Learn about how scientists just measured the quickest event ever recorded; how tiny remoras (suckerfish) stay stuck to fast-moving whales; and why being too busy could be killing your creativity.
Learn about how scientists just measured the quickest event ever recorded; how tiny remoras (suckerfish) stay stuck to fast-moving whales; and why being too busy could be killing your creativity.
Scientists have just measured the shortest amount of time, ever. by Cameron Duke
How do little remoras stay stuck to fast-moving whales? Physics! by Steffie Drucker
Being Too Busy May Be Killing Your Creativity by Anna Todd
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/whats-the-shortest-amount-of-time-ever-recorded
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about how scientists just measured the shortest amount of time EVER; how tiny suckerfish stay stuck to fast-moving whales; and why being too busy could be killing your creativity.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Recently, scientists measured the quickest event ever recorded: a particle of light traveling from one side of a hydrogen molecule to the other. And measuring an event that took the shortest amount of time ever? Has big implications for scientific research.
Now, this is impressive, but it’s not unprecedented. We’re always getting better at measuring time. Like, everyone knows that you say “one Mississippi” to count one second. That’s good enough for hide-and-seek, but if we’re timing the Olympic 100-meter dash, we’ll need to be more precise. There, we use stopwatches that can measure down to one one-hundredth of a second. GPS needs even more precision: it relies on atomic clocks that tick in even smaller slices of seconds.
But what if you’re measuring the speed of light instead of Usain Bolt? And what if that light is traveling 100 picometers instead of 100 meters? You’ll need something better than a stopwatch or even an atomic clock. You’ll need a particle detector.
Physicists at Goethe [GURR-tuh] University in Germany fired an X-ray at a molecule made of two hydrogen atoms. (A hydrogen atom has one proton and one electron apiece). A particle of light from the X-ray, called a photon, hit one of the two hydrogen atoms and knocked its electron away like a billiard ball. Then it continued across to the second atom and did the same thing. Each time the photon struck an electron, it released a tiny ping of energy that the physicists recorded with a particle detector. The time between the pings? 247 zeptoseconds.
This is an absurdly precise measurement. It’s like being able to pick out 2 grains of sand among all of the sand on all of the beaches on the planet. That sounds ridiculous, but seriously, the number of zeptoseconds within a second is a truly mind-boggling number. A single zeptosecond is to a second like the length of a playing card is to the distance between Earth and the star Betegeuse.
This type of precision will be necessary for timing chemical reactions and for better observing small, short-lived particles like the Higgs-boson, which theoretically has the life span of about one-tenth of a zeptosecond. As for me, I’ll just keep counting “one Mississippi, two Mississippi…”
You know the expression about “riding on someone’s coattails?” Well there’s a species of fish that makes its living doing this: it travels across the ocean by latching onto others. And now scientists understand how these fish manage to hang on against strong ocean currents.
I’m talking about fish called remoras or suckerfish. They get their name from the flat, oval-shaped suction disk on top of their head, where their dorsal fin should be. They increase suction by sliding backward, and they swim forward to let loose. They’ve been known to grab onto whales, and sharks, and boats — even human divers. And while it seems like they’re just freeloading hitchhikers, they do their hosts a favor by eating parasites, dead skin, and feces. Yum!
Remoras are usually 1 to 3 feet long (or 30 to 90 centimeters). That’s pretty tiny compared to a blue whale, which can grow longer than 100 feet (or 30 meters). You’d think ocean current would rip these little critters right off as the whale rips through the water, but they’re able to hang on better than a champion bull rider.
Scientists found that the fishes’ favorite spots to hang onto are near the whale’s blowhole, pectoral fins, or the mini fin near the base of the tail. Remember, remoras’ suction disks are on top of their heads, so this means they’re riding around belly-up.
The truly amazing part is that the fish can even move around on their fast-moving host without falling off. Researchers used a supercomputer to analyze how that’s possible. They found that the fish experienced 50-75 percent less drag when they were a centimeter off of the whales’ bodies than when they were swimming freely. The small channel of water between the fish and the whale’s body actually helps suck them in. The physics is even better around their favorite places on the whale: drag behind the fins was reduced by as much as 80 percent.
This is actually the same science that lets bugs walk around the windshield of a moving car. The air moving across the windshield, like the water between the fish and the whale, is called the boundary layer. Air in this layer moves more slowly, relative to the car, than the air further away from it. You can test this yourself. Put your hand on top of your car as you cruise along. Then lift your fingers up and feel the difference in wind resistance.
Remoras are savvy little suckers. They know how to swim smarter, not harder!
Sometimes, creativity is hard to come by. You just sit and stare at a blank page, and no matter how hard you try to make an idea to pop into your head, it won't. Until you hop in the shower or go for a morning walk, and then a genius idea just hits you. Why is that?
Well, it’s because moments of relaxation are when creative ideas are most likely to come. And that's backed by research. So if you work nonstop, you may be killing your creativity.
Don’t believe me? Consider this: Nikola Tesla had an "aha" moment about rotating magnetic fields while walking with his college friend. That led to the development of AC current, which is the basis for nearly all of today's electric power. NBD. And Albert Einstein was known to listen to Mozart when he needed creative inspiration. If it’s good enough for a couple of geniuses, it’s good enough for me.
But of course, there’s evidence, too. Research shows that people are more creative after letting their mind wander. For example, a 2012 report in the journal for the Association for Psychological Science found that engaging in an un-demanding activity that encouraged mind-wandering led to better performance on the "Unusual Uses Task" — that’s a test of creative thinking. Hear that, daydreamers? We've got the creative process down. Research also suggests that your creativity could benefit from diversifying your experiences and allowing for some play time.
If this sounds like a lot, you can just try organizing your day with relaxation in mind. Try infusing some simple tasks into your focused work. Research says people perform better at a challenging task when they precede it with something easy. So let that mind wander! As for me, I’m going to have some scientifically endorsed R&R and wait for the muse to appear.
Let’s recap the main things we learned today
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CODY: Today’s stories were written by Cameron Duke, Steffie Drucker, and Anna Todd, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Scriptwriting was by Cody Gough and Sonja Hodgen. Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!