#sofantastic

friday the 13th shenanigans with the homie.

May the Force be with Your Laser! In the original Star Wars film, the Galactic Empire destroys the entire- Earth-sized planet Alderaan in a single laser shot. While the premise seems far-fetched, the laws of physics can provide a quick feasibility check. The destruction of an Earth-sized object would require about 10^32 Joules of energy. The most powerful laser ever created can only deliver about 10^6 Joules. However, a laser could be used to carve a path towards the planet’s core. Once the core is exposed, it could be turned into energy if it comes into contact with antimatter. Using Einstein’s famous E = mc^2, the mass of both would be converted into energy, destroying the entire planet. #happyhalloween #halloween2016 #starwars #deathstar #lasers #trivia #pumpkin #trickortreat #pumpkincarving #fall #boo #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #amazing #science #openscience #instagood #elearning #highered #sofantastic #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics (at Houston, Texas)

Ever take a photo on a snowy night with the flash and end up with super bright snowflakes on the image? The light from the lamps, and reflected off the snowflakes, travels outward in all directions, spreading and becoming less intense as it moves outward (twice the distance means one fourth the brightness). Since the snowflakes are much closer than the lamps, they appear brighter. #physics #snow #reflections #inversesquarelaw #optics #weatherphysics #photophysics #science #openscience #instagood #elearning #highered #sofantastic #job #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #yale #newhaven (at New Haven, Connecticut)

What’s this colorful object in the parking lot after a rainstorm? It’s a layer of oil (leaked from a car’s engine) that’s thickest in the center and thinnest around the edges. Light reflects from the top of the oil and from the top of the water. When the thickness of the oil layer is exactly equal to the wavelength of the light, these two reflections destructively interfere and that specific color of light gets canceled out (so we see the rest of the reflected colors). #physics #oilandwater #reflections #destructiveinterference #optics #weatherphysics #parkinglotphysics #science #openscience #instagood #elearning #highered #sofantastic #job #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #chicago #illinois (at Chicago, Illinois)

Levitation is Easy with a Strong Enough Magnet! The magnetic field produced by Earth is very small, but it still deflects the needle of the compass. If the field is stronger, it can levitate small objects like paperclips. With a magnet big enough, an object as big as a train can be lifted and suspended above the ground. #physics #magnets #levitation #maglev #photooftheday #picoftheday #amazing #science #openscience #instagood @TRIUMFlab #elearning #highered #sofantastic #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #canada #vancouver (at Vancouver, British Columbia)