Magnifying carbon monoxide (CO) atoms to over 100 million times their actual size, arranging them into a series of 242 still images, and then animating them together, scientists at IBM Research have made the smallest movie ever. Wait, how small is that again?
“If an atom was the size of an orange, then the orange would be the size of the whole planet Earth.”
The movie is called A Boy and His Atom, and it is Guinness World Records verified(!) as the smallest stop-motion film in the world.
You can read more about the project here, you can listen to the sound of moving atoms, and can watch how scientists Susanne Baumann, Andreas Heinrich, Christopher Lutz and Ileana Rau made the movie here:
The future is now.
Thanks, Monika.
When you drill 364 meters (1194 feet) down into Antarctic ice, taking out a cylindrical section called an ice core, you can find out about the Earth’s temperature and carbon dioxide levels from over 20,000 years ago. Information is held within the oxygen atoms in the ice and the air bubbles that formed within it.
Measuring ice cores is an effective form of time travel for scientists like the British Antarctic Survey team, who are studying how the Earth’s climate is changing. And Antarctica is full of untapped information:
Antarctica is thought to have been covered by ice for over 30 million years. So far, scientists have drilled ice cores stretching back 800,000 years, and they are now working to extend their records back to 1.4 million years ago.
In this video, Ice Core ScientistNerilie Abram explainsthe process. You can also read more about the team’s work here.
What is an atom and exactly how small is it again? And what’s in it? And how can I understand that in practical, everyday terms? — Just grab a bowl of blueberries to snack on and we’re on our way with this wonderful TEDed lesson by Jonathan Bergmann!
Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This is his answer.
We’re pretty addicted to these educational/inspirational videos about the universe, atoms, the elements, and the origins of life… This fan-made one features a portion of Dr. Tyson’s interview “10 questions for Neil deGrasse Tyson” for TIME Magazine in 2008, also a great video to watch.
