Wednesday, January 23, 2013

National Pie Day

Today:  http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/

Not what I thought, which would have been March 14, just before 2 o'clock

3.14  1 59
3/14  1:59

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

thermoacoustic refrigerator



not to be confused with thermoelectric (direct electricity-to-heat/cool).

These are not toys:  http://qdrive.com/UI/ProductsListing.aspx?mcid=111&pcid=111&ccid=111 shows cryogenic coolers that go down to 50K (yep degrees Kelvin, that's 50 degrees above absolute zero)!.

In particular, in space where there is no air to carry away excess heat, these coolers can regulate temperature of components.

Of course the reverse physics can use a temperature differential to generate a (very loud) sound.

Then refrigeration that does not need electricity, stored fuel, just a campfire:

texting sheep from bovid bracelet

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57487599-1/texting-sheep-collar-protects-ewe-from-wolf-attack/

Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack
Sheep could soon don heartbeat-monitoring collars that text shepherds to warn of dangerous wolves. No, really.
by Luke Westaway

August 6, 2012 12:30 PM PDT
(Credit: CNET UK)

It's not easy being a wolf. You finally find a delicious sheep to eat, but before you can take a bite it sprays you with repellent chemicals and then texts a shepherd who comes and chases you off with a horrible big stick.

A biologist in Switzerland is researching an SMS-powered sheep collar that monitors the woolly one's heart rate and could summon a shepherd if a significant change is detected, the BBC reports.

Tests have already been carried out on 12 unlucky sheep, who were scared by muzzledCzechoslovakian wolfdogs while their heartbeats were monitored, revealing that the grass-munching animals' heart rates jumped significantly when stressed out.

Read more of "Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack" at Crave UK.