Kathy, are the roads up there clear?
Pretty much. Even the road through the forest preserve was plowed when I drove in this morning.
Where'd they get CAT scan from?... I mean, did they test it on cats? Or does the machine sort of look like a cat?
Dawn ,'Sleeper'
Natter 65: Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Kathy A - Feb 10, 2010 9:35:27 am PST #7669 of 30001
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Ginger - Feb 10, 2010 9:36:49 am PST #7670 of 30001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I've accidentally run the dishwasher without soap and everything seemed just about as clean.
Jessica - Feb 10, 2010 9:39:34 am PST #7671 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
On a similar note, I recently read a comment by the CEO of Seventh Generation who said that most loads of laundry don't really need soap either - the agitation alone will get rid of everyday dirt, and you don't get any griminess from soap buildup.
Sheryl - Feb 10, 2010 9:41:54 am PST #7672 of 30001
Fandom means never having to say "But where would I wear that?"
Healthma to Bob.
sarameg - Feb 10, 2010 9:42:14 am PST #7673 of 30001
Maybe baking soda?
Cashmere - Feb 10, 2010 9:42:51 am PST #7674 of 30001
Now tagless for your comfort.
lisah, lots of strength and health~ma for you and for Bob.
tommyrot - Feb 10, 2010 9:43:43 am PST #7675 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
OK, this is freaky.
Carbon-22 Is Shockingly Huge And Shockingly Stable
Physicists in Japan have discovered Carbon-22, an exotic isotope of one of the universe's most abundant elements. With a nucleus greater than those of heavier elements like carbon and zinc, it is the biggest example yet of a "halo nucleus."
Discovered in a particle accelerator at the University of Tokyo, Carbon-22 has six protons and a whopping sixteen neutrons in its nucleus. In most such overstuffed isotopes, the excess neutrons create instability and cause the atom to break apart. However, Carbon-22 makes use of a unique arrangement of its nucleus that gives it stability unusual for its size.
...
This is the freaky part:
The reason for this is that Carbon-22 arranges itself in what is called a halo nucleus. In this arrangement, two of the neutrons detach from the nucleus and orbit around it, forming a halo around the nucleus. This essentially alters the nucleus so that it is now a three body system, with a core of six protons and fourteen neutrons along with the two orbiting neutrons. Although physicists still don't exactly know why, this arrangement provides the needed stability for Carbon-22 to hold together longer.
WTF, Carbon-22?
Jessica - Feb 10, 2010 9:45:51 am PST #7676 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I think the real question is, how long until we can build nanotubes out of it?
t /wants a space elevator
sumi - Feb 10, 2010 9:49:07 am PST #7677 of 30001
Art Crawl!!!
Health~ma to ChicagoBob.
tommyrot - Feb 10, 2010 9:49:18 am PST #7678 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
I think the real question is, how long until we can build nanotubes out of it?
Its half-life is too short.
While the next biggest carbon isotope, Carbon-21, has a half-life of under 30 nanoseconds - or billionths of a second - Carbon-22 has the relatively long-lived half-life of roughly 6 milliseconds. That might not sound like a lot of time, but it still means Carbon-22 holds together for about a million times the average half-life of Carbon-21.