Robot Asimo Conducts Detroit Symphony
Spectacular ‘cloud tsunami’ rolls over Florida high-rise condos
(Source: lizeegillespie)
The Science of Why Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ Makes Everyone Cry
Tension, resolution, and the ever important “buildy-ness” (which is a term I invented but is accurate), these are the characteristics behind the most extreme emotional reactions to songs:
Twenty years ago, the British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an “appoggiatura.”
An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. “This generates tension in the listener,” said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. “When the notes return to the anticipated melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good.”
Chills often descend on listeners at these moments of resolution. When several appoggiaturas occur next to each other in a melody, it generates a cycle of tension and release. This provokes an even stronger reaction, and that is when the tears start to flow.
There’s just about the most detailed scientific analysis of a Grammy-winning song ever at the link.
(via WSJ.com)
30% of all US Military aircraft are now unmanned.
A Congressional Report has revealed that almost one third of military aircraft are drones - a huge change from a figure of 5% in 2005.
The most prolific is the RQ-11 Raven, with 2200 on order and 1300 already in use. The Raven is similar in size to the RQ-7 Shadow pictured, and both are able to be launched by hand and operated by remote control as a surveillance tool, at a distance of around 6 miles and up to a 500 foot altitude.
(Source: singularityhub.com, via 8bitfuture)
oh chemistry cat, you hilarious :)
This Is What the Moon Looks Like From Space
On Sunday, July 31, 2011, when Expedition 28 astronaut Ron Garan aboard the International Space Station looked out his window, this is what he saw: the moon. And, he saw it 16 times. Said Garan, “We had simultaneous sunsets and moonsets.” For Garan and the rest of the station crew, this extraordinary event is a daily occurrence. Since the station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, each day the crew experiences this about 16 times a day.Credit: NASA
This is what I imagined the Arizona desert to look like in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoomseries.
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination"
— Twain, or something.
