Applied Physics

In previous articles I’ve demonstrated how to use littleBits and erector set parts to build a magnetic stirrer and a sample rotator. Since I was able to drive Erector set machines with the littleBits motor I decided to try to use it to drive K’nex contrapt ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Jun 30 2014 - 2:34pm

Tiny Switch Could Be Just Three Atoms Thick

Stanford researchers envision a crystal that can form a monolayer three atoms thick. Their computer simulations show that this crystal, molybdenum ditelluride, can act like a switch: its crystal lattice can be mechanically pulled and pushed, back and fort ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2014 - 10:04am

How Did Ancient Japanese Gold Leaf Artists Work At Nanoscale?

We know that ancient Japanese gold leaf artists were truly masters of their craft- their works are ornate and delicate. What remains a mystery is how artifacts were gilded with gold leaf that was hand-beaten to the nanometer scale. Gold leaf refers to a v ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 3 2014 - 8:00am

Geckos: Look, We're Not Spider-Man

When you see an article about geckos and their ability to sit upside down, Spider-Man references are sure to follow. And if the topic is that sticky ability in spiders, you will get Spider-Man references and a picture. Yet even geckos have limits- that� ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2014 - 11:33am

Birdsnap App Can Help You Identify Birds

Birdsnap is an iPhone and web based app that uses many of the techniques of facial recognition software to identify 500 of the most common North American birds. The web based version of Birdsnap is actually very easy to use: upload your picture, click on t ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Jul 16 2014 - 6:10am

Constructal Law: Evolution Governed Science Of Airplanes

Why did the supersonic trans-Atlantic Concorde aircraft end up being a huge flop? It is commonly believed that European subsidies don't make for efficient airlines and the cost made it impossible to keep the aircraft maintained- but a new paper by a ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 24 2014 - 2:30am

Discovered: Cool-Burning Flames In Space

If you have watched the NASA channel recently, you might have witnessed a series of experiments regarding flames. On the surface, pardon the pun, it may have seemed like a minor thing, but how flames behave outside our atmosphere has led to discovery of ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 28 2014 - 3:22pm

The NSA, Snowden, And Citizen Cryptology

In a previous article I demonstrated how to use a One Time Pad cipher using a pen, paper, and Scrabble tiles (or Boggle cubes). If used correctly, One Time Pads cannot be broken by the NSA or any intelligence service on Earth because the One Time Pad keys ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Jul 29 2014 - 5:12pm

Acoustic Bottles In Open Air Send Sound Waves On Trajectories

There's a new wave of sound on the horizon carrying with it a broad scope of tantalizing potential applications, including advanced ultrasonic imaging and therapy, acoustic cloaking, and levitation and particle manipulation. Researchers with the Lawr ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 4 2014 - 3:49pm

Putting Together How Things Fall Apart

Materials that are firmly bonded together with epoxy and other tough adhesives are ubiquitous in modern life — from crowns on teeth to modern composites used in construction. Yet it has proved remarkably difficult to study how these bonds fracture and fai ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 4 2014 - 4:30pm