APOD: An Extraordinary Spiral from LL Pegasi (2010 Sep 14)

[rstevenson]

You do realize, of course, that this is grounds for Ann to commit us all to an asylum.

As long as the prescribed mood altering substances are Mellow Yellow, I'm down with that.

Rob

[bystander]

As long as the prescribed mood altering substances are Mellow Yellow, I'm down with that.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[flash]

This spiral appears remarkably similar to the spiral waves that result from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction.
http://www.chem.leeds.ac.uk/chaos/pic_gal.html
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEF_NtTN ... re=related[/youtube]
And also very similar to the spiral produced by an out-of-control russion rocket over Norway in November 2009:
http://www.news.com.au/world/mysterious ... 5809298672

[owlice]

Thank you, Rob and bystander, for that journey down memory lane, with a detour to Wikipedia, which lets us all know that "Donovan and Linda have two children together, Astrella Celeste and Oriole Nebula."

if I wake up tomorrow morning with this song in my head......

[neufer]

This spiral appears remarkably similar to the spiral waves that result from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction.
http://www.chem.leeds.ac.uk/chaos/pic_gal.html

<<A Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, or BZ reaction, is one of a class of reactions that serve as a classical example of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, resulting in the establishment of a nonlinear chemical oscillator. The only common element in these oscillating systems is the inclusion of bromine and an acid. These reactions are far from equilibrium and remain so for a significant length of time. An essential aspect of the BZ reaction is its so called "excitability" — under the influence of stimuli, patterns develop in what would otherwise be a perfectly quiescent medium.

The discovery of the phenomenon is credited to Boris Belousov. He noted, sometime in the 1950s that in a mix of potassium bromate, cerium(IV) sulfate, propanedioic acid and citric acid in dilute sulfuric acid, the ratio of concentration of the cerium(IV) and cerium(III) ions oscillated, causing the colour of the solution to oscillate between a yellow solution and a colorless solution. This is due to the cerium(IV) ions being reduced by propanedioic acid to cerium(III) ions, which are then oxidized back to cerium(IV) ions by bromate(V) ions.

Belousov made two attempts to publish his finding, but was rejected on the grounds that he could not explain his results to the satisfaction of the editors of the journals to which he submitted his results. His work was finally published in a less respectable, non-reviewed journal.>>

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Ann]

From an interesting write up about Van Gogh's work...

It is possible that digitalis-induced xanthopsia was making van Gogh perceive the world with a yellow tint. The predominance of colored halos around light sources in various works, such as The Starry Night, may also be attributable to the effects of digitalis.

Rob

You do realize, of course, that this is grounds for Ann to commit us all to an asylum.

Seeing the world through a yellow tint... Nurse Ann is about to commit naughty yellow-spotting boy to an asylum!



Ann

[Ann]

But neufer, I may let you out early for showing me the extraordinary similarity between Lord Rosse's drawing of M51 from 1845 and van Gogh's painting Starry Night from 1889! Surely that qualifies as good behaviour!

Ann

[Beyond]

Nurse Ann, i had to right click your little image because all i could see was a red x and the word image, so under properties i found that you posted a cuckoo picture. Art'nt most cuckoo's yellow Then that would mean that you are saying that Art is just a run-of-the-mill cuckoo that is no different than the rest of us I do find that very hard to believe That He is no more cuckoo than the rest of us, that is

[Ann]

Nurse Ann, i had to right click your little image because all i could see was a red x and the word image, so under properties i found that you posted a cuckoo picture. Art'nt most cuckoo's yellow Then that would mean that you are saying that Art is just a run-of-the-mill cuckoo that is no different than the rest of us I do find that very hard to believe That He is no more cuckoo than the rest of us, that is

Not nice! I post cuckoo picture, someone removes cuckoo picture. I should commit remover of cuckoo picture to asylum! And myself too for posting it!

Ann

[owlice]

This spiral appears remarkably similar to the spiral waves that result from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction.

Except that it appears the BZ reaction doesn't produce a spiral, but rather concentric circles; at least, that's what both videos here show.

[neufer]

This spiral appears remarkably similar to the spiral waves that result from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction.

Except that it appears the BZ reaction doesn't produce a spiral, but rather concentric circles; at least, that's what both videos here show.

You are getting BZ, Owlice... BBBZZZZZ...

Computer simulation of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction occurring in a Petri dish.

<<There are a number of BZ cocktails available in the chemical literature and on the web. Ferroin, a complex of phenanthroline and iron is a common indicator. These reactions, if carried out in petri dishes, result in the formation first of colored spots. These spots grow into a series of expanding concentric rings or perhaps expanding spirals similar to the patterns generated by a cyclic cellular automaton. The colors disappear if the dishes are shaken, and then reappear. The waves continue until the reagents are consumed. The reaction can also be performed in a beaker using a magnetic stirrer.>>

[neufer]

But neufer, I may let you out early for showing me the extraordinary similarity between Lord Rosse's drawing
of M51 from 1845 and van Gogh's painting Starry Night from 1889! Surely that qualifies as good behaviour!

That's very Maleficent munificent of you, Nurse Ann.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHQOmSWZ ... re=related[/youtube]

[Ann]

Wow! I never thought that witch would get to speak Swedish.

I really liked the two versions of Latin Spanish. The first one sounded like the witch was stark raving mad and, you know, M-A-D! Like this! Note the spiral eye!

Click to view full size image

The second Latin Spanish version sounded like the witch was sweet and mild, although admittedly somewhat, uh, how do I put it? Slightly unbalanced? Mad in a softer way? Somewhat like this?

Click to view full size image

(Not that this isn't a very handsome person, with a winning smile and philosophical, non-spiral eyes... I'm just saying... You know what I'm saying? I liked the witch's spiral, except when she un-spiralled it and flung it away! So what else was I going to say? That softly smiling guy... he's really handsome...nice eyebrows... nose...and smile... ehrrrhmm...tiptoes out...)

Ann

[flash]

owlice wrote:
Except that it appears the BZ reaction doesn't produce a spiral, but rather concentric circles; at least, that's what both videos here show.

see: http://www.chem.leeds.ac.uk/chaos/pic_gal.html
Apparently if the reaction is disturbed, the behavior of the expanding waves is changed.

[owlice]

flash, thanks for that page; very interesting, and why didn't any of my chemistry classes include this reaction in a lab? How annoying is that?!

It looks as though the spiral reactions are happening not in liquid, but in some other (firmer) medium. (Of course, I could be wrong about that; just took a quick look at the link.) When I get time, this is something I will have to investigate further. Thanks for the links/video!

[neufer]

Wow! I never thought that witch would get to speak Swedish.

Unlike Vally Valrus, vitchs don't usually speak Svedish.

(Note: I am trying to be as informative as possible by teaching folks
__ how to pronounce common useful phrases in other languages.)

I really liked the two versions of Latin Spanish. The first one sounded like the witch was stark raving mad and, you know, M-A-D! Like this! Note the spiral eye! The second Latin Spanish version sounded like the witch was sweet and mild, although admittedly somewhat, uh, how do I put it? Slightly unbalanced? Mad in a softer way?

"Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide." - John Dryden

"We work n the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have.
Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of Art." - Henry James

"There is no great genius without some touch of madness." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"There was never a genius without a tincture of madness." - Aristotle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I should point out here that, before the lobotomy, I was considered quite the genius. - Art
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Psychiatric Times. Vol. XXII No. 7

Are Genius and Madness Related? Contemporary Answers to an Ancient Question
By Dean Keith Simonton, Ph.D. | May 31, 2005

Ever since antiquity, thinkers have associated creativity with psychopathology--the classic idea of the "mad genius." By looking at historiometric, psychiatric and psychometric research one can conclude that exceptional creativity is often linked with certain symptoms of psychopathology. Nevertheless, this relationship is not equivalent to the claim that creative individuals necessarily suffer from psychopathology.

The idea that creativity and psychopathology are somehow linked goes way back to antiquity--to the time of Aristotle. Centuries later, this belief was developed and expanded by various psychiatrists, psychoanalysts and psychologists. For instance, Cesare Lombroso, M.D., argued toward the end of the 19th century that genius and madness were closely connected manifestations of an underlying degenerative neurological disorder. To be sure, this idea has not gone without challenge. On the contrary, humanistic psychologists were inclined to associate creativity with mental health. Nevertheless, the prevailing view appears to be that psychopathology and creativity are positively associated.

So take that, Nurse Ann!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Books have led some to learning and others to madness." - Petrarch

"But mathematics is the sister, as well as the servant, of the arts and is touched by the same madness and genius." - Marston Morse

"Everybody's a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We're all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fend off madness and chaos." - David Cronenberg

"A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle." - Jonathan Swift

"Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." - Allen Ginsberg

"I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people." - Isaac Newton

"I think we all have madness in us, it's just that I've realized mine and found a way to let it out." - John Glover

"Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness." - Blaise Pascal

"No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness." - Aristotle

"Nothing is so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it to be expecting evil before it comes." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"On the steps is a machine-gun ready for action. The square is empty; only the streets that lead into it are jammed with people. It would be madness to go farther - the machine-gun is covering the square." - Erich Maria Remarque

"Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason." - Andre Gide

"Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting." - John Russell

"Sanity is madness put to good use." - George Santayana

"Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of the intelligence." - Edgar Allan Poe

"So reports of my madness, as they say, were greatly exaggerated. Not that I give a bugger either way." - David Icke

"The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness." - Christopher Morley

"The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes." - Andre Gide

"The world has always gone through periods of madness so as to advance a bit on the road to reason." - Hermann Broch

"Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be." - Miguel de Cervantes

"True, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness." - Petrarch

"We derive our vitality from our store of madness." - Emile M. Cioran

"What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance." - Theodore Roethke

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation." - Graham Greene

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." - Robin Williams

[Ann]

(knocked over by barrage of arguments in favor of madness)


(gives up)

Ann

[Devil Particle]

This has to be one of the most interesting things I've seen on this site. A close second maybe only to Hanny's Voorwerp. Dark, symmetrical and mysterious; maybe the dark matter in the universe is comprised in part of objects similar to this one? If there are more objects like this out there, I imagine they are difficult to detect.

[dphab]

I was only joking about the Russian rocket, but seriously, take a look at the similarity of the two pictures.
Here is the link: http://www.news.com.au/world/mysterious ... 5809298672

The physics behind the two events must be related.

[neufer]

I was only joking about the Russian rocket, but seriously, take a look at the similarity of the two pictures.
Here is the link: http://www.news.com.au/world/mysterious ... 5809298672

The physics behind the two events must be related.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Beyond]

Click to view full size image

Ann

Here's the Van Gogh done in dominos. No messy paint to deal with!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GWI0A9o ... =endscreen