The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XLI

[Arakhor]

So now I'm curious, what lyrics did everyone here learn for that song, if any? Is the song known much outside the US?

The first version goes back to my childhood. When we sang it as middle schoolers, we changed the ears to balls.

I remember "do your balls swing low", but I don't remember if there were any other words.

 

[Broken_Erika]

At what playback speed do you listen to (non music/graphic based) youtube videos?

I recently started using higher speeds, and 1.75 is the most common. If the lecturer is really old, 2 may work too. It saves time (a 2 hour lecture being reduced to 1 hour is certainly a gain).

What speed would make them sound like Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks?

 

[Cutlass]

Is asphalt always a liquid? Like there's no point at which it won't deform under pressure?

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Enough heat and pressure should return it to a liquid state, AFAIK. It's a semi-solid on roads as it is. I know that my driveway might just as well be made of Silly-Putty for all the rigidity the asphalt comprises.

 

[The_J]

You might want to compare that to water: Is it always a liquid?
Under the right circumstances it will change its form. As does asphalt.
(unless I'm missing some detail)

 

[Cutlass]

You might want to compare that to water: Is it always a liquid?
Under the right circumstances it will change its form. As does asphalt.
(unless I'm missing some detail)

Thing is that while it appears to be a solid under most circumstances, over extended time periods it never really entirely stops acting like a liquid. It will deform under pressure, over time, rather than crack.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'm thinking that the age of the asphalt matters. After enough time, the volatiles have all evaporated and it stays hard. Prior to that, the hot summer sun (or other heat source) acts on those volatiles and softens the surface enough to be noticed.

 

[The_J]

Thing is that while it appears to be a solid under most circumstances, over extended time periods it never really entirely stops acting like a liquid. It will deform under pressure, over time, rather than crack.

I wouldn't connect this to being a liquid, because I'm pretty sure there are other materials which do so as well, or at least similar things, e.g. rubber.

Ultimately, the state of a material is on the molecular level speed. If the molecules move fast, then it's gas, slower it becomes liquid, even slower solid (simplified). I guess you can have weird situations on the boundaries between these states.

 

[thetrooper]

Keywords here are oxidative age hardening.

 

[Birdjaguar]

oxidative age hardening

Long version: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec140.pdf

 

[Kyriakos]

Does anyone know of decent (free or otherwise; free is preferable but it can be non-free) math programs to use with (euclidean) geometry or cartesian coordinates geometry?
Basically a program which will calculate itself various geometrical shapes' properties, primarily area.

 

[Samson]

Does anyone know of decent (free or otherwise; free is preferable but it can be non-free) math programs to use with (euclidean) geometry or cartesian coordinates geometry?
Basically a program which will calculate itself various geometrical shapes' properties, primarily area.

I bet Mathematica does it, but it only has a 15 day trial (I would use a VM). I am sure you are aware of wolfram alpha, I use it for such things but it is not a math program.

 

[Kyriakos]

I bet Mathematica does it, but it only has a 15 day trial (I would use a VM). I am sure you are aware of wolfram alpha, I use it for such things but it is not a math program.

Wolfgram Alpha can be dled? Or does one have to post everything online (doesn't help me, I am too cryptophilic )

 

[Samson]

Wolfgram Alpha can be dled? Or does one have to post everything online (doesn't help me, I am too cryptophilic )

Wolfram alpha only exists as a web service. I am sure it is based on, and may well be written in, Mathematica, which is a programming language / platform that can be downloaded.

 

[Kyriakos]

Wolfram alpha only exists as a web service. I am sure it is based on, and may well be written in, Mathematica, which is a programming language / platform that can be downloaded.

I checked Mathematica, and it seems to be beyond overkill for what I want - it seems to be taking up 9GB of disc space!
Not sure how they even managed that, even assuming it is allowing you to work with any field in mathematics.
I also heavily doubt it will run on my computer

 

[Samson]

I checked Mathematica, and it seems to be beyond overkill for what I want - it seems to be taking up 9GB of disc space!
Not sure how they even managed that, even assuming it is allowing you to work with any field in mathematics.
I also heavily doubt it will run on my computer

Another option may be R, which is the primary tool I use these days. It is primarily a statistical toolkit, but it has some geometry stuff that I have used to make the maps in the guess the map thread. It may well be total overkill, but it is free as in beer and speech, and should run on your computer if it was built in the last 20 years. These are some tutorials talking about geometries in R.

 

[Cutlass]

Does grass seed die? I've been trying to seed in some grass where a tree stump has rotted away. I filled the hole with dirt, added a lot of seed, and some Scotts lawn patch, which is seed, fertilizer, and mulch. And all was raked in so that the seed should be at every depth from the surface to an inch or so down. It's been watered, and it's rained a couple times, so it's not dried out. But I don't see any shoots at all coming up. So I'm wondering if the bag of seed, which has been out in the shed for I don't remember how many years, is just all dead.

 

[Birdjaguar]

How long has it been?

 

[Cutlass]

Maybe 2 weeks from the first attempt, a week from the second.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Looking closely, can you see any sprouted seeds?
Can you see any unsprouted seeds?

If you can find unsprouted seeds, collect them and put them between wet paper towels in a warn, dark place and see if they sprout.

Could there be any residual herbicides in the ground?