Have you ever looked up into the sky on a clear day and seen an airplane flying high in the clouds? If so, you’ve probably also noticed the long white streaks it leaves behind in its path. They are called contrails, and there’s more to these white lines in the sky than meets the eye. The jet fuel that powers the engines of a plane is intensely hot, often burning at more than 500°C. In contrast, the air temperature at high altitudes where commercial flights typically cruise can reach as low as -56°C. When the hot exhaust gases, which include water
Jiang Yiwu paced the small room and wondered how the leader of the Literary Society had got here. He could hear the Russian and Manchu police outside. They were looking for him. The Russians controlled the railways now, cutting through China, taking land and resources. The people were angry, and so was he. The revolution was almost ready. But things went wrong. Sun Wu, a key leader, lay in the hospital with critical wounds. The explosives were meant for the revolution but detonated by accident. Sun and the revolutionary plans were discovered by the police. Jiang grimaced at the
Have you ever counted the number of keys on a piano? On a standard modern piano, the number of keys is 88. So, why is this the case? The piano is believed to have been invented around the beginning of the 18th century. It was first created as a modified version of the harpsichord. Most harpsichords at the time had 60 keys—covering five octaves, with each octave comprising seven white keys and five black keys. That’s why the earliest pianos also had 60 keys. The white keys on a piano are called natural keys and correspond to the musical
At an unusual event, a group of people gather and sit together without interacting or checking their phones. Instead, they concentrate on nothing at all and empty their minds for the Space-Out Competition. Originally proposed by South Korean artist Woopsyang in 2014, this event is a form of performance art. It challenges the social expectation to remain constantly busy in this fast-paced world, offering competitors a pause from their routines. For 90 minutes, players are scored on how well they “space out” based on artistic and technical aspects, with their heart rates monitored every 15 minutes. Then, the audience votes for