#wettable

[joearf]

2022.11.30: Afternoon Rain - Old Greenwich, CT #afternoonrain #reflection #wettable #tabletop #rain #oldgreenwichct (at Lugano Greenwich) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClmfTZ4OYYZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[materialsscienceandengineering]

New membrane technology could lead to more effective and efficient water purification systems

A team of NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) researchers has developed a novel approach that utilizes microwave technology to more easily synthesize and fine-tune a new type of membrane which effectively purifies water from a wide range of contaminants. The membrane synthesis technique takes a few minutes, making it one of the fastest methods for creating covalent organic framework (COF) membranes. These membranes act as filters in devices designed to clean polluted water from specific contaminants, allowing its reuse in different applications—an important discovery at a time when efficient wastewater treatment becomes vital in a world threatened by water scarcity. The new type of dual-faced membrane, characterized by its unique superhydrophilic and near-hydrophobic surfaces, enables efficient removal of contaminants like oils and dyes from water. This dual functionality not only enhances the filtration process but also endows the membranes with strong antibacterial properties, crucial for long-term usability and effectiveness.

Read more.

[technofinch]

i may never get my forklift certification but surely once i get my commercial pesticide applicator's license the women will flock to me in droves

[subbalakshmisastry]

Beautiful Anhinga ( Anhinga melanogaster/Oriental Darter /Snake Bird in...

[octagonsolution]

Individual 100ml bottles of Dyne Testing Inks for surface energy testing. This ink is formulated to provide accurate and reliable results when testing the surface energy of various materials.

[vanessagillings]

I love your art so much!!! I've also been starting to paint with gouache, and I'd love to know a little more about your process! What kind of paints do you use, do you sketch first or start with paint, do you paint in layers over several day or all at once?

Hi and thank you! I hope you don't mind me answering this publicly and apologies for length, but:

MY ART PROCESS!

Supplies: I use winsor and newton gouache and arches cold press paper blocks, usually 140 lbs (the lime green ones) and sometimes 300 lbs (the teal green ones). Even though this paper comes pre-stretched in blocks, I actually take the sheets off and stretch them myself because I've found arches' glue isn't as strong as it used to be. This is how you get watercolor paper to lay flat! I recommend youtubing some videos on how to do it -- there's a lot of great tutorials out there. Also, I use princeton brushes, and kraft paper tape and these boards to stretch my paper. (these aren't affiliate links, I just shop at blick)

A word about art supplies: these are the exact tools I use but everyone uses supplies differently and two people with the exact same supplies might get different results! A lot of it is about what works for you and what you like, so I always suggest that gouache/watercolor beginners just buy a few tubes from a couple of different paint companies and some small pieces of paper from different manufacturers to see what you like. Just changing one ingredient in the above has created massively different results for me, but maybe that'll end up being something you'd like! The first step in learning a new medium imo is to play. Just have fun!

ALSO: gouache isn't super light permanent, check your tubes for which ones hold up to sunlight. Here is winsor and newton's color chart explaining which ones will fade when exposed to sunlight -- all manufacturers will give you this. I only use the colors rated A and AA, and I still frame my pieces with UV glass just to be safe. Not all gouache is re-wettable, but winsor and newton is. I just put it in my palettes and refill my palettes if it runs low. AND SOME PAINT IS TOXIC. A lot of paints have cadmium and cobalt in them. I don't use any of the toxic colors, but if you do, make sure you don't eat while working and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. This information is also usually available on manufacturer's websites. As more people are rejecting cadmium paint, you'll see more tubes labeled things like cadmium-free yellow. This is why. More artists should be aware that their tools can be dangerous. You don't need that many tubes of paint to begin, just a warm and cool red, warm and cool yellow, warm and cool blue, white and black. I have around 50 colors and use 20 regularly. I always mix all my colors myself, and never use straight tube paint. Most of my colors have about 5-6 different tube colors mixed together. If you use re-wettable paint a tube of paint will last you years; even as a professional I only buy new paints every 5 years or so.

Process: I ALWAYS start with a sketch first. Not everyone has to, but because I do illustration work -- where sometimes a client gets input on a drawing -- I always do a lot of preliminary work before I even begin to paint. At this point, even my personal work usually involves the exact same process:

I start with a 3" or so thumbnail that I scan (left; I traced it quickly digtally for clarity to myself here) and then either clean up digitally or print out and clean up traditionally with tracing paper (right):

Then I scan the cleaned sketch in and color rough it digitally (left, this was for a gallery show, so no one had to approve my color roughs, so it's messy!) then I transfer my sketch to my paper (with either carbon transfer paper or a light table), stretch my paper, and paint (right):

I obviously changed my mind about the color of the ribbon in the trees, ha, and made everything a lot more vibrant. The benefit again of gallery work is no pre-approval!

You are correct, I paint in a series of washes, going from lightest to darkest, where I apply the same color beneath all shapes that are the same warmth (cools under all upcoming cools, warms under all upcoming warms). I paint a piece usually in one or two days, depending on complexity. I didn't take pictures of the above painting, but here's a different painting to show you a little bit what I mean:

I painted the peach color under everything (and twice for skin tones), and the gray color of the sky under everything that would be grayish (the rocks, trees, her pants, her skirt, and coat). I do this to stop me from getting darker lines where two different colors butt up against each other, and also for color harmony. I have step by step photos of this in my process stories highlight on my instagram; also check my FAQ and tip highlights for more info on all this stuff. Most pieces take around 25-30 washes before I start adding in the details (sometimes I add in face details early though because if I mess those up it's not worth finishing the rest of the painting! 😅)

All this might seem like a lot of work (...it is) but I do it so that I can show clients previews of the final piece and so I don't have to repaint the finals. I also used to pre-test all of my washes on scrap paper like this:

I still recommend doing this if you're just beginning! But at this point I only do it when testing techniques because I know my paints really well. (the above was my test for the pine boughs in this piece)

Painting by far is the longest part of the process, so I do more work up front to not have to do it twice. Every piece takes about 6-24 hrs of actual work time to produce. Stretching watercolor paper takes about 24 hrs to dry, and because I sell most of my originals in galleries, they need to be flawless, so planning ahead is useful and in the end saves me time.

And to conclude this novel of an explanation, don't be overwhelmed by all the information I've given you! I put it here so that people at various stages of their artistic journey can maybe find something useful in it. But seriously, the first step to learning how to paint whether it's traditionally or digitally is just to have fun. Try it out, see what's working and what isn't, and then try to solve specific issues that you're struggling with. I've been doing this for a loooooong time at this point, but here's my first watercolor piece from when I was re-teaching myself how to paint traditionally nine years ago:

Obviously, I was destined for greatness. Ha, yeah, no. If you scroll back through my tumblr archive, you can see me learning how to use these paints in real time. And keep in mind that I'd been working digitally for years before then, and years before that where I didn't post my work online at all.

So for anyone who needs to hear it: there's no such thing as talent, just hard work, patience, and trying again and again and again...and sometimes again. What I do is a skill and anyone can learn it. Sometimes, progress is slow. I'm 38. I only really feel like my art was half-way decent starting a few years ago, but I've been making art my entire life, and I went to art school at 18. 20 years later I'm kind of figuring it out.

The best advice I can give, whether it's about art or not, is find the thing you love so much that you'll keep at it even when you suck at it, because most skills you'll suck at to begin with -- and perhaps for a long time. I sucked at art for yeeeaaaaarrrrs. On top of the usual learning curve, I struggled with fine motor control and dexterity. But I loved it so much I kept trying every time I failed. If I can do it, so can all of you, no matter what stage of art you're at now, and no matter how old you are.

Anyway, thank you to those still reading this deep in. I wish you all the best on your artistic journey. Art can kick your butt sometimes, but it's also pretty dang rewarding 💛

[smilesrobotlover]

"Wet feathers can prove disastrous in cold weather. But with the wet winter weather, how do birds stay dry? The answer lies in the oil-producing glands birds have. They preen to coat their feathers in this oil to waterproof and insulate their down feathers."

"In addition to providing the ability to fly, feathers help to insulate and waterproof a bird’s delicate body."

"...deep water would cause the birds to become soaked, which would prevent them from flying properly. This is one of the reasons birds prefer baths that are shallow – they splash around until their bodies are just wet enough – and opt for taking many short baths rather than one long bath."

"The majority of bird species will drown if they fall into deep water, as they lack the mechanisms required to survive, most notably their feathers are not waterproof and would quickly become sodden, dragging them down, their wings aren’t the right shape or be strong enough to use them as paddles, and their legs and feet lack the structure and strength to help them out."

"Most bird feathers are somewhat water resistant, and in light rain, you may see birds fluffed up, just as they would in a dry cold....Heavy rain calls for a different tactic. Fluffing up your feathers keeps you warm, but if the rain is heavy enough, water will get in between your fluffed-up feathers and chill you faster. Instead, in heavy rains birds sleek down their feathers to reduce their wettability."

"Most birds are mostly waterproof. Their feathers, combined with oil from preen glands, keep them pretty watertight."

This is some information from different articles I found. If I'm understanding it correctly, many birds are somewhat water resistant but would still drown in deep water due to not being waterproof enough; feather, wing, and foot shape; etc? So maybe your idea could still work somewhat?

Gosh idk when you sent this but thank you for this information! In fact, thanks everyone who shared thoughts on this!! I’m glad everyone is sharing scientific information that I can still keep for my hc >:))

[sexyorc]

it's cruel that this pesticide application manual is revealing to me all these stimmy sounding terms such as wettable powder and milky-white emulsion and then telling me they're toxic and i can't eat them or touch them. fuck off

[crystalelemental]

Rune Factory 5 is going to be the death of me.

I'm at the Forest of No Return at this point, and things are simultaneously going really smoothly and really badly.  On the one hand, equipment is unreasonably good.  I made a Wind Cloak, which is astonishingly low level for the stats it provides, and now we're all basically immune to damage.  Even bosses are dealing maybe a couple hundred.  I managed to forge excellent twin swords as well, which covers Alice and Hina perfectly, and a Spiked Hammer that makes Beatrice somehow even stronger than I am without an elemental affinity.  I haven't been able to upgrade Elsja's punching gloves, but we'll get to that.

Town friendship is going well, if a bit slow.  Everyone except for Ludmila is level 5 friendship, and Heinz recently had salted rainbow trout as part of his rotating stock, so I bought several to give Ludmila over the next few days to speed that process up.  My wife pushed past my progress, so I know full well another character drops in the town if I do the forest and subsequent section, ruining this progress.  I'm on hold until then.

Which means it's time for sidequests!  Part of it is building up crop levels, which is going okay.  Spinach is level 9 and Kumo has a quest for level 10, so provided my sickle can get to 10, we're in business.  I am less than optimistic, however.  The bigger issue is the other side quests, which are steadily killing me to death.

One is making a gigantic vegetable.  I don't know if Spinach isn't able to become giant, or if I'm doing something wrong, but the Gigantizer isn't working.  Priscilla tells you "when they mature," which I thought meant before fully grown, but that wasn't it.  I tried again with fully grown spinach, but that didn't work either.  So I'm kinda stumped on how to pull this off.  I guess I could try with the corn?  I legitimately don't know what to do with it.

Then there's the tree seeds.  Ryker mentioned wanting oranges, and after like three weeks of having no idea how to find oranges, I cracked and looked it up.  Turns out, there are two completely hidden locations where you can randomly find seeds for apples, oranges, grapes, and general lumber with twinkle trees.  I have found zero orange seeds.  It's been over a week.  I have so many twinkle trees and grapes, but zero oranges.  I need to find these soon, none of the trees do well in winter and Ryker wants goddamned 20 oranges, I don't think I have that kind of time.

Around all this, there's supposed to be a looming typhoon.  My wife told me hers hit in summer, and I'm bracing for that one.  I tend to skip a lot of introductory dialogue since it's repetitive, but I think I skipped Hina mentioning her mom sensing the typhoon coming in, because everyone else was also talking about a big storm...but the next day was a festival so it was super sunny and nice, and now nothing is happening, and I'm wondering if the holiday negated the typhoon and I spent over 200k on Wettable Powder for nothing.

But the grand supreme champion of frustration...is Palmo.  Upgrading shops is wildly expensive.  Not by actual cost, mind you.  In sheer money dollars, I have so much raw cash I could buy every upgrade twice over.  Not even with Seed points, although those are rarer.  With the newest badges, I can farm Seed points whenever I wish, and it's honestly not too much trouble.  No, I'm talking about lumber and stone costs.  The first upgrades were sane.  The second were pricey, but could be achieved.  3000 lumber is downright ludicrous.  Those Twinkle Trees better be packing lumber on the order of 500+ if this is to be in any way achievable.  I've heard Heinz' rotating stock can carry it, but at 500 gold per piece, we're looking at 1.5 million gold per upgrade, for something to the order of 9 million for all upgrades.  This is assuming you can even hold that much on your person in a day, given his rotating stock only opens around 3, and he closes shop at 6.  Just by volume that feels like a multi-day project.  It's outlandish.

I know a lot of this probably isn't required, and I'm reaching the point I very well may consider it optional and move on with my life.  The postgame is also in question.  I don't have any true opposition, but at present there are just too many factors hindering my general progress that I can't even think about that right now.  Between lack of oranges, lack of any substantial progress toward renovating the town, and inability to move forward on story until we get Ludmila to friendship rank 5, I'm kinda souring on the game a bit.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

I really wanna draw something, but i'm not feeling very inspired right now. Can you give me an art prompt, Frank?

Of course!

Get a sheet of paper and a pencil. Draw a lightning bolt with a face in it. Then erase the face and draw an eye in the lightning bolt, then draw a face in the eye, etc.

Take a very short piece of paper, like a post-it. Write a word, any word, on it. Go to another piece of paper, any size, any shape, and write the same word several times on it. Layer the two papers together. You will get a word legible only in the shadow it casts.

Make a "hand" of paper. It should resemble a long tube, with your palm and fingers extending the length of the paper. Use a single sheet of paper. Fold the sheet lengthwise, so that you have two long edges and two shorter edges. Create a crease running the length of the paper. The shorter edges are now the corners of your hand. Bend a point on the paper near the crease so that it forms a "ring finger" while maintaining the crease. Bend the hand into a "palm," then bring the fingers in so that the longer edges create fingertips. Get a pencil and "write" on the hand with it. The resulting word(s) will usually be incomprehensible words, even sentences

Imagine some sort of fantastical high-speed camera. Your mind can take a "picture" by imagining such a camera. You must first imagine the camera in a position where the view is empty of content. Next, imagine the camera rapidly and abruptly panning around to reveal a scene. Your mind should feel like it's inside the camera, and your "scene" should appear before you as though you're taking a picture

Take a glass and fill it with water. Then fill another glass with the water in the first glass. As you pour, the glasses will gradually become more full, and the water will overflow into your hand. However, the water overflowing will be completely dry and un-wettable. You are trying to get water into a separate glass, but your hands will not become wet at all. If you want to feel some liquid, you can try to get water from your first glass into a glass shaped like a human body

Imagine an octopus taking a walk. Think of the tentacles of the octopus as the legs of a person. Watch how the legs move in order to get the body to move in the right direction. Imagine yourself as the octopus. Try to move your octopus legs in a direction

Now, imagine your body as a human skull, complete with neck, chest, head, and cranium. Start imagining at the nape of your neck and work your way down to the tip of your fingers. Imagine your skeleton as an actual skeleton

Now, imagine your body as a crow's skeleton. Again, work your way down to the tip of your fingers

Imagine a ring of light around your head. Make it very bright. Make it shine all around your head. Make it so bright that your vision becomes white. Now, slowly, in your mind's eye, begin moving the ring in a circle around your head, like a diving helmet. Continue moving it as though it's floating around your head. The ring of light should be very close to your skull. It should

[randomszzz]

Non-exhaustive list of games I’ve played trying to recover from The World Ends With You Obsession

((Play harvestella))

Rune Factory 5: I don’t love Rune factory 4 quite as much as okami or twewy, but it’s definitely one of the closest games, and I was over the moon when rf5 was announced.  But running around the coziness of rf4s, it did seem unlikely that rf5 could equal that, and reviews panning its performance also put a damper on my expectations.  I still found some enjoyment in rf5, but rf4 ran circles around it.  Biggest offenses for me: talking to everyone in the village both takes longer (so many loading screens, being 3d is so not worth this) and less rewarding than rf4 (It felt like  an entire year before villagers start recycling dialogue in rf4; it’s one of its greatest strengths.  Rf5 characters are repeating themselves within a week.).  Actually, that kinda encapsulates a lot of rf5′s problems, longer for less, with excessively long days and low drop rates.  The post game dungeon was also far shorter than I was expecting and supremely disappointing.  My biggest gripe, however, was locking the flower seller to close to the end of the game.  The last character you unlock in rf4 upgrades spells, something totally optionally and easily (and frequently) ignored.  But no flower seeds? abs - ol -ut -ly CRIMININAL.  That means heavily gimped chemistry; and no non rng sources of wettable powder.  I wanted to take my time with the game, do a bunch of farming and social elements, not just rush through main story.  And like, I did, but it left me completely at the mercy of typhoons.  Even dragging my feet as much as I did, I still beat the story before completing a single year, and that always rubbed me the wrong way.  It was over 70 hrs so I can’t really complain it’s too short, but, blegh.  Other minor annoyances: the festival music became intolerably grating after hearing it for the first 5 hours, cute sea horse bosses I so looked forward to taming are untameable, the travesty.  I do really hope its just the kinks of coming back to the series after so long and working with 3d and future rf games are a step up. 

Harvestella PLAY THIS GAME PLAY THIS GAME IT HAS UNICORN OF THE CRYPTIDS WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?!?!  Ahem.  I really had a tough time gauging this game.  Saw in the nintendo direct, went sold, this looks awesome gimme.  I didn’t play the demo, as I didn’t want to start playing and then have to wait a couple months to play the rest, but asked my sister her thoughts about it.  She really wasn’t enthusiastic, but she’s less keen on rune factory than I am, it’s fine.  Reviews came out and were thoroughly middling so mmm, maybe it’s not exactly awesome.  But being better than rf5 - or even just as good - isn’t a high bar so I’m looking forward to it.  I started playing it, and I have plenty of gripes - but I also really couldn’t stop playing.  It’s certainly a different rhythm than rf, pretty much all interaction with villagers is exclusively done through quests and there’s not much point in talking to anyone outside of those.  However, said quests are also pretty good, and you wouldn’t want to talk to everyone every day, you could spend all day running to various npcs and probably not reach all of them in one day.  I do really miss rf’s skill and crafting system (harvestella has crafting but outside of accessory synthesis it has 0 customization) and monster catching.  At first it was charming for the sos throwback ‘just buy (not) cows and (not) chickens, but I definitely miss having more things to look forward to.  And once Harvestella’s quests are completed, there’s not much point in continuing to play.  I didn’t much care about the lack of festivals when I started Harvestella, but now on the other side it’s what I think it needs most.  Common complaints about harvestella are the lack of voice acting and extremely limited character creation options but really that’s not where I’d put extra resources too.   Anyways, the music and world in this game are just breathtaking; I’ve been totally immersed since christmas. Totaku and unicorn’s designs are A++++.  I was worried it would be a fairly short affair, and predictably I dragged my feet going through it, savoring every second of that world, but it turned out to be a much more substantial world than I expected.  The ending stretch of the game continued to confound my gaugings, the story by turns being disappointing “I wish you thought through this more” and exciting, I downright wanted to dance in the actually-last dungeon.  Game’s a total treasure, especially if you enjoy melancholy vibes. 

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Did I play MHS 1? No.  Have I played any MH? No.  But I played the demo for this and rise.  Rise was entertaining, but not enough to part with scarce cash for.  I put close to ten hours on the demo for this game though, clearly they were doing something right.  That ‘something’ is not the story, despite the title.  Even trying my best to indulge it, there’s just no getting invested in ‘the power of kinship!’ they keep trying to push, and they really don’t do enough to develop a relationship with ratha.  I suppose they did sidestep a couple eye-rolling cliches I was anticipating (others still abound though), and there is occasional charm.  I understand the minimalist approach to music, but it really would’ve been nice to have some music for the however many, many, many hours spent hunting for rare eggs postgame.  ‘I probably missed something by not playing pokemon’ is the sort of revelation this game brought me.  Lackluster story and nonexistant bgm?  Who cares, there’s cool monsters to find and battle and catch and customize, I was flat out addicted for a month.  Sadly I tried the demo for the first game on the 3ds, and already having a familiarity with the mh bestiary did suck a lot of the novelty and joy from the experience.  Um, pokemon recommendations that go hard on presentation and customization? 

Radiant Historia Is there a better ds game than twewy?  I’m honestly hard pressed to think of any genuine competitors, and consulting the internet this game came up a lot.  Radiant Historia is really good.  Of the games I’ve played since neo, it has the best cast.  There was one chapter midgame that had me on the edge of my seat, and I was thinking, oh, if it just keeps escalating from here it really will be special!! but things kinda just evened out after that.  I went back and forth on my feelings about the villain, at first being disappointed at the reveal but by the time the credits rolled I think it worked out pretty well.  I played the 3ds remaster, the voice acting was excellent, and while I get why some preferred the old portraits, overall I think new ones are better - except for Eruca oh my god why did you do that to her character design?!?! Criminal!  I did get kind of stuck, however, polishing everything off for the true ending.  After spending hours without looking anything up online, I’m pretty loathe to give in and do it now.  But replaying chapter after chapter looking for the needle in the haystack I’m missing has lost its luster.  A hearty f u to aht’s dancing companion.  Presumably with enough work I could give everyone a happy ending, so I’ll just presume a happier ending.  One day maybe I’ll be more patient. 

Ni no Kuni I said radiant historia had the better cast, but also, ester and oliver are my precious children.  The single best thing about ni no kuni is the wizard’s companion.  It’s beautiful and informative!  I love how easy it is to keep track and find things in the game *cough cough cough*.  It also scratches the cool monsters! itch.  By far the worst thing about ni no kuni is that it had a stealth section. Why?  Who thought that was a good idea?  Who even thinks those are fun?  banging my head against a wall.  A slightly negative thing about it is that I really would prefer if it was just flat out turn based instead of realtime.  Give me full control of my companions, please. I will say I, uh, wildly misjudged drippy.  My deepest apologies. 

Final Fantasy Type 0 I like ensemble casts, okay?  At first my curiousity was such that I was just going to watch a playthrough, but it’s opening was strong enough that I actually wanted to play it myself.  So I did.  It has a strong beginning and a stronger ending.  The middle, however, is a great big yawn.  That last chapter though.  If only the entire game was like that.  Idk, this game has a lot of flaws but I like the underlying concepts.  It probably says something that while I was willing to play many hours of radiant historia postgame, I just rushed online to find the type 0 lore and missing bits rather than slogging through any of it again.  Though I do kinda want to bounce around some of its later dungeons... but I have to play through so much bleh to get anywhere. 

Persona Strikers I haven’t actually finished the game yet - haven’t touched it since playing harvestella - and maybe wouldn’t even bother mentioning but I wanna complain.  The stupid ferris wheel event, they were like ‘hey you can hang out with ryuji and yusuke’ and I was like, cool, not something so date coded yaaaay.  Only for ryuji and morgana to bemoan ‘oh this could’ve been a romantic date wow lame’.  It really soured me.  At least yusuke tried to enjoy himself.  It’s not a bad diversion otherwise, although the difficulty is a bit wonky.  Some early game game bosses/events stumped me for hour(s), but after a bit more familiarity it evened out, only for me to gain such an overflow of healing/sp items nothing’s really a threat anymore.

Ori and the blind forest I still don’t know what a blind forest is :(  Still really enjoyed this, although it’s also more difficult in the beginning than end type of game.  Just the design and presentation of this is whole vibe, and one of these days I’ll play will o wisps... one of these days...

13 sentinels People seemed to think highly of this game, my curiosity was piqued, I started to watch a playthrough but really blanched at the one-by-one approach.  Poking around I saw the game had a fair degree of flexibility in following the various stories, plus its own encyclopedia, and yeah this was a game where I needed to be in control.  Besides, playthoughs are frequently watched at 1.5 or 2x speed and this was just too dense to really process like that.  Props to them for making a game’s story really be better as a game.  I was going to say ‘a vn you should play instead of just watch’ but the combat was waaay more fun than I anticipated and perfect palette cleanser/break from the story segments.  Still, I did wind up feeling a bit cold on the story/characters.  It’s impressive it manages so many elements in a cohesive manner, but that’s the best I can say.  Mystery’s fun, but nothing never seen before.  Characters range from ‘meh’ to ‘rather likeable’ but the game’s insistence everyone needs a love interest weighed it down.  Megumi at least had interesting dynamics despite not really being a ‘likeable’ character and the end of her story is probably what I’ll remember the most.  Nenji, Usami, and Keitarou were all pretty enjoyable though.  I did appreciate how the game wound up dealing with its larger conflict and antagonistic forces.  Something about how everyone gets a happy ending I found really refreshing.

There are others too but hmm I’ve slid into playing neo from the start for a third time.  trying to do a run without eating and crying a little on the inside.  Twewy tells me to expand my world and try different things but it hasn’t actually brought me relief.  Woe is me.  At least harvestella has delectable vibes.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Investigating arc erosion performance of Ag-Ta₂AlC, a new electrical contact material

Relays are extensively utilized in accelerators, satellites, rockets, and various advanced technology sectors. They play crucial roles in signal transmission, long-distance control implementation, and protection circuits, directly impacting the safety of aerospace and defense equipment systems. The selection of electrical contact material in a relay is crucial for its performance. Arc discharge, characterized by high temperature, heat, and energy, is a common occurrence during operation. Consequently, the arc erodes the electric contact material, causing craters, spattered particles, compositional changes, and a decrease in performance. Traditionally used silver-based electrical contact material, such as AgCdO and AgSnO2, suffer from chromium toxicity or poor wettability and severe temperature rise. Therefore, it is necessary to find a new reinforcement phase material to replace CdO and SnO2 materials.

Read more.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

How can I make super long bridges viable and as the main standard transportation connecting island to island or island to large landmass. The longer bridges, between 2000-4000km are for bullet trains only rather than vehicles. There would be hundreds of bridges longer than what is in real life between 200-999km. What kind of impact to sea life would there be?

Tex: As a quick overview, here’s a Wikipedia article with a subsection on the types of bridges here. It does detail out some of the strengths and flaws of the various bridge types, as well as some of the factors involved in the decision-making of which type is best suited to which environment.

As architectural engineers (Wikipedia), structural engineers (Wikipedia), and to a lesser degree mechanical (Wikipedia) and electrical engineers (Wikipedia) are the primary professionals for the subject, it would be pertinent to look at how they view the design and creation of structures such as bridges for the goals that the bridges are supposed to fulfill.

One of the main purposes of bridges is to allow people and goods to be transported across otherwise untraversable terrain, such as bodies of water or other rifts in the earth. In order to accomplish this, engineers have usually attempted to find the smallest gap to contend with, in order to preserve resources and minimize the risk of failure.

For the context of your world, this would mean finding the points between each landmass that are the shortest, and also which have the shallowest depths of water. Construction of stabilizing pylons in water would add stability to your structures, particularly if you’re wanting to build it to host automated transportation that achieves significant velocities - making sure the bridge doesn’t shake itself apart with the speed at which a bullet train goes is important, for example.

Anything in water will disrupt its fluid dynamics (Wikipedia). The more structures are composed within it, the more disruptions there will be. Depending on the type of species already residing in the areas under construction, such fluidity and inherent movement of the water being disrupted will affect a given species’ movement, reproduction, and general life cycle.

The type of material - and whether and what would leach into the environment - is something that should also be under consideration. Concrete, while currently an immensely popular building material, is prone to leaching in water (Setunge et al., Neumann Junior et al.), pollutive (Guardian, Wikipedia, BBC), and costly (Euronews, Stanford University, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

At our current knowledge of construction and materials engineering, bridges are somewhat of an ecological disaster compared to leaving the environment alone. The more technology you wish to add - such as automated transportation of any degree - the more pollution and other disruptions you introduce to the environment. For an environment that is composed of multiple islands in relatively close quarters, this has the potential to drastically reshape the land by altering water currents and the corresponding erosion of land. If coastal-preserving vegetation were to be removed, that would add an additional factor of erosion and ecological alteration to the situation.

TL;DR - It depends. The more you interact with an environment, the more you change it. How you interact with the environment will dictate how the environment is changed.

Further Reading

Hydrology - Wikipedia

PDF Sun R, Wang D, Wang Y, Zhang L, Gu Y. Durability and Improvement of Cement-Based Revetment Materials Serving in Subtidal, Intertidal, and Supratidal Environments. Materials. 2022; 15(9):3210. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093210

Xiang, T., Liu, J., Lv, Z., Wei, F., Liu, Q., Zhang, Y., ... & Chen, D. (2021). The effect of silicon-based waterproof agent on the wettability of superhydrophobic concrete and enhanced corrosion resistance. Construction and Building Materials, 313, 125482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125482

[subbalakshmisastry]

Awesome Snake Bird / Oriental Darter @ Kukkarahalli Lake/ Kere Mysore

[4denthusiast]

Yes, there is. Superfluids are very weird and I would not be able to give a very good non-technical explanation (nor a proper technical one for that matter since I don't remember the details well), but the main weird thing about them is that they kind of act like they have no viscosity, sometimes. They're a lot like superconductors, but superconductors are themselves confusing so that may not help. They do still have a surface tension, although I think the surface tension of helium (the only one I know of) is rather small.

Both surface tension and viscosity contribute to preventing microscopically thin puddles. Surface tension because it makes it energetically unfavourable for the liquid to spread out so a less spread out state is more stable, and viscosity because it slows down the process of spreading out.

Surface tension alone doesn't always prevent thin puddles though. It is a property of the interface between two substances, which includes both the liquid/gas interface, the liquid/solid interface, and the solid/gas interface. If the solid/liquid plus liquid/gas surface tensions are lower than the solid/gas surface tension, it becomes favourable for a thin layer of liquid to come between the solid and the gas, because that lowers the total energy. In such cases, the surface is wettable, and the liquid will not bead up on the surface at all.

Normally if you spill water on a water-wettable surface, viscosity limits its spread because viscous forces are very strong in such thin films. If however the liquid is a superfluid and the surface is wettable by it, then it does apread out molecularly thinly, because neither surface tension nor viscosity is preventing it. Actually in this case, surface tension is positively driving the liquid to cover the surface.

Writing this makes me realise there's a far less deadly way to achieve a 2μm deep puddle of water on your floor than my initial suggestion. You just need to have a wettable floor, a lot of patience, and fine enough humidity control to stop the water from evaporating. I'm not totally sure the timescales actually line up right for the water to spread out without evaporating even with perfect humidity control though. It seems like it'd be a pain to calculate. An easier way would be to just have the water condense onto the wettable floor from the air, which would give a thin even coating directly.

What if water didn't have surface tension and whenever you spilled some, the whole floor of your entire apartment was covered in a 2 micrometer deep puddle

[mecaweldtechnologyllc]

Understanding Slag Inclusion in Welding: A Comprehensive Guide for Professionals

Welding is a critical process in various industries, from construction to aerospace. However, it is not without its challenges. One of the most common defects encountered by welders is slag inclusion. This guide aims to provide professionals with a detailed understanding of slag inclusion, its causes, prevention methods, and the importance of addressing this issue effectively.

What is Slag Inclusion?

Slag inclusion refers to the presence of non-metallic materials—by-products of the welding process—trapped within the weld metal. These inclusions can appear as spherical or needle-shaped particles and may vary in size from a few micrometers to several millimeters. They can be found on the surface of the weld or embedded within it, leading to significant performance issues in the welded joint123.The presence of slag inclusions can compromise the integrity of the weld, reducing its strength and durability. Over time, this can lead to cracks, corrosion, and ultimately failure of the welded structure4. For companies like Mecaweld Technology LLC, ensuring high-quality welds free from defects like slag inclusion is paramount for maintaining safety and reliability in their products.

Causes of Slag Inclusion

Understanding the causes of slag inclusion is crucial for preventing it during the welding process. The main factors contributing to this defect include:

Inadequate Cleaning: Failure to remove slag from previous passes can lead to inclusions in subsequent layers. Proper cleaning between passes is essential23.

Improper Welding Parameters: Low welding current or speed can prevent slag from rising to the surface, causing it to become trapped in the weld pool13.

Welding Technique: Incorrect electrode angle and travel speed can influence slag behavior. For instance, a steep electrode angle may cause slag to fall back into the weld pool instead of rising34.

Cooling Rate: Rapid cooling of the weld pool can solidify slag before it has a chance to escape, leading to entrapment14.

Prevention Strategies

To mitigate the risk of slag inclusion, professionals should adopt several best practices:

Thorough Cleaning: Ensure that all slag from previous welds is completely removed before starting a new pass. This includes using appropriate tools such as wire brushes or chipping hammers23.

Optimize Welding Parameters:

Adjust amperage settings to ensure adequate heat for melting and allowing slag to rise.

Control welding speed to prevent mixing of slag with the molten metal34.

Proper Technique: Maintain an optimal electrode angle (typically between 0-10 degrees) and ensure consistent travel speed during welding. This helps control slag movement effectively.

Monitor Cooling Rates: Implement techniques that slow down the cooling process of the weld pool, which can help prevent premature solidification of slag inclusions.

Use Quality Fluxes: Select fluxes that promote good wettability and surface tension characteristics. High-quality fluxes help ensure that slag rises efficiently and does not become entrapped34.

Detection and Repair

Identifying slag inclusions early is vital for maintaining weld quality. Common methods for detecting these defects include:

Visual Inspection: Surface inspections can reveal visible signs of slag inclusions.

Radiographic Testing (RT): This method allows for internal inspection, where inclusions may appear as dark lines on radiographs2.

If slag inclusion is detected, repair methods typically involve grinding out the defective area and re-welding it properly. This ensures that any trapped slag is removed and does not compromise the integrity of the joint

Conclusion

Slag inclusion is a prevalent issue in welding that can significantly affect the quality and performance of welded joints. By understanding its causes and implementing effective prevention strategies, professionals can minimize its occurrence. Companies like Mecaweld Technology LLC must prioritize rigorous cleaning practices, optimal welding parameters, and proper techniques to ensure high-quality welds.In summary, addressing slag inclusion not only enhances the durability and reliability of welded structures but also contributes to overall safety within various industries. By staying informed about best practices and continuously improving techniques, welders can achieve superior results while minimizing defects like slag inclusion.By following this comprehensive guide, professionals in welding can enhance their skills and contribute to producing high-quality work that meets industry standards and client expectations.