11–20 of 36 posts
What's the deal with frozen chicken tests? Don't some other objects, like tennis balls, work just the same but are a smaller hassle logistically?
"The story of their collaboration—including Jobs’ attempt to lecture Weeks on the principles of glass and his insistence that such a feat could be accomplished—is well known." It's not well known to everyone. This is the first I've heard of this, and a quick search didn't turn up anything beyond the details in this article. Excellent article otherwise!
The story was in Walter Issacson's biography of Jobs.
Corning CEO later called Apple's listed number, asked to speak to Steve Jobs, got a runaround, and secured a good response to Jobs' remarks next time they had a meeting.
"Scientists were soon hurling fortified tumblers off their nine-story facility and bombarding the glass, known internally as 0317, with frozen chickens." What's the deal with frozen chicken tests? Don't some other objects, like tennis balls, work just the same but are a smaller hassle logistically?
"The story of their collaboration—including Jobs’ attempt to lecture Weeks on the principles of glass and his insistence that such a feat could be accomplished—is well known." It's not well known to everyone. This is the first I've heard of this, and a quick search didn't turn up anything beyond the details in this article. Excellent article otherwise!
From the Isaacson biography: Jobs described the type of glass Apple wanted for the iPhone, and Weeks told him that Corning had developed a chemical exchange process in the 1960s that led to what they dubbed “gorilla glass.” It was incredibly strong, but it had never found a market, so Corning quit making it. Jobs said he doubted it was good enough, and he started explaining to Weeks how glass was made. This amused We…
For some reason, on Chrome, the linked article is teeny (text is completely unreadable). Anyway - it's funny how some of the best discoveries are accidental. I don't know anything about Don Stookey, but I'm guessing this played a large part of his induction into the inventor's hall of fame. But he didn't really do anything, he didn't set out to make the next best glass, but he accidentally did. Usually hall of fames…
" he didn't really do anything" I think what you are missing out, is that this invention came about from hard work, lots of experiments, and recognizing what he had on his hands when he saw it: "Don Stookey knew he had botched the experiment. One day in 1952, the Corning Glass Works chemist placed a sample of photosensitive glass inside a furnace and set the temperature to 600 degrees Celsius. At some point during th…
"It was initially studied for use in hypertension and angina pectoris. The first clinical trials were conducted in Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Phase I clinical trials under the direction of Ian Osterloh suggested that the drug had little effect on angina, but that it could induce marked penile erections."
Had someone not been paying close attention, Viagra would have died at phase I.
"Scientists were soon hurling fortified tumblers off their nine-story facility and bombarding the glass, known internally as 0317, with frozen chickens." What's the deal with frozen chicken tests? Don't some other objects, like tennis balls, work just the same but are a smaller hassle logistically?
Chickens are used to test airplane windshields for bird impact resistance[1]; perhaps that's why. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_gun
"Scientists were soon hurling fortified tumblers off their nine-story facility and bombarding the glass, known internally as 0317, with frozen chickens." What's the deal with frozen chicken tests? Don't some other objects, like tennis balls, work just the same but are a smaller hassle logistically?
Chickens are used to test airplane windshields for bird impact resistance[1]; perhaps that's why. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_gun
"Thaw the chicken"
(Yeah I know: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blthaw.htm)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
" he didn't really do anything" I think what you are missing out, is that this invention came about from hard work, lots of experiments, and recognizing what he had on his hands when he saw it: "Don Stookey knew he had botched the experiment. One day in 1952, the Corning Glass Works chemist placed a sample of photosensitive glass inside a furnace and set the temperature to 600 degrees Celsius. At some point during th…
My favorite accidental discovery: "It was initially studied for use in hypertension and angina pectoris. The first clinical trials were conducted in Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Phase I clinical trials under the direction of Ian Osterloh suggested that the drug had little effect on angina, but that it could induce marked penile erections." Had someone not been paying close attention, Viagra would have died at phase…
This got me wondering... and Google turned up a hit from an 1855 (!) edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica [1], and a fascinating Wikipedia article about triboluminescence [2].
What a cool world we live in!
[1] http://books.google.com/books?id=92xBAAAAcAAJ&lpg=PA564&...