inspirimint: science

Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Breathtaking Close-ups of Nature's Tiny Wonders

Fernlike stellar dendrite

Have you ever wondered why no two snowflakes are alike? Or why are all six branches nearly identical, even though they are formed separately? Snowflakes are nature's fascinating works of art. I like admiring a fresh blanket of powder as much as the next artist, but I've never realized how beautifully intricate individual snowflakes are up close.

Triangular crystal

The website SnowCrystals.com (developed by physicist Dr. Libbrecht of Caltech) explores ice crystal growth under varying conditions. It is a complete guide to everything you will ever want to know about snowflakes, along with gorgeous high-resolution pictures and short time-lapse movies. The diversity of snowflakes out there is astonishing—and they have been classified into over 40 different morphologies. The detail in every individual is breathtaking and I am fascinated by how the delicate lattices arrange themselves and bend light.

Stellar plate morphology

Along with a fantastic gallery, you can also read about how his lab makes "designer snowflakes." By altering precisely controlled conditions, they make a variety of artificial snowflakes that mimicked natural shapes. The website is full of pictures, diagrams, interesting facts and even fun projects for the young and inquisitive.

Snowflakes of various shapes and sizes

Although their shape is constrained by their hexagonal lattice structures, the possible shapes of snowflakes are seemingly endless because of the differences in each water molecule that crystallizes to it. There are about 10¹⁸ water molecules in a small crystal, and 10¹⁵ of them are different from the last. That means there are more possible combinations of water molecules that make a snowflake than there are atoms in the entire universe—and it is very unlikely that any two will have the exact same combination.

Stellar dendrite

The branches of each snowflake can look similar—but not identical—because they are all formed under the same temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions. However, the vast majority of snowflakes are irregular and not symmetrical at all. As humans, we are naturally attracted to things exhibiting symmetry, so it should be no surprise that symmetrical snowflakes are photographed more often than irregular ones.

Simple prism

Rimed crystal

Hollow column snowflake

Learning about the physics of these microscopic crystals really makes you awe at the intricate wonders of nature. Do you think artists try too hard to replicate what nature does so well? Why do you think that is?

12-sided snowflake

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Robot With a Rat Brain

Major Kusanagi, a cyborg from anime Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite anime series. I have always been impressed with the awesome futuristic and complex sociological themes present in its plot, but what intrigues me the most is how the "fiction" in science fiction is becoming less fiction and more real. Remember when helicopters and submarines used to be considered science fiction? Okay, so you weren't born hundreds of years ago—but after seeing a robot controlled by a rat brain, I think we may very well see cyborgs in our lifetime.

This past year, scientists in the UK have successfully created a machine controlled completely with biological material—from the brain of a rat.

The "brain" of this robot is comprised of some 300,000 neurons collected from rat fetuses, which are stimulated to establish connections to each other in a sterile petri dish, similar to the way the neurons in our brain makes connections as we develop and learn. The brain connected to a computer was then used to wirelessly control a robot. As a result, this robot is able to avoid objects and learn from outside stimuli.

Our advances in science and technologies in recent years has been pretty inspiring. I think it's amazing how quickly and well new knowledge is being implemented. How close do you think we are to creating useful biological machines? Do you think Masamune Shirow will be pleased or horrified? :)

Edit:
Here are two cool links on a similar subject:
video of bugs controlled by electric impulses
HAL robot from Cyberdine (Thanks Sterling!)

Related links

Monday, December 29, 2008

Inspiration from Light Years Away

M78 and Reflecting Dust Clouds in Orion

NASA's achievements in exploring the cosmos serves as an inspiration to all of us. The colorful images inspire painters, the concept of light-speed travel inspires physicists, and the possibility of exploring the unknown inspires authors, designers, and engineers. For more than a decade, NASA has posted one picture each day featuring our universe with a brief explanation. Embedded here are just a few select pictures from APOD.

The Crown of the Sun

Eta Carinae and the Homunculus Nebula

Great Orion Nebulae

X-Rays from the Cat's Eye Nebula

What I find more impressive than NASA's thousands of gorgeous images taken with billion-dollar telescopes are the photographs taken by amateur astronomer Professor Greg Parker, who took pictures using his backyard 11-inch telescope. He was able to produce an image of a star-like quasar that was almost 12 billion light years away-- the hypothesized age of the entire universe.

Photo by Greg Parker; Barcroft Media

Now, before anyone reading this thinks they can just go out and take pictures of these magnificent nebulae and galaxies, keep in mind that each picture is comprised of several hundred to thousands of exposures that lasted 1 to 20 minutes each, and a digital camera mounted to the telescope had to be specially cooled down for such long exposures. For a single composite image, there's over 40 hours of exposures each! With the help of an expert astrophotographer, Professor Parker was then able to put together these thousands of exposures into images like the one above, comparable to what has been taken on the Hubble telescope.

Like many of us, Professor Parker's fascination with astronomy stems from his childhood. His dream, no matter how far-fetched they seemed at the time, eventually led him to taking these gorgeous deep-sky images from his own back yard. What are some of your childhood aspirations? Do these images inspire you?

Related links