Sound Determins Value?

Research has found that the mere sound of numbers can affect our perception of what is, and is not, a good deal. The effect was more apparent when there was a frame of reference (regular price). Sometimes, the sounds of numbers created false impressions - participants thought a $10 item reduced to $7.66 was a greater discount than $7.22.

Consumers basically attach what a price looks and sounds like to a value (e.g. "This is expensive"). Small sounds often gave the perception of big deals.

Previous discoveries indicate people also associate vowel and consonant sounds with physical size. Front vowels (long a, e, i) and fricatives (English f, z, s) convey smallness, while back vowels (/u/ in goose, foot) indicate largeness.

Benefit of the Cold War

As globalization expands, trade invites an increase in invasive species which threaten the prevailing balance of an ecosystem. Research has discovered that during the Cold War, when most trade and travel was interrupted Eastern Europe and the West, far fewer introduced bird species existed compared with the West.

While the Cold War had a devastating effect on Eastern Europe's economy, its ecosystem actually benefited from the isolation.

The findings are most relevant to developing countries.

What is Lightning?

To understand what lightning is we must first look at the water cycle which exploits 2 well-known phenomenon. Evaporation is the process of a liquid absorbing heat and changing to a vapor. Condensation is the process of vapor or gas losing heat and returning to liquid form. As vapor rises, it enters cooler and cooler areas in the atmosphere, losing heat in the process. When enough heat has dissipated, vapor becomes liquid. Snow/sleet occurs when the atmospheric temperature is below the freezing point, the vapor, in turn, freezing instead of liquefying.

During an electrical storm upper portions of clouds become positively charged and the lower portions become negatively charged, creating an electric field. The process of charge development is still unclear. As charge builds in the cloud, the lower portion of the cloud, which is negatively charged, repels all the earth's electrons deep into the earth's surface - so the ground itself acquires a positive charge.

Next, the electric field itself creates a conductive path for the negative cloud bottom to contact the positive ground. The conductive path occurs because the negative charge "wants" to travel towards a positive charge and become neutralized. Remember, right before lightning strikes, a tremendous amount of voltage has built up ... ~tens of thousands of volts per inch (compare to your house voltage which is ~230 V). Voltage is the energy per unit charge. Current is the ensuing flow of energy. Think of voltage as the cause, and current as the effect.

The electric field ionizes the surrounding air - that is, it separates the air into positive and negative charge just like the cloud. The air ionized, now the charge seeks various paths to reach the ground. Differences in levels of air ionization, dust, etc. makes some paths better then others. Also, if a cloud's lower portion is not straight, the ensuing lightning will branch out. All of the above is what creates "branch-like" lightning. Thus, it is incorrect to say lightning always follows the shortest path, as the shortest path may not be the most conductive. Note - lightning can strike between clouds as well if the charge is as polarized as it is when lightning strikes the earth. There is also lightning which occurs above clouds - that is, lightning that strikes upwards into the atmosphere!

When lightning strikes, current is passing from the clouds to the ground, eventually neutralizing the charged clouds and air. Lightning bolts, traveling at 186,000 mps, reach temperatures of ~55,000ºF vs. the sun's surface (9,800ºF). The lightning bolt's heat causes the surrounding air to expand rapidly and literally explode, resulting in a shock wave known as thunder.

Want Tastier Food? Add Calcium

Aside from molecules that trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet), other substances have no flavor of their own but enhance flavors they are paired with - known as "kokumi" taste. Calcium is now believed to be a kukomi element.

Calcium, as well as calcium channels (which sense and regulate calcium levels), on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste.

Calcium channels are closely related to the receptors that sense base flavors and kukomi ingredients are enhanced when they interact with calcium channels. During tests, those molecules that induced the highest activity in calcium receptors also elicited the strongest flavor enhancement. Moreover, blocking calcium channels reduced flavor experience.

Maybe mom was on to something when she made sure you finished your milk!

Nurture Affecting Nature, Again

Research has discovered that watching, even thinking, about someone with good self-control makes others more likely to exert self-control. The opposite is also true. The effect is so powerful that seeing the name of someone with good or bad self-control flashing on a screen for 10 milliseconds changed behavior.

The point is that self-control is contagious, so select social influences that are positive.

Desire Influences Perception

Psychological Science reports that simply desiring something affects our perception as well as our behavior.

In one experiment half of the participants were given salty pretzels while half were given water to drink. Afterwards, a water bottle was placed in front of each group and each was asked to estimate its distance. The salty pretzels group, i.e. the thirsty volunteers, estimated the water as closer to them than volunteers who drank water earlier.

In another experiment individuals tossed a beanbag towards a gift card worth $25 or $0, winning the card if the beanbag landed on it. Volunteers threw the beanbag much closer if the gift card was worth $25 vs. $0 — they underthrew the beanbag when attempting to win the $25 gift card because they saw the card as being closer to them.

The findings further the notion that when we see a goal within our grasp, we push ourselves to go for it.

Physics of Surfing

How do surfers ride big ocean waves?

1) Ocean waves are a form of mechanical waves. Mechanical waves are disturbances traveling through space and time which jump from one particle of the medium (in this case water) to another ... so mechanical waves move energy, not physical substance. Wind causes ocean waves travel along the surface of water. Slope and width of ocean bed and wind speed, duration, and size all effect ocean waves size.

2)OK, so now that we know what ocean waves are, how do you surf them? Newton's 1st law states that, minus an outside force, objects in motion (e.g. waves) stay in motion and objects at rest (e.g. surfboards) stay at rest. Newton's 3rd law states every action has an equal and opposite reaction. As waves rise, they reach a point where they cannot sustain themselves and begin to collapse. This point of collapse is known as the wave's "break". Surfers exploit the break, pushing down on the board as the wave pushes up on the board. The board does not sink because the ocean water is denser than the surfboard. Also, water surface tension (the force which allows water to stick together and form droplets instead of spread out) is very strong and helps push the board up. All that's left is for the surfer to maintain their center of gravity, much like one does when riding a bicycle.


Now that you know all that, see if this doesn't seem to defy wave physics.

The Physics Behind Hangtime

If an object falls at the same rate it rises, how can basketball players hang in the air? In fact, it is an illusion. Gravity is always pulling a body towards the earth, but gravity works in an "up-down" (Y) direction. When a basketball player jumps towards the basket, he is moving in both the Y plane, and the forward-backward (X) plane. While gravity is pulling him down in the Y plane, it is not affecting his motion in the X plane - allowing for the illusion of the player hanging in the air. If you watch a dunk in slow motion, you will notice that the player is actually falling when he dunks the ball.

The trick to hangtime, then, is to maximize both X and Y vectors - by jumping off the tip of your toe at a 45° angle.

Watch Clyde Drexler's unbelievable hangtime.

Unstoppable Force vs Immovable Object

What would happen if the "Unstoppable Force" (UF) hit the "Immovable Object" (IO)? One blog had a cool answer.

It is impossible for both to exist, but if they did, then:

1) You must have an infinite universe, infinite mass for the IO, and infinite kinetic energy for the UF.

2) An UF means no vector or speed change is possible - meaning no transfer of energy is possible ... so there is no conservation of momentum. An IO means it must be infinitely large, being the size of the infinite universe itself.

3) If the IO is the entire universe, the UF does not exist in the same universe. String theory posits a world of parallel/multiple universes which worm holes connect to one another. So since the UF and IO exist in 2 different dimensions/universes, collision could only occur if the UF entered a wormhole and hit the IO.

4) If the IO is the entire universe, the UF cannot enter this infinite universe and simply enters 1 worm hole and leaves another but not that of the IO. This retains the UF infinite kinetic energy and vector, and the IO infinite mass and size.

THEREFORE: if the UF hit the IO, all universes and dimentions would cease to exist, resulting in the apocalypse.

Humans Who Fly

A daring few are making the legend of Icarus a reality.

Known as wingsuiting, its history goes back to the 1930s but really took off in the 1990s. Wingsuiting exploits the webbing of flying squirrel's to glide across the sky. The average skydiver falls at ~120 mph (terminal velocity) and can soar horizontally up to 60 mph vs. wingsuiters who reach 60 mph and glide at speeds up to 90 mph. Wingsuiters go 3 ft forward for every 1 ft down. Wingsuiters either jump from a plane, like skydivers, or off a high-standing structure (e.g. mountain), much like base jumpers do.

To understand wingsuit physics, understand that air behaves like a fluid. The force resisting your hand when stuck out the car window behaves similar to water which tries to resist your hand's forward motion. During flight: 1) gravity pulls the flying object down, 2) Downward momentum of the object meets the resistance of the air creates lift, 3) A flat surface gives preference to lift over the pull of gravity, creating a net upward lift. Wingsuiters still need a parachute because the lift is not enough to offset the pull of gravity.

Check out this unbelievable video.

Ants that Farm

Much like humans herd cows, ants farm aphids which manufacture sweet honeydew nectar. The ants force the aphid to secrete the nectar and eat it themselves. Ants even move aphids to plants where more nectar can be found, much like a farmer moves his herd to greener pasture.


Check out the video.

Talk Out Problems for Higher Score

A study suggests that students who talk out loud or drew out pictures representing the problem, answered questions on a math exam more quickly (and more accurately) than otherwise.

The reason is unknown for now, but just remember while showing your work, also remember to SAY it.

Quit Smoking - Save Your Vision

A UCLA study reveals that smoking increases risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 65. AMD damages the macula, the retina's center allowing us to see fine details. Cigarette smoking may increase AMD risk by reducing serum antioxidant levels, altering blood flow to the eyes and decreasing retinal pigments.


The effect is significant, even for individuals over 80 years of age ... so it really is never too late to quit.

Earlier Bed Time Can Marginilize Depression/Suicide

A study in Sleep found that adolescents with earlier bedtimes were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and consider suicide. Furthermore, children who got only 5 hours of sleep were far more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal tendencies vs. those getting at least 8 hours of sleep/night.

The reason for this relationship is, as of now, unclear.