Category: Cool sights

I finally received my first issue of my American Scientist magazine subscription yesterday, and consumed a chunk of it in my spare time last night. The cover has this awesome snowflake image, from a microphotography snap of a complex snowflake. Here’s a cropped shot of it, taken from the web site by the author of the snowflakes article in the magazine(apologies for that horrid grammar). I hope I won’t get in trouble from the author from snagging this photo.

In the article, Kenneth G Libbrecht discusses the creation of snowflakes, the different kinds of snowflakes, some history of snowflake studies and snowflake photography, “designer” snowflakes, and much more. Reading this is akin to reading a Scientific American article, although I find American Scientist articles to be much more readable. The article is available online, but you have to subscribe to the magazine or be a member of Sigma Xi to access it. I recommend just buying the magazine at the newstand.

It is in fact true that no two snowflakes are alike. These single crystals of ice are so affected by subtle changes in temperature, water saturation, mineral content and wind speed that it’s nigh impossible that two would experience the exact same conditions during their growth. Indeed, just a few degrees’ temperature shift can alter a snowflake from the flowery form that we typically think of into a needle or a cluster of bullet-shaped columns. Libbrecht details many of these forms and how they arise, but also how much remains unknown about the elusive shapes. One of his newest theories relates to the fact that the very thin edge of a snowflake becomes highly unstable, leading to unexpected growth. Libbrecht’s work can be applied to the growth of crystals used for semiconductors, as well as other nanoscale processes of material formation.

All that said, I really just want to direct folks to the author’s web site. There are some amazing images there, and a lot of information on snowflakes. It’s a much more interesting topic that I would have guessed.

[tags]Snowflakes, The formation and study of snowflakes, Photographing snowflakes[/tags]

I have to admit that I think dollar coins are pretty cool. I like them, and think the US following Canada’s lead in replacing one dollar bills with dollar coins is a good idea (as much as I hate to let Canada lead the US in anything). The government seems mystified as to why the dollar coins aren’t catching on. In case any government official with any power in this struggle reads my site, here’s the answer:

Continue reading “US Mint still trying to get Americans spending dollar coins”

I’ve finally started a subscription to MIT’s Technology Review magazine. My first issue arrived last week, and I was all gaga over this totally cool (no pun intended) power providing window. I’m sure others won’t be as impressed as I am, but then again – I’m easily impressed.

The next building material to generate solar power may be windows. In a dye-sensitized solar cell, dye molecules attached to nanoscale titania particles are held between two panes of glass; the dye absorbs light and releases electrons, which are harvested by the ­titania. The basic concept was invented 15 years ago by Michaël ­Grätzel, chemistry professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Now, the technology is in limited production by Konarka, a company based in ­Lowell, MA, and will soon be more widely available. “The normal configuration has glass on both sides and can be made to look like a colored glass,” Grätzel says. “This could be used as a power-producing window or skylights or building facades. The wall or window itself is photovoltaically active.” This could give a whole new meaning to the term “power windows.”

I can’t figure out yet how to put these to use, but I gotta get m3h some of them winders.

[tags]Power via solar-cell windows, New technology in windows for home/business[/tags]