Interesting Failure... for the week.

[Helen B]

Aether and quintessential matter - the fifth element, hence quint-essential.

If you gossamer space-time fabric needs a softener, Professor Soap has some for you:

[video=vimeo;66903521]http://vimeo.com/66903521[/video]

(eh? What's happening?)

 

[Compaq]

I found that surprisingly pleasurable to watch.

Here is an interesting exercise:

In thermodynamics, there is a term called "entropy". Entropy can be understood as the degree of "chaos" or "un-orderliness". Thermodynamic's second law says that all spontaneous processes lead to an increase in system entropy. Whenever you see a spontaneous process in the nature, I urge you to consider how the final state is more chaotic than initial state. Just as an example, consider the mixing of red lemonade in water. Even if you mix them ever so carefully, the mix eventually becomes an even pink or light red liquid. Having the two components (of the mix) separate would be less chaotic than the homogeneous mixing of the two - hence the mixing is spontaneous.

However, your video shows how something which seems to be opposite of the example. The plastic beans all came together - almost in a orderly fashion. Surely the final state was less chaotic, with all the beans together in a bundle, than the initial state where everything was just randomly placed in the water? Seemingly, yes, but if we consider the formation and breaking of bonds things get different.

Forming chemical bonds lead to a negative entropy change, i.e. less chaos. Water molecules are strongly polar, and form so-called hydrogen bonds: interactions between the Oxygen of one molecule and the Hydrogens of another molecule (due to opposite electrical charges). The water molecules that surround the plastic beans are all part of a network of such hydrogen bonds. When the plastic beans' surfaces come together, some of these hydrogen bonds must break. Since the formation of bonds lead to less chaos, the breaking of bonds lead to more chaos. Thus, spontaneous process of hydrophobic interactions is explained from thermodynamics...albeit simplified.

However, your beans are all on the surface, resting on the water's surface tension like small bugs. Since the water area around the beans have small "indents", for lack of a better word, two beans would of course come together when the two are close enough. The Earth's gravity is affecting the beans, and it is not a "bean-bean-effect".

I'm sorry if I'm rambling, I got into a chemistry frenzy

De omnibus dubitandum, "doubt everything". If we take everything we read salt-free, we may suffer hyponatremia.

 

[Photographiend]

Awesomeness

I seriously am addicted to brainy people. So, feel free to ramble about chemistry stuff here.

They discussed entropy in a science vid I watched recently. Essentially how all things go in cycles between chaos and order as you had mentioned that it will always return to chaos and back to order. Interesting stuff.

I really do need to try to educate myself more on these things. Just for the sake of being informed. Got some books at the library over the weekend, of the "Idiot's Guide" variety for Calculus, Physics and Astronomy, now attention span permitting... *fingers crossed*

Chemistry is probably the other one I wanted I but I couldn't think of the name and "Molecular Structures" wasn't turning up much useful in the search engine. So thanks again

 

[Compaq]

What is it you are interested in, precisely? Might be I know of some expository books or web sites

 

[Photographiend]

Just a more well rounded understanding. Always wanted to go back to school but things just aren't panning out for that so I figured I will just do it myself. At least try and look for tutorials on the things I feel like I am not grasping. My brain is such that it doesn't just take things at face value. I have to be able to understand the "Why?'" behind it working. Makes it more difficult for me to learn sometimes. But once I've got it I am usually good. Having just cracked the cover on the calculus book it is apparent I am going to have to brush up on my linear algebra.

Now keeping my mind focused on this goal long enough to follow it through? That is going to be my struggle.

More on the topic of entropy, my house is the perfect example of this