Art inspired by the melting Arctic

Maggie Koerth 12:14 pm Tue Mar 4, 2014

"Albedo" is derived from the Latin word for "white". Scientists use it to describe the reflectivity of a surface — how what a surface is made of changes the amount of light it reflects. The melting of snow, ice, and permafrost in the Arctic changes the albedo of the Earth and that process inspired the gauzy, fabric art pictured above. It's part of a whole show of pieces inspired by the effects of climate change on the Arctic. Created by artists Michele Banks, Jessica Beels, and Ellyn Weiss, the show can be seen in person in Washington D.C. though May 31. But you can also check out photos and video of the art online.

How to fly a helicopter on Mars

On Sunday, Ingenuity—the small helicopter delivered to the surface of Mars by the Perseverance rover—will, hopefully, take its first flight. The distance between Earth and Mars means that lagtime precludes real-time remote control. The helicopter flies autonomously, but the helicopter's digital twin had a lot of practice in simulations back on Earth. At IEEE Spectrum,… READ THE REST
Can you slap a chicken until it's cooked?

Turns out, you can — if you can get the slapping machine to stay alive long enough for the 135,000 slaps required to get it to a minimum safe temperature to eat. Science! Image: Screengrab READ THE REST
Concrete gets tougher with graphene

Perhaps someday we will once again achieve Roman levels of concrete artistry. Graphene Exponent: In July 2020, Thomas Swan, a global chemical manufacturing company signed an agreement with Concrene for a graphene-enhanced concrete product. That concrete product is now planned to be available in the US market in April 2021. The products in the lineup… READ THE REST
This optical illusion area rug will shred your room's space-time continuum (it won't)

There are area rugs that tie together a space. There are area rugs that offer a unique aesthetic to give a room a different look or feel. Then there are area rugs that do both of those things while also filling in the Venn diagram of supremely messing with your mind. And you better be ready.… READ THE REST
Apollo Neuro teaches your body how to battle stress on its own

There's a silent killer that might be even more insidious than diseases, viruses, and other health conditions. It contributes to all of those more headline-grabbing ravagers, not to mention hundreds more. In fact, the American Psychological Association says it's directly linked to all six of the leading causes of death. It plays its part, yet… READ THE REST
Create, edit, and merge PDF files for $30 with this top-rated PDF editing app

It's among the most popular digital file formats in the world. In fact, its creator Adobe figures there are now over 2.5 trillion PDF documents floating around out there. And at times, it's probably felt like you've had to deal with every single one of them. Make no mistake. PDFs are so common because they're… READ THE REST