Fallstreak Holes Are Natural Phenomena That Often Get Mistaken For UFOs. These ‘hole Punch Clouds’

If you trace the orbits of Earth and Venus over 8 years, this is the pattern that emerges

Alloys: Wood’s Metal

Also known as Lipowtiz’s alloy as well as the commercial names of Cerrobend, Bendalloy, Pewtalloy, and MCP 158 among others, Wood’s metal is a bismuth alloy consisting of 50% bismuth, 26.67% lead, 13.33% tin, and 10% cadmium by weight. Named for the man who invented it, a Barnabas Wood, Wood’s metal was discovered/created by him in 1860.

Wood’s metal is both a eutectic and a fusible alloy, with a low melting temperature of approximately 70 °C (158 °F). While none of its individual components have a melting temperature of less than 200 °C, a eutectic alloy can be considered as a pure (homogeneous) substance and always has a sharp melting point. If the elements in a eutectic compound or alloy are not as tightly bound as they would be in the pure elements, this leads to a lower melting point. (Eutectic substances can have higher melting points, if its components bind tightly to themselves.)

Useful as a low-temperature solder or casting metal, Wood’s metal is also used as valves in fire sprinkler systems. Thanks to its low melting temperature, Wood’s metal melts in the case of a fire and thanks to the bismuth it is made from, the alloy also shrinks when it melts (bismuth, like water ice, is one of the few substances to do so) which is the key to setting off the sprinkler system. Wood’s metal is also often used as a filler when bending thin walled metal tubes: the filler prevents the tube from collapsing, then can be easily removed by heating and melting the Wood’s metal. Other applications include treating antiques, as a heat transfer medium in hot baths, and in making custom shaped apertures and blocks for medical radiation treatment.

With the addition of both lead and cadmium, however, Wood’s metal is considered to be a toxic alloy. Contact with bare skin is thought to be harmful, especially once the alloy has melted, and vapors from cadmium containing alloys are also quite dangerous and can result in cadmium poisoning. A non-toxic alternative to Wood’s metal is Field’s metal, composed of bismuth, tin, and indium.

Sources: ( 1 - image 4 ) ( 2 - image 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 )

Image sources: ( 1 ) ( 3 )

But that’s not all it can do. Microsoft and NASA teamed up to “bring” you, yes you, to Mars.

Follow @the-future-now

coolest physics thing that u know??

The coolest physics thing that I know keeps changing over time. But here is one that is extremely fascinating ( and also exaggerated for the effect ; but true! ):

Person living at the top of a skyscraper experiences time faster than one at the bottom

It is a known fact that the higher you are in the earth’s ** atmosphere, the lesser the effect of gravity is.

But the lesser the effect of gravity is, the faster the time ticks.

By how much you ask? Even if you live on the top floor of the Burj Khalifa  your entire life, you would have aged more only by a few milliseconds than your friends at the bottom. 

( Sure, doesn’t seem like much, but hell would break loose if we don’t consider this on the bigger scale of things )

This is known as Gravitational time dilation and is at the foundations of General Theory of Relativity. (More about this in an upcoming post)

Have a great day and thanks for asking!

EDIT: ** Lets just say hypothetically the earth is not spinning( just to ignore special relativistic effects) and we are looking at only the effects of height.

Blackest is the new black: Scientists have developed a material so dark that you can't see it...

Puritans, Goths, avant-garde artists, hell-raising poets and fashion icon Coco Chanel all saw something special in it. Now black, that most enigmatic of colours, has become even darker and more mysterious.

A British company has produced a “strange, alien” material so black that it absorbs all but 0.035 per cent of visual light, setting a new world record. To stare at the “super black” coating made of carbon nanotubes – each 10,000 times thinner than a human hair – is an odd experience. It is so dark that the human eye cannot understand what it is seeing. Shapes and contours are lost, leaving nothing but an apparent abyss.

How does sand from Sahara end up in your windshield ?

TBH cleaning your car is a rather mundane task. But when you fill your head with some interesting physics the task actually gets rather pretty interesting. Here’s some good for thought on such an occasion :

The dust on your windshield might actually be from the Sahara desert

To understand how, lets start with some simple physics.

The stacked ball drop

You basically take couple of balls, align them up and drop them to the ground. The ball at the top reaches the most highest due to the subsequent transfer of energy from the other balls.

                                    Source Video : Physics Girl

Here is an exaggerated but amazing slow motion of the same energy transfer with a water balloon. Notice how the transfer of energy takes place between the water balloon and the tennis ball.

                                     Source Video : Slow Mo Lab

Sandstorms in the desert

Sandstorms/ Dust storms as you might be aware, are pretty common in the desert. . Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface.

And this can cause something phenomenal to happen:

If the wind speed is sufficient then larger sand particles can propel finer ones high into the atmosphere. ( just like the stacked ball )

Then these fine particles are caught in the global wind pattern and are transported across the globe until they fall down to the earth as rain.

How cool is that ! Have a great day!

* Tracking saharan dust in 3D - NASA video

** All the World’s a Stage … for Dust - NASA article

** Wiki on Saltation

Adieu 2016 - Best of FYP!

2016 has been a great year for FYP!

And we would like to conclude it with some of the best posts that we have been able to produce

1. Black hole are not so black - series

Part - I , II, III

2.‘Katana’ - A sword that can slice a bullet

3. A denied stardom status - Jupiter

4. The Pythagoras Cup

5. On Pirates and Astronomers                                                           

6. Behold- The Space Shuttle Tile

7. Principle of Least Effort

8. Leidenfrost Effect

9. Major Types of Engines

10. A holy matrimony of Pascals and Sierpinski’s Triangle

11. Curves of constant width

12. Smooth Ride, Bumpy Road

Thank you so much following us ! Have a great weekend :D

 - Fuck Yeah Physics!

It’s #MoleDay! Here’s an up-to-date version of my mole explainer: https://ift.tt/2D1ucqz https://ift.tt/2N8Vcaf

Optical Properties: Negative Refraction and Metamaterials

Negative refraction isn’t something that occurs naturally in nature, it’s something scientists have created using specifically designed materials. So how do they do it?

The index of refraction, n, can be equated to the square root of the material’s relative permittivity times its relative permeability. For most materials, both these values are positive, resulting in the sort of refraction that we’re all familiar with. But, as show in the diagram below, if both the values were negative then the resulting material would have negative refraction

Metamaterials are defined as artificial materials engineered to have properties that have not yet been found in nature, and since negative refraction does not occur naturally, only metamaterials can have negative refraction. 

So far, however, metamaterials have only been created that refract microwave and radio frequencies - scientists believe it is unlikely that a material will be created with negative refraction in the visible part of the spectrum.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

Image sources: 1 2 3

(Note: Images 1 and 2 are not actual photographs of negative refraction, but rather depictions of what the effect would look like, given that negative refraction has never been achieved in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum.)

10 “Spinoffs of Tomorrow” You Can License for Your Business

The job of the our Technology Transfer Program is pretty straight-forward – bring NASA technology down to Earth. But, what does that actually mean? We’re glad you asked! We transfer the cool inventions NASA scientists develop for missions and license them to American businesses and entrepreneurs. And that is where the magic happens: those business-savvy licensees then create goods and products using our NASA tech. Once it hits the market, it becomes a “NASA Spinoff.”

If you’re imagining that sounds like a nightmare of paperwork and bureaucracy, think again. Our new automated “ATLAS” system helps you license your tech in no time — online and without any confusing forms or jargon.

So, sit back and browse this list of NASA tech ripe for the picking (well, licensing.) When you find something you like, follow the links below to apply for a license today! You can also browse the rest of our patent portfolio - full of hundreds of available technologies – by visiting technology.nasa.gov.

1. Soil Remediation with Plant-Fungal Combinations

Ahh, fungus. It’s fun to say and fun to eat—if you are a mushroom fan. But, did you know it can play a crucial role in helping trees grow in contaminated soil? Scientists at our Ames Research Center discovered that a special type of the fungus among us called “Ectomycorrhizal” (or EM for short) can help enhance the growth of trees in areas that have been damaged, such as those from oil spills.

2. Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag

When it comes to aircraft, drag can be, well…a drag. Luckily, innovators at our Armstrong Flight Research Center are experimenting with a new wing design that removes adverse yaw (or unwanted twisting) and dramatically increases aircraft efficiency by reducing drag. Known as the “Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Lower Drag (PRANDTL-D)” wing, this design addresses integrated bending moments and lift to achieve drag reduction.

3. Advancements in Nanomaterials

What do aircraft, batteries, and furniture have in common? They can ALL be improved with our nanomaterials.  Nanomaterials are very tiny materials that often have unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a suite of materials and methods to optimize the performance of nanomaterials by making them tougher and easier to process. This useful stuff can also help electronics, fuel cells and textiles.

4. Green Precision Cleaning

Industrial cleaning is hard work. It can also be expensive when you have to bring in chemicals to get things squeaky. Enter “Green Precision Cleaning,” which uses the nitrogen bubbles in water instead. The bubbles act as a scrubbing agent to clean equipment. Goddard Space Flight Center scientists developed this system for cleaning tubing and piping that significantly reduces cost and carbon consumption. Deionized water (or water that has been treated to remove most of its mineral ions) takes the place of costlier isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and also leaves no waste, which cuts out the pricey process of disposal. The cleaning system quickly and precisely removes all foreign matter from tubing and piping.

5. Self-Contained Device to Isolate Biological Samples

When it comes to working in space, smaller is always better. Innovators at our Johnson Space Center have developed a self-contained device for isolating microscopic materials like DNA, RNA, proteins, and cells without using pipettes or centrifuges. Think of this technology like a small briefcase full of what you need to isolate genetic material from organisms and microorganisms for analysis away from the lab. The device is also leak-proof, so users are protected from chemical hazards—which is good news for astronauts and Earth-bound scientists alike.

6. Portable, Rapid, Quiet Drill

When it comes to “bringing the boom,” NASA does it better than anyone. But sometimes, we know it’s better to keep the decibels low. That’s why innovators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed a new handheld drilling device, suitable for a variety of operations, that is portable, rapid and quiet. Noise from drilling operations often becomes problematic because of the location or time of operations. Nighttime drilling can be particularly bothersome and the use of hearing protection in the high-noise areas may be difficult in some instances due to space restrictions or local hazards. This drill also weighs less than five pounds – talk about portable power.  

7. Damage Detection System for Flat Surfaces

The ability to detect damage to surfaces can be crucial, especially on a sealed environment that sustains human life or critical equipment. Enter Kennedy Space Center’s damage detection system for flat composite surfaces. The system is made up of layered composite material, with some of those layers containing the detection system imbedded right in. Besides one day potentially keeping humans safe on Mars, this tech can also be used on aircrafts, military shelters, inflatable structures and more.

8. Sucrose-Treated Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Yarns and Sheets

We all know what a spoonful of sugar is capable of. But, who knew it could help make some materials stronger? Innovators at NASA’s Langley Research Center did! They use dehydrated sucrose to create yarns and woven sheets of carbon nanotubes and graphene.

The resulting materials are lightweight and strong. Sucrose is inexpensive and readily available, making the process cost-effective. Makes you look at the sweet substance a little differently, doesn’t it?

9. Ultrasonic Stir Welding

NASA scientists needed to find a way to friction weld that would be gentler on their welding equipment. Meet our next tech, ultrasonic stir welding.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center engineers developed ultrasonic stir welding to join large pieces of very high-strength, high-melting-temperature metals such as titanium and Inconel. The addition of ultrasonic energy reduces damaging forces to the stir rod (or the piece of the unit that vibrates so fast, it joins the welding material together), extending its life. The technology also leaves behind a smoother, higher-quality weld.

10. A Field Deployable PiezoElectric Gravimeter (PEG)

It’s important to know that the fuel pumping into rockets has remained fully liquid or if a harmful chemical is leaking out of its container. But each of those things, and the many other places sensors are routinely used, tends to require a specially designed, one-use device.

That can result in time-consuming and costly cycles of design, test and build, since there is no real standardized sensor that can be adapted and used more widely.

To meet this need, the PiezoElectric Gravimeter (PEG) was developed to provide a sensing system and method that can serve as the foundation for a wide variety of sensing applications.

See anything your business could use? Did anything inspire you to start your own company? If so, head to our website at technology.nasa.gov to check them out.

When you’ve found what you need, click, “Apply Now!” Our licensing system, ATLAS, will guide you through the rest.

If the items on this round-up didn’t grab you, that’s ok, too. We have hundreds of other technologies available and ready to license on our website.

And if you want to learn more about the technologies already being used all around you, visit spinoff.nasa.gov.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com