#science visualization

[natureintheory]

"A qubit made from photons lives in the polarization property of light. This is depicted here as individual glowing wavelets. Coated pieces of glass, such as the cube shown in the video, can separate out different polarization states of light. Other elements can switch the polarization from one state (vertical) to the other (horizontal). Photon qubits can also live in other properties, such as color." (Caption via The Quantum Atlas)

One of a series of videos I made for UMD's Quantum Atlas:

I'll soon be available for more work like this, kindly contact me via:

Although my work tends to be primarily physics-related — from subatomic to cosmic scales — I'm also interested in other fields e.g. Long COVID research & advocacy.

I am able to do more complex particle animation / simulation (e.g. airborne viruses or other visualizations.)

[mechncheese]

[Science AU] One of my many ideas for when Prowl takes off Brainstorm's collar thing

I was thinking about providing more context but I think I'll leave this one a mystery BAHAHA

[reasonsforhope]

Given the misinformation that's been going around and will be going around, thought this might be helpful to some people

For a lot of reasons, I'm very good at this/at searching, to the point where I have worked as a professional fact-checker for two different publishers. So, here goes:

My Article Fact-Checking Protocol

Thorough Version

Read the full article. Keep an eye out for emotionally loaded words, and all-or-nothing language

Keep an eye out or anything that sounds too good to be true, and in contrast, anything that sounds so awful it must be true

Run the website/source through the amazing Media Bias/Fact Check. They'll tell you about a publication's bias and history of accuracy

Go to the website's home page and read through the headlines. Look at what topics they cover/prioritize, sensationalist headlines, and whether they're framing anything in a way that feels odd/off to you

Do a search related to the topic. This can be keywords, a question, or even just copy-paste the article title (Recommended: use DuckDuckGo so the results don't change based on what Google thinks they can sell you)

If multiple highly credible sources that say the same thing pop up, and there's no major societal biases that might affect the coverage of the topic in those sources (e.g. anything related to the Israel-Palestine conflict/Palestinian genocide, no matter which side), then I'm done!

If there are major societal biases, or I can't get a consensus of sufficiently credible sources, then I do some combination of:

(1) search the topic again + the words "controversy" and/or "fake"

(2) search the opposite of the topic, or do some sort of other filtered search

(3) look up a sufficiently credible news outlet with the opposite point of view of my source, and see what they have to say

(4) if it's a big enough topic, start by looking up 2 of the top national papers and 1 major paper for your region (I usually do the ones in the US, because that's where I am In the US: the LA Times, the Washington Post, and the NY Times)

Adjust "news" to "relevant type of source, e.g. tech, environmental" as relevant for all of the above options

If no red flags come up, and it's a topic I understand enough to smell huge bullshit,

Then I'm usually done!

If there are red flags, or I actually need a certain amount of detail/understanding, then it gets more complicated, but that would be a whole other thing to break down and such

or

tl;dr

Quick Version

Read the full article. Keep an eye out for emotionally loaded words, and all-or-nothing language

Keep an eye out or anything that sounds too good to be true, and in contrast, anything that sounds so awful it must be true.

If I don't know the website:

Run the website/source through the amazing Media Bias/Fact Check. They'll tell you about a publication's bias and history of accuracy

If I trust the source, but something else pinged my radar:

Do a quick web search to verify anything that sounds suspicious or too good/bad to be true (Recommended: use DuckDuckGo)

[scipunk]

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Ghosts of Rivers Past

Artist Dan Coe uses lidar data to create portraits of rivers and their past meanders. Used aerially, lidar produces high-resolution elevation data that provides a glimpse of features that are currently hidden beneath vegetation.  (Image credit: D. Coe; via Colossal) Read the full article

[chocobochaserstories]

Scent Dynamics

Simple, surface level take on scent dynamics, including diagrams for locations of key anatomical points. Diagram sources: Blank anatomy models from Pinterest, then I uploaded them into Woodnotes and edited them to my own needs. CW: If you can't read my handwriting, just ask! My handwriting is messy, sorry!

Omegas

Compared to alphas, omegas generally have softer, more delicate scents. While there are exceptions, scents often include flowers, sweet scents like vanilla or caramel, fruity scents such as sweet berries, are among the common scent patterns. Scents follow a more “feminine” pattern while alphas have more “masculine” scents, although gender norms in terms of male or female are more loose in omegaverse as they’re overridden by alpha and omega. Omegas enjoy scenting their partners the most, and it is not specific to sexual settings. Scenting for omegas is an intimate act, and is ingrained from birth. Omegas generally scent their pups, beginning at birth and extending to the offspring’s mating. (So an omega will scent their pup until they have a mate of their own). Generally, omegas scent over the primary scent gland, which is the most major scent gland and the one located in the neck. The primary scent gland is the gland that is the most sacred to an alpha or an omega and is where a mating bite is placed. Betas do not have a primary scent gland. In addition, an omega’s scent intensifies during their heat cycle and may take on a more “pleasant” aphrodisiac note. During pregnancy, the scent is often sweeter.

Side note: Unpresented pups often have a scent like steamed milk, or a milky, soft scent.

Diagram: Attached

Diagram: Attached

Betas

Betas do not have scent glands, so they do not have individual scents. Occasionally, if a beta is in a relationship with a omega or alpha, it can be emotionally and instinctually satisfying for the partner to let them scent them.

Alpha

Alphas often have hardier scents, such as wood or sawdust (especially more fragrant ones such as pine or cedar), nature scents such as fresh rain, earthy scents such as wet soil or limestone, or crisp scents like ozone. Alphas tend to have “masculine” scents, granted masculine and feminine aren’t particularly solid concepts within the omegaverse as male/female is overridden by the overarching concept of alpha/omega. Alphas can also carry undertones to their scents, for example, an alpha may smell of fresh rain and iron, but carry a sweet scent as well of apples (FFVII Angeal Hewley’s scent in my headcanons). Alphas are territorial and scent their partner as a marking, similar to omegas. Alphas are more likely to scent their partner after mating, a rut, or their partner was around another alpha. 

Diagram: Attached

[shysheeperz]

[silveredcircuitry]

a Progress Flag version of the Mad Science Pride Flag for pride month! now featuring oil black, chemical bottle brown, and stained labcoat white

Other flags and all the stripes to make your own below

all flags and colourbars in this post are free for anyone to use for anything as long as it is not hateful, and ideally with credit.

[doctoreveel]

Petri Dish Jell-O Shots; {Credit}

[vibe-stash]

Reflections in Satoshi Kon's Paprika (2006)

[spacetelescopescience]

Watch as this visualization reveals the stars of the Orion constellation in three dimensions. The familiar pattern on the sky distorts into a whole new perspective.

The sequence begins with a view of Orion in our sky. Featured in this scene are some of the night sky's brightest stars, including Betelgeuse and Rigel within Orion, and Sirius at its lower left, a star in the constellation Canis Major.

Departing from the earthbound view, the camera begins to circle through interstellar space while maintaining the connecting lines of the constellation stick figure. Note how quickly the "flat" constellation shape transforms into an elongated mesh. In addition, the stars change their brightness markedly as they pass nearer or farther from the camera. The onscreen graphic depicts the direction, distance, and speed of the camera motion.

[redcomet-stims]

Content warning: flashing, harsh colors

🧪🎛️⚗️ Song-inspired stimboard: Chemical Girl by Weevildoing :3

I've been really wanting to make a board for this song. It has to be one of my favorites, I swear to god it's literally amazing. When it first came out it absolutely shocked me with how much I liked it because I had no idea what to expect, but I fell in love with it. Plus, the lyrics are honestly me 😭 Anyway, this song's incredible. I have no idea how to put it, but I just love it SO much. I'm going feral.

Sources:

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[refinedstorage]

Black Myth: Wukong

Game Science, 2024

[scipunk]

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Inside the Squirting Cucumber

Though only 5 cm long, the squirting cucumber can spray its seeds up to 10 meters away. The little fruit does so through a clever combination of preparation and ballistic maneuvers.  (Research and image credit: F. Box et al.; via Gizmodo) Read the full article

[egelantier]

poll time!

Extra question for tags or anon asks if you're comfortable with it: if you ever had a course of antidepressants or other mood regulating meds, did it interact with your visual imagination in any way?