experimentsinmotion: Asobi by Yasutoki Kariya “Asobi” was created by art student Yasutoki Kariya for his senior thesis exhibition. Meaning “play,” the installation is comprised of 11 computer-programmed incandescent light bulbs hung from strings. They playfully re-enact Newton’s Cradle, visualizing the transfer of kinetic energy in the form of light. (via Spoon & Tamago) This is a phenomenal project combining art and physics. Newton’s Cradle is that old desktop toy where swinging metal spheres swing in near-perpetuity, demonstrating Newton’s Laws of Motion in a hypnotic, if synthetic, fashion. Also, this has more notes than anything I’ve ever seen on Tumblr.
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experimentsinmotion:

Asobi by Yasutoki Kariya

“Asobi” was created by art student Yasutoki Kariya for his senior thesis exhibition. Meaning “play,” the installation is comprised of 11 computer-programmed incandescent light bulbs hung from strings. They playfully re-enact Newton’s Cradle, visualizing the transfer of kinetic energy in the form of light. (via Spoon & Tamago)

This is a phenomenal project combining art and physics. Newton’s Cradle is that old desktop toy where swinging metal spheres swing in near-perpetuity, demonstrating Newton’s Laws of Motion in a hypnotic, if synthetic, fashion.

Also, this has more notes than anything I’ve ever seen on Tumblr.

Chigiriki na
Katami ni sode o
Shibori tsutsu
Sue no Matsuyama
Nami kosaji to wa

(Our sleeves were wet with tears
As pledges that our love —
Will last until
Over Sue’s Mount of Pines
Ocean waves are breaking.)

Kiyohara no Motosuke, ancient Japanese poet, writing of a tsunami in AD 869.

Scientist Warned of Japan Tsunami Disaster via Ancient Poem:

In 2001, Koji Minoura read the poem above. He’s a paleontologist in Sendai, Japan. “Sue no Matsuyama” jumped out at him, a reference to the name of a local pine-covered hill. Ancient historical accounts of the region referenced thousands dying in rising waves after an earthquake.

So he published this paper, using sediments that he found beneath rice fields to estimate the 869 earthquake at 8.3 magnitude. He warned of possible dangers should another earthquake like it occur, and the likelihood of mass deaths inTōhoku.

Unfortunately, no one listened until after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which killed nearly 16,000 people in precisely the manner Minoura predicted ten years earlier. I guess you never know where scientific inspiration will strike.

Keep your eyes and mind open.

Source: theworld.org

Robot Exoskeletons Will Make Us all Superhumans

Maybe Ripley’s suit from Aliens isn’t so far-fetched after all? Tokyo University of Science has developed these strength-aiding robotic exoskeletons, nearly doubling the lifting capacity of the wearer.

I promise this is not Prometheus viral marketing. Great detailed test-run over at New Scientist.

Previously: Ekso Bionics debuts this amazing exosuit to aid the paralyzed in regaining movement. Stunning engineering.

(via The Creators Project)

Source: thecreatorsproject.com

Simulating the Tsunami

The Japanese government estimates that 5 million tons of debris was sucked out into the Pacific Ocean following the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. About 1.5 million tons is thought to still be floating. Where will it end up?

This surface current model shown above estimates that the debris field is about 5,000 km by 2,000 km across at this point. Some may reach the west coast of the North America within a year or two, as this Japanese fishing vessel recently did, but most will end up in the great Pacific garbage patch.

Here’s a really cool GIF simulation of the debris field path, and an old story about what rubber ducks can teach us about ocean currents.

(via NASA EO and IPRC)

Hearing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake

Seismologists have found a new way to communicate the sheer magnitude of major earthquakes: Letting us listen to them.

By converting the 2011 Tohoku earthquake data into audio and speeding it up, this is what you get. You can hear the aftershocks as firecracker-like pops. Think the major shock is loud? That’s only 1/50th of its magnitude.

Research paper here. More from USGS here. Sciencey details and Matlab code to make your own here.

(by GeorgiaTech)

Source: youtube.com

Scientists Germinate 2,000 Year-Old Seed … It Actually Grows

I can’t even keep a freakin’ herb garden alive and these guys are growing Magnolia Kobus via nearly-fossilized seeds found among dead rice in a Japanese village. Funny thing happened when they grew it up: It looked different than its descendants do today.

A consequence of “time-travel damage”? Or a look into the past? Who knows? I’ll let David Attenborough tell you the rest …

(video via ratdavid9)

WE’VE BEEN DUPED!

jtotheizzoe:

EDIT: It’s come to my attention that this is not real, sorry to say. There’s no such place as JIST that I can find. This is most likely some viral advertising for an upcoming video game. I’ve updated the post to reflect that.

Quantum Levitation Meets WipeOut Track

Remember that jaw-dropping video from a couple months back demonstrating quantum levitation? By using a supercooled superconducting disk placed over a magnetic field, the physicists were able to make the disk levitate, even holding an incline as it moved!

Well these folks from Japan have raised the quantum levitation bar fooled us using CGI into watching some advertising. By turning faking that puck into a Wipeout racer, they’ve brought advertised a video game racing to life. Watch and be amazed. 

Wow. Whoops.

(by JISTQuantum)

EDIT: It’s come to my attention that this is not real, sorry to say. There’s no such place as JIST that I can find. This is most likely some viral advertising for an upcoming video game. I’ve updated the post to reflect that.

Quantum Levitation Meets WipeOut Track

Remember that jaw-dropping video from a couple months back demonstrating quantum levitation? By using a supercooled superconducting disk placed over a magnetic field, the physicists were able to make the disk levitate, even holding an incline as it moved!

Well these folks from Japan have raised the quantum levitation bar fooled us using CGI into watching some advertising. By turning faking that puck into a Wipeout racer, they’ve brought advertised a video game racing to life. Watch and be amazed. 

Wow. Whoops.

(by JISTQuantum)

Source: youtube.com

Radiation levels in Fukushima are lower than predicted Rapid response and containment of radioactive materials have apparently kept the number of dangerously exposed citizens lower than expected. A study led by Hirosaki University measured 5,000 people’s radiation levels and only found 10 with “unusually high” counts. And even they were below dangerous medical thresholds. But long-term studies will still be needed, especially for possible effects on farms and crops, which in certain areas might have absorbed enough fallout to contaminate food. (via New Scientist)
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Radiation levels in Fukushima are lower than predicted

Rapid response and containment of radioactive materials have apparently kept the number of dangerously exposed citizens lower than expected.

A study led by Hirosaki University measured 5,000 people’s radiation levels and only found 10 with “unusually high” counts. And even they were below dangerous medical thresholds.

But long-term studies will still be needed, especially for possible effects on farms and crops, which in certain areas might have absorbed enough fallout to contaminate food.

(via New Scientist)

Source: newscientist.com