LignoLoc - Collated Wooden Nails

If I mention the word nails to you, what're your first thoughts?

If you're thinking of shiny, red, sparkly finger tips running up and down your arm, those aren't the right nails.

If you're thinking of steel slivers that hold things together, that's about what I'm talking about.

If you're thinking of wooden slivers that hold things together, then you're a big liar.

But apparently the LignoLoc people aren't liars, and they're thinking about wooden slivers holding wooden planks together.

How cool and environmentally friendly is that?

Actually, how environmentally friendly is that really? How many birch trees does it take to make a wooden nail?

Just how tough is Security Glass?

I'm thinking that the guy in the white suit might want to seek out counseling.

He seems to have some anger issues.

To quote, ESG Glass is...

The UK's leading independent glass processor, toughener and laminator for the professional trade.

Don't know about their healthcare services for their employees, though. Then again, if the employees could just beat the snot out of their own glass every so often, that might help.

Searching for Starlite

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

I stumbled upon - thanks to YouTube's recommendation algorithms - the video below...




...which references a material named starlite and claims to have reproduced something akin to starlite.

But I didn't know what starlite was...and didn't know why the egg test was a big deal.

So I went looking, and it turns out lots of people are looking for starlite.

And they've been looking for a few years...(from wikipedia)

Starlite is a material claimed to be able to withstand and insulate from extreme heat. It was invented by British amateur chemist and hairdresser Maurice Ward during the 1970s and 1980s, and received significant publicity after coverage of the material aired in 1990 on the BBC science and technology show Tomorrow's World. The name Starlite was coined by Ward's granddaughter Kimberly. 

Despite interest from NASA and other major technological companies, Ward, who died in 2011, never revealed the composition of Starlite, which is still unknown. He once mentioned that his close family knows the fabrication process, but after his death neither his wife nor any of his four daughters have produced any sample to demonstrate that they know the process.

From historic mysteries

According to the New Scientist, Ward negotiated with several leading organizations. Boeing, NASA, and the British Department of Defence all held talks with Ward. It seemed Ward was more concerned that he might not be able to protect himself in a litigation battle. He did maintain the utmost faith in Starlite. However, trying to broker the right deal for himself gave him the unwanted reputation as an unreliable negotiator. Supposedly, he asked for a £1 million one day but upped that price tenfold the following day.

What is Prestressed Concrete?

"And, of course, I built a demo to show how this works" ~ Grady, 4:10 into the above video

The most wonderful part of the Practical Engineering series of videos is the models that Grady makes to illustrate his lessons.

Of course, he's clearly got a heck of a shop around his house to be able to make those models.

How Does a Touchstone Work?

Personally, I prefer aqua reqia to aqua fortis, but that's just me...

I love the idea of just scraping metal on a barely rough surface in order to identify the metal by comparison with a standard.       

Might want to get myself a touchstone to try that out.