have to add the white, it could start a yucky brown or something for all i know?

Most sorts of paint can be described as a mixture of two basic elements:  The pigment (the stuff that gives the paint the color) and the base (the main 'bulk' of the paint that forms the substrate or structural suspention vehicle for the color/pigment).

Wall/house paint, at least latex based paints, are usually made out of a base and a tint or pigment.  While you can still buy pre tinted, pre mixed paints at the store, if you go into Home Depot, Lowes, or wherever, other than a few common colors (Blacks, whites and a few others notwithstanding specialty paints), most latex wall paint is now sold as a two part mixture:  The 'Tint base' and the tint/pigment.  there are usually cans of variously colored pigments that can be mixed by computer directed proportions to yield a nominally infinite array of custom colors.  The tint/pigment is in turn mixed with the larger  can of base to provide the ready-to-use paint of a given color.  Specifically to your question, the 'tint base' is essentially the uncolored paint, and there is usually a range of cans labeled 'tint base 1', 'tint base 2', 'tint base 3', etc... Their exact composition and properties depending on your final desired color..... they vary somewhat, but they all pretty much look like a weak off white (IIRC).  'White' paint is a base with a bright white pigment, probobly titanium dioxide, added.

If you want to get into the same question for artists paints, the answers are somewhat different.

For acrylic paints, the paint is a mix of finely ground pigment with acrylic medium or gel (it is a water disolved monomer that becomes a stable bound and non-soluble polymer as the water dries from the medium... a one way chemical reaction).  Unpigmented gel has uses of its own including providing a clear sealing layer to a painting and also can be mixed with pigments supplied by the artist to make custom, home made paint.  In wet, unapplied form, the gel/medium is translucent and cloudy.  It dries and afterwards remains clear.... although yellowing can result with age.

Oil paints are exactly that:  Oil with pigment mixed in.  The oils include Linseed, Walnut, poppy seed, and many others... all with their own atributes and characteristics.  Appearance is typically mostly clear to pale to medium yelllow... mostly clear but sometimes a bit cloudy.

Walter color paint without pigment would look like a granular whitish powder (Dry gum arabic and sugar).  Alternately it could be a whitish block or a cloudy paste.

There are still other kinds of paint that have their own distinct qualities and appearances when formulated 'without pigment'.

I may have kindof overkilled the question, but the materials aspect of art is something I am kindof interested in.   []

diogenesNY