Last night, the two @LIGO detectors observed the second gravitational-wave candidate of the day.
The possible signal with the preliminary designation S250205ee most likely originates – if it is real – from the merger of two black holes.
It occurred at a (luminosity) distance of 9.4 billion light-years.
This brings the total number of significant signal candidates identified in the fourth joint observation run of the international detector network to 190. One (GW230529) has already been fully analyzed and published. The others will also be carefully examined and then published if confirmed.
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AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.
I have so far taken a conical flask, glass tube, rubber tube and a beaker which is half full of water. The idea being the reaction takes place in the flask, and the Hydrogen is passed in to the beaker to show the gas has been transferred.
As with most things, it is a case of trial and error, when developing what you are doing.
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Tinkerers Meeting – Feb 2025
The next meeting of the Tor bay Tinkerers group will be on Saturday 22nd February 2025. Please see their website for more details and a write-up of the May Meeting.
AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.
AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.
AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.
AI statement : Consent is NOT granted to use the content of this blog for the purposes of AI training or similar activity. Consent CANNOT be assumed, it has to be granted.
Hydrogen Balloons
In an effort to come up with some interesting STEM demonstrations, I have now turned to making Hydrogen Gas,
Hydrogen is the lightest element, on Saturday I was at the STEAM café. I know that I can put Magnesium Ribbon in to a Conical Flask of White Vinegar and this produces Hydrogen gas. I tried to collect this using a balloon, it worked. However, we lost the balloon as it came away from the flask, but as a proof of concept, we know the idea works.
I have now tried this again at home, I don't have much white vinegar left, so I would assume this is a mix of Hydrogen or just Hydrogen as it is lighter. Either way, the following set up will produce the gas and inflate a balloon.
What I need to do now is find a way to seal up the balloon without losing the collected gas.
In theory it should be possible to use a lighted splint to ignite the balloon and Hydrogen within. This is DANGEROUS so DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
We know the hydrogen is in the balloon as it should rise if let go and sealed, where as a balloon full of air will fall as air (a mixture of gasses) is heavier.
The above is a picture of the inflated Balloon, as a proof of concept again it inflated, I need to use more white vinegar so there is less air in the flask to begin with, so more change of collecting the actual Hydrogen gas properly.
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What is Borax and how to make slime
At the STEAM Café in Paignton, I am looking for some ideas for some science workshops / demonstrations.
One idea is to make slime, for this we need a household chemical called Borax. Or Sodium tetraborate decahydrate. This along side PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) and water should produce a long chain molecule that resembles a slime type material.
PVA is safe and easy to use, as it is a glue. However, Borax is not that safe. So it is essential to understand the hazards and take appropriate steps.
So first things first. I have printed off the MSDS for Borax but also looked up information on the PubChem website. There is also a video explaining what Borax is on Youtube..
I have also looked up how to make various concentrations of this 1M,0.5M and 0.25M in 100ml volume (this is the only volumetric flask I have anyway).
This is not strictly needed, but useful to calculate anyway.
So back to making slime. I found a recipe at Little Bins. Little Hands so will be using that, as it gives me the quantities to use, but also explains the science.
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Luanti (formerly Minetest)
An open source voxel game engine. Play one of our many games, mod a game to your liking, make your own game, or play on a multiplayer server.
Available for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFly BSD, and Android.
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