by Amanda Arnold
November 25th, 2009
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Have you ever been to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass.? I ask this because, you know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which got me thinking about pilgrims and whatnot. Also, I went to Plimoth Plantation when I was about eight years old. I remember that the plantation overlooked the ocean, and that the sky and the water were so blue it almost hurt.
From:
BrainStuff
by Marshall Brain
November 26th, 2009
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In honor of Thanksgiving, here are 5 fun, surprising facts about turkeys:
Who would have thought that turkeys were capable of parthenogenesis?
Turkey facts – Among other things: “45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving.”
More info: Different ways to cook a turkey
See also Turkey Trivia:
And:
Wrong Turkey – but still interesting.
Happy Thanksgiving!
[[[Jump to previous Fun Facts - Fun facts about cats]]]
From:
Keep Asking
by Marshall Brain
November 26th, 2009
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You Asked:
When a weapon impacts a target, does it carry a measurable kinetic energy? — Jason, Home, Wash.
Marshall Brain Answers:
When a gun shoots a bullet, the only thing the bullet has going for it is kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is what allows the bullet to penetrate and damage the target. The bullet’s kinetic energy is expressed by this equation:
Kinetic energy = 1/2 mass * velocity ^ 2
So if a bullet weighs 20 grams (0.02 kg) and is traveling at 670 MPH (which equals 300 meters/sec), its kinetic energy is:
1/2 * 0.02 kg * 300 m/s * 300 m/s = 900 joules
For comparison, when a pitcher hits a batter with a baseball in a major league game, the baseball weighs 145 grams (0.145 kilograms) and is traveling at 100 MPH (45 m/s). The ball’s kinetic energy is:
1/2 * 0.145 * 45 * 45 = 147 joules
So a bullet has a lot more kinetic energy than a baseball, and being so much smaller, the bullet does a better job at penetration.
A typical bomb dropped out of an airplane might weigh 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and have a velocity of 600 MPH (268 m/s). Even if the bomb doesn’t explode, it has a good bit of kinetic energy:
1/2 * 450 * 268 * 268 = 16,160,400 joules
For comparison, a stick of dynamite carries approximately 2 million joules of energy, so the bomb’s kinetic energy alone is equivalent to about 8 sticks of dynamite.
As speeds get higher, the amount of kinetic energy becomes so great that “kinetic weapons” become a possibility. Simply their kinetic energy provides the destructive force. For example, there has been discussion of dropping very heavy objects sized and shaped like a telephone pole from orbit:
An aerodynamically shaped phone pole dropped from that altitude might be traveling 7,000 MPH (3,130 m/s) when it hits the ground. A phone pole (one foot diameter, 50 feet long) made of tungsten would weigh 21,000 kilograms. So the kinetic energy is:
1/2 * 21,000 * 3,130 * 3,130 ~ 100 billion joules
That’s the equivalent of 50,000 sticks of dynamite. That’s the energy equivalent of something like 25 tons of TNT. Not bad considering that there’s nothing but gravity providing the power.
More info: How Bunker Busters Work
From:
Keep Asking
by Marshall Brain
November 26th, 2009
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You Asked:
Why are insects attracted to light sources? — Ravi, Nagpur, India
Marshall Brain Answers:
On a warm summer night, scenes like this are not uncommon:
Thousands of insects (mostly moths in this case) are attracted to the light. But why are the moths attracted? The funny thing is, no one really knows why.
There are lots of theories though. One of the favorites is the “moon navigation” theory. The idea is that a moth’s simple brain is programmed to keep a bright light positioned at a certain angle on its eye. Presumably, before humans and their artificial lights came along, the only such light at night would be the moon. Since the moon is 280,000 miles away, using it in this way would allow a moth to fly long distances in a relatively straight line.
Today that system does not work well because, when a moth uses it on an artificial light like a porch light or street light, the moth ends up circling the light endlessly.
This theory seems like a reasonable idea. Although it does not explain what moths would do on moonless nights, on cloudy nights, under tree canopies, etc.
See Why are moths attracted to light? and Attraction to light for more ideas.
See also: What’s the difference between moths and butterflies?
From:
BrainStuff
by Marshall Brain
November 25th, 2009
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‘Smart’ armor learns more with every bullet – “Smart armor being developed by scientists and engineers at U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Michigan can not only predict its own failure, but also identify the size of bullets shot at it and even generate electrical power upon impact…”
10 First Person Shooters to look forward to in 2010 – “2010 is looking to be a great year for gamers, especially those looking for some FPS action. We’ve compiled a list of 10 FPS games that are certain to make an impact in 2010, and games that you definitely want to check out…”
Norway opens world’s first osmotic power plant – “Norway opened on Tuesday the world’s first osmotic power plant, which produces emissions-free electricity by mixing fresh water and sea water through a special membrane…”
Amazing Software Turns Cheap Webcam Into Instant 3D Scanner
Unflattening Touch Screen Buttons – “Ever wish the flat touch screen buttons on your phone felt more like physical buttons? Chris Harrison and Prof. Scott Hudson at Carnegie Mellon have developed a simple technology that turns touch screen buttons into physical buttons by using pneumatics….”
Xhale HyGreen – “A quick hand washing could keep hospital staff from spreading germs that lead to nearly two million in-hospital infections a year. The HyGreen system reminds them to scrub—and keeps a record of who doesn’t. After cleaning their hands with alcohol-based sanitizers, doctors and nurses place them under the HyGreen sensor that sniffs for alcohol, which kills 99.99 percent of germs, and sends a wireless “all clean” message to a badge worn on the person’s shirt pocket….”
Splitting Time from Space—New Quantum Theory Topples Einstein’s Spacetime – “Was Newton right and Einstein wrong? It seems that unzipping the fabric of spacetime and harking back to 19th-century notions of time could lead to a theory of quantum gravity…”
Google and TiVo Make a Deal: Your Commercials Are Going to Get a Lot More Personal – “TiVo, everyone’s favorite DVR maker, has just signed an agreement with Google to hand over tons of data on its users habits for analysis. The upshot: Advertisements are going to be even more targeted and personal. It’s how Internet TV ads will work in the future…”
Demonstrating a CO2 Recycler – “Sandia scientists successfully test a machine that creates fuel from carbon dioxide…”
Air Force To Expand PlayStation-Based Supercomputer – “The cluster of PlayStation 3 consoles is already being used for research into high-def video processing and systems with brain-like properties…”
World’s last bastion of stable ice now thawing – “We thought it was one of the Earth’s last remaining regions of stable ice. Now it seems the East Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass since 2006 and could become a significant source of sea level rise, according to data from gravity-measuring satellites…”
Titanic times five: Oasis of the Seas aims to leave cruise rivals in huge wake – “At dock in its vast custom-made port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Oasis of the Seas gives you little clue that you are looking at an ocean-going vessel. The dozen above-deck storeys of the world’s largest cruise liner, with their identical rows of curved glass balconies, make it all but indistinguishable from the high-rise condos and office blocks that line the coast road south from Miami…”
From:
BrainStuff
by Marshall Brain
November 25th, 2009
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The Googlephone: Google gears up for attack on mobile-phone market
The first paragraph is only only one sentence long but it is rich with promise:
Google is gearing up for an all-out assault on the mobile-phone market that will include a new, Google-branded handset and the first comprehensive Google phone service with unlimited free calls.
From this we learn that: 1) Google may be ready to release its own phone hardware (something that was never supposed to happen), and 2) calls will be free (something that seems impossible if you have seen your cell phone bill lately).
In the third paragraph it gets even better:
The Googlephone promises to be one of the most advanced smartphones, with a large touchscreen display and a processor almost twice as fast as the one powering Apple’s iPhone 3GS. It will probably be the first phone to run a new version of Google’s Android software, codenamed Flan, offering high-speed 3-D gaming said to be as good as that of many handheld consoles.
The Motorola Droid is an awesome phone, easily the rival to the iPhone, and the GooglePhone is aiming to be even better.
And the GooglePhone should be here any day now:
Kumar and other experts are predicting that the Googlephone will be launched in the US early next year.
This is more fuel for Is Google preparing to take over the universe?
From:
TechStuff
by Jonathan Strickland
November 25th, 2009
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Greetings from the World of Tomorrow TechStuff! This week, Chris and I fired up the DeLorean, set the time circuits to The Future and blasted off for another pair of exciting podcasts. We have to take a moment to thank Liz, our amazing editor. It’s Liz who adds in all the special sound effects that make our shows even better (in this host’s humble opinion, at any rate). She’s also the person responsible for trimming out mistakes. Not that we make mistakes often. Ahem.
On Monday, we answered a listener request to explain the 2038 problem. Do you remember the hysteria surrounding 2000 and the dreaded Y2K problem? The 2038 problem is similar to that. It all hinges on the way Unix-based systems keep time. The whole story is both bizarre and interesting. For example, did you know that according to Unix, time began on Jan. 1, 1970?
Then on Wednesday, we take all our listeners on a field trip to the future to see how offices will take advantage of emerging technologies. We also learn that the TechStuff Time Machine can get mighty stuffy.
From:
TechStuff
by Chris Pollette
November 25th, 2009
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Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I spent a lot of time in arcades and skating rinks. And I love pinball. Unfortunately, virtually all of the giant game manufacturers — at least, the ones still in operation — have discontinued the game. As far as I know, Stern Pinball is the only company in the United States still making machines.
From:
Stuff You Missed in History Class
by Katie Lambert
November 25th, 2009
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The issue of the future president’s health was a much-discussed topic in the months leading up to the 2008 presidential election. Would Barack Obama’s smoking lead to cancer or emphysema? Would John McCain’s age affect his cognitive abilities? The question behind these questions was always this: If we elect you as president, can we count on you to be in sound mind and body?
With all the comparisons we’ve seen in the news between Obama and FDR, you might be surprised to know that there’s a link McCain and FDR might have in common: melanoma.
From:
BrainStuff
by Marshall Brain
November 25th, 2009
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Toyota invents the world’s ultimate driving simulator:
The only problem is that it costs millions of dollars and fills a warehouse-size space. What if you want something close to the Toyota version in a much smaller, lower-cost package? Consider something like this:
More info: Force-dynamics.com
See also: Driving Simulation
[[[Jump to previous invention - Swype, A much faster way to type on a phone]]]
From:
High Speed Stuff
by Scott C. Benjamin
November 25th, 2009
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Ben and I have been fairly busy over the past several days; however, we both found a little time to get away from our other assignments at HowStuffWorks.com to record a couple of podcasts. So, what did we talk about?
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