FUN Science - NOT an oxymoron by rue

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FUN Science - NOT an oxymoron

POSTED BY: RUE
UPDATED: Thursday, June 15, 2006 09:17
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Wednesday, June 14, 2006 4:58 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

http://acswebcontent.acs.org/chemistry/spring_2006.pdf

CHEMISTRY SPRING 2006

King Kong’s death, T. rex’s speed, mega career networks, and very long words are among the ingredients for a collection of strange-but-true vignettes from a journalist and a physicist who specialize in the anomalies and curiosities of science.

Print CARBON in red on a piece of paper and DIOXIDE in blue. Then ask guests at a party, or students in class, to eyeball the words through the long stem of a wine glass held over the paper. (Somehow, I never had any classes where I just happened to have a wine glass. ) Notice that CARBON appears inverted but not DIOXIDE. How can this be?

Given the choice, which would you take: a 2006 Ferrari or a penny that doubles in value every day for a month?

“It was beauty killed the beast” in the original 1936 version of the movie King Kong as well as the 1976 and 2005 remakes. In the climactic scene in the 2005 version, Kong follows the script from the past. Ann Darrow bids the dying beast a tearful goodbye after Kong falls 1,250 feet from the Empire State Building in New York City. How realistic is Kong’s death when put to the test with the law of falling bodies?

Could an automobile drive straight up a wall?

Most people expect trick questions like, “In which most recent year did New Year’s precede Christmas?” (The New Year arrives before Christmas every year!) And they catch on pretty quick to challenges like the penny-or-Ferrari offer. (A wise person would take the penny. Go ahead, do the math. You’d be a millionaire on day 28, have $5 million in a 30-day month, and more than $10 million in 31 days.)

Other questions, like the CARBON and DIOXIDE mystery, can puzzle and perplex even Ph.D.s. The key here is remembering that the wine glass stem acts like a prism,
which breaks visible light into a spectrum. So, maybe the stem acts differently on the red and blue wavelengths? But that seems incredible. The “trick” is demystified when you view the words through the back of the paper, turned upside down. Get it now? The puzzle has nothing to do with color. Both words are inverted when viewed through the glass, but this is masked because DIOXIDE is symmetrical about a horizontal midline.

Try your luck at these challenging examples.

Gravity and the Beast

Some scenes in King Kong are good connects with scientific reality. After Kong captures Ann Darrow, for instance, he carries her to his mountaintop perch. After gently setting Ann down, Kong roars, bares his teeth, and pounds his chest. This behavior may not be just aggressive but an attempt by the mega-alpha male to impress a female. Ann catches on, by the way, and is not frightened.

But how realistic is the climactic scene in which Kong falls from the Empire State Building? Not very; it would be quite a bit messier if it stuck to the laws of physics. A creature as big as Kong, falling from such a great height, should have hit the ground with a force not bone-crunching but body-splattering, said Michael LaBarbera, a biologist and anatomist at the University of Chicago. “Pink mush would have covered the streets of Manhattan.”

While small creatures easily survive long falls because air resistance slows their speed significantly, big ones get—quite literally—creamed. This simple fact was the origin of a common medieval strategy: Let the dead body of a horse ripen a few days in the sun, then catapult the horse over the wall of a besieged town. “On impact, the carcass would indeed splash, spreading contagion throughout,” said LaBarbera.

(portion of the full article)

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006 5:29 PM

KHYRON

Great stuff, rue! Thanks for sharing!

Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006 11:27 PM

MISSTRESSAHARA

Loved reading that, especially the line about Kong being mush. He would wouldn't he? In this age of movie violence you'd think they'd show that and not worry.

Anyway, thanks Rue.

If I'm a bitch, then life just got interesting

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Thursday, June 15, 2006 5:58 AM

ZISKER

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
http://acswebcontent.acs.org/chemistry/spring_2006.pdf

But how realistic is the climactic scene in which Kong falls from the Empire State Building? Not very; it would be quite a bit messier if it stuck to the laws of physics. A creature as big as Kong, falling from such a great height, should have hit the ground with a force not bone-crunching but body-splattering, said Michael LaBarbera, a biologist and anatomist at the University of Chicago. “Pink mush would have covered the streets of Manhattan.”

HA! I've always said that was the case! Probably put a dent clean through the subway, too. Was there a definitve answer for the inverted dioxide question?

One day.
One plan.
One army of Browncoats.

On June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.
http://www.serenityday.org/
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Little or no free time, but want to help?
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Thursday, June 15, 2006 6:16 AM

KHYRON

Quote:
Originally posted by Zisker:
Was there a definitve answer for the inverted dioxide question?

Yeah, DIOXIDE was inverted too, but you can't see it because of symmetry.

Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.

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Thursday, June 15, 2006 9:17 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

I'm glad you all enjoyed it even if it didn't get a big response. This is some of the stuff I enjoy, so I thought I'd share.

Nerd, geek - labels I wear proudly.

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