One does not simply shove elephants on a ballet shoe point and call it an acceptable measure of pressure
- Reference: 1605892214
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/20/elephant_ballet_shoe_pressure_oddity/
- Source link:
To wit: a team of Australian scientists working on ways of making artificial diamonds for industrial drill tips figured out a way of doing so and published an academic paper about that.
So far, so good; every schoolchild learns that diamonds are made from the same carbon atoms as coal, having experienced far more intense pressure than the black flammable stuff. The Aussie boffins used a diamond anvil cell for a process aimed at crystallising carbon atoms at room temperature – something that would make it cheaper to create industrial diamonds at scale.
"Artificial versions of this famously hard material could find use as new cutting tools to slice through ultra-hard materials, new kinds of protective coatings or other industrial devices where hardness is a desirable attribute," reported the New Atlas website in a plain-English interpretation of the paper. Again, so far, so good.
But then they came out with this: "The team applied pressure equal to 640 African elephants on the tip of a ballet shoe, doing so in a way that caused an unexpected reaction among the carbon atoms in the device."
We are reliably informed by a former ballerina* that the exact size of the tip of a ballet shoe "depends on the shoe size of the person wearing it" but it's about 2" square (or 5cm x 5cm if you're calibrated for the 21st century) judging by a quick squint at an image search through a popular search engine.
As for the weight, this is non-compliant with the Register Standards Soviet's [1]approved measures . Acceptable units include adult badgers, skateboarding rhinoceroses, and LINQ Hotel Recyclings.
Moreover, the unit these bizarre upstarts are using for weight isn't even precise, let alone easily understood. African elephants can be broken down into Savannah elephants and forest elephants, according to [2]the Encyclopaedia Britannica . The Savannah variety comes in at up to 8 metric tonnes (9 long tons) while the GTi bush edition tips the scales at a nimble 5.5 tonnes (3⅔ skateboarding rhinoceroses or 12 per cent of an Australian Tram when correctly expressed in Reg standard units).
Having deliberately deliberated over this most quizzical of questions, we are therefore forced to announce that the "tip of a ballet shoe" does not meet the rigorous criteria required for inclusion in the Register Standards Converter.
It is therefore naughty in our sight and shall be required to snuff it immediately. ®
Bootnotes
Our thanks to Reg reader Jim for spotting this oddity and passing to us for perusal.
*She took lessons when she was a kid and would kill me if I downgraded that description now.
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html
[2] https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal
[3] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Pressure
Since Her Majesty doesn't have an official weight might I suggest substituting her namesake the QE2? Wikipedia gives that a gross tonnage of 70,327
But what then
While the criticism of the El Reg standards bureau is ofcourse warranted, I must commend the effort. The Reg units do not seem to offer anything suitable for expressing pressures. Norrisses per Nanowales are not quite a suitable unit in this commentards humble opinion.
Re: But what then
There's a perfectly fine pressure unit, and possibly not trademarked-
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Fig-Newtons-Box-Small.jpg
Although may be subject to shrinkflation*. So one Savanah elephant is approximately equal to 35,840 Newtons (boxed). If one needs a more precise measurement, then it needs determining how many Newtons per 8oz. For science!
Additional experiments are possible, such as determining which takes longer to clean up. An elephant's pressure exerted on 35,840 Newtons, or 1 ballet dancer. Legal advice not included.
*Ok, who ate my experiment?
Re: But what then
Long ways up or laying on one of the long sides?
Re: But what then
This is why the Newton is so versatile. I'm betting that modern process engineering means consistency in both biscuits (cakes?*) per box, and per biscuit. And the biscuits have 3 sides of differing areas, allowing 1N to be used for 3 surface area tests.
I was also going to try and define the Newton meter, but Tescos didn't have any to aid me in my culinary metrology.
*See lengthy legal saga where HMRC tried to decide if the Jaffa snack was a biscuit, or a cake. Which possibly took so long because HMRC's lawyers realised they needed lots of evidence to 'examine'.
Pendantry alert
Ballet shoe? Or Pointe shoe?
Re: Pendantry alert
I originally suggested Pachyderms Per Pointe, although that didn't make it into the article.
has to be said, not done a TITSUP for a while, SO
T - rouble
I - s
T - his
S - ite
U - tilises
P - achyderms
so whilst I WOULD normally push for the more Narwhal comparison, we would require a new acronym, and I DO seem to recall that here, elephants have been used to express many different comparisons
Weird choice, really..
May be a local thing here in Holland, but the standard example for that particular aspect of physics has been the "Supermodel on Spike Heels" for yonks.
This may be because the weight/height ratio for your standard anorexic walking coat-rack and the floor area of spike heels have been pretty much well-defined and relatively stable over decades.
Plus that in any given highschool class there's always at least one female victim volunteer wearing the torture devices available for a practical demonstration.
Re: Weird choice, really..
I would not call that person the victim, as it is she who is wearing the devices and does the stepping. And I would refrain from such an action when said girl is in earshot. Those shoes hurt. A lot. As a former ballroom dancer (standard and latin) I know how much. And that's only on the arch of the foot. And accidentally, but with quite some energy behind it.
So mind your manners...
Unexpected Reaction?
"The team applied pressure equal to 640 African elephants on the tip of a ballet shoe, doing so in a way that caused an unexpected reaction among the carbon atoms in the device."
They got diamonds... were they expecting something different like turning coal into gold or some other alchemy?
Re: Unexpected Reaction?
I'm not sure why it's totally unexpected given that using pressure is one of ways of making diamonds for some time now. The effort to make them has only been matched by the diamond industry (De Beers) in trying to identify manufactured diamonds and to dissuade people from making them in the first place.
Re: Unexpected Reaction?
I too wondered what they created 'unexpectedly'. It doesn't say they got diamonds.
Article?
Re: Unexpected Reaction?
They unexpectedly created Lonsdaleite, it's tougher than diamond.
ObQuibble
8 metric tonnes (at about 2,200 pounds per tonne) is actually less than 8 long tons (at 2,240 per). I think the writer meant 9 short tons (at 2,000 per).
QuibbleQuibble
It's unnecessary to specify "metric tonne"; tonne is already metric.
industrial drill tips?
Sod the industrial drill tips, I want diamond sandpaper.
Pressure
Any fule kno that it is in units specified by the weight of the Queen (ERII) when applied over the area of a Queen "Greatest Hits" CD.
The weight of the Queen when, you ask? Naturally when the single "Under Pressure" first topped the UK charts. When else? :-)