- Bulletproof T-shirts? Who’da thought it was possible? Christie over at Observations of a Nerd discusses recent successful attempts to “bulletproof” T-shirts!
- Measuring the Angular Momentum of Light. Light can carry angular momentum, and therefore can impart a “twist” into objects it illuminates, but the effect is typically very weak. Chad at Uncertain Principles discusses an experiment that successfully measured this light-field torque… which was done in the 1930s!
- What Is Beauty? Your Kids’ Newest Art Critic. Do animals have a sense for the artistic? Jason at The Thoughtful Animal describes a study done to test whether pigeons can tell between good and bad art.
- Why (and How) People of a Feather Flock Together. We’ve all been stuck in crowds before, but science behind modeling such pedestrian traffic usually makes simplifying assumptions. David at Mind Matters explains some new research that includes an important complicating factor: the tendency of people to travel in groups!
Check back next week for more “miscellaneous” selections!
The bulletproof T-shirt article is very cool. However, the following facbrication step is a bit surprising to a non-expert as myself: “Once ready, the pieces of cotton were placed in a furnace and heated at 1160°C for 4 hours…” So I guess not only does the T-shirt becomes “bulletproof” but it’s also fireproof!
Hmm… I hadn’t noticed that before, but it is VERY weird. I wonder what the normal combustion temperature of cotton is?
Related to “people flocking,” the Groks Science Radio Show (now broadcasting and podcasting out of our own University of Chicago) recently interviewed Len Fisher, author of The Perfect Swarm. You might find it interesting.
Thanks — I’ll take a look!