DailyDirt: Science That's Almost Indistinguishable From Magic
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Technology must really be getting better because Arthur C. Clarke's quote that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" seems to apply to more and more discoveries. Here are just a few examples of some pretty cool science that is real -- but not so easily explained.- Quantum levitation uses a superconductor, a magnet and some flux pinning -- and makes a neat science demonstration. If only we could find some room temperature superconductors... [url]
- Quasicrystals won the 2011 Nobel prize in chemistry, and scientists used to say these materials weren't possible. Mother nature enjoys messing with symmetry a bit and coming up with patterns that M. C. Escher might have liked. [url]
- Some metallic glasses are microalloys of several different metals -- and can exhibit extraordinary strength and toughness. Too bad these glasses aren't transparent, though. [url]
- To discover more interesting science-related stuff, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]
Filed Under: flux pinning, metallic glass, nobel prize, quantum levitation, quasicrystals, superconductor
