This Is Wayyy To Aesthetic To Be Just Candle Wax. It Kind Of Reminds Me Of Summer Vacation In France

phys.org

Scientists discover that water molecules define the materials around us

For decades, the fields of physics and chemistry have maintained that the atoms and molecules that make up the natural world define the char

OKAY THIS ARTICLE IS SO COOL

I'm going to try to explain this in a comprehensible way, because honestly it's wild to wrap your head around even for me, who has a degree in chemistry. But bear with me.

Okay, so. Solids, right? They are rigid enough to hold their shape, but aside from that they are quite variable. Some solids are hard, others are soft, some are brittle or rubbery or malleable. So what determines these qualities? And what creates the rigid structure that makes a solid a solid? Most people would tell you that it depends on the atoms that make up the solid, and the bonds between those atoms. Rubber is flexible because of the polymers it's made of, steel is strong because of the metallic bonds between its atoms. And this applies to all solids. Or so everybody thought.

A paper published in the journal Nature has discovered that biological materials such as wood, fungi, cotton, hair, and anything else that can respond to the humidity in the environment may be composed of a new class of matter dubbed "hydration solids". That's because the rigidity and solidness of the materials doesn't actually come from the atoms and bonds, but from the water molecules hanging out in between.

So basically, try to imagine a hydration solid as a bunch of balloons taped together to form a giant cube, with the actual balloon part representing the atoms and bonds of the material, and the air filling the balloons as the water in the pores of the solid. What makes this "solid" cube shaped? It's not because of the rubber at all, but the air inside. If you took out all the air from inside the balloons, the structure wouldn't be able to hold its shape.

Ozger Sahin, one of the paper's authors, said

"When we take a walk in the woods, we think of the trees and plants around us as typical solids. This research shows that we should really think of those trees and plants as towers of water holding sugars and proteins in place. It's really water's world."

And the great thing about this discovery (and one of the reasons to support its validity) is that thinking about hydration solids this way makes the math so so so much easier. Before this, if you wanted to calculate how water interacts with organic matter, you would need advanced computer simulations. Now, there are simple equations that you can do in your head. Being able to calculate a material's properties using basic physics principles is a really big deal, because so far we have only been able to do that with gasses (PV=nRT anyone?). Expanding that to a group that encompasses 50-90% of the biological world around us is huge.

Train rides and physics 🌻

idk i just wanna sit in a dark library at night in the candlelight wearing an oversized sweater and exchange glances over my book to my lover while the rain pours outside and feel at peace with the world

Black Cat appreciation post

🖤We named the black stray cat that visits our garden from time to time Edgar 💙

hi! i've changed my major but i've also switched universities at the same time, so i'm not sure if my experience is relevant to what you're going through. nonetheless, let me know if you want to talk about it together! i know this can be a very difficult experience, and i hope that you will find peace, happiness, and success no matter how it turns out in the end <3

Thank you so much for answering and offering your help!

First of all the current situation: I'm starting my third semester in Medical Engineering next month in a town very far from my hometown. I'm not a very social person and the only friend I had in this town decided to move away a few months ago. I think the main reason why I want to change is because I'm lonely and homesick, I miss my old friends who all study in the same area.

At the same time I've always been torn between studying biology or engineering and now I'm thinking biology might be a better fit. That would also allow me to move back home.

It's not that I don't like engineering, I enjoy maths and I would definitely be able to finish this degree with good grades.

I'd love to talk to you about this, about what made you change and when you knew it would be the right decision

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?

Ernest Hemingway (via help-n-quotes)

i fucking hate when people look down on those with social anxiety like “oh that happens to everybody” “just do it you’ll be fine” no, it’s a legitimate disorder and a lot of people are inadvertently hurt by you brushing shit under the rug begone thot

Rainy Day impressions