a écrit le 13 janvier 2007 à 18h26 Pour les Meninges Tolieurs. Quelque chose de marrant
Scientists Create World's Largest Novelty Atom(January 12, 2007 | Issue 43•02 )
CHICAGO—Scientists have long been labeled as overly serious, narrowly focused individuals who don't have time for fun. But two University of Chicago atomic physicists proved that even the most buttoned-down professionals are capable of enjoying a good laugh every now and then. Last week, Drs. Marcus Hurley and Thom Fredericks unveiled what they are calling their "most hilarious work to date": an oversize novelty atom that measures "a ridiculously huge" 8.2 x 10-10 meters in diameter.
Enlarge Image
Scientists yuk it up over the atom's ridiculous size.
According to Hurley and Fredericks, who nicknamed the new element "Humongolium," the entire physics department was in hysterics over the sight of an atom nearly 10 times the size of a normal atom and "so big you can practically see it through a high-powered standard optical microscope."
Over the past week, the scientists have been taking their PZT scanner, microscale cantilever, laser, Wheatstone bridge, photodiode, and data-feedback monitor from office to office, trying to get a rise out of colleagues by placing the novelty atom directly next to a common hydrogen atom.
"Look at this thing," said Hurley, who illustrated the size of the particle by holding his thumb right up next to his forefinger in an exaggerated fashion. "And I thought Francium atoms were huge. It's almost as big as a molecule, for crying out loud!"
"God, it just looks so ridiculous," Hurley added, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief. "Who comes up with this stuff?"
Hurley and Fredericks have put off their research on the properties and applications of ferroelectric materials indefinitely, instead choosing to spend the majority of their time "messing around" with the gigantic atom. In the past two days, they have each gotten their picture taken next to an oversize slide of the atom and e-mailed it to colleagues around the country, put Humongolium in a particle collider to see it smash other atoms into thousands of smaller particles, and irradiated several of the atoms to give them a "goofy green glow."
"We suspected that the creation of such a ludicrously enormous atom would be hilarious, but that hypothesis didn't fully prepare us for how truly funny the result would actually be," Fredericks said. "Man, no way we're getting any more wo
Scientists Create World's Largest Novelty Atom(January 12, 2007 | Issue 43•02 )
CHICAGO—Scientists have long been labeled as overly serious, narrowly focused individuals who don't have time for fun. But two University of Chicago atomic physicists proved that even the most buttoned-down professionals are capable of enjoying a good laugh every now and then. Last week, Drs. Marcus Hurley and Thom Fredericks unveiled what they are calling their "most hilarious work to date": an oversize novelty atom that measures "a ridiculously huge" 8.2 x 10-10 meters in diameter.
Enlarge Image
Scientists yuk it up over the atom's ridiculous size.
According to Hurley and Fredericks, who nicknamed the new element "Humongolium," the entire physics department was in hysterics over the sight of an atom nearly 10 times the size of a normal atom and "so big you can practically see it through a high-powered standard optical microscope."
Over the past week, the scientists have been taking their PZT scanner, microscale cantilever, laser, Wheatstone bridge, photodiode, and data-feedback monitor from office to office, trying to get a rise out of colleagues by placing the novelty atom directly next to a common hydrogen atom.
"Look at this thing," said Hurley, who illustrated the size of the particle by holding his thumb right up next to his forefinger in an exaggerated fashion. "And I thought Francium atoms were huge. It's almost as big as a molecule, for crying out loud!"
"God, it just looks so ridiculous," Hurley added, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief. "Who comes up with this stuff?"
Hurley and Fredericks have put off their research on the properties and applications of ferroelectric materials indefinitely, instead choosing to spend the majority of their time "messing around" with the gigantic atom. In the past two days, they have each gotten their picture taken next to an oversize slide of the atom and e-mailed it to colleagues around the country, put Humongolium in a particle collider to see it smash other atoms into thousands of smaller particles, and irradiated several of the atoms to give them a "goofy green glow."
"We suspected that the creation of such a ludicrously enormous atom would be hilarious, but that hypothesis didn't fully prepare us for how truly funny the result would actually be," Fredericks said. "Man, no way we're getting any more wo
