Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

October and already the leaves are fading away in the Adirondacks. 🍂 Most shocking to me is that we are less then a month away from November, which in many ways should be a sigh of relief with the craziness of work and with the deep blue skies and crisp days of that month.

World’s Lightest Solid!

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Aerogels are the world's lightest (least dense) solids. They are also excellent thermal insulators and have been used in numerous Mars missions and the Stardust comet particle-return mission. The focus of this video is silica aerogels, though graphene aerogels are now technically the lightest. At one point Dr. Steven Jones literally held the Guinness World Record for making the lightest aerogel and therefore lightest solid. If you're interested in learning more about aerogels, let me know in the comments as there is a potential trilogy in the works...

This looks like a fascinating material, especially when you consider the amazing insulating properties of this ultra-light material.💨

As Teslas Age | Gruber Motors

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It turns out that the repair and reliability of Teslas has proven quite good over the past 13 years of their existence - occasional battery failure and improvements needed in the serviceability of the battery system but not unlike engine failures in internal combustion cars. 

Lakenvelder koeien met kalfjes – Dutch Belted with calves

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The colour markings are the main characteristic for the Lakenvelder. A Lakenvelder is either black or red, with a white belt over the middle. In Dutch this belt is described as 'laken' (sheet). The lakenvelder is a curious and quiet breed. The breed began to flourish in the Netherlands in the 17th century. The cattle were highly prized for their milking and fattening abilities. Nowadays, the Lakenvelder is a rare breed.

daf achteruitrijden (1/2)

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In the Netherlands apparently car racing in reverse gear is a thing, mostly thanks to the CVT transmissions in Dutch DAF cars which can go as fast in reverse as in drive. Reverse DAF racing is part demolition derby part automobile racing mainly because when you back a car up a high speed it tends to lead to collisions. Another crazy Dutch tradition.