Hahaha
![sciencecenter:
Leonardo da Vinci, back from the grave, to explain why trees don’t splinter
The graceful taper of a tree trunk into branches, boughs, and twigs is so familiar that few people notice what Leonardo da Vinci observed: A tree almost always grows so that the total thickness of the branches at a particular height is equal to the thickness of the trunk. Until now, no one has been able to explain why trees obey this rule. But a new study may have the answer.
Leonardo’s rule holds true for almost all species of trees, and graphic artists routinely use it to create realistic computer-generated trees. The rule says that when a tree’s trunk splits into two branches, the total cross section of those secondary branches will equal the cross section of the trunk. If those two branches in turn each split into two branches, the area of the cross sections of the four additional branches together will equal the area of the cross section of the trunk. And so on. […]
Botanists have hypothesized that Leonardo’s observation has something to do with how a tree pumps water from its roots to leaves. The idea being that the tree needs the same total vein diameter from top to bottom to properly irrigate the leaves.
But this didn’t sound right to Christophe Eloy, a visiting physicist at the University of California (UC), San Diego, who is also affiliated with University of Provence in France. Eloy, a specialist in fluid mechanics, agreed that the equation had something to do with a tree’s leaves, not in how they took up water, and the force of the wind caught by the leaves as it blew.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lusgyoRrgX1qgfmcuo1_500.jpg)
Leonardo da Vinci, back from the grave, to explain why trees don’t splinter
The graceful taper of a tree trunk into branches, boughs, and twigs is so familiar that few people notice what Leonardo da Vinci observed: A tree almost always grows so that the total thickness of the branches at a particular height is equal to the thickness of the trunk. Until now, no one has been able to explain why trees obey this rule. But a new study may have the answer.
Leonardo’s rule holds true for almost all species of trees, and graphic artists routinely use it to create realistic computer-generated trees. The rule says that when a tree’s trunk splits into two branches, the total cross section of those secondary branches will equal the cross section of the trunk. If those two branches in turn each split into two branches, the area of the cross sections of the four additional branches together will equal the area of the cross section of the trunk. And so on. […]
Botanists have hypothesized that Leonardo’s observation has something to do with how a tree pumps water from its roots to leaves. The idea being that the tree needs the same total vein diameter from top to bottom to properly irrigate the leaves.
But this didn’t sound right to Christophe Eloy, a visiting physicist at the University of California (UC), San Diego, who is also affiliated with University of Provence in France. Eloy, a specialist in fluid mechanics, agreed that the equation had something to do with a tree’s leaves, not in how they took up water, and the force of the wind caught by the leaves as it blew.
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!
Bahaha it’s pretty stupid that people actually believe the bible is truth. Eveywhere you look there is flaws.
Cool astronomy pic of the day - Saturn’s rings and four of its moons
A fourth moon is visible on the above image if you look hard enough. First — and farthest in the background — is Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and one of the larger moons in the Solar System. The dark feature across the top of this perpetually cloudy world is the north polar hood. The next most obvious moon is bright Dione, visible in the foreground, complete with craters and long ice cliffs. Jutting in from the left are several of Saturn’s expansive rings, including Saturn’s A ring featuring the dark Encke Gap. On the far right, just outside the rings, is Pandora, a moon only 80-kilometers across that helps shepherd Saturn’s F ring. The fourth moon? If you look closely in the Encke Gap you’ll find a speck that is actually Pan. Although one of Saturn’s smallest moons at 35-kilometers across, Pan is massive enough to help keep the Encke gap relatively free of ring particles.
Scientists image detailed structure of a single molecule
This story is a bit dated, but the images the research team produced are still spectacular. First, the above image of pentacene was achieved with atomic force microscopy. The technique basically involves passing a nano-scale tip attached to a cantilever over the surface of whatever you want to image, to create a topographical map. That the research team could get images on the scale of one molecule is amazing. To do so, they had to keep the AFM under vacuum and at near-absolute zero temperatures. As you can see above, the carbon-carbon bonds are clearly visible, and even the hydrogens at each edge are alluded to.
As I was looking into this story, I found that the team did themselves one better - they imaged the electron orbitals of pentacene, using scanning tunneling microscopy - a technique that takes advantage of the quantum nature of electrons. They produced the below image. On the left are the images, and on the right are mathematical predictions for comparison:
It’s findings like this that make me seriously consider pursuing analytical chemistry in grad school.
Anonymous asked: Please, as simply as possible, explain how is evolution fact. How does nothing + something somehow produce everything? I’m not trying to start an argument, but truly searching for greater understanding. The things you post are incredible! Putting them together here on tumblr as…
I hate having this discussion that evolution is a lie. There are countless examples in science where theories have been thrown cause they have been disproven. Why does every ID believer think we are trying to fool anyone? We don’t have time, were too busy balancing Equations and monitoring PCR machines.
