After exploring most of Earth, venturing into space and exploring other planets, stars and galaxies seemed like an exciting, and even obvious next step. But the deeper we look, the more the universe reveals a hidden barrier between our Solar System and everything else around it. From the vast empty space, to the laws of physics themselves, there are many reasons why the dream of space travel might stay just a dream.
What is stopping us from reaching the stars? Why does space become more dangerous the faster you travel, and could even advanced alien civilizations be trapped around their home worlds? Watch our full video to find out: https://t.co/OalMb1eEaz
Did you know you can create the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution with just some balls and a motor?
I built this simple device to illustrate it.
This is how it works: A spinning agitator pumps energy into ~400 balls, so they bounce around and collide like gas particles in a box.
They escape one at a time through a tiny hole, then fall a fixed gap into bins below. Since the hole is so small, every ball leaves with no vertical speed and takes the same time to fall.
Constant fall time means how far a ball flies sideways is set purely by its speed. A faster ball goes into a further bin. So each bin is really a speed. Tally all 400 and you get the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.
Two mathematicians are at a bar having drinks. The first one laments that the average person knows very little about math. The second one disagrees, and they argue over this point for a while.
The first mathematician eventually gets up to use the restroom. While he’s away, the second mathematician calls the waitress over and tells her that, in a few minutes, he’s going to call her over and ask her a question. All she needs to do is respond to it by saying “One third x cubed”.
She repeats, with a puzzled look on her face: “One thir...dex cue???”
He corrects her: “One third x cubed.”
She agrees, and walks away, diffidently repeating to herself “One third...dex cube...One...third dex cube...One third dex…cube.”
When the first mathematician returns, the second proposes a bet—that he’ll ask the waitress to solve an integral, and she’ll be able to do it. The first one agrees, and so the second one calls the waitress over and asks her: “What’s the integral of x squared?”
The waitress proudly states: “One third x cubed!”
As she’s walking away, she looks over her shoulder, smiles, and says: “plus a constant of integration.”
Some beaches in Maldives look completely unreal after sunset. As the waves move through the water, the shoreline suddenly starts glowing with bright neon blue light that almost looks edited. But this phenomenon is actually caused by tiny marine organisms called bioluminescent plankton that light up when disturbed by movement in the water. 🌊✨🇲🇻