Friday Fragments - Quantum Lasers using Teamwork?

After about a month hiatus the Friday Fragments are back.  For those of you who are new to my site, the Friday Fragments are just a collection of interesting stories and links that usually are centered around science but can offer a wide arrange of info.  Enjoy!

-First, my shameless "Plug of the Week."  The Bucket List is a new blog that my friend Rob started to document his experiences trying to complete his baseball bucket list. It's the off-season now but head on over, slap a bookmark on it, and check it out from time to time if you're a baseball/sports fan.  It may inspire you do check off a few items on your bucket list as well.

-Fun with Lasers and Balloons!  Always love a good laser video, but wait and see what happens when they pull out the white balloon!




-Now while the jury is still out on the whole breaking the speed of light theory, scientists have recently published a paper about the quantum speed limit (which I thought would be the same as the speed light but once again quantum mechanics throws me a curve ball).  If you like physics, read this quick summary of their findings.


-This kid got lost inside a computer....granted it was in the 1950's when computers took up the size of whole rooms but still.


-This week I came across a small article about pharmacies and the controversial Plan B birth control.  A new study has found that some pharmacists are taking the moral issue into their own hands and not allowing girls of legal age to buy the emergency contraceptive (17 years or older) even when they have some in stock.  Now whether or not you agree with Plan B and whether it is morally and ethically alright, pharmacists do NOT have the right to deny someone of a medicine if they are legally allowed to purchase it.  I'm just saying!


-I hope you're all ready for the massive solar storm coming our way.  Wait, it's happening as we speak.  That's right, one of the largest solar storms in the last decade is bombarding our planet right now and fortunately nothing major has been affected.  Unless you are traveling in space or use precision GPS (down to the foot) for your job, you probably wouldn't notice the effects at all.


-I'll leave you with one of the best displays of teamwork...

All this work just to play the Demo of Mario Kart 7?  Worth it!

Ask a Scientist: Is Pudding a Solid or Liquid?

For the first installment of "Ask a Scientist," I will diving into the world of pudding.  But first...

Pudding takes the shape of it's container so it must be a
liquid, right?

I went back and read my original "Ask a Scientist" post and I wanted to clear something up first.  I never intended for the post to sound arrogant or snobby.  My only intention was to try to find some new interesting subjects to look into and write an informative post on them.  I am not saying that I know all the answers or that I am a genius.  I just enjoy researching all kinds of science and I also love to share fun science (such as quantum locking)!  So without further delay, let's get back to pudding.  Which is an awesome topic to discuss!

So is pudding a solid or liquid?  Short answer, it is a liquid.  Long answer, it is hydrocolloidial gel.  I'll explain...

Milk is another example of a colloid,
because the solid fat molecules are
dispersed in the water of milk.

Short answer; if we look at pudding like we were in grade school again and try and determine it's state of matter we would classify it as a liquid.  It has no definitive shape (it takes the shape of the container it is in) but it will not diffuse out of an open container.  So by all accounts it is a liquid.

Long answer; when making pudding there are essentially two phases that make up the pudding.  The first is the powder mix (or raw ingredients if you happen to be a grandma or Paula Dean) that consists of a starch, sugar, flavorings, colorings, and probably some preservatives.  This comes in the form a of solid powder.  Then we have the liquid phase, usually water or milk (which is essentially water for our purposes here).  Now when these two phases are combined and are not completely miscible they form a colloid.  Miscibility is the ability for two things to coexist as one medium (like when you dissolve sugar in warm tea to make sweet tea).  Colloids are when one phase is dispersed within another phase.

Pudding is the same state of matter as hair gel!
A liquid dispersed within a solid.

Here, the main two ingredients that determine the overall state of matter for pudding is starch and water.  Because starches have variable molecular weights and consist of chains of sugars, they tend to form amorphous solids, solids without a definite crystal structure and have a little liquid like properties.  Once the water is dispersed within the amorphous solid of the starch, this increases the liquid like properties overall.  This type of colliod is called a hydrocolloid because it specifically uses water.  Lastly, this is considered a gel because the water is dispersed within the solid.  So thus the hydrocolloidial gel!  Which is actually more like a solid.

So to answer the question is pudding a solid or liquid, it is both!  I hope that helps and you can impress your friends at your Christmas parties!  Thanks melpels for the question!

PS - Tapioca pudding is the easiest example of this hydrocolloidial gel that is both a solid and liquid, because there are literal chunks in that pudding, ugh.

Friday Fragments (10/7/11)

Friday again and today the "Fragments" are going into BEAST MODE!  For some reason when I opened up my folder of saved bookmarks for the fragments I found about 3 times the normal amount of links.  So without further blabbering here are enough links to keep you occupied all afternoon!

-As you know by now, Steve Jobs passed away this week.  And even though I have never own anything Apple, I believe that he single handily pushed a technology revolution that is still happening today. And I found this video that explains how Apple predicted the iPhone 4S technology 24 years ago in 1987!  It's pretty close to the real thing, down to the prediction of what year it will happen.  Thank you Mr. Jobs for everything you brought us, your legacy will live on for years to come.

-I said this last week, but Windows 7.5 (or Mango) is out for Windows phones and it's pretty good.  Already getting rave reviews, I hope that my turn to update will come shortly (it's some sort of phased update, wtf).  However, Microsoft also announced that they will no longer be making Zune players.  The Zune software, which I think is one of the best music players available, will still be available for PC and WP7.

-Some bad news in the contraceptive front this week, a widely used contraceptive in Africa may actually lead to an increased risk of HIV contraction. Not Good!  So to lighten the mood, check out these awesome condom brands!

-Accuweather.com released their winter weather outlook. And I'm official disgruntled! (The Midwest is in f

or a long, cold winter)

-I found this list of the most beautiful colleges campus. It seemed fitting since the leaves are starting to turn around campus.  Even if both Notre Dame and IU made the list.

-An interesting look at drug rationing in the US.  And Nanorockets...I think so!  These look awesome, plain and simple!

-In Nobel Prize news, the first ever posthumously award Nobel Prize was given out this week.  Also, chemist who was essentially forced out of his job and research because of his findings on quasi-crystals receives justification in the form of a Nobel Prize. 

-This link is only a quick look at the news in molecular science, but the atomic mirror is what caught my eye.  We may only be a few years away from quantum computers!

-The Japan earthquake earlier this year was so massive that it actually changed Earth's gravity!  Only by 2 billionths of a gal, but still.

-In the world of physics I found two very interesting articles.  One about neutrinos and the consequences of going faster than the speed of light.  The second on naked singularity.  Sounds sexy, so you'll have to click the link to find out (hint: you might be sorely disappointed).  Both have some relevancy to the currents state of physics research today.  Also, if you understand either one of the articles at all you should pat yourself on the back because I'm still a little confused and I read them a few days ago.

-In biology, scientists have used bacteria to encode messages.  I reported on E. coli being a memory storage device but this is pretty cool too.

-Lastly...this is one of the coolest time lapse videos ever.  I particularly like how you can see part of the Milky Way galaxy in some of the night shots.  Enjoy!

Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.

Friday Fragments (9/23/11)

Fall seems to have finally made it's way to Purdue, as evidence by my unpredictable sinuses!  And as such, football is in full swing.  Now, my friend Aaron and I were discussing about heading to a local high school football game...not because we want to cheer for a team or because we know someone on a team.  But because we kind of miss the "Friday Night Lights" experience.  You know, paying 10 dollars for popcorn and a child size coke to watch awkward teenage boys hit each other, while the "cool kids" yell (usually at each other) on the sidelines, and the parents either get way too into the game and spray you with extraneous spittle or look like they are the subjects of a stress test gone haywire!  Now personally, I miss the halftime show.  You know, the real reason everyone shows up on Friday nights (at least in Avon).  That's right the marching band show.  So as a personal en devour I will attempting to not only make it to a local high school football game, but also a local marching band contest on a Saturday.  And I recommend it to all who want to relieve a little part of their teenage years.  Heck, take your significant other and make it a creative date (or man-date if you don't have that special someone).  So for anyone who would like to tackle this vendetta with me, hit me up in the comments section or text/call me if you have my number.  But I digress from the real reason you are here...the fragments!

-Physics had a HUGE week!  Today, scientists revealed a possible break in the speed of light barrier!  Other scientists have concocted an anti-magnet (read to find out because I still am not sure what that is).  And other research has lead to the first breakthrough in proton transistors, which would make computer-human symbiosis possible.  Those are three possibly huge breakthroughs in physics and I bet at least 1 out of the 3 will actually materialize into something substantial, sorry Einstein.

The new Windows "Blue Screen of Death"
Now with 50% less intimidation and 100% more
"you're an idiot!"

-For Windows phone users (me), Windows new phone OS, Mango, is set to release next week.  Excellent!  There is also a Windows 8 Beta currently out right now, if you're into that kind of thing.

-I already posted on this but gamers on the West Coast have utilized a video game to crack an AIDS mystery. In a word....spectawesome!  That is spectacular and awesome for those who are keeping score at home.

-Lastly, Hugh Jackman was on WWE this week. No I don't watch WWE anymore but I found this article about how he actually hit a guy in the face and broke his jaw.  Maybe it's not all fake <----obvious sarcasm!

Ok, that's all I got for now, enjoy!

Friday Fragments (9/16/11)

So, I apologize for the lack of commitment lately on here.  I have excuse but I will refrain from using them as I know you probably don't care about my excuses.  I don't have too many fragments but I had an hour to kill before my first big presentation in my lab group (on Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation which will be the topic of an upcoming Under the Hood).

-I believe I have said this before but I would so be willing to be one of the first people to colonize Mars.  Well, NASA gave us a look at the rocket that might get us there!

-For all you "green" enthusiasts out there...the most environmentally friendly way to be disposed of when you die is evidently to be liquefied.

-In another AIDS research project, scientists have made kittens glow in the dark.  They used the glowing genes to indicate which cells had the target gene transfected into them.  Overview here....scientific article here.

-For some reason I find this terrifying but evidently you can make a flying, computer hacking drone that is untraceable.

-Recently, the US government has been debating things to cut in the budget.  One of those things is "public science."  Essentially it is governmentally funded research.  This is excellent article explaining the situation and I recommend it to anyone who likes science or politics (warning: it is pro-science, SHOCKER).

-Lastly, the Florida Marlins are going to be renamed the Miami Marlins and Nike has released the Air Mag shoe.  Back to the Future seems like a real possibility now!

UPDATE (per request)

-Miss Universe crowned their winner recently....Miss Angola (you're welcome Lindsey)!

Rockstar Status

A few days ago I was sitting around with some friends just hanging out and talking about random stuff.  Of course I was bringing up about every “fragment” that I have linked through this blog and got asked a sarcastic question, “Where do you get all this stuff?”  Good question.

Popular Science is one of my favorite place
to find the latest and greatest scientific
en devours.

I believe every person needs to be well-rounded and that includes having hobbies.  Now I enjoy playing guitar and playing video games (I can’t wait until Assassin’s Creed Revelations comes out), and I have always played sports like baseball, now softball, golf, and table tennis.  But one of my new hobbies has got to be reading about science research and breakthroughs.  Not necessarily the entire research articles but I like perusing the latest news sites for interesting stories.  And that is where I get all that stuff.  Being well versed in all disciplines of science can only help me in my career and life journey through science.

[Side note: I love science and learning how things work.  And I always have believed that everything has an explanation, a reason.  However, the explanation is not always quantifiable.  The best way I think I have heard this described is in The Script song, Science and Faith.  Take a listen and judge for yourself.  If this blog was a myspace page, that song would be playing in the background.]

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are in the elite group of
innovators who have made it into "Rockstar" status.

As I continue to fuel my new found hobby, I have found a whole world of discoveries that the mainstream media misses.  Every once in a while a big discovery makes onto the news, but all the war, politics, crime, and money seems to dilute any opportunity for good news in the research front to make itself known to the world.  My wish is that one day scientists and doctors are held to the same “rockstar” type status as celebrities and athletes.  Not because I secretly want to be a rockstar (that would be pretty sweet), but because they are the ones who deserve some attention for their contributions to society.  And like with all celebrities, the scientists who make great breakthroughs will have both crazed fans and irate objectors…but that’s why it’s fun, right?  Even though it is very unlikely that doctors, scientists, and inventors enjoy the same luxuries as all those artsy folk, we must at least acknowledge all areas of progress before the drive to find the "next big thing" is stalled by the complacency to play basketball or yet another super-hero movie.

Making my "Cameo" Appearance

Hey everyone, I wrote a guest blog for the Stickyshoereview.com this week!  The site is a good "perspective" on the movie industry and has many different viewpoints about movies today.  I wrote a piece on the science within movies...check it out!

Weather Proof Matches

I found this link and video to weather proof matches.  When I first read it, I thought they meant you could get the matches wet and they would still work.  Not the case, click to watch the video and see for yourself.

At one point he actually cleans off the wet dirt from the match and then it reignites.  I feel like that disrupts some law of physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, or something.  This could also be a disaster waiting to happen at a drunken college party or redneck wedding.