chrysopoeia (12. 443)

Although the aims of alchemists of transforming base metals into gold has been previously achieved through synthetic transmutation first in 1941 by heavy bombardment of mercury with neutrons—though the resulting isotopes were extremely radioactive and again in 1980 by Glenn Seaborg at Lawrence Livermore labs by surgically removing protons and neutrons from bismuth atoms, these demonstration projects were prohibitively expensive and would need to be scaled up a trillion-fold in order to produce a microscopic speck of the precious metal. We learn, however—via tmn—that researchers working on the ALICE programme at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the acronym somewhat disappointingly only standing for A Large Ion Collider Experiment designed to study conditions immediately after the Big Bang with by creating exotic plasma phases of matter, have recently detected the mass albeit very short-lived conversion of lead into gold as the extremely hot and close-packed conditions cause dissociative reactions that can cause the target element to eject a small number of protons and neutrons, producing gold (the similar densities probably what inspired the study of alchemy in the first place). The above quick-silver and thallium were also temporary by-products of nuclear transmutation. Related to the title term, χρυσοποιία, ἀργυροποιία (argyropeia) refers to artificial silver-making, usually trying with copper.

spaghettification (12. 323)

One might be familiar with the above transformation when one wanders too close to a black hole but there’s more physical properties to ponder in pasta that touch on the broader mysteries of the Cosmos. Noting the expertise required to produce the finest and most delicate varieties of angel hair, researchers applied science to create a matrix of nano-noodles to study the limits of dough and starch, inadvertently finding the resulting pasta to have enhanced stiffness and with possible applications as a biodegradable substitute for plastic. Enduring conundrums also present themselves in the form of the slurping problem—and variants—and Richard Feynman’s obsessive quandaries (previously) over why dry spaghetti always snapped in two and the physics behind stress and tension, which after a quarter of a century yielded a three way fracture with some mechanical finesse. More from BBC contributor Joseph Howlett at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: World Puppetry Day (with synchronoptica), the Loyalty Order (1947) plus a Disneyland Dream (1956)

seven years ago: Karl Marx pedestrian signals, Tanglewood Tales plus Lewis Carroll’s logic game

eight years ago: assorted links worth revisiting 

nine years ago: pixelated palettes plus artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder

ten years ago: Russian disinformation campaigns, the Reeperbahn and the Order of the Garter, more links to revisit plus Frida Kahlo in Detroit

12x12 (12. 196)

happy to be hard core: a sampling of the genre produced on Amiga computers—via Web Curios 

biodiesel: grassroots efforts opposing plans to transform Hungary into an EV battery manufacturing hub—see previously 

pc gamer: vintage scans of computer and arcade hobbyists’ magazines  

eureka moment: the account of the rediscovery of one of Archimedes’ lost manuscripts—see previously  

signature block: as part of Trump’s attempt to redefine gender as a sexual binary and “defend women,” US federal workers are directed to remove preferred pronouns from their emails  

the cruel kids’ table: a look at the resurgent fratocracy of Americans under thirty, as witnessed at Trump’s inaugural parties 

hexaflexagons: fun with paper models—via MetFilter 

m23: Rwandan-backed rebel forces take provincial capital of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, possibly with designs on annexing the eastern region  

hold the line: the new legal council of the US Office of Personnel Management (previously and under new management) is a soi-disant “raging mysogynist” 

clu clu land: the Video Game History Foundation opens its archives to the public—via Ars Technica  

doggerland: archeological exploration of the submerged North Sea region 

mixolydian mode: compose chords and compare output in a range of dozens of scales—see previously—via ibīdem

synchronoptica

one year ago:  a film by Rosa von Praunheim (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit plus another banger from ABBA

seven years ago: telepresence, more links to enjoy, credit for the discovery of x-rays plus an executive order from the desk of Richard Nixon

eight years ago: film-strip leader ladies

nine years ago: even more links plus perspectives in price-lists 

ten years ago: chance decision-making, the mad monk plus electromagnetic moats

10x10 (12. 191)

i saw, i cut, i applied: a retrospective of the textile art of Ayako Miyawaki (宮脇綾子) at the Tokyo Station Gallery 

hadron therapy: researchers at CERN are collaborating with oncologists to develop precision treatment that last a fraction of a second—via the new Shelton wet/dry 

drag and drop: the development of tools that easily move data around with confidence it would not be lost

shǒusuì: an exhibition on community resilience through helps gird one for the trying year ahead 

two-minute warning: the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences (see previously) advance the second hand once again as a warning to world leaders  

oreoboros: a round-up of recently introduced snacks and treats—via MetaFilter 

comparative entomology: an 1879 study in the colour patterns in moths and butterflies 

object impermanence: a glitchy and broken AI knock-off of Minecraft makes for a strangely compelling experience  

experimental advanced superconducting tokamak: an artificial sun burned for nearly eighteen minutes at the EAST plasma physics lab in Hefei—a significant milestone for sustainable fusion reactions—via Boing Boing 

the little loomhouse: the history and evolution of an ensemble of Kentucky cabins to a thriving arts community

8x8 (12. 147)

black swan event: futurist forecast a host of unpredictable geopolitical scenarios for 2025—via the New Shelton wet/dry  

it’s schoolhouse rocky—that chip off the block—of your favourite schoolhouse, schoolhouse rock: a rather incredible thrift store find of Smash Mouth’s Steve Harwell performing some numbers from the educational cartoon series—see previously  

paraiso de los gatos: the art of Remedios Varo  

to unalive or not unalive: the resurgence of the term was prompted by a way to get around advertiser blacklists with euphemisms—see more  

reboot: the Landauer Limit, thermodynamics and more efficient computing—see also  

post-scarcity, post-singularity: it’s still easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism—via Duck Soup 

the eagle & child: Oracle’s Larry Ellison has purchased the Oxford pub frequented by Tolkien and C S Lewis—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest  

the year that was and wasn’t: The Morning News interviews some of their favourite journalists about the most and least important stories and trends of 2024—see also the dumbest timeline

𝝎 = 360° sin 𝛗 / day (12. 139)

Devised by observing a lathe demonstrating an unexpected but explainable gyroscopic effect, physicist Léon Foucault first constructed his eponymous pendulum in the basement of his home on this day in 1851, bringing the experiment to the public a month later at the Meridian of the Paris Observatory. Allowing observers to conclude from the change in the plane of oscillation of a heavy weight over time the rotation of the Earth, and showing that at latitudes other than the equator the displacement of each cycle (best viewed on a very big set up) progresses relative to the turning of the Earth throughout the diurnal period. Though a long established fact that the Earth revolved, Foucault’s experiment was proof easily attainable and not necessitating watching for the minute movements of the stars and planets, rather elegantly showing that the Earth moves beneath the fixed and motionless pivot point.   Such demonstrations have become popular installations at universities and museums around the world—see one in action here from a dedicated live webcam.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus Jim Henson’s custom car

seven years ago: Memento Mori, deep dreaming, Communist era interiors plus Trump’s minders

eight years ago: saccadic masking, book-culling algorithms, more links to enjoy plus literary-inspired resolutions

nine years ago: even more links

ten years ago: the last man on the Moon plus food pyramids and fad-diets

effervescence (12. 128)

Having previously explored the physics of tiny bubbles, we enjoyed this deep dive that brings together the study of flutes and coupes, the fermentation process and the celebrated through probably apocryphal declaration by Dom Pierre Pérignon that he was tasting the stars, which nonetheless has its place above earthly bounds insofar that the science behind it fizzy drinks also has applications in aerosols, cloud formation and carbon-sequestration on our planet and beyond. The article circles back to the glass and the toast with suggestions to optimise effervescence and all the factors, virtual sytnhesis of synaesthesia, that effect the palette. More BBC features correspondent Nicola Jones at the link above.

starquake (12. 115)

On this day in 2004, forty-two thousand years after a powerful explosion occurred on the surface of the magnetar, a class of neutron star with a powerful magnetic field, located in the constellation of Sagittarius, the resultant gamma ray reached Earth, the brightest event known to have been experienced on the planet with an origin outside the universe, the incredibly dense and compact star (only fifteen kilometres in diameter) designated as SGR 1806-20 and discovered in 1979 as a gamma-repeater (see previously) releasing as much energy in a tenth of a second as the Sun will in one hundred and fifty thousand years. The expanding cloud, shock wave of radiation briefly enlarged the ionosphere and it is estimated that a comparable blast within ten light years of Earth would ravage the atmosphere and destroy the ozone layer.

synchronoptica

one year ago: solfège in other languages (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: messianic complexes, one of small character, memories of y2k plus an inverted skyscraper

eight years ago: assorted links worth revisiting plus telegraphing kisses

nine years ago: banana supply chains plus more links to enjoy

ten years ago: tiny houses, Russian metro stations plus stress and motivation

forschungslaboratorium für elektronenphysik (12. 106)

Autodidact in applied physics and prolific inventor, Baron Manfred von Ardenne, after presenting to the public his concept of Fernsehen a year and a half earlier, achieved his first wholly electronic transmission of television pictures, using a cathode ray tube (see more) for both transmission and reception, on this day in 1933. Following trial runs on broadcasters, Ardenne’s technological advance progressed quickly with the private station of Paul Nipkow culminating with the live airing of the 1936 Berlin Games. Having also conducted pioneering experiments in the fields of radar, radio, isotope separation and inventing the scanning electron microscope, Ardenne’s research facilities in Berlin-Lichtenfelde were put a protective order by Soviet occupying forces in April 1945 and Ardenne and his colleagues were reassigned to laboratories in Abkhazia to work on the atomic bomb project (see also)—like the Russian version of Operation Paperclip. Realising that participation in such a plan would jeopardise his eventual repatriation to East Germany, Ardenne convinced authorities to focus on uranium enrichment rather than weaponising the programme, slowly development until the Americans bombed Japan and an extensive espionage network determined that it was more than theoretical possible. Once Ardenne returned to the DDR and assumed an advisory role in the government, he applied his study and resources to medical diagnostics, inventing an early form MRI scanner and radiotherapies to treat cancer.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: Christmas Greetings (with synchronoptica), Aida (1871) plus more accidental Renaissance art

seven years ago: Sleighrunner, Trump’s challenge coin plus more Season’s Greetings

eight years ago: A Human Document, internet court plus a collection of Yule Logs

nine years ago: more Yule Logs 

ten years ago: a visit from Father Frost

eleven years ago: 2013 wrapped plus a holiday reckoning  

demi-conductor (12. 103)

Via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links, we are directed to a class of quasiparticles in condensed matter physics—the field of study that focuses on the difference of properties and behaviours on macroscopic versus microscopic scales—that has the unexpected quality of carrying mass and charge in one direction only and when turned 90° suddenly become massless. Though the scholarship has been established for about a decade regarding such topological behaviour, researchers believe that harnessing such novel semi-Dirac fermions (with a strangely definitive level of certainty for the quantum realm) could have revolutionary applications for quantum computing and transcend the restraints of traditional circuitry that’s too blunt to wire reliably for qubits on a nano-scale. The semi- and super-conductors of solid state electronics do not corral energy in orderly or predictable ways for such a delicate set-up but if the circuit could be a virtual one comprised not of wire but of a particle with switching properties, quantum computations (see previously) could quickly become very robust. More from Popular Mechanics at the link above.

cp 1919 (12. 037)

Discovered by post-graduate astrophysics student Jocelyn Bell Burnell using the Interplanetary Scintillation Array of Cambridge Observatory on this day in 1967 whilst searching for radio signals in space, because of its precise regularity, it was dismissed by colleagues as terrestrial interference initially,but combing through reams of data, Bell Burnell correctly pinpointed its origins to celestial coordinates of nineteen′ nineteen′′ right ascension, twenty-one° declination, coming from the constellation Vulpecula—for which it was given the designation LGM-1, little green men, supposing it might be an alien beacon of some kind. The discoverer, however, correctly posited that the source was a rapidly rotating neutron star. Fellow researchers received a Nobel prize in 1974 for their work in radioastronomy but Bell Burnell’s contributions were overlooked (for her part, she maintained that she did not believe that the committee should be in the business of honouring research assistants), and the novel class of star is now recognised as a pulsar, emitting beams of radiation from its poles and have proven to be an indispensable lighthouse in the cosmos for detection and triangulation, a throughline for detecting the first exoplanents and the phenomena of gravitational waves among others. In 1979, for their debut studio album, Unknown Pleasures, Joy Division adapted a ridgeline plot of the stars’s radio emissions’ pulses for the cover art.

8x8 (11. 908)

jianmen underground neutrino observatory: a tour of JUNO, the massive Chinese lab built to study the elusive particle—Damn Interesting’s Curated Links 

xoxo: Cabel Sasser’s talk on rediscovering a forgotten artist—more here from the presenter, see also

post on own site, syndicate elsewhere: more on the POSSE technique for retaining control of one’s work—see previously  

first draft: the Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009 illustrates the problems of for-profit journalism—see also 

saturday night soirées: the house parties of Charles Babbage (previously) boasted an impressive guest list, including Faraday, the Darwins, Dickens and more  

central casting: recalculating the Kevin Bacon Game with eigenvectors to reveal the most well connected film is Pulp Fiction—via Quantum of Sollazzo 

monsters and madonnas: the eerie, erotic photography of William Mortensen—labelled the “Antichrist of Hollywood” in the 1930s for his horror film inspired compositions  

strong thermal emission velocity enhancement: the rare atmospheric phenomenon called Steve (which science made a backronym) that sometimes accompanies geostorms

7x7 (11. 758)

pop quiz: extended CVs of classic game show hosts  

pass the mayo: condiment’s dynamic nature could help solve containment challenges for nuclear fusion  

wingnut: a South Berkley salvage store turned museum—via Nag on the Lake’s always excellent Sunday Links  

cocónonós: a Bogota-based fusion band—possibly named after the ill-fated Tiki drink shared with Geordi La Forge and Christy Henshaw on their first date  

bias towards coherence: Trump’s latest on rally attendance and his greatest hits  

the type specimen of humanity: the designated permanent reference for Homo sapiens is Carl Linnaeus  

magick show: Richard Metzger’s latest occult project

 synchronoptica

one year ago: cutting archived content for the sake of SEO (with synchronoptica), a racist brawl in Alabama plus multi-hyphenates

seven years ago: reproductive awareness

eight years ago: ant wars, Martian landscapes, disproportionate and xenophobic calls for burqa bans, a floating home in Canada plus Facebook and clickbait

nine years ago: Liberia and the US 

ten years ago: a party at Neuseenland plus the geopolitics of terrorism

8x8 (11. 712)

veepstakes: Sherwin-Williams paint colour or potential running-mate for Kamala Harris 

prince rupert’s cube: Platonic solids will fit through an identically shaped one, thanks to the ponderings of a seventeenth century Rheinland monarch—see previously  

hollywood walk-outs: publicity stills from film’s Golden Age of movie casts in full costume paraded outside between takes—via Messy Nessy Chic  

bareback: the bleaching, normalising of a rather vulgar terms used in wide contexts  

news cycle: breaking stories happening faster than area man can generate uninformed opinions  

orrery: a look at the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium, the world’s oldest and smallest functioning astronomical theatre created by a weaver turned star-gazer and purchased by the king—via ibīdem  

she’s just not sufficiently grateful: all the ways the GOP is melting down over the changed presidential race

 synchronoptica

one year ago: another MST3K classic (with synchronoptica), a virtual diving-bell, assorted links worth revisiting plus a banger from The Cars

seven years ago: mushroom season, poorly drawn cats plus boustrophedic writing

nine years ago: more on author Karl May plus comic book heroes

eleven years ago: a haircut for Greece plus ceremonial government roles

fourteen years ago: more bad banks plus Oktoberfest and other attractions

9x9 (11. 694)

fungal magic: an update on the mushroom documentary narrated by Björk  

always lands on its feet: the myriad ways animals negotiate the laws of physics—see also  

meisje met de parel: decoding Vermeer’s true colours—see previously—via Miss Cellania 

i’m your heat pump: a seductive slow jam seems to educate the public on the thermal energy transmission system 

eno: the generative documentary on the self-described non-musician that changes with each viewing  

legal daisy spacing: a purported 1985 manual for terraforming a planet that presents a warped bureaucracy and sterile landscaping  

nolle prosequi: federal judge overseeing illegal retention of classified documents trial against Trump dismissed the indictment over the improper appointment of the prosecution’s special counsel—see previously here and here  

reimann hypothesis: new insights about the distribution of prime numbers—via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links  

kräuterbuch: Johannes Hartlieb’s fifteenth century treasury of herbs

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica), Netscape plus the Rosetta Stone

seven years ago: dark matter, more on the election integrity commission plus the bicentennial of Frankenstein

nine years ago: thalassocracies, plutographies plus more links to enjoy 

eleven years ago: a slightly NSFW Soviet adult literacy reader

twelve years ago: the German banking system plus the Oberammergau Passion Plays

9x9 (11. 636)

who is this imposter: AI ruins classic, static reaction memes with animation  

🥖: the bygone baguette boxes of French Polynesia—via Messy Nessy Chic  

quantum compass: London Underground hosts trials for a subatomic sensor that could supplement satellite navigation  

crystal lake: the preponderance of 1980s horror movies set at summer camp  

ball & chain: Nag on the Lake shares a special memory from Festival Express, the touring show of Monterey Pop, when the musicians came to Toronto

message in a bottle: the dozen times humans have tried to communicate with extra-terrestrial intelligences—see previously here, here and here  

encarta: the short, happy reign of the multimedia CD-ROM as part of Fast Company’s 1994 Week—via Slashdot  

casa bonita: a 1974 amusement park restaurant reopens under new management and with a monumental wait-list 

 surgeon general’s warning: US top doctor urges health notices for social media

synchronoptica

one year ago: an AI’s take on emoji (plus synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting, a human computer plus Adsense (2003)

five years ago: Sweden’s alcohol monopoly, the UK Carbon Brief plus more links to enjoy

six years ago: a Banksy gallery opens, first issue magazine covers, the War of 1812, a space slingshot, more links worth the revisit plus Trump and Merkel

seven years ago: the US withdrawal from the Paris Treaty plus even more links

nine years ago: tobacco introduced to the Old World, more links, Hocus Pocus plus the nobiliary particle

8x8 (11. 539)

an elegant weapon for a more civilised age: the physics and power demands of a lightsaber  

defective fleet of fly sky-wreckage: nothing good has the acronym MRSA (Material Review Segregation Area) 

chic boutique: Messy Nessy to open a brick-and-mortar clubhouse and shop in Paris  

wopr: US urges China and Russia to pledge that AI will never have command and control of nuclear weapons  

poultice: an orangutan observed self-medicating a wound in the wild with a paste made of plants with healing properties 

serenity amid disaster: a short animation from Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, “The Flying Sailor,” examines the wonder and fragility of existence  

peak wtf: gun-mounted flashlights popular with American police officers 

oh, the asthma guy: a conversion with that one friend who’s never seen Star Wars

insatiable birdie (11. 433)

Via Miss Cellania, we not only learn the rather elegant physics and chemistry behind those sippy bird toys but also that researchers have given it an upgrade as a device to generate energy.

Sometimes mislabeled as a perpetual motion machine, the thirsty mechanism is a heat engine, two evacuated glass bulbs linked by a tube pivot on a crosspiece and turns the temperature gradient along the body into a pressure difference that translates to the mechanism. Water evaporates from the head (usually adorned with something absorbent like felt) and lowers the temperature and pressure and causes some of the vapour in the chamber to condense (usually ether, alcohol or chloroform) and the liquid is forced up the neck, causing it to tip forward. The ambient air temperature warms the bottom bulb and causes the cycle to repeat. The toy, originally called a Pulshammer was a German invention improved by Benjamin Franklin, after seeing one in action around 1768 and illustrates the principles of capillary action, wet-bulb temperature, heat of condensation as well as several laws of thermodynamics and idea gases and with the latest modifications also demonstrates the triboelectric effect (static electricity), harnessing it to power small appliances and seems overall like a pretty good educational apparatus, provoking thought while charging.  Who knew? More technical details and a video demonstration of the prototype at the link above.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit, Yugoslavian fashion plus climbing Everest (1923)

two years ago: more links to enjoy, two probes passing in the night, more shibboleths plus Arnold Schwarzenegger makes an appeal to the people of Russia

three years ago: RIP Yaphet Kotto, more links worth the revisit, Motown on tour (1965), mourning rings, fear of covering up plus the fashions of Birgitta Bjerke

four years ago: an iconic photograph from the battlefield (1942)

five years ago: Transit Driver Appreciation Day

8x8 (11. 416)

studio nue: the meticulous and immersive sci-fi illustrations of Naoyuki Kato  

landsat lens: virtual rewinding maps created with historic satellite imagery

drawing for nothing: a growing e-book of storyboards and character studies from unfinished, shelved animation projects—via Waxy 

hag horror: Poseidon’s Underworld explores the genre with 1971’s Blood and Lace 

ṗ_s (t → ♾️) = 0: researchers find algorithms that only quantum computers can solve—via Damn Interesting—see previously  

all these worlds are yours, except europa: NASA reveals the plaque its probe will carry to Jupiter’s icy moon later this year  

rednaxela: unusual toponyms, including the named terrace in Hong Kong believed to be Alexander transcribed right-to-left, as was the practise in the past  

fantomah: outsider comic book artist Fletcher Hanks

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit, domino theory (1947) plus more words with no English equivalent

two years ago: more links to enjoy,  World Day Against Cyber Censorship plus Mamma Mia (1975)

three years ago: the cosmography of William Fairfield Warren (1915), artist Caterina van Hemessen, St Maximilian of Tebessa, occultist Austin Osman Spare, listening to maps, more isogloss maps plus a celebration of veteran memes

four years ago: St Serafina plus COVID travel bans take effect

five years ago: resurrection plants

penrose tiles (11. 398)

Given the potential, inevitably of quantum computing to break even the hardest encryption and pose an existential threat to the digital framework of privacy and security that we’ve become accustomed to, a possible reprieve in the form of aperiodic tiling is welcome news. Rather than focus on the symmetrical and repeating approaches to tiling a surface, polymath and Nobel laureate Roger Penrose and others began to study inflation and deflation of imperfect coverage in the 1970s, and anticipating the models of quantum computing, physical qubits and the superimposed virtual states, the never-repeating mosaics are not in themselves a place to hide information but a check-digit redundancy to ensure calculations stay on course. Given the nature of quantum mechanics—measuring the in-between state, neither zero or one and both, will cause the value to collapse, making the circuitry a rather delicate and unreliable thing and could lead to a more robust and internally consistent way for encoding and encryption as we know it. More at the links above.