Nelson Mandela
Crime: Saying that people should treat each other as equals.
Punishment: Imprisoned for 27 years.
Cicero
Crime: Preferring democracy to despotism.
Punishment: Exiled, then let back. Head chopped off and stuck on a pike.
Mahatma Gandhi
Crime: Preaching non-violence.
Punishment: Repeatedly jailed. Later assassinated.
Joan of Arc
Crime: Winning too much. Being a woman. Praying a lot.
Punishment: Imprisoned, raped, and burned at the stake.
Socrates
Crime: Asked searching questions about The Good, about Justice, and about man’s responsibility to his country.
Punishment: Calumnied, imprisoned, and executed by way of poison.
Galileo Galilei
Crime: Wondered if the earth could be circling the sun, and not the other way around.
Punishment: Imprisoned for life
Jesus of Nazareth
Crime: Saying we should be nice to each other.
Punishment: Beaten, mocked, whipped, stabbed, and later crucified.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
How Do Ants Walk Upside-Down On Smooth Surfaces???
The Ant
The ant has made herself illustrious
By constant industry industrious.
So what? Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid ?
Ogden Nash
The feet of ants and bees are surprisingly complex structures. Each foot, viewed through a microscope, has a pair of claws that resemble a bull’s horns, with a sticky footpad called an arolium positioned between the claws. When the insects run along a surface, the claws try to grasp the surface. If the claws are unable to catch onto the surface, they retract and the footpad comes into action. The footpad quickly unfolds and inflates with blood, protruding between the claws and enabling the adhesive pad to stick to the surface. The footpad then deflates and folds back. The entire process takes just tens to hundredths of a second, and is repeated with each step, rapid-fire, as the insects skitter along. In addition, the footpad secretes a fluid that allows the insects to adhere to smooth surfaces, “the same way a wet piece of paper can stick to a window”. The dynamic nature of the arolium provides varying levels of stickiness, depending on the surface.
Furthermore, researchers found that the claw-flexor tendon not only retracts the claws on a smooth surface, but is responsible for moving the footpad into place. The system, a combination of mechanics and hydraulics, has intrigued robotics engineers who design tiny robotic devices used in the medical field.
The ant has made herself illustrious
By constant industry industrious.
So what? Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid ?
Ogden Nash
The feet of ants and bees are surprisingly complex structures. Each foot, viewed through a microscope, has a pair of claws that resemble a bull’s horns, with a sticky footpad called an arolium positioned between the claws. When the insects run along a surface, the claws try to grasp the surface. If the claws are unable to catch onto the surface, they retract and the footpad comes into action. The footpad quickly unfolds and inflates with blood, protruding between the claws and enabling the adhesive pad to stick to the surface. The footpad then deflates and folds back. The entire process takes just tens to hundredths of a second, and is repeated with each step, rapid-fire, as the insects skitter along. In addition, the footpad secretes a fluid that allows the insects to adhere to smooth surfaces, “the same way a wet piece of paper can stick to a window”. The dynamic nature of the arolium provides varying levels of stickiness, depending on the surface.
Furthermore, researchers found that the claw-flexor tendon not only retracts the claws on a smooth surface, but is responsible for moving the footpad into place. The system, a combination of mechanics and hydraulics, has intrigued robotics engineers who design tiny robotic devices used in the medical field.
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