Watch NASA Plane Fold Its Wings Mid-Flight

We've been hearing for a few years that plane designers are trying to use NiTiNOL to change the angle of the wings or of the fins (my terms, probably not the term of the designers) behind the jet engines.

Now, it looks like NASA might've been successful in adjusting the wing angle using a memory alloy.

And, if you were curious about the size of the plan we see above, here's a longer video with a little more context and without the voice-over.

Scrub Daddy Science

I bought a Scrub Daddy a couple of years ago and have been using it to demonstrate glass transition in polymers since then. It's good, however, to know a little more science than what I've been explaining ("it's a polymer, and they have phase transitions from rigid to flexible").

The above video shows the phase transition and the 2012 patent (linked here) for the Scrub Daddy. The blog entry associated with the video has more information as well as data from a few experiments (FTIR, for example) done with the Scrub Daddy.

In a semi-exciting detail, the video also shows that the thermoplastic polymer from Education Innovations is the same polymer as the Scrub Daddy. Conveniently, I already have that product in my storage room.

How cool is that?

But wait, there's more...





And also a video that I don't understand in the least. It's a wordless video of somebody pouring slime on a Scrub Daddy and squishing it with what I believe to be added sound effects. Clearly the internet it the realm of the long tail.

Why Bridges Move... (and more thermal expansion demos)

I wouldn't want to get my hands caught between those jaws on a hot day.

I don't know that I would actually show this video in class. The demonstrations of thermal expansion aren't all that impressive. The explanation and theory is solid, but the demos could be a little more impressive.

Like these, for example...