Oil spills can occur with little to no notice. When a spill does happen, it becomes critical to act quickly to contain the spill in order to mitigate damage to the environment. Oil booms are commonly used in maritime environments as both a reactive action to a spill or as a preventative measure around ships that may experience an oil spill. What Makes Up an Oil Boom? Fundamentally, an oil boom is made up of a plastic tarp that has flotation embedded in the top and a thinner skirt that Read More

Magnetic chalkboard paint has been used for the past decade to allow kids to be more creative at home and school. It can be used to decorate walls, tables, and just about any flat surface that can be painted. It is easy to apply and does not require professional application, making it more popular with parents who like to create activities for their children at home. Magnetic chalkboard paint does not require special tools and can be applied with traditional rollers or paint brushes. How to Apply Magnetic Chalkboard Paint Read More

Organ growing is one of the new advances in medicine that would enable organ replacement. Human organs will be replaced internally or externally, using a replacement organ that was “grown” using a tissue or a cell from the patient himself. This new technology will make possible a virtually inexhaustible supply of organ replacements, thereby doing away with the need to wait for organ donors and removing the risk of rejection of an implanted organ. In 1997 alone, less than 10% of the 40,000 patients in the US needing a heart Read More

An amino acid is a molecule that contains three specific components. The first is an amine group which contains a nitrogen and two hydrogen. The second component is a carboxylic acid which is a weak acid which is written as COOH. Sometimes, it is written as R-COOH to document that the carbon is attached to some other side chain. The side chain, therefore, is the third component of an amino acid and the side chain differs from amino acid to amino acid. The Twenty One Amino Acids There are twenty Read More

When the Earth begins to get too hot, the water increases in temperature. As the water continues to get hotter, it begins to undergo a phase change in which water turns to gas. The water droplets turn into water vapor because the temperature has caused the individual water molecules to speed up considerably. This process of heating water up and turning it into vapor is known as evaporation. Evaporation should not be confused with boiling because when water undergoes evaporation, only water molecules that are on the surface of the Read More

True antigravity propulsion involves using a material or technological effect that counteracts the effects of gravity without using aerodynamic lift, electromagnetism, or some other balancing force. Likewise, antigravity does not refer to situations in which an object or person experiences lack of weight such as being in a pool, free fall, or high altitude orbit. Virtually all antigravity propulsion systems and experiments that scientists introduced to the public and that supposedly defied gravity could not be supported with concrete evidence. Furthermore, no third party could recreate it. This fact has Read More

Cavitation happens when water moves at extremely high speed around an obstruction in its normal flow. This causes the water pressure around the propeller to drop, creating air bubbles which dissolve after a few moments and causing water to rush in on the empty space created previously by the bubbles then crashing against the obstruction. Cavitation is considered a nuisance because it creates noise which can pinpoint the location of ships and submarines. The principles of cavitation have become the foundation for developing a whole new class of weapons. Understanding Read More

An acrylic adhesive is a resin-based adhesive that is comprised of acrylic or methylacrylic polymers. It is rather complicated to produce acrylic adhesives as they must be formed into a polymer, suspended in a catalyst, and cured. Acrylic adhesives are very strong and efficient at bonding multiple objects together. They are resistant to sunlight, not easily broken up by water/humidity, and can withstand temperature fluctuations. These features cause acrylic adhesives to be the most preferred type. Strength Factors Any acrylic adhesive’s strength depends on several highly critical factors and is Read More

A solar pool heater is a device that uses the sun’s power to heat a pool. Solar pool heaters are ergonomically designed to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight without imposing on the user’s comfort. Solar pool heaters allow the user to change the water temperature without even getting out of the pool. They can operate all day long and even run at night, as a built-in battery that stores excess energy during the day powers them. Solar pool heaters are usually used in small pools and hot tubs, but Read More

Eddy currents are also referred to as Foucault currents and are created when conductors are exposed to a changing magnetic field because of a field source’s relative motion. Their applications include induction heating and non-destructive testing. Eddy currents are continually researched in order to develop new applications. How do Eddy Currents Work? Eddy currents are created when a conductor is exposed to a magnetic field that changes due to the field source’s and/or the conductor’s motion. Magnetic field variations, which create a current within the conductor’s body over time, may Read More