The physics of football. Credit: Ainissa Ramirez; You Tube.

Today is the start of the Labor Day weekend, and The American Ceramic Society extends its best wishes to all who work with ceramic materials. Indeed, the Society’s very existence is founded on the need of ceramic engineers in the late 19th century to have a network of colleagues to whom they could turn for information and advice to solve work-related problems. The Society continues to meet that need today and has extended its reach around the globe.

Many colleges and universities kickoff their football seasons this weekend, too. Here in Columbus, for example, Ohio State University plays Miami University of Ohio under the watchful eye of Urban Meyer in his début as head football coach. Meyer, in turn, will be under the watchful eyes of one of the largest student bodies and alumni associations in the country.

At CTT we are big fans of Ainissa Ramirez, Yale professor and “science popularizer.” Ramirez has a talent for explaining fairly complex materials science concepts in about four minutes on topics such as thermoelectrics, nanomaterialsshape memory and more. She created this video on the physics of football for Super Bowl 2012, and it seemed a nice way to acknowledge the start of the new collegiate season.

A while back, she also posted a video on the materials science behind the Titanic. It’s a little unsatisfying because she does not dive into specifics; rather she just convinces us that properties are temperature dependent. See whether you agree in the video below.

Happy Labor Day, and Go Illini!

Rivet failure on the Titanic. Credit: Ainissa Ramirez; You Tube.

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