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π βSILEX is the only privately held information that is classified by the US gov.β
Separation of isotopes by laser excitation (SILEX) is a process for isotope separation that is being investigated to produce enriched uranium on an industrial scale using lasers. It was developed in the 1990s and is a variant of molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS). For uranium, it uses a cold molecular beam with UF6 in a carrier cas, in which the 235UF6 is selectively excited by an infrared laser near 16Β Β΅m. But in contrast to earlier MLIS techniques developed since the 1970s, it does not dissociate the molecule.
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- "βSILEX is the only privately held information that is classified by the US gov.β" | 2023-02-12 | 45 Upvotes 3 Comments
π 99 Luftballons
"99 Luftballons" (German: Neunundneunzig Luftballons, "99 balloons") is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released on the album 99 Luftballons in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics but with the same meaning. In the US, the English-language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena's only US hit.
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- "99 Luftballons" | 2023-02-12 | 12 Upvotes 2 Comments
π Doorway Effect
The 'doorway effect' or βlocation updating effectβ is a replicable psychological phenomenon characterized by short-term memory loss when passing through a doorway or moving from one location to another. We tend to forget items of recent significance immediately after crossing a boundary and often forget what we were thinking about or planning on doing upon entering a different room. Research suggests that this phenomenon occurs both at literal boundaries (e.g., moving from one room to another via a door) and metaphorical boundaries (e.g., imagining traversing a doorway, or even when moving from one desktop window to another on a computer).
Memory is organized around specific events or episodes, such as attending a lecture or having a family meal, rather than being a continuous stream interrupted by sleep. This organization is called episodic memory, which involves receiving and storing information about events that are temporarily dated, along with their time and place relationships.
Numerous psychological studies have indicated that the external context, including the location where events occur, plays a significant role in how memories are separated. This context helps establish distinctions between different remembered events. Memories of events that happen in the environment we're currently in are easier to access compared to those from different places. As a result, when we experience spatial changes and move to a different location, it can act as a boundary marker that separates and categorizes our continuous flow of memories into distinct segments.
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- "Doorway Effect" | 2024-02-08 | 313 Upvotes 146 Comments
π Kimchi Refrigerator
A kimchi refrigerator is a refrigerator designed specifically to meet the storage requirements of kimchi and facilitate different fermentation processes. The kimchi refrigerator aims to be colder, with more consistent temperature, more humidity, and less moving air than a conventional refrigerator, providing the ideal environment for fermentation of kimchi. Some models may include features such as a UV Sterilizer.
In a consumer survey aimed at South Korean homemakers conducted by a top-ranking Korean media agency in 2004, the kimchi refrigerator was ranked first for most wanted household appliance.
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- "Kimchi Refrigerator" | 2025-01-07 | 83 Upvotes 46 Comments
π Lucky iron fish
Lucky Iron Fish are fish-shaped cast iron ingots used to provide dietary supplementation of iron to individuals affected by iron-deficiency anaemia. The ingots are placed in a pot of boiling water to leach elemental iron into the water and food. They were developed in 2008 by Canadian health workers in Cambodia, and in 2012 a company, The Lucky Iron Fish Project, was formed to develop the iron fish on a larger scale, promote them among rural areas, and distribute them to non-governmental organization partners. Notably, recent research found that the iron ingot had no effect on anemia. It therefore recommended against its use in Cambodia and other countries with low levels of iron deficiency.
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- "Lucky iron fish" | 2018-03-23 | 52 Upvotes 10 Comments
π Utility Monster
The utility monster is a thought experiment in the study of ethics created by philosopher Robert Nozick in 1974 as a criticism of utilitarianism.
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- "Utility Monster" | 2020-05-14 | 59 Upvotes 67 Comments
π 60163 Tornado, the first new build British mainline steam locomotive since 1960
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 No. 60163 Tornado is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive completed in 2008 to an original design by Arthur Peppercorn. It is the first new build British mainline steam locomotive since 1960, and the only Peppercorn Class A1 in existence after the original batch were scrapped. In 2017, Tornado became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100Β mph (160Β km/h) on British tracks in over 50 years.
After the project was founded by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust in 1990, construction of Tornado began in 1994 and mostly took place at Darlington Works, with other components manufactured elsewhere. The project was financed through fundraising initiatives, public donations, sponsorship deals, and hiring out Tornado itself for special services. The locomotive was granted its mainline certificate in January 2009, having been designed in compliance with modern safety and certification standards. Tornado has worked on heritage and mainline trains across Britain since 2008. In 2022, it was withdrawn for overhaul.
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- "60163 Tornado, the first new build British mainline steam locomotive since 1960" | 2023-03-13 | 102 Upvotes 68 Comments
π Soviet Space Dogs
During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at least 57 dogs. The number of dogs in space is smaller, as some dogs flew more than once. Most survived; the few that died were lost mostly through technical failures, according to the parameters of the test.
A notable exception is Laika, the first dog to be sent into orbit, whose death during the 3 November, 1957 Sputnik 2 mission was expected from its outset.
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- "Soviet Space Dogs" | 2019-10-15 | 33 Upvotes 22 Comments
π Cuisenaire rods
Cuisenaire rods are mathematics learning aids for students that provide an interactive, hands-on way to explore mathematics and learn mathematical concepts, such as the four basic arithmetical operations, working with fractions and finding divisors. In the early 1950s, Caleb Gattegno popularised this set of coloured number rods created by the Belgian primary school teacher Georges Cuisenaire (1891β1975), who called the rods rΓ©glettes.
According to Gattegno, "Georges Cuisenaire showed in the early 1950s that students who had been taught traditionally, and were rated βweakβ, took huge strides when they shifted to using the material. They became 'very good' at traditional arithmetic when they were allowed to manipulate the rods."
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- "Cuisenaire rods" | 2015-07-31 | 43 Upvotes 20 Comments
π Hofstadter's butterfly
In condensed matter physics, Hofstadter's butterfly describes the spectral properties of non-interacting two dimensional electrons in a magnetic field. The fractal, self-similar, nature of the spectrum was discovered in the 1976 Ph.D. work of Douglas Hofstadter and is one of the early examples of computer graphics. The name reflects the visual resemblance of the figure on the right to a swarm of butterflies flying to infinity.
The Hofstadter butterfly plays an important role in the theory of the integer quantum Hall effect, and D.J. Thouless has been awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 2016 for the discovery that the wings of the butterfly are characterized by Chern integers, the quantized Hall conductances discovered in 1980 by Klaus von Klitzing for which he has been awarded the Nobel prize in 1985. The colors in the diagram reflect the different Chern numbers.
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- "Hofstadter's butterfly" | 2014-06-20 | 41 Upvotes 10 Comments