Little Glowy Things

See these?

Shiny.

These are called quantum dots. They are incredibly tiny semiconductors, the applications of which are nearly endless. And you’ve probably never heard of them. 

Hair of the Dog

Everyone has that friend who goes out every night of the weekend (starting on Thursday) and seemingly spends at least half of their paycheck attempting to get as drunk as possible. This is not necessarily a bad thing; socially, clubbing is a great way to bond with friends: if not out of enjoyment, then out of collective fear of that one guy in the corner who keeps giving you those looks. You know the one.

Yet when I see someone partying hard, I don’t think about how they feel then, but fast-forward to the next morning when the hangover sets in. Do they even know what their bodies have been through? The struggles their motor skills went through to get them back to their apartment? How they’ve just given themselves the equivalent of a drawn-out concussion? My guess is, probably not.

Fun with Rusting

Why don’t ships rust? 

It sounds like a simple enough question: ships do rust, just not quickly enough to notice. Yet, if one thinks about it, it becomes more of a curiosity. Even iron that’s just been exposed to the air starts to rust; what do boats go through? They never come out of the water, the paint doesn’t stay on forever, and any speed they gain just serves to quicken the reaction. By all accounts, some of the most magnificent ships on the sea should be having a much harder time riding the surf in two or three years. How do these giant boats stay afloat while facing the constant threat of corrosion?

It all has to do with electrolytes.

Yeah, those things.