Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Intresting Science Facts that NEVER learnt at School.

There is nothing in the world more amazing than the wonders of science and nature unfolding before us. The technology and the biological life we are surrounded by everyday are a proof to the fact that science is far more fascinating than any magical or fantasy tale we’ve encountered. So, here are some such incredible science facts that will take you on an irresistible trip to a world of wonder.

1. Ferrofluid – a suspension of magnetic nano-particles that form patterns of spikes in the presence of magnetic field.

 



 Ferrofluid is a colloid made of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid such as organic solvent or water. Ever single one of these particles are coated with a surfactant so that they won’t clump together into a lump and stay fluid. The formation of spikes is due to normal-field instability, an effect that causes the fluid to assume a shape that minimizes the total energy of the system. It was first invented as a liquid fuel that could be drawn toward pump inlet in gravity-free environment. Ferrofluid also has many other applications. It is used as a liquid seal in electronic devices such as hard disks offering negligible friction and acting as an efficient barrier for debris.

2. A man defies gravity by doing a loop the loop on foot. 


Damien Walters Doing a Human Loop
          

 During circular motion, there are two main forces acting on the body – centripetal, the force that pulls you towards the center, and centrifugal, the force that pulls you away from the center. Many people have made use of this simple law of physics to defy gravity by going on a loop on skateboards and motorcycles. Damian Walter, a stuntman and gymnast, did it on foot. To achieve this he had to accelerate to a velocity of 13.84 km per hour or 8.65 miles per hour at the highest point and keep his head and shoulders at the center of the loop.

3. You can relight a candle by holding a flame into the smoke that rises after you blow it out.

 

Relighting a Candle with Smoke

 

 When you light a candle, the wax evaporates into the air and undergoes combustion producing light in return. When you blow out the candle the smoke that rises up contains the wax vapor that hasn’t yet undergone combustion. So when you hold a flame into that smoke it lights up burning all the way down its trail to the wick, relighting the candle.

4. This is what happens when you heat a surface to very high temperatures and pour water drops. It’s called Leidenfrost effect. 


                            Leidenfrost Effect

 
 If you cook, you probably already observed this. When you heat a pan on high for some time and then pour water drops they become mercurial. Instead of evaporating the water drops just move around on the pan like mercury. This happens because when the water hits the pan its outer surface evaporates so fast that it creates a layer of vapor below the water drop insulating it and stopping it from coming into direct contact with the pan. So, instead of boiling the water just rolls around. If you do the experiment on ridged surface like shown above, the water drops would even move upwards.

5. Miura Fold is a rigid origami technique that can be used to fold rigid materials into flat parallelograms. It is used to fold large solar panels in Japanese satellites before launch which can then be spread out when in space. 

   
                        Miura Fold


 The folding patterns of this origami form a regularly repeated pattern of parallelograms. Each adjacent parallelogram is a mirror image of the one before and after it. When folded this way, any flat material can be packed into a compact shape which can be pulled open and closed shut by moving the opposite corners. This technique when used in folding the solar arrays reduces the number of motors required for unfolding in space, reducing the weight of the satellite.

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