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Category: *
January 6, 2013
Equation to calculate critical number of guests that make a party too noisy.
where
N0 = the critical number of guests above which each speaker will try overcome the background noise by raising his voice
K = the average number of guests in each conversational group
a = the average sound absorption coefficient of the room
V = the room’s volume
h = a properly weighted mean free path of a ray of sound
d0 = the conventional minimum distance between speakers
Sm = the minimum signal-to-noise ratio for the listeners
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As derived by William R. MacLean, “On the Acoustics of Cocktail Parties,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, January 1959, 79-80 (link | pdf). Text via Futility Closet.
January 6, 2013
Bold Biodiversity Art by State.
“Print Collection has commissioned artist Julian Montague to create round one of our State of America series. These bright, bold, graphic images iconicize the quirky Official State Insignias from around the nation. Red States and Blue States may now be a thing of the past.”
By Julian Montague.
January 3, 2013
For the Rodent Lovers: Giant Bronze Rattus norvegicus Sculpture
“The New Colossus, as it is titled, is a bronze replica of the giant inflatable rats that labor union strikers often park outside the employer’s premises they are picketing, usually for hiring non-union workers. There’s definitely some irony there, seeing this working class object converted into a piece of fine art in a very white collar part of NYC.”
Text and images via collabcubed.com
January 3, 2013
Heat to Kinetic Energy Vintage Illustration
(a.k.a. It’s a New Year, so time to start things up again!)
Illustration from “Our Friend the Atom” (1956 Walt Disney Book by Heinz Haber). Via Fresh Photons
December 27, 2012
Best birthday card ever!
My kids are awesome. That is all.
December 24, 2012
Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravaganza! – Day 24
A SANTA CLAUS AS INTRUDER ALERT SYSTEM
By Thomas Cane
“A children’s Christmas Stocking device useful for visually signalling the arrival of Santa Claus by illuminating an externally visable light source having a power source located within said device.”
(see more of Popperfont’s Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravanganza here)
December 20, 2012
Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravaganza! – Day 20
PRETTIEST CHRISTMAS LIGHTS EVER
Animated gifs of epithelial cells doing the mitosis
From Infinity Imagined, via Fresh Photons. (Source:MICROSCOPYU.COM)
Just staring at this makes me think about the brilliance of nature. Just consider the complexity of what’s going on during mitosis – you have a genome, compartmentalized with chromosomes, doubling. Then, you have a perfect splitting of the two copies into two separate cells!
That’s like having a group of people in a room, then somehow making copies of all of them, and then getting them to split perfectly into two groups, so that one set of them can move (in an orderly fashion) to another room entirely. But now imagine doing that blindfolded, and without being able to utter a sound to each other, and essentially getting this done solely on the basis of touch. Wondrous…
(see more of Popperfont’s Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravanganza here)
December 19, 2012
Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravaganza! – Day 19
DARWIN AS SANTA (A.K.A. ONE WAY DARWIN COULD JUMP THE SHARK)
See other Ways Darwin Could Jump the Shark
“Sporting his full white beard, Darwin is hired to impersonate Santa Claus at the local mall. He initially does well in this job, looking the part, being punctual, amicable, and knowledgeable about reindeer. However, he soon begins to insist on teaching children words like “invertebrate.” He also starts giving out stylish feces beads instead of candy canes. Later, he gets in an argument with another Santa Claus in another mall over biologically sound explanations for Rudolph’s glowing nose. The “Darwin vs. Santa Claus” fistfight goes viral on YouTube.”
By David Ng via McSweeney’s. Image: Source Unknown.
(see more of Popperfont’s Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravanganza here)
December 18, 2012
On the evening of December 21st, 2012: Which do you prefer?
Just a note for the general global sciencegeek community at large. I invite you all to have an upstanding drink and toast on the night of December 21st, because (you know) it’s not an Apocalypse, it’s a Nerdpocalypse. At least that’s what the science says.
(And if you’re in Vancouver, feel free to pop by the Railway Club at 6pm on, where some of the local Science Scouts and Nerd Nite folks will be on hand to collect data on the prospect of hypothesis 2. We’ll be at the back, and give me a heads up so that we make sure our numbers are doable for the place – @ng_dave).
December 17, 2012
I Have Your Heart: Wonderful papercraft animation.
Admittedly, the connection to “anatomy” is tenuous at best, but wow – this is beautiful animation (and a very catchy song)
An animation by Crabapple, Boekbinder, & Batt. Visit http://www.ihaveyourheart.com for more details & download the song here: http://bit.ly/ROwMQ7. Via @boingboing
Also worth checking out in full screen and in HD.
December 17, 2012
The “Name the Scientist: Cartoon Picture Edition” Quiz
How many can you get? (I got 6)
(Click on the image for a larger version).
By Chay Hawes. Answers found here.
December 17, 2012
Yes, the Chewbacca bathroom is almost done…
Just the grout and installing the tub and shower hardware left…
By the way, this is inspired by this picture. Originally, I had planned to do the whole thing, but coloured tiles can be very expensive (especially ceramic ones), so we elected to just go with what’s important (a.k.a. Let the Wookie Win).
December 17, 2012
Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravaganza! – Day 17
AWESOME MICROBIAL CHRISTMAS ART!
Fungal plates by Stephanie Mounaud: Bacterial plates by Niall Hamilton.
Fungal Christmas tree. Top: Talaromyces stipitatus; Tree: Aspergillus nidulans; Ornaments: Penicillium marneffei; Trunk: Aspergillus terreus.
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Fungal snowman. Hat, Eyes, Mouth, Buttons: Aspergillus niger; Arms: Aspergillus nidulans; Nose: Aspergillus terreus with Penicillium marneffei; Body: Neosartorya
(see more of Popperfont’s Sciencegeek Advent Calendar Extravanganza here)
popperfont.net 