Did you hear that SCREECH? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’re not the only ones WORN OUT by travel. Planes, trains, and automobiles – all get HEATED when there’s too much friction. Sometimes their metal even melts to a semi-liquid state. Scary! BUT, at
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Slip n’ Slide
Slipping on a banana peel – Cartoon pratfall, or fascinating biology? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What makes banana peels so slippery? That’s what Kiyoshi Mabuchi colleagues at Japan’s Kitasato University wondered. So they set up a scientific slip n’ slide! They placed a
Continue readingChainsaw Bot
Robot lumberjacks? Tell me more! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Lumberjacking is dangerous work for humans. How about for chainsaw-wielding robots? There the problem is power. Climbing gobbles energy, as does holding robots vertically in place. So most climbing ‘bots need huge batteries. Inspired
Continue readingIn a Spin
When physicists get bored, curious things happen. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Meet Mir Abbas Jalali of the University of California, Berkeley. He was playing with his wedding ring on his desk one day. Like you do. The ring wobbled and spun like a
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