core.form-ula

The carbon supermaterial graphene is already known for its exotic electronic properties. Now two studies suggest that the material is also one of the strongest, most elastic and stiffest materials known to science. read more

Here is a small sample of some amazing images of nudibranchs coming from National Geographic.

Nudibranchs crawl through life as slick and naked as a newborn. Snail kin whose ancestors shrugged off the shell millions of years ago, they are just skin, muscle, and organs sliding on trails of slime across ocean floors and coral heads the world over. read more

Stunning image taken from Mason White’s flickr page. He is an editor @ Archinect and part of lateral architecture in Toronto, On, Canada

During spring in Denmark, at approximately one half an hour before sunset, flocks of more than a million European starlings (sturnus vulgaris) gather from all corners to join in the incredible formations shown above. This phenomenon is called Black Sun (in Denmark), and can be witnessed in early spring throughout the marshlands of western Denmark, from March through to the middle of April. The starlings migrate from the south and spend the day in the meadows gathering food, sleeping in the reeds during the night. The best place to view this amazing aerial dance is in the place called “Tøndermarsken,” where these pictures were taken (on April 5 from 19.30 to 20.30 local time).

Magnetic fields are invisible, at least usually. But Scientists from NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory have figured out how to make them visible, showing them dancing in an absolutely gorgeous movie called, appropriately enough, Magnetic Movie. via gizmodo

Follow below to have your mind blown>>>> read more

Ritual Flux by Adrian Lo + Peter VanHage

Ritual Flux reflects the synthetic nature of ideas, technology, and the reciprocal relationships between the body and the built environment. The anatomy of any domestic terrain requires an ingrained flexibility to sustain the broad spectrum of generic processes shared by all humans, while maintaining certain cultural or regional specificity. read more

An electron micrograph reveals sharkskin’s secret to speed: tooth-like scales called dermal denticles. Water “races through the microgrooves without tumbling,” says shark researcher George Burgess, reducing friction. “It’s like a fast-moving river current versus the gurgling turbulence of a shallow stream.” The scales also discourage barnacles and algae from glomming on—an inspiration for synthetic coatings that may soon be applied to Navy ship hulls to reduce such biofouling.

What has fins like a whale, skin like a lizard, and eyes like a moth? The future of engineering.

via> National Geographic (April 2008)
read more

The published artwork of Haeckel includes over 100 detailed, multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea creatures (see: Kunstformen der Natur, “Artforms of Nature”). This collection is currently available through public domain and we have uploaded a copy here for ease of viewing.

Enjoy Core.images on flickr

read more

This is a sneak peak into our robot overlord future. The part where they lay on the ground and then jump up. In preparation for crushing us organic meatbags. This awkward robot from Japan showcases the huge leaps forward we’ve made in robot technology. They can jump up into a squat from lying flat on their backs now! The next huge leap forward: standing up. [TV in Japan]

This is a quick/dirty structure analysis of a tubular space frame. This should be seen as a proof of concept and will be developed to a further extent over the rest of the semester. I apologize for the quality of the video but it is beginning to reveal through its displacement, members that performing and others that are failing. Dimensions are approx (100′h x 200′d x 5′w) the material is a 6″ dia tube aluminum w/ a .25″ wall thickness. More to come over the weekend. read more