I'd never heard of moiré effect beacons until I got an email asking me about them. It seemed like a really clever idea - but it was really hard to research. Or at least it was, until I stumbled upon one... continue reading
posted by Mordhaus 6 years 6 months 3 weeks ago • 1,224 views • 3:54Videos (166) | Sift Talk (0) | Blogs (0) | Comments (814) |
YouTube description: If you're landing a rocket then waiting to the last minute slamming on the brakes actually saves fuel over slower, more considered approaches to landing.... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 7 months 1 week ago • 627 views • 8:50YouTube description: In Göttingen, Germany, there's a four-tonne steel ball that can be raised up a 14-metre tower -- and then dropped in less than two seconds, crashing back to earth. It makes tiny,... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 7 months 2 weeks ago • 725 views • 3:34I was going to tell a science fiction story about faceswapping, and mass blackmail. Then the news broke about unethical faceswapping videos, and software designed and marketed for creating them: and I... continue reading
posted by Mordhaus 6 years 7 months 3 weeks ago • 1,251 views • 6:41YT - Everyday Astronaut Published on Jan 24, 2018 It’s ALIVE!!!!! For the very first time, the Falcon Heavy has successfully lit all 27 of its mighty Merlin engines in preparation for its maiden launch.... continue reading
posted by Buck 6 years 8 months ago • 175 views • 8:38YouTube description: Every time a Delta IV launches people inevitably ask if the rocket consuming fireball is supposed to happen. The answer is yes, this is caused by the rocket purging its engines... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 8 months 2 weeks ago • 803 views • 6:14YouTube description: Hold on tight, because with a stabilised camera shot and a pair of sunglasses, you're about to see a video that works in both 2D and 3D at the same time. The technique's called... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 9 months ago • 1,804 views • 3:31YouTube description: There's a link from a 13th century legend, to a 16th century insult book, to a 19th century writer, to a 20th century comic book hero. And it starts in a small village near Nottingham,... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 9 months 3 weeks ago • 512 views • 2:46YouTube description: It's not your imagination; hold music on phones really did sound better in the old days. Here's why, as we talk about old telephone exchanges and audio compression. Thanks to... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 10 months ago • 410 views • 3:36YouTube description: I'm visiting the University of Iowa's National Advanced Driving Simulator, to answer a question: how unsafe is it for me to vlog while driving? Is vlogging while driving dangerous?... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 10 months 2 weeks ago • 805 views • 4:27At the headquarters of Cloudflare, in San Francisco, there's a wall of lava lamps: the Entropy Wall. They're used to generate random numbers and keep a good bit of the internet secure: here's how.
posted by Mordhaus 6 years 10 months 3 weeks ago • 769 views • 3:59YouTube description: Near Slab City, California, a man painted a hill. It was outsider art: Leonard Knight had no training and no great masters to imitate. But somehow, he created something that resonates... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 11 months ago • 551 views • 4:25YouTube description: In Calipatria, California, the town is below sea level -- but their flag pole isn't. But what does "sea level" mean? Is it just theory, or is there more behind it?... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 11 months 1 week ago • 495 views • 2:58In Lancaster, California, there's a musical road. When you drive over it, it plays the William Tell Overture. Unfortunately, it's out of tune. Here's why.
posted by Mordhaus 6 years 11 months 2 weeks ago • 1,270 views • 3:29YouTube description: On the river Rhine in Switzerland, there are reaction ferries: boats with no engine, no paddles, no onboard motive power at all. Here's how they work -- and a question about what... continue reading
posted by Aard Vark (oritteropo) 6 years 12 months ago • 601 views • 2:30As summer winds down, Scott offers some unsolicited career advice.
posted by bobknight33 6 years 12 months ago • 17 views • 3:55A must-watch if you're into tabletop gaming of any kind. Prof Finkel is amazingly fun and charismatic.
posted by bigbikeman 7 years ago • 332 views • 25:33In Crawfordsville, Indiana, there's a rotary jail: an invention that, with hindsight, should probably never have been built. But it was, here and in other towns across the United States. It might have... continue reading
posted by Mordhaus 7 years 1 week ago • 759 views • 3:17Computers store text (or, at least, English text) as eight bits per character. There are plenty of more efficient ways that could work: so why don't we use them? And how can we fit more text into less... continue reading
posted by Mordhaus 7 years 2 weeks ago • 64 views • 6:31YT: The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, sells Standard Reference Materials, or SRMs for short. They're analysed, quantified, and certified substances: everything from metals, to elements,... continue reading
posted by Fantomas 7 years 1 month ago • 474 views • 4:13