JustaBill 0 #51 October 1, 2003 I like boiling water in a paper cup over an open fire. Has something to do with the water keeping the cup cool enough it doesn't burn. We used to do that a lot in the steel plant I worked at. Put a paper cup full of water on 2000 degree farenheight steel and the water would boil out before the cup would burn.------------------------------------------------ I've done so much, with so little, for so long I'm now expected to do everything with nothing forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atlas 0 #52 October 1, 2003 Whoa whoa, I didn't mean to cause any controversy regarding the Peltier effect... I got the supplied information off of a FAQ from Marlow Industries... a producer of thermoelectric coolers... http://www.marlow.com/TechnicalInfo/frequently_asked_questions_faqs.htm I should have probably supplied that in the first place. Sorry :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #53 October 1, 2003 Quote Quote triboluminescence - the thing that causes the sparks when you bite down on wintergreen lifesavers. Used to be one of my favorite "experiments" on dates. The WintOgreen Lifesavers -must- be fresh in order for it to work. More HERE. Also works very well with wintergreen Altoids. Works even better if you have metal fillings in or caps on your teeth, huh! ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #54 October 1, 2003 Ah, so desuka! Many more nifty/kewl things out there. Fibbonacci's Number (or Progression), as Quade mentioned -- 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 8 - 13 - 21 - 34, etc. (the growth of nautilus shells follows this, for example, and can be seen almost everywhere in the natural world) The principles of harmonics. Heterodyned waves (creating sum and difference frequencies) The Doppler Effect I could go on and on, but I want to make a nitpicking correction about thermoconductivity. IIRC, it's the "Seebek Effect", taking place in a "Peltier Junction". "The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nathaniel 0 #55 October 1, 2003 Quote I'm not sure what it is called, perhaps you can enlighten me. I love it when you can stick a beverage,( no it doesn't have to be beer, but beer is the tastiest example), in the freezer. You have to time it just right, but if you do, you have a very cold beer that is all liquid. After you un cap the beer, it turns into a very cold slushy frosty beverage that is just awesome to drink. IIRC that's called enthalpy of solution. Personally I vote for magnetism...GIS for ferrofluid nathanielMy advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #56 October 1, 2003 if you guys like microwave tricks... heres a couple. put a cd in your microwave, face down, and turn it on for 3 seconds. There will be a big flash, and your cd will look really cool. This won't hurt your microwave, but it will destroy the cd, so use like a cheap CD-R or something. or, you cut a grape in half, lengthwise, and place it in the microwave, in the exact center, cut-sides-down. Then turn on the microwave for 15 seconds. The grape will actually form a continuous flame/spark for several seconds. It has something to do with plasma. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arlo 0 #57 October 4, 2003 Quote What is it when you throw things like aerosal cans in a fire and they explode? Not sure if that counts as a geeky science phenomenom, but it's pretty cool. BLEVE - boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. it happens when a tank/vessel containing liquid is heated to boiling, then the vapor pressure becomes great enough that it has to go somewhere. it makes a round one out of a square one. actually, it just blows it the hell up. that's why (hypothetically) you should not chunk a full can of anything into a fire. it should always have some gas space (at least half empty) for the explosion to be worth a shit. p.s. whoever came up with the plasmoid thing, that is bad-ass. more things to play with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #58 October 5, 2003 The Leidenhosen Effect When pudgy, middle-aged guys consume enough alchohol that putting on hosiery and playing the tuba seems like a good idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
souleh 0 #59 December 13, 2003 Bit off-topic, but I noticed some of you tried experiments.. pop along to www.powerlabs.org for some cool stuff. Good reading 'buttplugs? where?' - geno Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkF 0 #60 December 13, 2003 Quote The Doppler Effect I like the Dopeler effect: The tedency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. Ooroo Mark F... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #61 December 13, 2003 Quote This may not be a phenomena, but I was totally amazed since the first time I saw this material. Hrm, I wonder how much 100 feet of this stuff spread all over the DZ would cost. Would 100 feet be enough to safely stop a terminal skydiver? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #62 December 13, 2003 Quote I can't believe noone has mentioned Bernoli's Principle! Geez. I was going to but I read this link first http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/davea/aviation/bernoulliPrinciple.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,121 #63 December 13, 2003 Quote Quote I can't believe noone has mentioned Bernoli's Principle! Geez. I was going to but I read this link first http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/davea/aviation/bernoulliPrinciple.html Since Bernoulli's equation is derived directly from Newton's laws, the two are equivalent. Any explanation of lift based on one must also work for the other IF DONE CORRECTLY. The force exerted on on a surface by a fluid has a name - "pressure". The pressures on a wing surface are correctly predicted by Bernoulli's principle. So which is responsible for lift. Either, depending on which way you choose to look at it.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ripper0289 0 #64 December 13, 2003 Closed timelike curves. Get two cosmic strings rotating around each other and they could warp space-time enough to allow travel backward through time. Purely hypothetical, of course, but damn cool nonetheless. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,121 #65 December 13, 2003 Quote Quote This may not be a phenomena, but I was totally amazed since the first time I saw this material. Hrm, I wonder how much 100 feet of this stuff spread all over the DZ would cost. Would 100 feet be enough to safely stop a terminal skydiver? I don't think so. A quick back of the envelope calculation suggests that 100 feet of it would slow you to about 60mph.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorBoy 0 #66 December 14, 2003 You are forgetting the waeritzitz effect. It enables a light colored PC, free bag & bridle to remain virtually invisible when placed in the field a mere 5 feet from the searcher. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #67 December 14, 2003 Favorite science phenomenon? When a drunk woman sleeps with you who would not normally do so sober. Always baffled me. Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #68 December 14, 2003 I'm late with this... or did I already reply a long time ago? who knows... Anyway... Ever seen ferrofluid? It's a magnetic fluid. I guess it's just oil with very fine iron dust in it. But when you hold a magnet next to it, it'll get spikey. But with different shaped magnets, you can make it do really weird things. Some videos at http://mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/cineplex/ff.html Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #69 December 14, 2003 A Moebius (spelling?) strip. The one-sided piece of paper. Also, at night, the way water lights up when fish thrash around, or the wake of a boat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloudseeker2001 0 #70 December 14, 2003 The male Sperm whale shoots an average load of 400 gallons while mating! YES, 400 gallons! Female queen ants mate one time in their lives and receive enough sperm to fertilize millions of eggs over her lifetime......In addition to that, the males only live for an average of 72 hours, but the females may live for a few years! "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallRate 0 #71 December 14, 2003 Quote You are forgetting the waeritzitz effect. It enables a light colored PC, free bag & bridle to remain virtually invisible when placed in the field a mere 5 feet from the searcher. VectorBoy wins "funniest post of the day!" FallRate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masher 1 #72 December 14, 2003 Mobius strip. I was just about to say that. And also, it's 3d cousin, the Klein bottle.-- Arching is overrated - Marlies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,121 #73 December 14, 2003 Quote Mobius strip. I was just about to say that. And also, it's 3d cousin, the Klein bottle. I have a glass Klein bottle sitting on a shelf in my office. Nice conversation piece.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #74 December 14, 2003 For those who have never seen a Klein Bottle: http://www.kleinbottle.com/ Very cool. - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #75 December 14, 2003 My favorite is the showersinger phenomena where by those in a shower are convinced that their voice actually sounds good and all those not in the shower think the singing needs to stop."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
