Vacuum freezing air!

"What if...." is a great question for scientists to ask.

And I say a cracking – literally – example of this this week. If, like me, you've ever wondered what happen if you put liquid nitrogen in a vacuum then you will simply love the video below. Before you watch it, have a think about what you expect to happen in the video (ignore of this post).

Liquid nitrogen – cold and weird. Vacuum – empty and weird. Combining the two make a great recipe! And what makes this 'what if' question so great is the counter intuitive answer.

What are your 'what if' questions? Got any good videos to share? Tweet them to @Musings Pod.

Build your own window to another world

Our News in Briefs often get overlooked.

They are, well, brief. So I thought I'd expand on one of the stories from our latest episode. Chris told us all about a new type of camera lens, which can be made extremely quickly and cheaply from a polymer solution. Great news for anybody wanting to make a cheap microscope – for example health workers or vets out 'in the field'. 

But a microscope is more than just a lens, there are sample platforms, light sources and focussing dials. What use is making a cheap lens if no one can use it?

Some clever engineers from Stanford University might have just answered this question. And the answer is? Origami!

An origami microscope from engineers in Stanford University.
The paper, published in PLoS ONE, even contained this lovely origami planning sheet.

The authors claim that their origami microscope – called the 'Foldscope' – can be constructed in under 10 minutes, costs less than $1 in parts and can even survive being dropped from a three-storey building!

The designers see the main function of the microscope as being for engaging school children with the 'microworld' – imagine catching a glimpse of a hidden world from a microscope that you printed and built yourself!

The 'Do It Yourself' nature of this microscope reminded me of an experiment that Musings's very own Chris showed Dave and I after we recorded the last episode. Using only a laser pointer, Chris was able to cast a shadow of a drop of water, showing microscopic strands of hair (which might have been yeast colonies). We even saw something moving in the water drop. This was a single bacterium.

Here's a photo that Chris posted on Twitter. You can just about see a bacterium in the bottom left of the image. Cool huh?

Try it yourself. Pass a laser pointer through a drop of water to cast a shadow – you might be amazed by what you see! 

There's something very 'Through The Looking Glass'-ish about peering into the microscopic world that covers our planet, and this 'build it yourself' microscope, published in an open source journal, is an incredible way for scientists to share this world with everybody.

Forgetful mice and supernatural gloves

The plot from Total Recall (the Arnie version, of course) is one step closer to coming true, as a team of scientists appear to have been able to make mice forget past experiences. Dave tells us about these forgetful mice and what it all might mean for science, society and ... penalty shoot outs!

Meanwhile, Chris tells us all about materials inspired by the world around us - can we make materials superior to those found in nature? 

Check out these fantastic all-natural nano-structures!

Sharks appear to be covered with tiny, nano 'teeth'. In this episode of The Musings Pod, Chris explains how this helpes the animals save energy.

A gecko foot holds even more secrets when viewed with a bigger microscope...

.....tiny, sticking hairs.

Would you like to wear some clothing inspired by nature? Not impressed with our #supernaturalsuit suggestions? Well get involved and join the @musingspod discussion on Twitter.