Shared posts

25 Jun 12:56

We Must Dig Deeper of the Day: Mysterious Spinning of Ancient Statue Caught on Surveillance Camera

This time-lapsed footage captured on surveillance camera shows the 4,000-year-old ancient Egyptian relic of Neb-Senu gradually spinning in its display case over the course of a week. For the last eight decades, the statue remained stationary until caretaker Campbell Price noticed a shift in its placement that would return each day after being adjusted. While Price speculates the artifact's movement might be explained by the disturbance of an "ancient spirit," physicist Brian Cox believes that the rotation may have been caused by a process know as "differential friction," in which subtle vibrations can make an object turn on its axis.

Submitted by: Unknown (via Gawker)

20 Jun 19:01

Symmetry and sound

by Maggie Koerth-Baker

This fantastic video by Vi Hart shows you what the math of music looks like in a visual representation — or, should that be "what visual frieze patterns sound like when turned into music"?

Frieze patterns are symmetrical repeating patterns that show up in architecture, art, and even our model of DNA. According to Hart, this video is:

A visual and musical expression of mathematical symmetry groups. The transformations done to the video are equivalent to the transformations done to the notes.

Very cool to watch! Here's the video link.

Thanks, Peter Newbury!

    


25 May 20:56

Pope cool with atheists

by Rob Beschizza
Steve Anderson at The Independent:
Pope Francis has said that atheists should be seen as good people as long as they do good, in a move to urge people of all religions - or no religion at all - to get along.