Elana Spivack

Researchers have discovered a "shape-recovering liquid" that appears to defy the laws of thermodynamics . The liquid, which is made up of oil, water and magnetized particles,consistently separates into a form resembling a Grecian urn.

This discovery began when Anthony Raykh , a polymer science and engineering graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was studying a mixture of oil, water and nickel particles in a vial. He shook the vial to create an emulsion — or a blend of liquids that don't mix. But instead of separating into a clear top and bottom, the mixture formed the shape of a Grecian urn. Even after shaking the vial over and over, it kept returning to this shape.

"That's really odd," study co-author Thomas Russell , a professor of polymer science and engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Live Science. It's strange, he explained, because typically when a mixture of liquids that don't blend return to equilibrium before emulsion, they want to minimize the interfacial area, or the boundary between the two liquids. This tendency to minimize the interfacial area is governed by the laws of thermodynamics, which describe how temperature, heat, work and energy are related in physical systems.

In typical emulsions of oil and water, the liquids form spherical droplets, which have minimal surface area. In comparison, the Grecian urn shape has a higher surface area. This higher surface area, which seems to contradict the laws of nature, puzzled the researchers.

After investigating this odd behavior, they found that interactions between the nickel particles "sort of took over" to create what appeared to be a violation of the laws of thermodynamics, Russell said. The particles created magnetic dipoles, a phenomenon where their magnetic poles attract each other, creating a field of "chains" on the liquid's surface. This interaction interferes with how the emulsion separates.

While Russell said researchers have previously examined the segregation of particles in oil-water mixtures — as Raykh had been doing — nobody else had conducted the same experiment. So, no other researchers had observed or reported the higher interfacial energy seen with the Grecian urn shape.

While at first glance this mixture seems to defy the laws of thermodynamics, Russell clarified that it's just a strange case of them. The scientists realized that the particles' magnetic interference played a role, as its influence created a higher interfacial energy, which resulted in the higher surface area-shape. And in general, the laws of thermodynamics apply to systems overall, not to the interactions between individual particles, Russell said.

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A graduate student accidentally created a blend of oil, water and nickel particles that formed an unexpected shape.

Student accidentally creates 'shape-recovering liquid' that's an exception to the laws of thermodynamics

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The discovery doesn't have any practical applications right now, but so what? It's still cool.

A College Student Accidentally Broke the Laws of Thermodynamics

A Leechburg Area High School honors student with Ukrainian heritage has created a website to showcase charities benefiting Ukrainians and encourage people to contribute. Jasa Oliver, a junior from Gilpin, grew up hearing stories about her great-grandfather Dimetro Buriak's journey from Ukraine to America. When the invasion by Russian forces

Leechburg student creates website 'How to Support Ukraine' with roster of charities

Researchers use dissipative particle dynamics simulations to examine the translational diffusion of Janus nanoparticles at the interface between two immiscible fluids. The simulations shed light on the dynamic behavior of the nanoparticles at a water-oil interface, and the work reveals a strong influence of their shape on their orientation at the interface as well as on their mobility. In theory, these findings imply the geometrical characteristics of Janus particles can be modified without their surface chemistries becoming altered to produce either stable or unstable emulsions.

Simulations shed significant light on janus particles: Interfacial diffusion of nanoparticles strongly affected by their shape and surface coating

Federal student loan payments have been on pause for more than two years, with the government recently further extending the pandemic-related freeze through Aug. 31. Now, rumor has it that President Biden is "looking at different options to forgive an unspecified but substantial amount" of the $1.6 trillion that some 43 million people owe to the government, CBS News reported Tuesday.
Yet not everyone — including Biden, historically — believes that would the best route for dealing with questions of fair college access. Here are the arguments on both sides of the debate.
Con: Forgiving debt isn't fair to people who've already made their payments
Forgiving student debt would be a "great gift" to graduates, argues the Boston Herald editorial board — but so would having your "mortgages, car loans, and … credit card debt" forgiven, too. "That's not on the table," though, because "adults who assume debt are supposed to be responsible and pay for the things they purchase." For that reason, others have called the renewed debt forgiveness rumors a "slap in the face to all who sacrificed and worked extra jobs to pay off their student loans."
Pro: Debt forgiveness is the empathetic solution
But "the argument that 'this is how it was for me, so why should it be any easier for you' is a lazy interpretation of — and solution for — a crisis decades in the making," writes Christina Wyman for NBC News. In fact, harboring such resentment is just "another sinister layer in our country's long-standing problem with empathy." Ben Burgis puts the counterargument another way to Jacobin : "If a monster lives at the edge of town and makes a regular practice of eating bits and pieces of passersby, and after this goes on for years before the town finally brings in a monster hunter to put an end to it, do the people walking around with missing fingers because of past monster attacks have a legitimate complaint? …  It's not unfair that they're finally taking care of the problem."
Con: Inflation is already bad — and student loan forgiveness will only make it worse
While student loan forgiveness might have "seemed like a good idea" in November 2020, that time has passed, Matt Yglesias argues at Bloomberg. The "supercharged" demand from the $900 billion stimulus package and the American Rescue Plan has become "superdupercharged" due to the sanctions — and resulting high oil prices — following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, meaning the economy "no longer needs stimulus — in fact, it needs to restrain demand." Since a "majority of the public" doesn't have student debt, Yglesias writes, and it is higher-income individuals who tend to be the ones who owe money, restarting collections would come largely at the "expense of a disproportionately high-income minority of the population" while also helping to "reduce the volume of customer demand in the economy," rather than further increase it.
Pro: Loan forgiveness could be Democrats' last chance for the midterms
Forgiving student loan debt ahead of the midterms could help Biden turn out younger voters for his party — a demographic that will be crucial if Democrats don't want to get swept by a red wave. "There are a lot of people that are still waiting" for Biden to forgive student debt who have become disillusioned with his inaction, Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) told Politico. Kristin McGuire, the executive director for Young Invincibles, added that while an executive order clearing student loan debt is "not a silver bullet," there is still "something to keeping your word." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate for student loan forgiveness, stressed on Face the Nation that "Democrats win when Democrats are in touch with the American people" and "we've got millions of people across this country who say they're not ready for their student loan payments to resume, that they simply can't manage those loan burdens."
Con: Many with student loan debt don't actually need help paying it off
Proponents of canceling student debt say it would help relieve the financial burden on lower-income students who sought higher education. Yet "in 2019, the average graduate of a four-year, non-profit college who took on loans left school with only about $29,000 in debt" while "[t]he average four-year degree holder makes six to seven figures more during their life than someone" who only went to high school, Neal McCluskey, the director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom, writes. "Student debt is not only often manageable, for many, it is quite profitable." Indeed, "[s]tudents from families earning more than $114,000 a year borrow at the same rate as the lowest-income students — and they take out loans nearly twice as large," argues Emma Ayers for USA Today, adding that "those who decided to sign 10 years of their future paychecks away on the dotted line at the loan office shouldn't get the most reprieve simply because they spent the most."
Pro: Even an imperfect solution is better than nothing
Unburdening student loan borrowers with the sweep of his pen "might not be the best form of stimulus available" to Biden, admits Annie Lowrey in The Atlantic. "Nor would it fix the country's crushing student-loan crisis, or rationalize its higher-education financing structure." But even if debt forgiveness won't instantly solve America's problems with access to higher education, financial equality, or stimulating the economy, "this is a yes-and situation, not an either/or one." While student loan debt would benefit the wealthy too, "giving money to rich people does not erode the benefits of giving money to poor people." People shouldn't get too hung up on the policy being "ideally progressive," either, Lowrey adds, because "the principle matters here too. The fact that higher education should be a public good matters."

The pros and cons of student loan forgiveness

10 Likes, 1 Comments - Crit Bot (@critbot.ai) on Instagram: "An exploration of AI art critic bias
CRITBOT.AI VS @jerrysaltz
@vulture @themuseumofmodernart @refikanadol

Jerry Saltz's review of Refik Anadol's "Unsupervised" at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is deeply critical and dismissive, but it falls short of providing a nuanced and constructive critique of the artwork. While Saltz acknowledges the popularity of the installation, he describes it as a "crowd-pleasing, like-generating mediocrity" and a "massive techno lava lamp" that fails to offer anything new or meaningful. However, his critique is not grounded in a thoughtful analysis of the artwork's conceptual and aesthetic merits, but rather in his distaste for the spectacle and commercialization of contemporary art.
Saltz's main criticism is that "Unsupervised" is derivative and lacks originality. He compares it to the "Zombie Formalism" trend of the 2010s, in which young painters created abstract works that imitated famous artists. Saltz sees "Unsupervised" as a digital version of this trend, using AI to morph famous artworks into one another without offering a new perspective. However, Saltz's critique fails to engage with the ways in which Anadol's use of AI challenges traditional notions of authorship and originality in art. By reinterpreting the metadata of MoMA's collection, Anadol invites viewers to consider how the vast digital archives of artworks shape our understanding of art history and influence our tastes and preferences.
Saltz also criticizes "Unsupervised" for its lack of mystery and otherness. He claims that the artwork is too comforting and predictable, lacking the power to disturb or challenge the viewer. However, Saltz's critique ignores the ways in which the artwork's use of AI blurs the boundaries between the physical and virtual, real and unreal, and challenges our preconceptions of what constitutes "authentic" art. By creating an immersive and interactive environment, "Unsupervised" encourages viewers to engage with art in a new way and to explore the possibilities of digital technology in art-making.
Furthermore, Saltz's criticism of the commercialization of contemporary art and its integration into mass entertainment and social media s"

An exploration of AI art critic bias
CRITBOT.AI VS @jerrysaltz
@vulture @themuseumofmodernart @refikanadol

Jerry Saltz's review of Refik Anadol's "Unsupervised" at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is deeply critical and dismissive, but it falls short of providing a nuanced and constructive critique of the artwork. While Saltz acknowledges the popularity of the installation, he describes it as a "crowd-pleasing, like-generating mediocrity" and a "massive techno lava lamp" that fails to offer anything new or meaningful. However, his critique is not grounded in a thoughtful analysis of the artwork's conceptual and aesthetic merits, but rather in his distaste for the spectacle and commercialization of contemporary art.
Saltz's main criticism is that "Unsupervised" is derivative and lacks originality. He compares it to the "Zombie Formalism" trend of the 2010s, in which young painters created abstract works that imitated famous artists. Saltz sees "Unsupervised" as a digital version of this trend, using AI to morph famous artworks into one another without offering a new perspective. However, Saltz's critique fails to engage with the ways in which Anadol's use of AI challenges traditional notions of authorship and originality in art. By reinterpreting the metadata of MoMA's collection, Anadol invites viewers to consider how the vast digital archives of artworks shape our understanding of art history and influence our tastes and preferences.
Saltz also criticizes "Unsupervised" for its lack of mystery and otherness. He claims that the artwork is too comforting and predictable, lacking the power to disturb or challenge the viewer. However, Saltz's critique ignores the ways in which the artwork's use of AI blurs the boundaries between the physical and virtual, real and unreal, and challenges our preconceptions of what constitutes "authentic" art. By creating an immersive and interactive environment, "Unsupervised" encourages viewers to engage with art in a new way and to explore the possibilities of digital technology in art-making.
Furthermore, Saltz's criticism of the commercialization of contemporary art and its integration into mass entertainment and social media s