An Acoustic Metamaterial, Orcas, and Science Fiction: Lux Recommends #172
Welcome to Lux Recommends #172, this week’s edition of what we at Lux are reading and thinking about (want to receive this by email? Sign up here).
Articles
Scientists have discovered a shape that blocks all sound–even your co-workers: ‘Offices and tiny apartments could be transformed by the work of Boston University researchers, who recently unveiled an “acoustic metamaterial” that blocks all sound.’ — Sam
Mysterious new orca species likely identified: ‘For the first time, scientists have filmed and studied the elusive “type D” killer whales in the wild.’ — Adam K
I Have a Feeling We’re Not in New York Anymore: “Hudson Yards is a billionaire’s fantasy city and you never have to leave — provided you can pay for it.” — Tom Kane, friend of Lux
How the Internet Travels Across Oceans: “Nearly 750,000 miles of cable already connect the continents to support our insatiable demand for communication and entertainment.” — Sam
Pi in the sky: Calculating a record-breaking 31.4 trillion digits of Archimedes’ constant on Google Cloud — Sam
Signs of biological activities of 28,000-year-old mammoth nuclei in mouse oocytes visualized by live-cell imaging: “Our work provides a platform to evaluate the biological activities of nuclei in extinct animal species.” — Adam K
How many people does it take to write a №1 hit? In the case of Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” 30 different songwriters are credited. — Adam K
When Science Fiction Comes True — Sam
Books
Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess: “offers an intriguing and fresh spin on the parallel-worlds theme with its timely emphasis on the challenges facing migrants in hostile, unfamiliar surroundings, marking her as a promising new voice in speculative fiction.” — Sam
Videos
Incredible Remastered HD Footage Of The First-Ever Nuclear Bomb Test — Adam K
Why Microwaved Grapes Explode— Debra Arbesman (Sam’s wife)
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