| brain activity log
29.04.2006 Thursday 19:30 - white noise
Some time ago I have talked with Giacomo and his friends about what
makes a particular combination of notes sound good. We haven't been able
to give a clear answer to this question so I have investigated a bit.
Wikipedia and Matlab helped
a lot, as well as my guitar and a small C program used for generating
pure tones.
The result of the research is summarized in the article about
Harmony and Waveforms.
It doesn't aim to give a complete answer but it should at least make
things clearer. If you're curious, then it also implicitly points out some new
questions and gives some food for (new) thoughts. Enjoy :)
The echo of the latest developments is settling down. Actually
it persists as a white noise with slowly decreasing energy. Getting back
to work and studies.
Recently got Lost. :D
Locke said:
"...just like any other thing is found... I've stopped looking". Well...
maybe not completly true :)
26.04.2006 Thursday 01:48 - diary
Still tired, but nearly OK :)
22.04.2006 Saturday 13:06 - diary
Exam done :) Incredibly tired tough.
I'm going in and out of here since several years now :D
This is the gate of the Engineering faculty in Siena: the topmost text says "Psychiatric Hospital".
Windows disk gone. Too good I had some backups.
16.04.2006 Sunday 12:26 - diary
Studying Multivariable and Robust Control. Exam on Wendesday.
I've written down an article about the first (simple) chapter too.
It's here. Later maybe I'll write something
about the Smith McMillian form of a matrix. It's a great exercise. The only problem
is that it takes forever to write the math formulas in Open Office,
screenshot, crop with gimp and finally save as jpeg... need to develop a faster method.
Ran into the Katatonia's The Great Cold Distance album.
Didn't realize the beauty immediately, tough it caught me from the
first second. Yeah: the overall sound is something really powerful.
I'd reccomend (not necessairly in this order)
- July, with the great sound wall
- Soil's Song, with the unexpected tempo, the artificial harmonic and the hypnotic chorus
- My Twin, the single
|
Evacuate
Assemble here
Soil's song
In you throat
Future death
In your reach
Who's first
OK
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There is something between goth and rainy cyberpunk in there... hum.. the album art is probably wrong: it shoulnd't be red.
Etherea has an informative post about Moscow Mule :)
11.04.2006 Tuesday 03:10 - benzene
I have been outside for a couple of hours: went to a local pub and had
a small Hoegaarden beer. The interesting thing is that the sheet of paper
that the barman put under the beer glass was a hexagon and everything that
follows sourced from there (and wikipedia, obviously). Yes, I know that I'm brain damaged :D
Benzene, C6H6, also known as PhH or benzol,
is an organic chemical compound that is a colorless and flammable liquid with a pleasant, sweet smell.
It is an additive in gasoline and also an important industrial
solvent and precursor in the production of drugs, plastics, gasoline, synthetic rubber, and dyes.
Benzene is a natural constituent of crude oil, but it is usually synthesized from other
compounds present in petroleum. Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, and the second [n]-annulene ([6]-annulene).
The formula of benzene caused a mystery for some time after its discovery,
as no explanation had been found that could account for all the bonds - carbon usually
forms four single bonds and hydrogen one. The chemist Friedrich August Kekule' von Stradonitz
was the first to deduce the ring structure of benzene.
Benzene presents a special problem in that, to account for all the bonds, there must be
alternating double carbon bonds. Using X-ray diffraction, researchers discovered that all
of the carbon-carbon bonds in benzene are of the same length, and it is known that a
single bond is longer than a double bond. In addition, the bond length, the distance
between the two bonded atoms in benzene is greater than a double bond, but shorter
than a single bond. There seemed to be in effect, a bond and a half between each carbon.
This is explained by electron delocalization. One representation is that the structure exists
as a superposition of the forms below, rather than either form individually. This type of
structure is called a resonance hybrid.
In reality, neither form really exists. Delocalisation must be explained using a higher
level of theory than single and double bonds. This delocalisation of electrons is known
as aromaticity, and gives benzene great stability. This is the fundamental property of
aromatic chemicals that differentiates them from non-aromatics.
To reflect the delocalised nature of the bonding, benzene may be depicted as a circle
inside a hexagon in chemical structure diagrams.
In the 19th and early-20th centuries, benzene was used as an aftershave because of its pleasant smell.
Benzene was also used to initially decaffeinate coffee by German importer Lugwig Roselius in 1903.
Actually it is widely known that benzene is a carcinogen.
Benzene occurs sufficiently often as a component of organic molecules that there is a
Unicode symbol with the code 232C to represent it.
Many important chemicals are essentially benzene, with one or more of the hydrogen atoms
replaced with another functional group.
Toluene, also known as methylbenzene or phenylmethane
(C6H5CH3) is used in the preparation of
Trinitrotoluene, C6H2(NO2)3CH3,
widely known as TNT or Trytol.
Phenol, C6H5OH, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, has
antiseptic and anesthetic properties.
Benzoic acid (C6H5COOH) and its salts are used as a
food preservative, represented by the E-numbers E210, E211, E212 and E213. Benzoic acid inhibits
the growth of mold, yeast and some bacteria.
Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon consisting of three benzene rings.
It is an organic semiconductor and is used as a scintillator for detectors of electrons and alpha particles.
Salicylic acid is toxic if ingested in large quantities, but in small quantities
is used as a food preservative and antiseptic in toothpaste.
The hydroxyl group (-OH) can be acetylated to form acetylsalicylic acid also known as Aspirine :)
Paracetamol is a common analgesic and antipyretic drug that is used for the relief of fever,
headaches, and other minor aches and pains.
You can clearly match the structure of the benzene ring in many other (more complex) chemicals.
However, I'll probably see the Hoegaarden logo on it from now on :D
want more ?
... really ? :D
Browse around then.
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