Links for 2009-11-09

"Once the Union was preserved forever, the United States stopped worrying splitting into two. So with the late 1800's came the combat-in-context of professional and amateur sports. If you're looking for a reason why the South never rose again, it's probably because it was too busy learning how to play American-style football."

"The explosion of portable computers (laptops, smart phones, etc) has brought the problem of battery power to the forefront of technological concerns for those in the business of selling such devices. Computers keep getting smaller thanks to continued shrinking of chips and other microcomponents, but batteries necessary to operate them remain pretty clunky in comparison, and thus they add considerable weight to any product -- the largest portion of my laptop's weight is due to the battery. It's just the latest chapter in mankind's quest for the perfect power source."

"Scientists found the rare amber fossil in December, and have now confirmed that it contains remnants of spider silk spun roughly 140 million years ago by an ancestor of modern orb-weaving spiders. After slicing the amber into thin sections and examining each piece under a high-powered microscope, the researchers discovered that the ancient silk threads share several features common to modern spider webs, including droplets of sticky glue used to hold the web together and capture prey."

"Designed to smash trillions of protons together at nearly the speed of light, the LHC will recreate the extreme conditions that existed a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. The stakes are enormous. What the LHC reveals could change our understanding of everything. Failure could leave us in the dark for generations to come. The documentary feature, Particle Fever, captures this unfolding drama by focusing on the personal stories of several of its key figures - passionate, funny, brilliant spirits standing at the threshold of discovery. These modern adventurers have faced impossible technical challenges, risked careers, sacrificed personal relationships and continually struggled with government support in their single-minded quest to understand the nature of the universe."

"This flowchart should help any potential artists to determine their place in the creative world without any unnecessary existential pondering."