Egg Syntax: 5/8/11

Beautiful, out-of-phase pendulums

[OK, now my night has been made twice in ten minutes. -egg]

This Harvard physics apparatus uses a series of pendulums of varying lengths, swinging together, to make a mesmerizing dance:

The period of one complete cycle of the dance is 60 seconds. The length of the longest pendulum has been adjusted so that it executes 51 oscillations in this 60 second period. The length of each successive shorter pendulum is carefully adjusted so that it executes one additional oscillation in this period. Thus, the 15th pendulum (shortest) undergoes 65 oscillations.

Our apparatus was built from a design published by Richard Berg [Am J Phys 59(2), 186-187 (1991)] at the University of Maryland. The particular apparatus shown here was built by our own Nils Sorensen.

Pendulum Waves

(via Kottke)

Fun video about artists in Marfa, TX

[Oh, man. This just totally made my night. -egg]

Fun video about artists in Marfa, TX: "

[Video Link] Happy mutants are everywhere, even in Marfa, TX.

Water Bears FTW

Itty Bitty Critter Committee to join human astronauts on Shuttle Endeavour: "

Oh, sure, human astronauts will be on board Space Shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission set to launch Monday. But so will five microscopic life forms: Water Bears, also known as Tardigrades (shown above); the bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans and Bacillus subtilis; and the archaea Haloarcula marismortui and Pyrococcus furiosus. More about 'Shuttle LIFE' here, via the Planetary Society.

Tardigrades image via Google Knol.