EPICNESS
The only thing to make this disarmingly adorable robot tea infuser better is using it to honor George Orwell’s 11 rules for the perfect cup of tea.
Don Draper’s Old Fashioned, The Dude’s White Russian, Hunter S. Thompson’s Singapore Sling, Daisy Buchanan’s Mint Julep, and more in our new Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature.
Orange you glad we made a Various Varieties of Fruits print to go with our Various Varieties of Vegetables?
MATAERIAL
A 3D Printing system that can create forms without the hindrance of gravity - video embedded below:
A brand new method of additive manufacturing. This patent-pending method allows for creating 3D objects on any given working surface independently of its inclination and smoothness, and without a need of additional support structures. Conventional methods of additive manufacturing have been affected both by gravity and printing environment: creation of 3D objects on irregular, or non-horizontal surfaces has so far been treated as impossible . By using innovative extrusion technology we are now able to neutralize the effect of gravity during the course of the printing process. This method gives us a flexibility to create truly natural objects by making 3D curves instead of 2D layers. Unlike 2D layers that are ignorant to the structure of the object, the 3D curves can follow exact stress lines of a custom shape. Finally, our new out of the box printing method can help manufacture structures of almost any size and shape.
More at the project’s website here
The Flame Test
One of the main reasons why I gained interest in studying chemistry was the colours that elements and different compounds have. I just finished my second year at university, and I still get excited when I work with different coloured compounds in the lab.
The flame test is a qualitative way to identify the presence of a certain element or certain elements, usually metal ions, in a compound. The flame test involves taking a sample of a compound and putting it in the flame of a Bunsen burner.
Each element will give off a certain colour based on its characteristic emission spectrum (this also helps to explain the science behind fireworks), which is a spectrum (band of colours as seen in the bottom photo) that depicts the frequencies of electromagnetic radiation emitted due to the movement of electrons.
The heat of the flame provides energy for the electrons to jump to a higher energy excited state. These higher energy levels are also energetically unstable, so the electrons will fall back down to a lower energy level, which will release energy (in the form of light), resulting in a pretty colour.
As majestic as the flame test is, there are some limitations:
- The flame test is qualitative, and therefore cannot tell you exactly how much of an element you have in your compound
- Some elements like to fit in and give off the same colour (e.g. arsenic and indium both emit a blue colour)
- Some elements are a little shy and don’t give off any colours
- Like with most things, contaminants are rude and ruin all the fun, making everything a lie
Here are some majestic videos of flame tests: 1, 2, and 3.
Photograph credit: J&Konrad on Flickr and Wikipedia
(Source: adamhaas)
Just in case you forget this exists.
“This was an interesting commission. The client wanted an entirely sunken bed with hidden storage and invisible heating! We couldn’t go down as it was on the first floor so we raised it up. A simple solution elegantly executed, the floor lifts up to reveal storage ‘bins’ with a matching stepped drawer unit.” Materials Solid maple throughout.
London’s Camden Catacombs
Deep beneath the streets of Camden lies a secret unknown to the hoards of visitors and market traders up above – a long forgotten labyrinth of tunnels and vaults that bear witness to the area’s colorful Victorian industrial past.
I have been here, back in the Neverwhere researching days, over 15 years ago. In one tunnel there were beds, from World War 2, with boxes of secret papers on them.