Zwischenbilanz zur Wochenmitte

Some personal highlights:

• The photoelectric effect is used to find out if a "metal mixture" contains a certain element or not
• Diurnal species have circadian cycles >24h; early birds have shorter cycles than late risers
• Watson and Crick elucidated the structure of DNA by x-ray diffraction: somehow, the molecule in question can be crystallized. The crystal is irradiated by x-rays from different angles and from the interference pattern a 3D map of the arrangement of atoms is calculated (Fourier transformation). x-rays have just the right wave length (~ 0.01-1 nm) for this application since they are in the range of 2d sin(incident angle), where d is the distance between atoms/layers (see Bragg equation).
• A light bulb transforms 4% of the energy into light; 96% is released as heat.
• Optical tweezers can handle tiny objects without physically touching them. However, the object will absorb some of the energy, its temperature rises - limited use of the approach for living things (cells)!

Open issue:

• Will the mice appreciate our mouse house? Will they agree with the architects on the use of the building or will it simply serve as a snack?