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jfields

Favorite Geeky Science Phenomena

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The science of body flight!!!!
Duh Freeflying....

That and of course the science of canopy flight...

Edited: Oh wait those aren't geeky...um perhaps then the science of whipped cream spray cans...no that brings pleasure so that is not geeky either...um geez...I guess the stars...no those are cool in freefall as well... um damn can't think of anything geeky....

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The science of body flight!!!!
Duh Freeflying....

That and of course the science of canopy flight...

Edited: Oh wait those aren't geeky...um perhaps then the science of whipped cream spray cans...no that brings pleasure so that is not geeky either...um geez...I guess the stars...no those are cool in freefall as well... um damn can't think of anything geeky....



remember those "1001" electrical and circuitry things from RadioShack?
I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

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I don't think so...but I'm no scientist :S:D



Ok...so what exactly is plasma then...laymans terms please.



An electrically neutral, highly ionized gas composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles. It is a phase of matter distinct from solids, liquids, and normal gases.


Basically, it's a 4 state of matter that only exists under certain conditions.

Solids: Molecules fixed in place
liquid: Molecules free to move
gas: molecules free to move and do so spaced further apart than liquid
plasma: ions and electrons stripped from molecules and move about freely.

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>Ok...so what exactly is plasma then...laymans terms please.

It's sort of a separate phase of matter. If you heat a gas enough, it becomes so energetic that the electrons go flying off the atoms, and you end up with an ionized (but often electrically neutral) 'fluid' called plasma. Useful for things like nuclear fusion, where atoms have to be broken down into nuclei before they can fuse. Also useful for more prosaic things like gas discharge tubes (i.e. flourescent light bulbs.)

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>I'm thinking it is lightning....but I'm not sure if lightning is plasma or
>plasma is lightning.

Lighting is the electrical discharge itself; plasma is one of the things created by the discharge, and plays a big role in the light and noise of lightning.

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Phi and phi

These are numbers.

Phi is about 1.618...
phi is about 0.618...

They are the reciprocal of each other. Meaning that 1/phi = Phi and 1/Phi = phi.

The numbers occur frequently in nature as ratios of length, twist and other things having to do with efficiency. The ratio of growth in nautilus shells and sunflowers are connected by this number as are the proportions of our own bodies. A simple pentagram or five sided star also share these proportions and numbers.

More information HERE.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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remember those "1001" electrical and circuitry things from RadioShack?



Are you talking about those globe thingys where you touch the out side and all the electric current goes to your hand?...it doesn't hurt but you can see it...Those were pretty geeky and cool at the same time...

I know what about when you get a big jar full of sugar and water and then take a string ties it to the side of a pencil. Lay that pencil on its side over the rim and let the string sit in the water overnight and then the next day all the sugar has attached itself to the string...Well that was our candy...we were poor after all...some families could afford to put food coloring in it as well, but we had to settle for the plain boring clear kind...

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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. :)



im sure there is a geeky gaseous pricipal associated w/ it, but canned goods of any kind in the fire is great! :$B|
Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

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>um forgive me of my ignorance but what exactly is Bernoli's Principle?

It says, basically, that air flowing over a curved surface has to go faster to "meet up" with the air flowing under it; air going faster generates less pressure due to the venturi effect, and thus the pressure under a curved wing is higher than the pressure above it - and you get lift. It's a hideously oversimplifed and oft-misunderstood explanation of lift that's useful when explaining things to groundlings, but doesn't give you much intuition as to how airplanes fly. (i.e. airplanes with symmetrical-airfoil wings still fly, apparently in contradiction of Bernoulli's principle.)

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>um forgive me of my ignorance but what exactly is Bernoli's Principle?

It says, basically, that air flowing over a curved surface has to go faster to "meet up" with the air flowing under it; air going faster generates less pressure due to the venturi effect, and thus the pressure under a curved wing is higher than the pressure above it - and you get lift. It's a hideously oversimplifed and oft-misunderstood explanation of lift that's useful when explaining things to groundlings, but doesn't give you much intuition as to how airplanes fly. (i.e. airplanes with symmetrical-airfoil wings still fly, apparently in contradiction of Bernoulli's principle.)



So do paper ones. No not the glider kind, you can install a prop on them.
I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

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triboluminescence - the thing that causes the sparks when you bite down on wintergreen lifesavers.

I also like to swish around the water at night and watch the phosphorus glow. Nothing like a bunch of bait causing lighted ripples.

Fireworks too. It sure does make TK nervous though. :) I think we were mainly a danger to ourselves and people who run slow at appropriate moments. B|

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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.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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Who knows what it is that makes those little kid fireworks (poppers) work?



When I was a kid (back before electricity), we had a lot of free time and used to make our own. (Fireworks were illegal at the time). Put a standard cap-pistol type cap on a square of tinfoil. Put a bb over the cap and twist a tinfoil tail around it so that it looks like a little silver sperm. If you throw it on a sidewalk, it is very loud. B|

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Astronauts see sparks when they close their eyes.

When astronauts are in orbit, the atmosphere does not shield particles coming off the sun for them. When they close their eyes to go to sleep at night, some of these particles pass through their eyes. When this happens, they discharge a bit of energy and the eyes register it as light.

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