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Beautiful ‘flowers’ self-assemble in a beaker
With the hand of nature trained on a beaker of chemical fluid, the most delicate flower structures have been formed in a Harvard laboratory—and not at the scale of inches, but microns.
These minuscule sculptures, curved and delicate, don’t resemble the cubic or jagged forms normally associated with crystals, though that’s what they are. Rather, fields of carnations and marigolds seem to bloom from the surface of a submerged glass slide, assembling themselves a molecule at a time.
By simply manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, Wim L. Noorduin, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and lead author of a paper appearing on the cover of the May 17 issue of Science, has found that he can control the growth behavior of these crystals to create precisely tailored structures.
“For at least 200 years, people have been intrigued by how complex shapes could have evolved in nature. This work helps to demonstrate what’s possible just through environmental, chemical changes,” says Noorduin.
Images: [x]
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When I knew
When we first got together I had a hunch that our relationship would last a while since we had had some feelings for each other for about two years already. As our relationship progressed, there were times when I thought maybe it’d be easier if we broke up. But the thing was I didn’t want easy; I wanted you. We went through some pretty tough lows, but the highs in our relationship made it all worth it. I knew that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life. I couldn’t imagine a future without you in it. We always tried to be realistic with each other though, saying that yeah we want to get married in the future, but since we’re so young so much can happen before it gets there. Even though I didn’t want to, I had to acknowledge the fact that there was a good chance that it wouldn’t work out in the end.
But now those thoughts are leaving my mind because I know it’s going to be me and you in the end. Something that seems pretty insignificant was actually a big deal to me.
When I was visiting you in Riverside I must’ve caught some bug or had food poisoning because I was ridiculously ill for a night. Luckily, I had you there to take care of me. You’d wake up whenever I woke up, hold me when I slept, bring me water and a towel for my head, do anything I needed. I didn’t want to get you sick, but you never mind that. When I was feeling really crappy you still kissed me and told me I was amazing and that you loved me so much. It didn’t matter if I was going to get you sick because you just wanted me to feel better. I felt so lucky to have such a great guy.
That’s when I knew that you and I would make it ‘til the end.
“you look tired” is the less rude version of “wow did you even try today”
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Goodbye, The Office. You will be missed.
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