bigmouth_strikes's New Writeups

joule (thing)

2003-06-18T12:57:39Z

Joule (commonly pronounced "jew'l") is the SI unit for energy or work in all forms, and it is one of the derived SI units. It is also the unit for quantity of heat, where it replaces the calorie whenever possible. The symbol for joule is J and the unit is defined as

the work done when the point of application of 1 MKS (meter, kilogram, second) unit of force (newton) moves a distance of one metre in the direction of the force

It is worth pointing out that 1 J = 1 Nm - which follows directly by the above definition - and the educated reader will immediately notice that newton meter (Nm) is the SI unit for torque. Torque and energy are however two different physical phenomena, which is why joule should be used only for energy, and newton meter should only be used for torque.

Furthermore, since the unit newton also is a derived SI unit, we can write

1 J = 1 Nm = 1 m² kg/s…

Uranus (place)

2002-04-23T15:37:30Z

The planet Uranus is the seventh planet in our solar system, measured in distance from the sun. It is one of the gas giants in the outer parts of our solar system, residing at a mean distance of 2.87 · 10⁹ km, with a period of revolution of little over 84 years. Uranus was discovered by German/British astronomer Sir William Herschel in 1781. It was the first new planet discovered since Babylonian astronomy and it was later discovered that the planet had been observed and recorded as a star over 20 times before it was recognized as a planet. Herschel also discovered the planet's two largest moons, Titania and Oberon.

The planet's atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen, helium and methane. In the center of the planet, these gases and others probably exist together with minerals and metal particles. As the distance from the center grows, they become solid, then fluids and then gaseous. Because the methane in…

Donald Duck (thing)

2002-04-19T18:01:32Z

Who's got the sweetest disposition?
One guess, that's who?
Who'd never, ever start an argument?
Who never shows a bit of temperament?
Who's never wrong but always right?
Who'd never dream of starting a fight?
Who get stuck with all the bad luck?
No one but Donald Duck!

This was Donald Duck's signature melody which was frequently used to introduced his films in the first decades of his career.

zabaglione (thing)

2002-04-14T02:50:09Z

Zabaglione is an creamy and foamy Italian dessert. The word comes from the Neapolitan word zapillare, which means "to foam". It is not uncommon to see the French version sabayon, which can either mean the same as zabaglione, or it can refer to a champagne-based mousseline usually served to fish.

The basic ingredients in zabaglione are

egg yolks
sugar
wine

These are then whipped together while being heated a bit. The result is a an almost ridiculusly well-tasting fluffy dessert.

Zabaglione can be made from dry white wines such as Asti or champagne, sweet white wines such as Sauternes and Muscat, fortified wines such as madeira and marsala, port wine or even a mix of white wine and liqueur or spirits. As an added taste, one may add flavor through lemon, vanilla, cocoa etc.

Even though the ingredients are few, the preparation does require some effort. The egg yolks must not coagulate when they…

Pleiades (thing)

2002-04-03T18:22:54Z

Located in the constellation Taurus, the open star cluster Pleiades (M45) consists of over 500 stars, of which only six are visible to the bare eye, as mentioned earlier in this node. The Pleiades is probably the best visible and most easily recognized star cluster to the naked eye. In the night sky, the whole of Pleiades cover an area approximately four times that of a full moon, and they are at a distance of about 380 light years. Without a telescope, they can appear a bit dim and with a telescope one might see a blue-ish haze surrounding them, which is because they are still young and surrounded by the gas clouds that gave birth to them.

The stars are really a cluster, and not just an optical illusion of stars that happen to appear in the same area. It was discovered in mid 19th century that the stars have no apparent motion relative to each other, and therefore is really a real cluster of stars that were born together. Recent calculation show…

Beijing (place)

2002-04-03T16:51:59Z

Beijing, capital and second largest city (after Shanghai) of China, situated north of Yellow River (Huang He or Hwang Ho) in the north eastern part of the country. The name means "The Northern Capital", as opposed to Nanjing ("The Southern Capital") which used to be the southern capital. The city itself has a population of about 6.6 million, but recent urbanization in China has led to a population of over 11 million people in the greater Beijing area. Over 96% of the population is of the Han ethnic group, but all of China's over 50 ethnic groups are represented in Beijing. The greater Beijing area is its own administrative district, governed directly by the federal government, and it consists of ten districts and eight counties.

Several cities have been founded in the location of today's Beijing during the centuries, and it's been the capital for many of the Chinese dynasties at different times. The first written records of a city is from 350 B.…