skills

Science and Technology

Iridium – The Rarest Metal on Earth!

Iridium is a transitional metal, which is located in the middle of the periodic table, below rhodium. If we take a look at the prevalence of all elements in the earth’s crust, Iridium holds the last place, that is a billion atoms of all that there is and only one atom of iridium. This metal is 40 times rarer than gold. In much higher concentrations iridium is found in meteorites and also in the depths of the Earth, in magma. Interestingly enough, in the layers of rock sediments, though more precisely in the formation of clay, that is aged about 66 million years there were found high concentrations of iridium…

Words of Wisdom

The Real Facts and Amazing Truths Concerning Black Holes

Why is it that Space is always drawn as a flat surface with a few bends in it? Wouldn’t it be far more 3 dimensional, expanding in all directions, through all dimensions? Is there a different way we can express it that makes more sense? How can we use this information to grow as people, beyond just the simple awareness of Black Holes “out there”, but also Black Holes “in here”, you know? If you like this video, like us on facebook and twitter.

Animal

Meet The Team Protecting Costa Rica’s Sea Turtle Mecca

Nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered, but Tortuguero, a small island on the eastern coast of Costa Rica, offers a safe place for nesting green and leatherback sea turtles. It was here in 1959 that Dr. Archie Carr opened the world’s first turtle conservancy. To this day, the island is one of the world’s most important breeding grounds for these turtles. We made the arduous journey there to watch the next generation hit the waves. Go baby sea turtles, go! If you like this video, like us on facebook and twitter.

Cool

Nitinol A Metallic Muscles with Shape Memory

This clip is made from a very unusual material – nitinol. Nitinol is an alloy of nickel and titanium in proportions of 45% titanium and 55% nickel. This alloy has the unique property that was discovered in 1961 by American scientists. The property of this alloy is called “shape memory”. So to demonstrate this property let’s conduct an experiment. Take a clip of nitinol and deform it. Besides the clip I as well have a spring made of nitinol, which I also deform into a random shape. If you like this video, like us on facebook and twitter.

Science and Technology

Strontium – Metal that Absorbs X-RAYS!

Strontium is an alkaline earth metal that is in the second group of the periodic system of chemical elements. This metal is fairly active, and thus it is stored in either kerosene or in mineral oil. For you to see the surface of strontium a bit better I washed its pieces from the oil in ethyl acetate. The strontium’s surface is black due to the fact that it was oxidised even while being in oil, and then it coated itself with a layer of strontium oxide and nitride. Strontium is a pretty solid metal resembling lead solder, but some pieces can break apart because of the fragile crystal structure. If…