#tumblrscience

[knowledge-first]

The Power of the Blink! 😺🐈

Next time your cat gives you a slow, deliberate blink, don't mistake it for sleepiness. This is actually a cat's way of showing trust and affection. It's their version of a slow smile! @knowledge-first

[mythvsscienceblog]

The Secret Language of Owls: What Do Their Hoots and Screech Really Mean?

Hoot there, fellow Tumblr fam!

Ever heard those haunting calls echoing through the night and wondered what the heck owls are saying? Turns out, it ain't just spooky vibes - they're actually chatting it up! ️

Get ready to decode the secret language of owls with these juicy tidbits from my blog:

Hooting 101: Forget spooky stereotypes, these iconic calls are all about family ties, marking territory, and even showing off dominance!

Screech Alert! : Don't run for the hills just yet! Those ear-piercing screeches are actually warning cries or defensive displays. Mess with this owl, and you'll hear about it!

Love is in the air… for owls? : Yep, these feathered friends have their own adorable "love songs" to woo mates and impress with their genetic superiority. Talk about romantic serenades!

Think you're up for the ultimate owl language challenge? Dive into the full story on my blog: https://www.mythvsscience.com/what-do-owls-call-mean/

So, spread the owl love, share your newfound knowledge, and remember, next time you hear those hoots, you'll be a pro at understanding what they're really saying!

P.S. Any other fans of these wise old feathered fellas out there? Hit me with your favorite owl facts in the comments!

Let your passion for owls and science shine through, and your Tumblr post will be an irresistible hoot-hoot for curious minds! 🪶

[mademoiselle-enchantee]

Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana is a type of mirage named after Morgan le Fay, a powerful enchantress in Arthurian legend. Often appearing at sea or in deserts, people used to believe these floating images of castles and land was the work of Morgan, attempting to lure travelers to their deaths.

In reality, these images are a superior mirage-or when light is bent/refracted to create an image above the real object.

The simplest way I can explain this phenomenon is with a mirror analogy. I will assume you have witnessed mirages on roads, where it appears there are puddles, and that you have stuck a straw into a clear liquid, such as water.

Let's start with the straw. The bottom part of straws are completely straight, yet when you stick it into water, it seems to bend at an angle. Light travels straight into our eyes, which enables us to see the straw and cup in the first place, but it slightly changes direction when passing through the water, as water is denser than air. This is called refraction, when light waves changes direction when passing through mediums of varying densities.

Now the puddle. You may know, or have noticed, that these fake puddles appear only when it is hot outside. The asphalt concrete has a high heat storing capacity, meaning when the sun warms it up, it releases the heat very slowly, keeping the concrete nice and toasty for a long period of time. This creates a gradient, where the air near the concrete is hot, and the air further away from the road is colder. As for the actual puddle, it's less of a water mirage and more of a sky mirage. Without this gradient of heat, light travels towards the concrete, which then enters your eyes. You see the road. With the heat gradient, just like the straw, the light gets bent, as hot air is less dense than cold air. As the light is approaching the road, traveling through hotter and hotter air, the light gets bent a little more each time, before reaching a parabolic shape and hitting your eyes. The puddle you see is basically a piece of the sky on the ground. This is the "mirror", because if didn't understand any of this huge paragraph, these puddle mirages are as if you laid a mirror on the road and you're seeing the sky in the mirror.

Now, finally onto Fata Morganas. Imagine you are on a boat, looking at the hazy horizon. The body of water, ocean or sea, beneath you is cold and remains cold. The sun can warm up the air above you, but not the air near the water, due to the vastness of the water. This time, the hot air is above you, not beneath you like the road. So imagine the mirror is laid across the sky(road mirages are inferior mirages, mirages appearing below the actual object. Fata morganas, like mentioned previously, are superior). Let's say just beyond your line of sight, another boat is hidden beneath the horizon(due to the curvature of the earth). Usually, you wouldn't be able to see it, but that "mirror" above you refracts the light and that boat is now within sight. You can see a boat, which is both there and not.

But both the sky and ocean are so vast. That is why at times you can see multiple ships, due to the fact that there are multiple rays of light, all refracted differently. This is also why you can see some ships upside down, just because each ray of light is bent at a different angle, which could possibly flip the image.

For further reading, I encourage you visit the Wikipedia page on Fat Morganas, though I found it more difficult to read. It does contain more details and images if you're interested, but hopefully this post was easier to understand.

The legends and stories surrounding Fata Morganas are as equally interesting. As cool as science is, it does take away some amount of mysticism of life away.

unrealistic depiction of a Fata Morgana, 1886

Thank you for reading.

- Mademoiselle Enchantée

Sources:

Morgan le Fay: Wikipedia

Refraction: Wikipedia

Gradient: Wikipedia

Superior Mirage: Wikipedia

Fata Morgana: Wikipedia

My dad, to be completely honest

Images:

Old Salt Blog

Wikipedia

Wikiepedia

KSNT

Atlas Obscura

[feelings2304]

I need help from the science part of tumblr *as a friend said* how do I pick up this bottle without spreading the rest of the water???

@sciencesideoftumbl-r @sciencesideoftumb1r @sciencesideoftumb-lr @sciencesideof @sciencesideof-tum-bl-r @sciencesideanswers @sciencesideresponse @tumblrscience

[kiashi935]

Science side of tumblr please explain why me and my friend are always the exact same as the two personality traits in other posts

[dorkybandkid-blog]

HAS ANYBODY EVER WONDERED WHY PEOPLE RUN AROUND KITCHENS?

It’s because we absorb the sugar from the food through the air, Duh.

[myhomiesgorillaz]

What am I

How is it every few first post on social media are cringy? Can I not be cool right away? Help me tumblr science.

[cooltacosab-blog]

#meme #science # tumblrscience # yt

[knowledge-first]

Hot, Hot, Hot! Very Hot 😯

The hottest recorded temperature on Earth wasn't in a scorching desert! It happened in Death Valley, California, in 1913, with a staggering 56.7°C (134°F). Source Did you enjoy their recent post? @knowledge-first

[pridefiction]

Why are butterflies romanticized but moths are like scorned?????

[supergotmilk]

(via Science - Snort Some Science #97)

[rated-explicit-stuff]

BUT GUYS?!?!! THE REAL QUESTION IS WHAT IS NOTHING?

[kylorenpissbaby]

Okay so the dress thing has an answer. Just like an optical illusion. The dress is actually blue and black (as said by the person who owns it) but the picture was taken with a flash. The flash generated a light stripe in the middle vertically. If you see it black and blue your brain is moving on the image from the outside in. If you see it white and gold, your eyes/brain are processing it from the middle outward. Your brain can trick you! Even though the outsides are darker, you see the whole dress as white and gold. Try covering it up or crossing your eyes and you will see it. 

[text-posts-central]

that moment when you stand up after having been sitting for a long time and your eyes just black out and your head starts swimming. then after a millenia your vision starts to fade back into focus

science side of tumblr please explain this